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Bad editing in E.T.


Nemesis

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I listened to the 2002 version of E.T. and when the track 19 - E.T. Is Alive! came it has a horrible editing job at 2:26. It sounds really bad if you know the cue. Thankfully the 1996 version has the cue as it should be.

Why should anyone do such a mix?!

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Yeah or Through the Flames.

Or that awful jump during Yoda's theme in the ESB end credits, and then again a little later on the same thing happens during Han and Leia's theme.

Crude stuff.

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I've heard worse.

Where?

Sure, if you don't know how it should sound then it doesn't jump at your face. But it's like the best moment is cutted out, the silence before the crescendo.

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I've heard worse.

Where?

Sure, if you don't know how it should sound then it doesn't jump at your face. But it's like the best moment is cutted out, the silence before the crescendo.

cutted?

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I've heard worse.

Where?

Sure, if you don't know how it should sound then it doesn't jump at your face. But it's like the best moment is cutted out, the silence before the crescendo.

cutted?

The way it's etited the short moment of silence before the crescendo starts is missing, that's why I think it sounds like it's cutted out.

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How do we know they weren't Williams authorised edits, also?

Listening to Desert Chase, it's hard to fathom Williams authorised similarly awful edits. They sound like the CD has jumped or skipped somewhere along the way during the mastering process.

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How do we know they weren't Williams authorised edits, also?

Listening to Desert Chase, it's hard to fathom Williams authorised similarly awful edits. They sound like the CD has jumped or skipped somewhere along the way during the mastering process.

Williams is simply deaf to his own greatness. He has to be thick in order to edit out what is arguably the most suspenseful moment in the track.

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Luckily, some edits are easily fixed, such as those in ESB. (There are a number of bad or imprecise edits in that score, actually.) Even the terribly jarring edit out of the Yoda's theme insert in the end credits can be mended with excellent results. I've also fixed the sloppy segues into the end credits, out of the main title, and between a number of other cues.

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I've heard worse.

Where?

Sure, if you don't know how it should sound then it doesn't jump at your face. But it's like the best moment is cutted out, the silence before the crescendo.

cutted?

The way it's etited the short moment of silence before the crescendo starts is missing, that's why I think it sounds like it's cutted out.

it isn't that but....."cutted"? don't you mean cut? because the word "cutted" is not in the dictionary, much like "worser" is not

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Are these edits in the 2cd version of ESB?

Yep. The ones I'm talking about are supposed to be edits, but they just didn't edit them very well. When they were overlaying the start of one cue over the end of the cue before it, they tended to be a little late - and the one in the end credits sounds really jarring, too. Again, though, these can mostly be corrected, fortunately.

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I don't know, I don't sit there listening for errors on my CDs.

I'm listening to hear the music, not to nitpick every production to death.

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I don't listen for errors or edits, I can just hear them. The ones listed in this thread are obvious ones. The ESB finale, Brother and Sister, E.T. is Alive!, Through the Flames, Desert Chase album arrangement.

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I don't know, I don't sit there listening for errors on my CDs.

I'm listening to hear the music, not to nitpick every production to death.

Mark, when you know a track of music in and out since 18 years it's just obvious when something bad comes along.

I tried exactly that what you mentioned. I sat on the couch closed my eyes and listened to the last few cues of E.T., I listened to music...until this ugly edit came.

This is not the Batman thread at FSM...

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This thread spurred me to revisit the album edit of "Desert Chase" as presented on the Concord release--I remembered it being bad, but it's truly atrocious. 4:46 not only cuts out some of the best material of the freakin' track, but it sounds unnatural as all get out. Oh, and the cut at 5:20 is a real charmer. I just don't get it.

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I could understand maybe if they needed to compress the track down to fit on record and editing technology wasn't as sophisticated, but it sounds like absolute crap. And there's little excuse for it to have been re-released that way. Did Williams even listen to that track and really not have a problem presenting his music that way?

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Didn't said this Laurence Bouzerau (doesn't remember if this is his correct name) guy in an interview that the music as presented in the concorde box is absolutely what Williams wanted to be presented?

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There was a FSM article that I guess went into detail on the subject, but I never read it. From what I understand, around the time Indy IV came out, it was decided to re-release the soundtracks to the trilogy. Originally, the plan was to do a straight reissue of the original albums. I guess that's what Williams wanted. Can you imagine, the old Temple of Doom or Raiders? But then it was soundtrack producer Laurent Bouzereau that pushed for expanding the soundtracks with unreleased material. There are numerous weird signs. I mean, the track "Marcus is Captured/To Berlin" has Williams' soundtrack editing fingerprints all over it.

Also, disc 5 is like an afterthought, in a cardboard slip that is a tight squeeze in the box. The contents of the set were also not detailed for the longest time, even though we knew a set was coming. ROTLA leaked before the set was released with an alternate "Indy Rides the Statue" that was not included. But this leaked disc was how we knew the album version of Desert Chase would be featured. The name also changed, I think, from The Complete Soundtrack Collection to just Soundtracks Collection. Finally, the set has been designated as "limited edition". I have no idea what that means since it's been widely available for years now. It's all a conspiracy and Williams has to have been involved.

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It's all marketing bollocks. If the collection was actually produced by Williams (as his osts usually are) then I would believe the claim he was very specific about what would be included and how it would be presented. Honestly though, I don't think Williams would've particularly cared either way, so long as it wasn't a complete mess.

