Beatles "Hard Days Night" on Critierion DVD/BluRay with Giles Martin 5.1 mix

[Clint Eastwood]

Just got my Blu-Ray in from amazon today, and after having seen this film dozens of times over my lifetime, I can honestly say that the film has never looked and sounded better!
The 5.1 mix won't blow you away, but it's certainly an upgrade from any other mix of the film I have heard, and the picture is perfect!
The extra features are also superb, and I was shocked to find that the package comes with an 80 page booklet! Absolutely phenomenal!

It's at a good price right now on amazon ($24.99 I believe), but next week, I hear Barnes & Noble will begin another month long 50% off sale on all Criterion Blu-Ray and DVDs. So keep that in mind as well…

I'm glad to hear that but I'm not surprised. During my laser disc days those Criterion discs were usually a cut above the rest. In fact in a month or so I will finally be able to get a movie on blu ray that I have wanted for years. I was excited when I found out that Criterion was going to finally bring this film to blu ray HERE and I can't wait to get my hands on it.

 

[elmer]

Just got my Blu-Ray in from amazon today, and after having seen this film dozens of times over my lifetime, I can honestly say that the film has never looked and sounded better!
The 5.1 mix won't blow you away, but it's certainly an upgrade from any other mix of the film I have heard, and the picture is perfect!
The extra features are also superb, and I was shocked to find that the package comes with an 80 page booklet! Absolutely phenomenal!

It's at a good price right now on amazon ($24.99 I believe), but next week, I hear Barnes & Noble will begin another month long 50% off sale on all Criterion Blu-Ray and DVDs. So keep that in mind as well…

I can't agree more - a stellar job all around. I'm sure there will be complaints about the 5.1 mx - it's not discrete - but it still sounds great! Beautiful package, PQ & extras.

 

[alk3997]

I've only had a chance to watch/listen to sections. We're having a party tomorrow night to play the whole thing on the big screen.

1) The dialog is truly the biggest improvement. It's actually a funnier film because you can hear some jokes that were a little buried before.
2) Picture restoration is remarkable.
3) The audio is as Giles Martin said. It's mostly in the front with ambiance in the rear channels.
4) However, these are the warmest clearest versions of the songs. Interestingly the guitars seem to standout more. Usually it's the bass and drums that gain the most with a modern mix.
5) "I Should Have Known Better" is worth the price of admission just because of the improvement in sound quality.
6) There is an error in "If I Fell", both times it is played. Paul's voice comes in early during the second "was in vain" lyric. I suppose it could be that way in the original mono or stereo mix (they are different mixes) but I thought I would remember that.
7) It's great they were able to restore the orchestration - they found the original 3-track masters recently.

Andy

 

[alk3997]

(duplicate)

 

[alk3997]

I can't agree more - a stellar job all around. I'm sure there will be complaints about the 5.1 mx - it's not discrete - but it still sounds great! Beautiful package, PQ & extras.

I'd like to respectfully disagree. It is discrete but only in the front threes. It's a four track recording with no bounce-downs. Yes, the rhythm guitar in Can't Buy Me Love could have been in the surround channels or the cowbell in A Hard Day's Night could have been but that doesn't make it non-discrete overall - like some converted mono mix. It's just the surrounds are ambient for the most part.

 

[elmer]

I'd like to respectfully disagree. It is discrete but only in the front threes. It's a four track recording with no bounce-downs. Yes, the rhythm guitar in Can't Buy Me Love could have been in the surround channels or the cowbell in A Hard Day's Night could have been but that doesn't make it non-discrete overall - like some converted mono mix. It's just the surrounds are ambient for the most part.

I think most of us were hoping for a discrete 5.1 mix not a 3 channel mix. So from my perspective it's not a discrete surround mix. However, I do not care to argue semantics. It sounds and looks wonderful!

 

[ChristopherLees]

are the songs running at the correct speed or are they all too slow again?

 

[alk3997]

are the songs running at the correct speed or are they all too slow again?

Only the songs filmed with television studio monitors in the shots are running 24/25th of a second slower rate than the original album.

I don't mind this since that is the way it was shown in the theater originally. Of course, some of not minding that is that many of us on this forum can correct that if we wish to and it was in the original print that way.


I'm more interested in the different vocal on If I Fell. The old SH experts are saying this is just a new vocal mix with different vocals (maybe from a different take) flown in on second "was in vain". I am intrigued.

 

[ChristopherLees]

trouble is most of the songs played in the film have tv studio monitors in the shots...

first version of "If I fell" is ok...along with "can't buy me love" outdoor shots , I should have known better (train version)and "a Hard days night"...

