Carpenter's The Thing--Anybody know which DVD version (year?) has the isolated muxic track? Where you can hear just the score, not the dialogue... I'm pretty sure the recent (2004) doesn't. Thanks!

According to DVDPriceCompare.net, the old version does, but the new version does not have the isolated score

that's right, the 1998 version with the original cover. Isolated music tracks are a thing of the past.

The new video transfer alone is well worth getting over the Isolated music track. Or do as I did, own them both!

Speaking of the thing, is the sci-fi channel mini series still going to happen, or was it canned?

I'm guessing it was canned.

yeah, they canned it last year I believe. Too bad, I wouldnt mind seeing more THING at some point before I die. Preferably with Carpenter attached to it.

Yeah, but it would have probably been all CGI now.

I hope they just leave it alone.

I got the new version as a Christmas present, have yet to open it and check it out. I may do it soon, I guess it's a keeper and a worthy upgrade to the previous version of The Thing. The new version is in a keep case, but I have seen it in a different style case, is there a difference before I open? Like something inside, like an insert, etc?

I don't think so. I think the only difference is that one's a keep case and one's a digipak.

Yeah but does the digipak have an insert? I took a look at a rental copy at Blockbuster once and there was a place for a booklet but nothing was there. I know that the odds of an insert being in the keep case is slim. I wouldn't mind the digipack, it's pretty nice, but only if there was an insert included. That's just me, I like inserts for movies I love.

There's no insert in the digipak, even though there is clearly a place for one. Universal dropped the insert at the last minute, after the digipaks had already been printed.

How silly of Universal to do that. If you have seen the digipak, it looks like somebody stole it. I will now open the keep case, and well, keep it.

Thanks to those who helped me with this, and thankyou Josh Z.

Or, you could do what I did---before I sold off the old version, I kept the insert, and put it in the slot in the digipak for the (non-existant) insert that's supposed to be there. That way, there's SOMETHING in there. I just hated the way it looked without anything in the slot, LOL.

Exactly what I did, too (except I gave my old copy away to a friend).

If you really want something in the empty slot you can always print out a DVD review.

I appreciate it, y'all

Someone could scan the insert and post on the "covers and inserts" forum. Maybe I'll do it when I get my damn scanner hooked up.

The new version is the one to get, purely because of the transfer, and the fact that it's anamorphic. There have been some concerns about the color tweaking, but I'd still prefer better video to an isolated score, any day.

I've been hoping for that very thing myself. Anyone up for it?

Aside from the anamorphically-enhanced transfer, everything about the newer DVD version is the same as the old version (menus, etc.) ...except for the isolated score.

Why was it dropped at all?

The practice of isolated scores has died off because the movie soundtrack distributors complained that it eats into their CD sales.

Too bad. I can't imagine sales of The Thing CD are even anything to eat into Why not just give them royalties or something? Well, anyway, it's a dead feature now.

I actually liked the feature on The Thin Red Line, where you can play the whole "CD" beginning to end (strangely, you can't select tracks). I like the music so I don't have to buy the CD! I suppose that's gone, too, on later editions. Strange experiment.