Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

[MichaelB]

I did both of those titles so keep that in mind, but I run all incoming audio through detection for that sort of thing (and have the facility to fix it if necessary - but I've never had to use a de-crackle filter because the masters we're supplied have already had any such problems taken care of). That's almost certainly a setup issue.

That's very much my suspicion. The thing I most remember about Lifeforce is that it had a whopping dynamic range, especially on the 5.1 soundtrack - but although I had to play it very loud (since I have a standard volume setting for QC work), I remember being impressed by its clarity, especially given the film's age.

[manicsounds]

Reviewers should really post details of their setups!

The reviewer's setup

It's possibly a speaker problem, slightly blown out from playing too loudly.

[MichaelB]

I've emailed him with a précis of the above conversation.

[David M.]

Hmm, we could be usingthe same phrase to refer to different things. When people say "crackle" I personally think of the cracks and pops you get on a dusty vinyl record, for example. But if the reviewer is talking about the high frequency "rustling" sound you sometimes get, that'd be a different issue.

[MichaelB]

Going from his reply to me (which I've forwarded to you), I suspect you're right.

[antnield]

Invasion of the Body Snatchers - The Arrow Video Story.

[Finch]

Barndoor found the Amazon UK listing for the Arrow 4k.

[MichaelB]

I checked with Arrow as soon as their UHD release was announced and confirmed that this version will have the corrected audio as previously featured on their 2013 Blu-ray, but not featured on any US high-definition release that I'm aware of (MGM BD, Kino Lorber UHD).

The problem is that in the taxi scene, the radio has been accidentally muted so Don Siegel sounds as though he's talking to himself - but in both the Arrow versions it features the original two-way conversation.

[Finch]

The Arrow 4k loses the 2016 interviews from the Kino but gains corrected audio and a better encode. No contest.

4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original uncompressed stereo 2.0 and 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio sound
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary with director Philip Kaufman
Discussing the Pod, a panel conversation about Invasion of the Body Snatchers and invasion cinema featuring critic Kim Newman and filmmakers Ben Wheatley (Kill List) and Norman J. Warren (Satan's Slave)
Writing the Pod, an interview with Jack Seabrook, author of Stealing Through Time: On the Writings of Jack Finney about Finney's original novel The Body Snatchers
Re-Visitors from Outer Space: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Pod, a documentary on the making of the film featuring Philip Kaufman, Donald Sutherland, writer W.D. Richter and more
The Man Behind the Scream: The Sound Effects Pod, a look at the film's pioneering sound effects
The Invasion Will Be Televised: The Cinematography Pod, cinematographer Michael Chapman (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull) discusses the look of and influences on the visual style of the film
Practical Magic: The Special Effects Pod, a look at the creation of the special effects from the opening space sequence
Original theatrical trailer
Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
Six postcard-sized artcards
Illustrated collector's booklet featuring writing on the film by David Cairns and Charles Freund, and archival interviews with director Philip Kaufman and writer W.D. Richter
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella

Tony Stella art for regular LE:



Original poster for Arte Originale store exclusive:

[What A Disgrace]

Pretty content to just keep my Kino 4K and old Arrow booklet and disc.

[Ovader]

The Arrow 4k loses the 2016 interviews from the Kino but gains corrected audio and a better encode. No contest.

It also does not list from Arrow's blu-ray edition Dissecting the Pod: A new interview with Kaufman biographer Annette Insdorf.

[dwk]

I checked with Arrow as soon as their UHD release was announced and confirmed that this version will have the corrected audio as previously featured on their 2013 Blu-ray, but not featured on any US high-definition release that I'm aware of (MGM BD, Kino Lorber UHD).

The problem is that in the taxi scene, the radio has been accidentally muted so Don Siegel sounds as though he's talking to himself - but in both the Arrow versions it features the original two-way conversation.

Scream Factory's OOP Blu-ray apparently has the missing audio.

[Finch]

Limited Edition booklets have become very hit-and-miss for my liking after mixed experiences with some of Second Sight's deluxe releases and now Arrow's January and February releases of Carrie and Body Snatchers. I no longer have Arrow's 2013 BD to compare the writing in both booklets for Body Snatchers, but I liked the set report and the contemporary Kaufman interview that's reproduced in the new LE (they also made me want to track down Kaufman's earlier film The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid).

I don't regret getting the Body Snatchers LE for the booklet (whereas I wish I'd waited for Carrie's regular edition since I didn't care for the essay that opens that booklet and several other one page contributions aren't even really related to the film but some of DePalma's other works). I will say though that Arrow's QC team do not appear to have proof-read the Body Snatchers book very thoroughly as one person is left unidentified in one article (their name is missing) and another essay has a definite article duplicated in the same sentence. The font was also a bit too small to read comfortably.

I think at this point, Indicator are the only label whose LEs I'm still prepared to blind-buy for the booklets. Theirs are easily the most consistently strong in-print supplements.

[MichaelB]

It's worth noting - and this is unusual in my experience - that Indicator has an entirely separate team (Jeff Billington, Bethan Roberts) working on the booklets, with people like me who work on disc production only getting involved at the proofing stage. And the fact that the proofreaders (invariably plural) weren't involved with the editorial side of things means that they're much more likely to spot mistakes - speaking from long and rueful experience, if I proofread my own stuff, much too often I see what I want to be there rather than what actually is there.

[Adam X]

Does anyone happen to know if the AV for the new blu-ray release is in any way different to their 2013 disc? Arrow's listing for either format say nothing about the source.