Worst 5.1 Remixes
 

What are some 5.1 remixes that should be strictly avoided; the kind that dramatically alter the original mono or 2-channel stereo soundscape, instead of simply enhancing it? From my own personal experience, I would say:

DUEL (chief sin: deletes the dinosaur roar from the final crash)
JAWS (chief sin: alters many of the original, Oscar-winning sound effects)
THE TERMINATOR (chief sin: deletes the chilling knife-scraping sound during the opening credits)

Some will say Alfred Hitchcock's VERTIGO but, to be honest, that one doesn't bother me as much. What are some others that should only be listened to in the original audio format? *

* = And to you purists who would say "all of them", I understand how you feel, but let's try to get in the spirit of the question, shall we? ;)

I was watching dirty harry today, and boy that 5.1 mix sucks. granted its not as bad as others, but still. you have the old school magnum 45 sound mixed in with all of these new effects that doesn't really match (just watch the opening action scene)

I really don't care for the old 5.1 remix of Gone with the Wind. The new one on the 4-disc SE is a lot better, even if I prefer the mono mix for the film.

I rented Hellbound: Hellraiser II on VHS one time for a video art class.

I noticed when the Channard Cenobite disconnects the chains from his flesh, the sounds of knives extending from the tentacles can't be heard, and that pissed me off.

The Good the Bad and the Ugly makes me ill. I will probably never be able to sit through that version of it again because of the awful sound effects in the 5.1 remix.

I would have to say most 5.1 remixes of mono films are mediocre to awful.

The Terminator is likely the worst just because of all the new sound effects. The absence of the mono track on the Blu-Ray version is likely to make me stick with the DVD for the forseeable future.

Andrei Trarkovsky's Stalker

Not only does it sound hollow compared to the mono mix, but has has also been altered with extra musical cues.

:up:

I haven't heard it but by reputation the Anchor Bay Suspiria. It's a completely new remix from the original stems and supposedly drops or mis-times a number of sound effects and lines, and dramatically reduces the relative volume of the music (which in the original was noted for being LOUD).

The original 4.0 mix is not present on the DVD; the stereo track listed is a downmix of the new 5.1 track.

I always thought Suspiria had a great 5.1, especially DTS.

I third Terminator.

One dvd I own of 1492: Conquest Of Paradise. The sound is muffled and out of place at times and it takes away from one of cinema's finer scores ever composed. That is why a region 1 release one day is a necessity.

no one stated Godfather 1 ??

I was trying to remember the other worthless 5.1 remix, and lo and behold, Universal reminded which one it was by announcing a new DVD release for Scarface(why?!). The Anniversary Edition had DD and DTS 5.1 audio, but both sounded no better than a 2.0 track.

The correct answer is A Hard Day's Night.

So, what do I win?

I agree 110%! And include Part 2 while you're at it!

Listen to how fake it sounds when the actors speak and how horrible it sounds when Pacino yells in part 2 for example when he finds out the fate of his baby. It has a tin can echo quality too it and sounds highly unnatural.

Meanwhile in the original mono mixes,everything sounded natural and full of atmosphere,which is just sucked away in the remixes.

I refuse to get the films on dvd until they're available with their original mono mixes.

And Suspiria does have a highly botched remix. At first I thought it sounded 'good' since I didn't have anything to compare it too. But then when I caught it aired on IFC(R rated cut). I noticed the differences in sound levels and some cues missing entirely(the creepy breathing effect at the begining for example) from the dvd.
I then got the laserdisc to further compare with the dvd and the dvd sounds vastly inferior,that it does harm the film severely.

For example again in the opening murder sequence. Not only is the creepy breathing effect missing. But when the music begins during the woman peering out the window shot. It doesn't begin until much later in the mix than originally intended. Thus the intensity and dread is abit hampered by this screw up as well.




And I must say New Line and Fox are absolutely terrible when it comes to remixing mono films in basic stereo or 5.1(i have little experiance with other studio catalog titles,but most are similar and sounded inferior remixed). Pretty much all the problems evident in The Godfather mixes are in their mixes as well. And it just makes my ears bleed attempting to listen to them! So original audio is highly important and should be mandatory on all releases!

With the exception of the terrible silencer effect on the handguns (a prime example being the execution of the first Sarah Connor), I really liked the 5.1 remix of The Terminator, especially the shoot-out in Tech Noir.

Other than that, I was rather unhappy with the 5.1 remixes on the Star Trek films I-VI.

I don't have specific titles, but for me a bad remix consists of two elements -

- Dialogue is still slightly present in the front stereo channels, making it sound like a Pro Logic upmix

-Music in the surrounds is in mono, when there's really no need for that - if they can restore the music mix without the effects, why not make it stereo for the rears? BATMAN (89) is a good example of this one.

When the Bird-of-Prey decloaks for the first time in ST III, you have a problem with that?

Really? I thought those were pretty good. WOK can be a little tinny in the dialogue and music, but it's not bad. III and VI sound great, which makes sense because VI was a 5.1 mix from the start.

