1995 ROAN Group LaserDisc [RGL9505]: The PCM track exposes just how rough the underlying soundtrack elements are. It is, however, still quite detailed - it's just in need of a bit of EQ. A simple high-shelf filter above 1 kHz brightening everything a couple dB opens things up nicely. Only the first 50 minutes of the capture shared with me were error-free. The analogue track sounds the same.
1999 Criterion DVD: Not the worst '30s track I've heard by any stretch, but it's thin-sounding. The treble has been lifted a bit too much and it lacks bass detail. A good chunk of the highest frequencies have been removed.
2012 Flicker Alley Blu-ray: More noise reduction than the Criterion, yet an even stronger treble boost. Louder voices sound okay, but quieter sounds--music and the empty spaces between dialogue--sound overly scrubbed and lifeless.
2019 Wicked-Media Blu-ray: Like the Flicker Alley track but with some compression and limiting. Also a lossy transcode.
2022 Masters of Cinema Blu-ray ("restored"): Identical to the Wicked-Media track. Still a lossy transcode.
2022 Masters of Cinema Blu-ray ("unrestored"): I applaud the inclusion of such a track, but my initial scepticism as to whether it is truly untouched was justified: this is basically a lossy transcode of the LaserDisc with further limiting. Although it sounds about the same to me, these deficiencies shouldn't exist.
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