The Criterion blu-ray and 2008 Criterion DVD are virtually the same. They're technically 3/1 mixes (left, centre, right, rear surround), but the front channels have been narrowed to what is essentially mono and the rear channel is used exactly seven times in the film, and only to deliver sound that is already present in the other channels. There is no directionality and virtually no high end. The blu-ray is 4 dB quieter than the DVD in all channels except its rear surround, which 1 dB quieter -- no audible differences otherwise.
The audio track provided on the horrible, sub-DVD-looking stream on the BFI Player and on Amazon Prime's BFI channel is the opposite: extremely clear and very directional. How it's been folded to 2.0 is unclear, but that means little; it possesses a much wider soundstage than Criterion's multichannel track.
I haven't heard the BFI DVD or the first (1998) Criterion DVD, but both are supposedly mono. There is an R4 Madman DVD with a 4.0 track that I'd very much like to hear.
Please listen to this sample video:
Criterion left channel:
Criterion centre channel:
Criterion right channel:
Criterion rear channel:
BFI Player/Amazon left channel:
BFI Player/Amazon right channel:
it looks like the recent Toho 4k blu-rays include High and Low and a 4.0 PCM track. any idea if this one has undergone NR as well?
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