This Week's Aisle Seat: Imprint New Releases

[AndyDursin]

Reviews of Imprint's THE BOUNTY and MALENA in this week's column, along with the latest releases!

https://andyfilm.com/2023/07/07/7-11-23 ... -releases/

[Paul MacLean]

Is it possible to order the Bounty release from someone other than Imprint -- i.e. someplace that isn't charging $30 shipping?

[AndyDursin]

$50 and free ship at Amazon looks like the best bet:

https://a.co/d/a9pEIT2

[Paul MacLean]

Thanks! That's the actual Imprint release?

[AndyDursin]

Looks like it is! Says 2 discs.

[Paul MacLean]

Who produced this release? Because Vangelis' score is in the wrong key in the film.

The isolated score (as well the bits of score you can hear on the commentary tracks) are all in the correct key -- but the actual film soundtrack is in a lower key. I checked this against the various album releases of the theme (Vangelis has released three different iterations of it on compilation albums he's produced) and his original recording is in the same key as that of the isolated music channel.

The score was also in the correct key on the Twilight Time release.

The only point in the film where the music is in the correct key is in the end credits -- at the start of which the soundtrack has an awful, abrupt pitch-shift as the final scene fades-out the end title music begins.

Imprint REALLY bungled this one. Why they altered the pitch of the film is baffling to me.

How does this happen?

These idiots never heard the difference?

[AndyDursin]

Paul,
Try the 2.0 PCM "Dolby Stereo" track instead (the 2nd track on the Imprint disc), I can confirm that doesn't have the pitch issue (the 5.1 track does). At least I can hear what you are saying, the 5.1 track is very "low" and the music is audibly different than it is on the 2.0 track. (There are 2 soundtrack options on the Imprint release plus the isolated score track). I did not realize it at the time, probably because I was watching it with the 2.0 track!

Reading through this thread (https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=253332), apparently this is a common problem with THE BOUNTY that's happened before...the Kino release has 5.1 and 2.0 tracks also with different pitches, the 5.1 track likewise being too "low". Yet weirdly, the Twilight Time 5.1 was fine! I'd imagine it's a problem with MGM's master but it's weird it's happened many times before.

Unless this movie went out in multi track stereo, in 1984 and knowing DeLaurentiis, the 2.0 track is likely the most faithful to the Dolby Stereo mix as heard at the time (the 5.1 is probably just an "upmix" so to speak anyway, and it's in the wrong key to boot!).

[Paul MacLean]

How does such a blunder get past these guys?

How does such a blunder happen in the first place???

[AndyDursin]

I don't think most people care or would notice to be honest. And I think these labels are just a couple of people running them at this point so stuff like this gets by.

In all fairness this was not an error they created, it has to be some problem with MGM because other labels releases have the same issue. Plus MGM did the same thing with ROCKY II on UHD last year where the 4k master is clearly pitched too low. And nobody has corrected it yet! Even worse, unlike THE BOUNTY, there isn't another option on the soundtrack that's in the right key.