If you bought Star Wars DVD....

[FizbansTalking_Hat]

Possible Recall in the Works @ Digital Bits.com

Read whats in yellow, I'll post it here. and I'll also post Lucas and his companies response.

Editor's Note: since we initially wrote this review, we've detected a number of audio/mixing errors on the DVD version of A New Hope. They are as follows:

1) The familiar Force theme trumpet fanfare that used to play right after Red Leader says: "This is it!" and just as the X-wings start diving towards the Death Star's surface has been dialed back in volume so that it's almost inaudible - it's almost completely buried in the surround mix.

2) The audio quality varies wildly as Tarkin says the line: "You would prefer another target, a military target? Then name the system." - almost as if the master sound element was damaged. It's very distracting.

3) Possibly most critically, John Williams' entire score for the film has been flipped in the rear channels, so that what should be the left rear channel is playing from the right rear channel (and vise versa). What this means is that the rear channels don't match the front channels - instruments heard from the front right channel come from the left rear instead of the right rear. Again, this is very distracting once you notice it.

These problems are certainly severe enough in our opinion to merit a repressing/exchange of the disc. We're waiting to hear back from Lucasfilm on this issue and we'll update this review with the details as soon as we do.]


Well... a lot of you aren't going to believe this, but Lucasfilm has responded to our questions about the audio issue on the DVD of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. Here's the company's official statement:

"We are always impressed with how closely fans listen to the many different sound mixes we have made for the Star Wars movies over the years. It is flattering to know that, indeed, the audience is listening. Consequently, each mix comes out differently and any changes that you hear on the all-new Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX tracks on the Star Wars Trilogy DVD set are deliberate creative decisions. We can confirm that there are no technical glitches as reported."

Dialing down the trumpet fanfare during the Death Star attack... okay, I can see that could be a creative decision. But the strange audio quality shift of Tarkin's line and the surrounds issue - I don't really buy that those are creative decisions. Judging by the e-mails we're getting, we're certainly not the only ones to have noticed these things. We're going to dig into this further and see what we come up with.

Stay tuned...

[dlbpharmd]

DAMN! I wish I had read this before I bought the set. As it is, I picked up the last set Wal-Mart had a little over an hour ago.

[matrixman]

I just watched A New Hope and I had no issue with the sound mix. I think it's much ado about nothing, or at least about very little. However, I applaud the thoroughness of the folks at the Digital Bits. That they can pick out such audio anomalies shows that they're doing their job as critical reviewers.

I think what it boils down to, once again, is that George Lucas has the right to do what he wants. It's his movie, it's his money. Sure, it may feel like he is tampering with our memory of SW...but for pete's sake, I'm not going to lose sleep because the horn section or whatever is coming out of the left rear instead of the right rear. "Very distracting"? Uh, sorry, but no. If one of your speakers blows while you're watching Star Wars, that would be distracting.

Besides, if you really have the urge to hear the original sound, just dig out your old VHS copies of the movies. I'm sure they're also available in the bargain bins of most video stores.

[dlbpharmd]

I watch ANH last night - I may not have the discerning ear that the reviewers do, but I certainly did not notice any sound problems.

I thought it was a great edition - my only problem is, the more I watch this movie, the more hokey it gets.

[matrixman]

I guess it's inevitable that perspectives change over the years, dlb. I would agree that ANH is definitely hokey at some points. It's a big, broad space opera, so it is by its nature a fairly contrived thing. Subtlety was never its strong point.

[dlbpharmd]

I watched TESB last night - I actually like the substitution of the Emperor better, and the extra dialogue as well (although, if I was watching this for the first time, the extra dialogue would have been a big hint!)