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MINORITY REPORT (2002) - 2019 2CD Expanded Edition from La-La Land Records


Disco Stu

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On 10/25/2019 at 10:35 PM, The Five Tones said:

The restored OST edit of "A New Beginning" doesn't sound great by comparison; I can hear a bit of degradation there and it's obviously not a remix, so I'll probably hold onto the full audio rip of that track from the 2002 CD

I did a couple more A-B comparisons of the 2002 and 2019 versions of "A New Beginning" - I'm not an audiophile, just iMac audio w good Sennheiser phones alternating w a Denon sound system. I'm walking back my earlier comment above; what I thought was degradation is more likely instrument noise or vibrato interference, maybe too much gain on the strings, that is equally present in both versions. So, the 2019 doesn't appear to me to be an attempt at improvement and that might be by intention/requirement, but it's no worse than 2002. I'm sure it sounds better in 24/192 if it was scanned that way, but I'm not likely to hear that any time soon. Fwiw, it's a glorious cue and I've always adored that string tutti, so JW.

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2 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

That print on the disc looks quite bad.

It's half my bad photo and half the lighting. Plus, I've noticed prints on CDs vary in quality, but I don't really care much for that anymore, just as long as it plays/reads fine!

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7 minutes ago, Arpy said:

It's half my bad photo and half the lighting. Plus, I've noticed prints on CDs vary in quality, but I don't really care much for that anymore, just as long as it plays/reads fine!

 

Gotta be honest, I don't much care for the CDs anymore. 

 

Broken teeth, broken cases, scratched CDs, creased booklets... Who cares? The main thing is that the music plays fine. 

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I broke and ordered this over the weekend, along with Elfman's Mission: Impossible.  Didn't want to find myself in a holding pattern waiting for them to come back in stock, so I bit the bullet and spent the money.

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Oh man I dunno.  I was wowwed by the samples but after listening to the whole thing it leave a lot to be desired IMO

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Btw, the mix of A New Beginning in "Minority Report" (the original source material of the cue?) *does* sound better, at least to my ears... I should probably take a break from hearing it, though.

Also, the liner notes state: "'On the Run' begins with a tense, slithering line for strings and vibraphone." It's clearly marimba that is audible, which was an instrumental colour JW used again that year in Zam the Assassin and of course the opening of CMIYC. Vibes may have been played/recorded, perhaps with soft mallets, but if so they are covered and not identifiable as being present.

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12 hours ago, Arpy said:

I recently put on a series I had on DVD, because I bought it back in the day, and it was extremely noticeable just how different it was - grainy, blurry, lacking definition etc. 

 

The resolution/picture quality is one thing. But one of DVD's (and earlier formats') biggest fault hat was finally fixed by Blu-ray has always been the lack of 24 Hz playback. You had a choice between NTSC (3:2 pull down, i.e. very jerky pans) or PAL (4% speedup) - provided what you wanted to see was available in both formats and you had a choice at all.

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Had a quick listen through today, and it sounds ace, like it was recorded yesterday.

 

On the Run or 'Everybody Runs' on the OST is such a phenomenal cue! The way the tremelo strings become agitated as those synth voices begin to emerge is one of my favourite examples of Williams expressing a sense of impending danger or distress, underscore which is so on-point and detailed. Then, as Anderton jumps from car to car, there's this sprightly action passage that sparks up which is the highlight of the cue, restating itself as the character makes another jump. I don't know how to describe it, it sounds surprisingly modern and equal parts suspense and adventure.

 

The one thing I miss from the Everybody Runs track is how Williams presents it on the album (stitching it with another cue from elsewhere in the score presumably) so that the action culminates in a stinger-like moment where the orchestra and synth clenches on for this protracted, heart-stoppping period - it definitely makes for a more satisfying conclusion to the cue.

 

 

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On the original album, he segued 3M1 Anderton On The Run into 2M2 Agatha Springs Forward (skipping the opening 31 seconds of that cue) to create "Everybody Runs".

