Taxi Driver (1976)

The original mono mix has never been released on DVD, contrary to what has been written about some editions (e.g. the Japanese Superbit DVD).

Both the 1990 Criterion LaserDisc and the 1991 Japanese Columbia Tri-Star LaserDisc (PILF-7133) have the mono and sound essentially identical. The mono mix is excellent and it certainly sounds like this old transfer of it was done straight off the magnetic master.

Differences between the original mix and the 5.1 remix:
- The mono sounds absolutely massive at times, with some of the bass notes in the score being truly thunderous. The music is mixed more aggressively and is usually more violent-sounding.
- The original Foley in the mono is mixed much louder than it is in the 5.1. The 5.1 also EQs most of the harshness (and clarity) out of it, for better or worse. An example I forgot to include in the comparison clip: at 00:17:16.191 (blu-ray timecode), the sound of the effervescent tablet Travis drops into his glass is much louder and clearer/sharper in the original mix and overwhelms the other characters' voices as the camera slowly zooms in. The 5.1 ignores this use of subjective sound and has everything at the same level.
- Another difference I didn't include in the clip: at 00:33:42.950 (blu-ray timecode), the audio bridge of the street drummer's playing that introduces the next scene (before he says "Now back to Gene Krupa's syncopated style, shortly") is much louder and clearer in the original mix before it recedes into the diegesis. It serves a purpose - it's a jarring, punctuative transition from Herrmann's melancholic jazz piece that preceded it.
- There are a handful of new Foley effects in the 5.1: the noticeable ones highlighted in the video below, generic atmospheric sounds in outdoor scenes (like ~every remix ever), and some similar-but-not-quite-identical gunshots in the final shootout (impossible to discern through normal viewing).
- Travis' narration is significantly louder in the 5.1 relative to everything else and sounds less thin but sometimes a bit 'boomy'. The narration sounds live (for better or worse) in the mono, but more like ordinary narration in the 5.1.
- There's a moderate to high amount of noise reduction on the centre channel of the 5.1 (i.e. dialogue)

The excerpts in the following clip were volume-matched on the basis of dialogue and not music, sound effects, or Travis' narration.

04:24–06:08: the thunderous bass drum
06:37–07:34: New Foley as Travis looks into the mirror with guns strapped to himself and pulls the trigger. The trigger sounds are different: the original (very distinctive and perhaps ridiculous) loud 'snapping' sounds are substituted with small 'clicks'.
07:35–08:32: Reverb added to Palatine's voice as he makes his outdoor speech

Update (19/9/2021): Added the Sony UHD mono track.

It sounds fine. It's the authentic theatrical mono mix, with its bass intact and its overall EQ like the LaserDisc's. Frequencies above 11 kHz are sharply attenuated in non-music scenes, presumably to remove the subtle artefacts that can faintly be heard here on the LaserDisc. Quite unnecessary. The LaserDisc is marginally clearer in these scenes, but this is probably only discernible when A/Bing closely. All in all, I wouldn't be concerned; it sounds very good.