Wasn’t too sure of a good title as STAR WARS is and still an ongoing topic and I wish I could find a more productive topic but I’d rather get this one up.
What I like about the STAR WARS originals is the wild crazy DOLBY STEREO mix that pushed the limits at the time and its still the best sounding format made for cinema over the past 40 years.
The THX CAV laserdisc issues have had some yes we know some added new sound elements such as sound effects and some serious tapering with removing some dialogue panning from the original release of Return of the Jedi (1983).
Before Darth Vader shuttle lands on the death-star an imperial officers voice is panned to the left or half-pan “inform the commander that lord Vader shuttle has arrived” is centred on the CAV and 1995 CLV and DVD and sigh the so called perfect HD 1080p format bluray for deaf ears that don’t listen!
Now if you want the originals best bet is go for the early CLV letterbox USA NTSC versions as those versions are nearly all the way intact to the 35mm release print and its too bad DOLBY AC-3 came too late otherwise we could all have the 70mm six-track DOLBY STEREO versions which is a bigger deal!
When the princess is on her own in the forest except for an Ewok LOL she places her hand on her hip after taking quit a bit bump after being thrown from the speeder bike. She walks around and the voice soon pans off to on screen left channel “Well looks like I’m stuck here...trouble is, I don’t know where here is”?
Its yet another dialogue pan and dialogue panning sounds so super DOLBY cool! Its how I remember it in the cinema and it made Jedi sound so realistic.
Another scene is were Luke walks around and finds her helmet. Next we hear “Luke”! “Luke!” its a hard off-screen dialogue pan to right and again it makes Jedi sound so super DOLBY realistic.
The CAV and later CLV DVD and Bluray you can forget about those issues they’re not 35mm DOLBY STEREO intact.
I have vague sound memory of STAR WARS as I wasn’t into film sound in December 1977 it wasn’t until 1986 when I saw Platoon that I started to take huge listen interest and paying hard listen attention and memorizing where the sounds happened on the theatrical release in the cinema.
Empire is about the same I only heard the film I wasn’t listening in 1980 which is huge difference between hearing the film and listening, listening means I’m paying strict attention!
I have yet to get STAR WARS and Empire on first edition CLV laserdisc I wouldn’t be too surprised if the mix is light-years different in tone and panning and frequency response.
I know Empire is dogs dinner of mess in the SE 1997and the DVD and bluray that are not worth my time anymore. Only DOLBY originals give me the DOLBY flashback experience.
I have listened to the bluray and SIGH what a waste of my listen time. Lucas owes me £100,000billion-trillion
for wasting my listening time. Do not buy the bluray its flawed and imperfect with that lousy dts hd master audio and even Han shoots louder now WTF! The blast has been made louder but Han no longer pans first in Jedi so don’t bother with. Sooner or later I might just give the STAR WARS box-set bluray to someone for free just to get it out of my sight.
I have the early letterbox USA CLV version of Return of the Jedi (1983-1990) and I’m sure glad I picked that up years ago for £15.00 well worth it for serious DOLBY Jedi listening!
So is there any one else that takes listening seriously that has all the STAR WARS films on Laserdisc and can do some listen to STAR WARS 1977 I know the effects have been boasted and enhanced and a few new sound effects that sound okay but I prefer original DOLBY vintage.
I have STAR WARS on very early Laserdisc PAL UK analogue DOLBY STEREO and it does sound so choice but the sound effects sound narrow across the fronts in the CAV THX later versions it tends to expand and breath outwards with solid anchored centre DME, but its not the true 1977 DOLBY original.
I think maybe STAR WARS CAV is 95% original and that’s not good enough for vintage collectors
I have to listen to Empire again on an earlier NTSC USA Laserdisc to, say, yes that is how it should have been right up to the bluray with white snow!