The Criterion blu-ray sounds great. It uses what seems like the same audio transfer as the Warner DVD track but with much less noise and rumble reduction. The DVD is abysmal.
The MGM LaserDisc often sounds more natural than the DVD, but it has less detail too. It's difficult to say whether it has underlying source issues or if its high end was removed through primitive noise management. Either way, it does not sound good.
It's strange to read reviews of the blu-ray that say there is no "age-related hiss" on its audio track. Of course, hiss is not an age-related artefact, but there actually is plenty of it on the Criterion -- and it is precisely because the track escaped heavy-handed noise reduction that it manages to sound so good. This can be said of so few discs these days and really should be highlighted:
It’s an odd situation. My guess is that the LD used the older source soundtrack Criterion notes in their booklet. The film was cut for reissue and that was the source for audio which then had to be patched in with other sources to recreate the 100m original cut. It is possible the LD was hit with noise reduction but I’m thinking the source they may have used was just different to have the 100m original version on disc.
ReplyDeleteIt is truly weird how it sounds better than the dvd at times and worse at others. I was very pleasantly surprised at the detail in the criterion audio which is worth the purchase alone for fidelity improvements.