 

On the new release, 2M2 is the first part of "Agatha and the Containment Center" (where it's combined with 2M4A Containment Center), while 3M1 is in it's own track titled "On The Run".

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On 10/27/2019 at 3:16 PM, Jay said:

 

What I read was that they applied a bleach bypass filter for the theatrical release which was present on the initial DVD release, but then they made a new 4K master in 2009 that didn't do that, and that master was used for the Blu Ray. 

 

 

Seems like a pretty big difference.

 

44B470BC-267C-4421-A7D4-1107BF284FFE.jpeg

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So some people prefer the theatrical/DVD coloring, and some people prefer the Blu Ray coloring?

Which will Spielberg go with next time it's remastered?  Hmmm

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3 hours ago, Jay said:

I decided to whip up a quick breakdown of how each album was assembled.

Thanks for your work as always Jay.

Related, not surprisingly given both expansions came out this year, I'm hearing the two passages below (1:22 and 0:55) colliding together while I'm running around at work. Something about where he pitches those wandering chromatic unison lines while throwing in asymmetrical accents:

 

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4 hours ago, Jay said:

8 Everybody Runs! (3:10)

  • 0:00-2:18 = 3M1 Anderton On The Run
  • 2:18-end = 2M2 Agatha Springs Forward [opening 0:31 removed]

That might be one of the most flawless segues of all time. You don't even hear it, when you know that it's there.

 

I like the idea to put the original cues in the main program instead of the film versions which often represent a compromise between the director, the cutter and the composer. That was the one thing that bothered me with the Harry Potter set. The superior and better integrated originals where dumped in the bonus section (Lupin's Transformation and Saving Buckbeak).

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33 minutes ago, Brundlefly said:

That might be one of the most flawless segues of all time. You don't even hear it, when you know that it's there.

 

To each their own; I find it to be a pretty poorly done edit/segue.

 

 

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I like the idea to put the original cues in the main program instead of the film versions which often represent a compromise between the director, the cutter and the composer.

 

Yea, totally!  I thought it was interesting here that for the two cues Spielberg had Williams significantly rewrite - the opening minute of Image of Sean and the middle minute-and-a-half of Remembering Sean - MM put the revisions into the main program, and, in fact, both already had their revisions included in the OST.  But for the other cues where the revisions were more ordinary - 3 drum pounds instead of the original more intricate opening of The Crime, slightly different percussion opening to In The Tub - we got those in the bonus tracks and Williams' original intentions in the main program.  I like that.  (For Schubert Collage and The Man In The Window the differences are so slight it doesn't matter to me which version went where)

 

 

Quote

That was the one thing that bothered me with the Harry Potter set. The superior and better integrated originals where dumped in the bonus section (Lupin's Transformation and Saving Buckbeak).

 

You really think so? I much prefer the version of Lupin's Tranformation with the General Grievous-esque pouding drums ending and I'm glad that's in the main program and the original pizzacato ending is relegated to the bonus tracks

 

For Saving Buckbeak you're talking about the two different endings for the bats right?  I think I again prefer the main program version over the bonus track version

 

With HPCOS I do prefer the killer originally intended ending of Petrified Colin heard in the bonus tracks over the main program / film version though for sure

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58 minutes ago, Brundlefly said:

I like the idea to put the original cues in the main program instead of the film versions which often represent a compromise between the director, the cutter and the composer. That was the one thing that bothered me with the Harry Potter set. The superior and better integrated originals where dumped in the bonus section (Lupin's Transformation and Saving Buckbeak).

 

Ah, I'm the opposite to you. As long as 'film version' doesn't just mean edited/tracked/looped, i.e. it's a different recording or composition, I think the film version should always be in the main program, and any initial versions should be bonus tracks. For me, a release ceases to be 'the score' when you're hearing a notably different composition than what's in the film.

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8 minutes ago, Richard Penna said:

 

Ah, I'm the opposite to you. As long as 'film version' doesn't just mean edited/tracked/looped, i.e. it's a different recording or composition, I think the film version should always be in the main program, and any initial versions should be bonus tracks. For me, a release ceases to be 'the score' when you're hearing a notably different composition than what's in the film.