 

[cupboy]

So, what is on the 2 DVDs? Seems odd the DVD version is a 1-disk set, but 2 DVDs come with the Blu-ray. (This is why I'm buying the UK version)

 

[fredblue]

'Giles replied, "I'm mixing for the film. I'm not mixing for some sort of crazy release. It's not like a 'LOVE' thing.

I read this and my heart sank.. I guess that kills any hope of a discrete surround remix of any Beatles album, along the lines of the amazing Love DVD-A..

 

[cupboy]

New Cover for Europe ?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hard-Days-Night-Anniversary-Restoration/dp/B00KATQF2S/

Check out the German version. Paul has a cigarette. And it looks like Paul in both top pictures. Ringo is missing.

www.amazon.de/Beatles-Hard-Days-Night-Blu-ray/dp/B00KHK1SY0/

 

[dr8track]

Check out the German version. Paul has a cigarette. And it looks like Paul in both top pictures. Ringo is missing.

www.amazon.de/Beatles-Hard-Days-Night-Blu-ray/dp/B00KHK1SY0/

Uh, that's Ringo with the cigarette.

 

[cupboy]

Well that's a first then. Never have seen Ringo with a cigarette before.

 

[dr8track]

Well that's a first then. Never have seen Ringo with a cigarette before.

They all smoked at one point. If you do a Google search there are tons of photos of Ringo smoking.

 

[bobou2]

Some quick observations... I think they overdubed the running footsteps during the chase scene...love the way Giles was able to use the single tracked vocals on If I Fell & And I Love Her...I never noticed the BR monogram (British Rail) on the headrest cover.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk

 

[Quadwreck]

The entire sessions for AHDN were recorded on a 4-track tape, sometimes only using 3 tracks. Generally the first two tracks had the majority of the recording, the other two had an overdub or two, not really all that promising for an immersive quad mix, let alone a 5.1. Under these circumstances, 3-track is as good as it gets.

 

[alk3997]

I have to agree with that assessment - assuming you don't use more modern separation techniques to "create" more tracks. The technology is there. However, they used all 4 tracks on the multitrack for these songs. Almost every song has double-tracked vocals and that was before ADT. Instruments on two tracks and vocals on two tracks. The occasional cowbell or rim-tap would be recorded on the same track as the double-tracked vocals. No bounce-downs were documented for any of the songs.

But, even then the number of instruments used is still small compared to say, Rubber Soul. You can move the cowbells in the rear channels or the rhythm guitar. But, if your desire is to make it sound like you are in front of the Beatles during the TV performance, I'm not sure you can do much better than what is on this disc.

I'd interpret the younger Mr. Martin as saying he was trying to make a realistic 5.1-mix for this movie. It doesn't say anything about what type of mix you would do for a 5.1-channel album release. I don't know if anyone noticed it but in many of the songs, Ringo's drums are located in the mix roughly where his drum kit is located in most of the scenes for that song.

For those who are curious the DTS-HD 5.1-channel soundtrack is encoded at 48-kHz/24-bit.

I'm still trying to figure out that one phrase of the "If I Fell" vocals...

 

[blue.monk]

I just watched the BluRay with the 5.1 track. It's the best I've ever seen or heard the film. As others have stated the music is essentially a 3-channel mix with ambient surrounds but it sounds great. The vocals gain a lot of clarity with the addition of the center channel. I agree that creating a full 5-channel discrete mix would have been difficult given the limitations of tracks and may not have been entirely successful or appropriate. Yes, the songs featured in the television studio remain slowed down. The only one that seems annoyingly sluggish to me is 'And I Love Her' although I like that it's a single-tracked Paul we hear during the verses. As alk3997 pointed out the syncing of Paul's voice in 'If I Fell' is off and rather distracting. Strange. The dialogue sequences sound terrific as does the incidental music. Even the mono 'She Loves You' fits in nicely with only a minimal loss in quality. I look forward to the extras, the nice booklet and checking out the restored mono track. Oh, and by the way, it remains an endlessly enjoyable & delightful little gem of a film!

 

[alk3997]

For those who are wondering about the "Was in Vain" issue (actually it's more "Was In Was In Vain" issue), I've attached a very small snippet of the center channel for that part of "If I Fell". When I listen to the song, the change really jumps out - I suspect it's because of how many times it's been heard.

I'll bet some will say, "what's the big deal?" and others will find it distracting. It doesn't take away from the rest of the 5.1-channel mix which is really well done as a restored movie soundtrack.

Andy