Saturday 2 February 2019

Last Year at Marienbad (1961)

I don't care for the audio track on the 2018 StudioCanal blu-ray. It has some moderate to heavy noise reduction applied, but its main issue is EQ -- its bass frequencies were exaggerated to make everything sound less thin, to the detriment music, dialogue, and effects (i.e. most things).

I maintain that the "restored" track on the Criterion blu-ray is great. It's been cleaned up very minimally and is thus totally unlike most audio tracks Criterion produces for older films on blu-ray. It being paired with an unrestored track gives a false idea of how much 'restoration' is usually done.

I prefer the unrestored track slightly (it has some additional ticks, pops, and crackle, but also slightly more natural sounding high frequencies), but I could easily live with either.

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