Fox's stereo remix of The Day the Earth Stood Still is horrendous. If you leave ProLogic decoding on in your receiver, most of the dialogue matrixes to the rear speakers. It's awful. Fortunately, the DVD also contains the mono track, which sounds much better.

Star Wars Ep IV takes the cake for me, reversed rear speakers, inconsistent dialogue recordings, and drowned-out music.

As for good 5.1 remixes, I enjoyed Superman the Movie (although it did get a bit too loud at times), Indiana Jones Trilogy, and The Exorcist.

Bill And Ted's Bogus Journey ruins a scene with panned dialogue, when they're both outside proposing to the girls. The laserdisc pans the dialogue left to right, and they're separated in the shot that shows them both, but the DVD keeps all the dialogue in the center. Usually unless it's a movie I absolutely MUST have, I won't buy any DVD with an altered sound mix.

I actually thought the remix of The Terminator was OK for what it was, but I still prefer the mono track and wouldn't have bought that if it hadn't been included.

<b>Transformers: The Movie</b>. No question.

This is a depressing thread. I thought the remix on ANASTASIA was awful. And, of course, the original mono track is nowhere to be found. Agreed also on DUEL, and TERMINATOR. Thank God we now have original mono on VERTIGO.

Does someone have a list of those DVDs which have been released with REMIXED 5.1 tracks ONLY, without the original mono tracks? Hopefully the number of titles is few, but I wanted to know which ones to look out for (and, avoid, until original mono tracks are included!).

is the mono mix on the duel dvd? i haven't watched it in years, and now would like to, since i sold it for lots of money. (i bought it when amazon didn't take orders down after the infamous recall.)

Yes, the mono mix is there, thank the Maker...

Agreed. It's not just that the "Dinosaur Roar" is missing from the 5.1 remix, but most of the original car and truck engine sounds have been inexplicably replaced by 'new' effects recorded from modern automobiles and semis.

Considering how essential to the soundtrack these sounds were, I simply cannot get through this film listening to it in DD or DTS. The new sound effects take me COMPLETELY out of the movie--more than any other have in any DVD before or since.

Plus some V.O. dialogue is left out of all mixes, but that's another story.

I wonder what will happen when Universal gets around to releasing Duel and Jaws on HD-dvd?

It would sure suck greatly if only the remixes were included on them when/if released.


This is another reason why I'm not that upset about not being region free/PAL capable. Since plenty of international releases of films like Duel, The Terminator and numerous others only contain the remix!

Universal learned their lesson on Jaws so hopefully the mono track of that one will live on in HD DVD. I passed on Duel so I'm not sure about that one.

It still frustrates me that people fight so hard for high quality video and proper aspect ratio, but let the studios slide on bad 5.1 remixes.

The Abyss. The laserdisc's prologic track sounded WAY better. That film is long overdue for an anamorphic transfer anyway, so maybe they'll fix the audio, too, whenever they do that.

I second that the Suspiria remix is quite good, BTW. No problem for me, and I've loved that film for years.

Wrath of Khan and The Voyage Home were the two to which I was mainly referring. Thinking about it, Undiscovered Country was not bad at all. Search for Spock had some good moments, but I found it to be a little uneven; some parts were weaker than others. I won't touch Motion Picture or Final Frontier, though.

but for the Duel hddvd version, wouldn't it be full frame? also, jaws still needs a cleaner transfer

I don't think that's true with New Line.

Their 5.1 mix on the original Nightmare was amazing, IMO.

There is no rule that HD DVDs have to be widescreen. They can easily pillarbox it for HD release.

Any DVD release of John Woo's THE KILLER with dd 5.1 (mainly non-region 1 dvds)

A-ha! Ever since I created this thread, I just knew there was another 5.1 remix that was shite but I couldn't recall it until today--turns out, it is an awful remix in its English 2.0, DD 5.1 and DTS 5.1 forms: TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME. The bar scene over the Canadian border was intentionally designed for the music to drown out the dialogue to the point of incomprehension, as it often does in real-world clubs and bars with loud music. To that end, the scene incorporates burned-in subtitles for the squashed dialogue. However, on all the English remixes for the film, the dialogue is pumped up to a clear, easily understood level, ruining the original soundscape for the scene, and its innovative verisimilitude, as well as making the subtitles useless, irritating and silly. I greatly hope New Line reissues this title in the near future as an audio-corrected Platinum Series release...

Grease

Apparently the sound of everyone's stomping feet is an important feature in nearly every music number. It's absolutely dreadful on "Beauty School Drop-Out".

And who's bright idea was it to remove the car-honks on "Sandy"?

David Lynch personally mixed that 5.1 track for DVD in the mixing studio in his own home. That's the way he wants it to sound now. That's the way it's going to be.

The remixed audio track on the 10th anniversary edition of "Reservoir Dogs" inexlicably dropped several lines of dialogue.

Aliens was quite underwhelming. I'm not sure if it was a remix, but I was rather unimpressed with it. The .1 was weak, and the overall channel separation left much to be desired. Alien sounded much better, actually, and it's an older flick.