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There was a FSM article that I guess went into detail on the subject, but I never read it. From what I understand, around the time Indy IV came out, it was decided to re-release the soundtracks to the trilogy. Originally, the plan was to do a straight reissue of the original albums. I guess that's what Williams wanted. Can you imagine, the old Temple of Doom or Raiders? But then it was soundtrack producer Laurent Bouzereau that pushed for expanding the soundtracks with unreleased material. There are numerous weird signs. I mean, the track "Marcus is Captured/To Berlin" has Williams' soundtrack editing fingerprints all over it.

Also, disc 5 is like an afterthought, in a cardboard slip that is a tight squeeze in the box. The contents of the set were also not detailed for the longest time, even though we knew a set was coming. ROTLA leaked before the set was released with an alternate "Indy Rides the Statue" that was not included. But this leaked disc was how we knew the album version of Desert Chase would be featured. The name also changed, I think, from The Complete Soundtrack Collection to just Soundtracks Collection. Finally, the set has been designated as "limited edition". I have no idea what that means since it's been widely available for years now. It's all a conspiracy and Williams has to have been involved.

Those confusingly worded Concord press releases added a lot of tension and excitement to the board. I remember when the Raiders expanded tracklist was released...well that was a good day.

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I don't know, I don't sit there listening for errors on my CDs.

I'm listening to hear the music, not to nitpick every production to death.

So am I, but every once in a while an edit comes along that screams "listen to me!", and it does have a jarring effect. What I don't get is why cues should be reversed on C.D.s ("Hook-napped", "Trapped Lovers", etc.).

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If you are listening to the music to re-live the film, then yes it can be a problem.

so if i am not re-living the film a bunch of skips (and i mean skips not when pieces are edited out but when the two takes are lousily edited together [brother and Sister]) wont bother me?

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I listened to the two E.T. cues (Expanded and 20th Anniversary) and oh my god! Such silly things you all argue with. I thought with "badly editing", you can hear the same issue like the album edit of 'Desert Chase'. If you curse about this one, I can understand, but that one above?

OK, you can hear a short click, but in that case that could be other reasons (errors in the mastering, e.g.). If you know the unedited cue you will notice that it is an edit. But without the comparison?

And I also want to know where those "worse" edits in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and RETURN OF THE JEDI are. In THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, a user said the end title, but I cannot hear a worse edit as same as 'Brother and Sister' from RETURN OF THE JEDI.

I think many people overdo with such of "finickiness". There are more bad issues in the "history of errors in recordings". Listen to such classical recordings, where a piece or parts of instruments copied and pasted to repeat movements. Or an example in film music: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK from Concord have the wrong speed.

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In THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, a user said the end title, but I cannot hear a worse edit as same as 'Brother and Sister' from RETURN OF THE JEDI.

are you saying there is no edit that is as bad as the edit in Brother and Sister?

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In THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, a user said the end title, but I cannot hear a worse edit as same as 'Brother and Sister' from RETURN OF THE JEDI.

are you saying there is no edit that is as bad as the edit in Brother and Sister?

Honestly, I cannot hear any edit. Neither in the end title of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK nor in 'Brother and Sister' of RETURN OF THE JEDI. If anyone can give me audio files (unedited and edited), where I can compare it, then maybe. But it sounds great!

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In THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, a user said the end title, but I cannot hear a worse edit as same as 'Brother and Sister' from RETURN OF THE JEDI.

are you saying there is no edit that is as bad as the edit in Brother and Sister?

Honestly, I cannot hear any edit. Neither in the end title of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK nor in 'Brother and Sister' of RETURN OF THE JEDI. If anyone can give me audio files (unedited and edited), where I can compare it, then maybe. But it sounds great!

this is a fixed version GoodMusician made (1:50 is where the skip/edit used to be)

and this is the original (1:50 is the skip/edit)
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In THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, a user said the end title, but I cannot hear a worse edit as same as 'Brother and Sister' from RETURN OF THE JEDI.

are you saying there is no edit that is as bad as the edit in Brother and Sister?

Honestly, I cannot hear any edit. Neither in the end title of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK nor in 'Brother and Sister' of RETURN OF THE JEDI. If anyone can give me audio files (unedited and edited), where I can compare it, then maybe. But it sounds great!

this is a fixed version GoodMusician made (1:50 is where the skip/edit used to be)

and this is the original (1:50 is the skip/edit)

Ah, thanks! Now I can hear it. But I thought this one is an error of the master tape due to condition reasons. But I think it is not bad after all. Only a slight problem. I listen to recordings with more bad errors and I enjoy it, because of the condition of the tapes.

So I say like Douglass Fake: "That's a thing I can deal with!"

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Listen to both tracks - Faleel gave me - again (regarding RETURN OF THE JEDI), I realized that this one is not an edit. The tracks are exactly the same till 1:50, note by note, so I believe (!) that is really an error of the masters. You may notice that the Anthology were used another master tapes, so the 2CD Special Edition has other sources. So that is a problem of the analog 2-track tapes, if I remember that correctly. And why it should be an edit at this point, the entire cue is recorded without any edit.

By then, I am against your opinion that this one is an edit. Sorry. If you have proof, do not hesitate to convince me!

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