Criterion now has an official website up for the US release including a short essay on the 5.1 mix by Giles Martin - check it out here;
SEE THE FILM ABOUT THE FILM CAST & CREW MUSIC PUBLICITY HOME VIDEO
SONGS AS THEY APPEAR IN THE FILM
1.A Hard Day’s Night
2.I Should Have Known Better
3.I Wanna Be Your Man (excerpt)
4.Don’t Bother Me (excerpt)
5.All My Loving (excerpt)
6.If I Fell
7.Can’t Buy Me Love
8.And I Love Her
9.I’m Happy Just To Dance With You
10.This Boy
11.Tell Me Why
12.She Loves You
A HARD DAY’S NIGHT (UK Edition)
Side One
1.A Hard Day’s Night
2.I Should Have Known Better
3.If I Fell
4.I’m Happy Just To Dance With You
5.And I Love Her
6.Tell Me Why
7.Can’t Buy Me Love
Side Two
1.Any Time At All
2.I’ll Cry Instead
3.Things We Said Today
4.When I Get Home
5.You Can’t Do That
6.I’ll Be Back
A HARD DAY’S NIGHT (US Edition)
Side One
1.A Hard Day’s Night
2.Tell Me Why
3.I’ll Cry Instead
4.I Should Have Known Better (Instrumental)
5.I’m Happy Just To Dance With You
6.And I Love Her (Instrumental)
Side Two
1.I Should Have Known Better
2.If I Fell
3.And I Love Her
4.Ringo’s Theme (This Boy) (Instrumental)
5.Can’t Buy Me Love
6.A Hard Day’s Night (Instrumental)
ABOUT THE 5.1 SURROUND MIX
BY GILES MARTIN AND SAM OKELL
To create the best possible 5.1 surround mix for A Hard Day’s Night, our first mission was to identify the best available original audio sources. In the case of the songs, that was easy, as we still have all of the original Beatles tapes here at Abbey Road. The songs from With the Beatles are on 2-track tapes. The later songs, from the album A Hard Day’s Night, were recorded by the Beatles on 4-track tapes. Sadly, in the case of the single “She Loves You,” only the monaural mix of the track still exists.
It is worth noting that, as well as having different mixes than the original album tracks do, the songs are slower in the film than on the albums. This difference is quite noticeable during the scenes where the Beatles are rehearsing and performing in the television studio. Our understanding is that these scenes were filmed at 25 frames per second, rather than the usual 24 frames per second, so the TV monitors could be shown without any aliasing effect (flickering).
The original underscore, written by George Martin, was recorded at CTS Studios in London; the original 3-track tapes for it were found at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles.
To begin the remix process for the movie, the tapes of both the Beatles’ songs and Martin’s underscore were transferred to digital at high resolution (192kHz/24-bit).
More problematic for us was identifying the original master dialogue and effects track. Having evaluated a number of different transfers and sources, we chose the best monaural tape based on tonal balance, dynamic range, and lack of distortion and hiss. This track was then transferred digitally, and we carefully removed such unwanted artifacts as clicks, pops, and distortion.
When remixing the Beatles’ songs in 5.1 surround, our objective is to retain the original spirit, vibrancy, quality, and charm while making subtle improvements to the balance, tonal color, and stereo picture. We employ many of the actual compressors, echo chambers, and plate reverbs used in the original recordings and mixes of these songs. Hopefully, this approach brings an authenticity to what we are doing and, at the same time, gives the listener a new way of experiencing the Beatles.
Once the mixes of the songs were completed at Abbey Road, we were fortunate enough to travel across London to Twickenham Studios, returning A Hard Day’s Night to the place where it was shot fifty years ago. It was there that we finalized the immersive 5.1 mix of the entire film.
Giles Martin and Sam Okell,
Abbey Road Studios 2014
5.1 AND STEREO AUDIO RESTORATION, 2013
Sound producer: Giles Martin
Soundtrack and songs remixed at Abbey Road Studios and Twickenham Studios by Sam Okell and Giles Martin
Audio restoration: Simon Gibson and James Clarke
Additional sound design: Alastair Sirkett
Project coordinator: Adam Sharp
Original sound production: George Martin
This restoration made possible by Bruce A. and Martha Karsh, the owners of A Hard Day's Night
Owners’ representative: Joel Kozberg, Kozberg & Bodell LLP
Sales agent: Paul White, Tiger Eye Films
Thanks to: Adam Barker and Jonathan Clyde
Janus Films • ©HDN LLC All rights reserved. Photos ©Bruce and Martha Karsh.
http://janusfilms.com/harddaysnight/music.html
, I wonder if the single UK BD would be cheaper that the US combo set. Or, for that matter, any other differences. Region free would be great!