It really creates problems when the film version is really just a combo of a original and revised version (like Skateboard Chase from BTTF etc. )

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True, and really, it's not something to get hung up on. As long as the revised version is there somewhere, it doesn't really matter what order it's in.

 

Interesting that Brundlefly considers film versions as 'compromise' versions between the composer, director, etc. While it may by definition not be the composer's preferred way to score the moment, it's still what ended up in the film. And this is where it largely comes down to individual approaches to soundtracks - if I buy a score, I want to hear at least the composition on which the music in the film was based (allowing for editing/looping, etc, and while preferred, it doesn't have to be the exact recording). An extreme non-compliant example would be CMIYC, which according to the analysis on JWFan is filled with re-recordings that don't match the film. In that case, you're not actually buying the score .

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In the continuous mixes I made for HP3 I edited most film versions and original cues together (Saving Buckbeak for example has the original ending followed by the bats cue, while for Lupin’s Transformation I put the percussion ending first, then the pizzicato part). Not the slickest editing in the world, but it works for me ‘cause I like every version. Plus, it’s not like they didn’t put alternates in the same track in the boxset. 

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3 hours ago, Jay said:

You really think so? I much prefer the version of Lupin's Tranformation with the General Grievous-esque pouding drums ending and I'm glad that's in the main program and the original pizzacato ending is relegated to the bonus tracks

 

For Saving Buckbeak you're talking about the two different endings for the bats right?  I think I again prefer the main program version over the bonus track version

You have to admit that the film version of Lupin's Transformation is much less original and less in line with the rest of the score. In addition to that, we've got a pretty obvious tempo change and the weird overlay in the first half of the track. That is enough inconvenience for me to yield the floor to the original version.

 

The film version of Saving Buckbeak also has a noticeable tempo change, but the main problem here is the editing flub on the LLL set. Too bad the track is connected to the two preceding cues, so that you cannot just swap it out.

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Yes, not only does the overlay sound jarring, it's slightly off from the true film version. Such a weird editing decision they made to shoehorn the theme in. It sounds gorgeous without the overlay.

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Double Trouble Longbox Edition (Ships With Free 12" Wand) :)
 

4 hours ago, Gruesome Son of a Bitch said:

The eyeball track reminds me of March of the Villains.

It's totally there. Anne Lively also feels so ANH gothic just after the voice, with the brooding horns and bass. Almost a jarring callback in a postmodern score.

 

2 hours ago, Richard Penna said:

And this is where it largely comes down to individual approaches to soundtracks - if I buy a score, I want to hear at least the composition on which the music in the film was based (allowing for editing/looping, etc, and while preferred, it doesn't have to be the exact recording). An extreme non-compliant example would be CMIYC, which according to the analysis on JWFan is filled with re-recordings that don't match the film. In that case, you're not actually buying the score .

Exactly. I'd generally always prefer the film version over a rerecord which can sometimes lose some of the narrative encoded from the film, and the tension of the scoring session. It's not that it has to be one way or another, but what is most interesting musically... for me, anyway. I always liked the delayed crash cymbal/bass accent in the LP version of "E.T. Alone" ("Abandoned and Pursued") for example, because it worked better as an answer to the peak in the brass melody than playing simultaneously with it. At least JW seemed to think so. 

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4 hours ago, King Mark said:

My neighbor delivered it to me today because the mailman put it in the wrong mail box 

Now it's time for you to update your avatar!

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4 hours ago, King Mark said:

My neighbor delivered it to me today because the mailman put it in the wrong mail box 

 

What if the neighbour wasn't a good guy and decided to keep it for himself? 

 

Is the mailman to blame or the neighbour!? 

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I remember one time my package with some books didn't come. I waited and waited. Turns out the mailman (or the post) delivered it to the wrong apartment, and the guy living there just forgot all about it... 

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