Conan the Barbarian (1982) 4K Arrow Release Discussion (1 Viewer)

[Michael Osadciw]

A question. Why do you quote others, but exclude them from the quote? If you just use the "Quote" feature it does it all automatically, and the person you are quoting receives a notice. The way you are doing it, they have to coincidentally come back to the discussion. I'm just saying, if you are quoting someone and hoping for a response from them, including them in the quote will work much better.

I just figured it out!

 

[Lord Dalek]

B&N is preparing my shipment (screw Amazon, they think this is coming out in three weeks). We'll see how this goes.

EDIT: Aaaaaaand shipped.

 

[Michael Osadciw]

I received a response from Arrow and I thank them for providing information about it.

They wrote that the source for the Atmos mix was Universal's own 5.1 legacy mix. They also had the original mono mix as reference to ensure the new Atmos mix honoured the original treatment. They did enquire with Universal about whether access to the original soundtrack music reels were available, but unfortunately Universal didn't hold these. They also added how frustrating it is when music score materials for films are often under separate ownership/license and stored elsewhere (if archived at all).

That said, they think the Atmos mix they were able to produce for CONAN will be enjoyable as they made the most out of the soundtrack for dramatic effect.

That said, I'm superbly excited for this 4K release of Conan the Barbarian. With a new 16-bit 4K scan of the original camera negative (ref. The Digital Bits but possibly also in the notes in the release) and graded for HDR, I have no doubt that Arrow video has an exceptional release on hand!

We can all agree that the special features for this release is top-notch! I can't wait to go through all of them.

While some of the choir elements remain absent in the film score due to [accidental/choice] omissions in Universal's legacy 5.1 mix (not Arrow's fault of any kind - they have done what they could), I'm looking forward to the new Atmos mix to heighten our home theatre experience.

As we start getting our copies, let's continue to post our thoughts about the release.

Thank you, Arrow, for bringing this title to 4K Blu-ray. It was my favourite announcement in 2023!!

 

[Lord Dalek]

Could have asked Matessino and Fake. They probably still have the raw DATs used to assemble the Intrada Conan mix.

 

[Konstantinos]

So, the remix is still missing the choir, percussion etc. from the music?
What a letdown!! Because the music sounded glorious in the remix, but I cannot possibly listen to this with those missing elements (being a film composer myself and knowing the score)
Well, at least we have the original mono...

 

[Michael Osadciw]

Crazy enough, when I listen to the 2011 5.1 mix when watching the film, my brain fills in the missing choir and I actually think it's there through my speakers. It's so burned in my brain that I hear it anyway!

 

[Konstantinos]

Which version would you suggest to watch first?
US cut or International cut?
(I almost always prefer theatrical cuts, that's why I didn't mention the extended cut)

 

[Michael Osadciw]

I think the intenational cut is the better film if you're thinking of watching the theatrical cut first. The extended cut is an extra minute longer although I can't recall the exact differences other than minor trims restored to selected shots. Someone else may be able to provide greater insight.

According to multiple resources on the film over the years, there were also trims to excessive blood that never made it into the film, and to my knowledge, have never seen the light of day. The movie is quite bloody at times in its current iteration!

 

[Lord Dalek]

I always prefered the extended cut (which is actually Melius's directors cut). There's something more powerful with ending the film on Conan carrying Yasimina off into the sunrise than the burning Set Temple in the other versions.

 

[willyTass]

still no word i can find on any site if the Original Mono track preserves the choir passages as it was meant to be

the CD i grabbed a few years back of BP’s score was incredible

 

[Konstantinos]

still no word i can find on any site if the Original Mono track preserves the choir passages as it was meant to be

Is there any reason to believe the mono track wouldn't include the missing elements?
I haven't heard of a mono track for this film to be faulty.
Unless, the Arrow mono track is not a real original mono, but a fold down of the the Atmos track.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Choir is there. Its mixed pretty low but it is audible.

 

[RobertR]

View attachment 210983
Choir is there. Its mixed pretty low but it is audible.

It's not acceptable for it to just be "audible". It's supposed to have the proper LEVEL.

 

[Michael Osadciw]

@Lord Dalek I’m assuming you’re referring to the Atmos mix? There were sections in the 5.1 mix where the choir seemed entirely absent or very low in the mix. Are you saying that in these moments the choir is now slightly more audible, or about the same?

 

[Lord Dalek]

@Lord Dalek I’m assuming you’re referring to the Atmos mix? There were sections in the 5.1 mix where the choir seemed entirely absent or very low in the mix. Are you saying that in these moments the choir is now slightly more audible, or about the same?

Slightly more.

I mean I compared it to the Youtube clip and couldn't hear it at all on certain portions. It seems to have been dialed up a bit for this release but I suspect they couldn't go very far with it.

 

[Richard Pyke]

I have Fox’s Italian release of CtB Blu-ray, which is uncut and with all the corrected music cues. It was said at the time this was the only correct release. Sounds great.

 

[JohnRice]

Yes, the full choir does seem to be there in the Atmos mix. As far as volume level, I don't know, it's pretty obvious, and comes from front and surround speakers. Keep in mind, I expect the choir was recorded mono, and it does sound like it was. As in, it sounds like a mono recording that's being spread around multiple speakers.

 

[richardburton84]

Does the isolated score have the music intact? I can’t claim to be any kind of expert on this film as only saw it for the first time last year during a flight to Texas (I believe it was the theatrical version as I recall it ended with the burning temple) and while I don’t recall if the choir was intact during the opening attack scene, I do recall it being very prominent during the Battle of the Mounds scene (I’ve found a few videos on YouTube of the scene where most of the choir was missing).

 

[Konstantinos]

Besides the choir, another element that was missing in the 5.1 audio of the previous blu-ray was a tam-tam (I think) from the orgy scene.
You can hear it here at 5.41''-5.45''-5.49''-5.53''-5.57'' and so on..



Same in the Intrada complete score release:
CD2track5 was missing the tam tam, while the album version in CD3track9 had it.
So, I guess in the mono audio they used the "album" version, while in the 5.1 audio they used the "film score" version.

Would it be difficult for someone to check the atmos track and original mono in the new 4K disc, to see how is this instrument handled? (if it's missing or not)
I have listened countless times to this track, which is my favorite from this soundtrack, that's why I noticed it was missing in the first place.

 

[Michael Osadciw]

Yes, the Intrada CD is missing the tam-tam and it's present on the Varese Sarabande CD (and the mono film as we've known it).