Where’s The Theatrical Sound?
First, let me say what a fan I am of your magazine, both in print and online. Keep up the good work. My question is why many films which were released to theaters in “70mm 6-track” sound are released on DVD with mere Dolby® Surround or even mono sound? (The titles Air America and The Dirty Dozen come to mind.) Studios finally are releasing most films in their original theatrical aspect ratios, yet they are leaving out the theatrical level of sound quality which they made available to cinemagoers. It seems to me that if there is a 6-track sound master in the vault, it would be relatively easy and inexpensive to transfer this to the video (especially if it is in the 70mm Dolby format as opposed to the Todd-AO 70mm sound format).
Matt B.
Research Editor Michael Coate Comments:
For the most part, I believe all of the studios have done a great job with their DVD and LaserDisc releases. I think enthusiasts have plenty to cheer about. Of course, there are always exceptions. But they are just that—exceptions. I don’t believe producers of discs deliberately leave off a “theatrical version” of a particular soundtrack and instead settle for a matrix-encoded Lt-Rt edition. Usually the inclusion or exclusion of a soundtrack is dependent on time, money and effort, not necessarily in that order. To provide a specific answer for each disc that anyone feels is lacking the original theatrical soundtrack would require contacting the personnel involved with each disc. That’s not possible—at least for an immediate response to this letter. Usually, it boils down to the ability (or inability) to locate the elements. I suppose in some instances, it may be unknown to those involved that a particular film had a 6-track master. So instead, a matrix-encoded Lt-Rt printmaster is requested and secured, thinking that is the only available element. That would certainly explain why numerous films released theatrically with 70mm prints and corresponding 6-track audio only exist on DVD or LaserDisc with matrix-encoded soundtracks. A matrix-encoded Lt-Rt printmaster is “transfer-ready,” whereas a 6-track printmaster usually requires a conversion of some sort. So we’re back to the time, money and effort scenario. If an original 6-track printmaster cannot be located, there are always secondary methods of achieving the same goal. An effort can be made to secure a 70mm release print from a vault, archive or private collector and use the sound recorded onto the print. If the original stems or other original audio elements can be located, a new discrete soundtrack can be created (again: time, money and effort!). Don’t give up writing letters to the various studios indicating to them that there is a desire to have the original soundtrack or something similar to that put onto new release discs. Since discrete digital sound (be it Dolby Digital or DTS® Digital Surround™) is now the norm, there is no reason quality-conscious consumers should settle for a matrix-encoded version of a particular soundtrack, especially when a discrete version is known to exist. One controversial point in all of this is that most of the movies released in 70mm 6-track (either the Todd-AO sound format or Dolby) have only a single surround channel. The unwinnable dilemma for the studio is whether to faithfully transfer that single surround track or to separate (read: change, alter, modify, re-record, re-mix, etc.) that track into two. The purists want one thing, many consumers prefer another! Some recent DVD releases that failed to include something resembling the original 70mm 6-track theatrical soundtrack include Air America and The Dirty Dozen (as you pointed out) plus others such as Krakatoa: East Of Java, Starman, Howards End, The Last Emperor, Rambo: First Blood Part II, and Blue Thunder, among others. Even an occasional recent digital theatrical release such as Hudson Hawk (released theatrically with some Cinema Digital Sound prints) is merely presented in Dolby Surround on DVD. In all fairness to the studios, quite a few original 6-track theatrical releases ARE available on DVD and/or LaserDisc with a rendition of the original soundtrack including West Side Story, The Wild Bunch, Ghostbusters, Silverado, Patton, My Fair Lady and many, many others.
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