30th Anniversary 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray

[Kamdan]

People have mentioned Superman: The Movie. The original theatrical edition has never truly been released on home video since VHS or maybe Laserdisk. That's it.

The recent 4K Blu-ray of Superman: The Movie is the theatrical cut and included for the first time is the original 1978 sound mix in 5.1. The DVD and Blu-ray only had the theatrical audio in 2.0. I believe it is the default audio as well due to the Atmos system not being widely available for most consumers.

Perhaps Batman '89's upcoming release will have a similar set up where the new audio must be selected to be heard. It's just a shame that Superman didn't get a new Blu-ray with the new transfer and was only repackaged with the old theatrical cut Blu-ray. The 4K release of the Batman films should include new Blu-rays with the new transfers, which is another sign of how better care is given to Batman than Superman with Warners, who didn't bother to make 4K versions of the Superman sequels.

[thecolorsblend]

People have mentioned Superman: The Movie. The original theatrical edition has never truly been released on home video since VHS or maybe Laserdisk. That's it.

The recent 4K Blu-ray of Superman: The Movie is the theatrical cut and included for the first time is the original 1978 sound mix in 5.1. The DVD and Blu-ray only had the theatrical audio in 2.0. I believe it is the default audio as well due to the Atmos system not being widely available for most consumers.

Not so. It's the extended version which has been recut to align with the timing of the theatrical version. But it's not truly the theatrical version. Because the theatrical version occasionally had shots of Superman wearing a sort of aqua body suit (to create contrast against the blue screen). It's a good facsimile of the theatrical version, I agree. But it's not truly the theatrical version.

[Kamdan]

Not so. It's the extended version which has been recut to align with the timing of the theatrical version. But it's not truly the theatrical version. Because the theatrical version occasionally had shots of Superman wearing a sort of aqua body suit (to create contrast against the blue screen). It's a good facsimile of the theatrical version, I agree. But it's not truly the theatrical version.

Correctly retiming the color of the suit is a decent improvement, unlike changing the sound effects. That's one of the advantages of remastering. It was decent how the Star Wars films redone blue screen work to get rid of matte boxes and lines that was a distraction in the original, as were Superman's turquoise suit. I was hoping they would at least recolor The Joker's suit at the end so that it was its proper purple instead of magenta.

Most remastering of older films alter the colors in some ways to appear more naturalistic, so unless you get the actual film print, you're not always seeing the film as it was originally presented.

[thecolorsblend]

Not so. It's the extended version which has been recut to align with the timing of the theatrical version. But it's not truly the theatrical version. Because the theatrical version occasionally had shots of Superman wearing a sort of aqua body suit (to create contrast against the blue screen). It's a good facsimile of the theatrical version, I agree. But it's not truly the theatrical version.

Correctly retiming the color of the suit is a decent improvement, unlike changing the sound effects. That's one of the advantages of remastering. It was decent how the Star Wars films redone blue screen work to get rid of matte boxes and lines that was a distraction in the original, as were Superman's turquoise suit. I was hoping they would at least recolor The Joker's suit at the end so that it was its proper purple instead of magenta.

Most remastering of older films alter the colors in some ways to appear more naturalistic, so unless you get the actual film print, you're not always seeing the film as it was originally presented.

The blue body suit did not come about from remastering. It came from intentional changes made over two decades later.

The theatrical cut of STM occasionally featured an aqua body suit. The theatrical versions of the Star Wars trilogy occasionally featured matte boxes/lines.

I want the theatrical editions of all those movies. The soundtrack is only the tip of the iceberg.

[Kamdan]

The blue body suit did not come about from remastering. It came from intentional changes made over two decades later.

The theatrical cut of STM occasionally featured an aqua body suit. The theatrical versions of the Star Wars trilogy occasionally featured matte boxes/lines.

I want the theatrical editions of all those movies. The soundtrack is only the tip of the iceberg.

Asking for your idea of "theatrical editions" of films opens it up to display defects the filmmakers never wanted you to notice. You can't pause the movie while it's playing at a screening to notice changes in color or a problem with an effect. Today's high definition transfers aren't forgiving on old processes of achieving special effects. Even make-up on the actors is now more noticeable than ever.

[Paul (ral)]

Just back from a 4K screening. You know what...I didn't hate the sound changes - but a review is in order.

[BatmanFurst]

Just back from a 4K screening. You know what...I didn't hate the sound changes - but a review is in order.

I liked the majority of the changes as well.

[Slash Man]

Asking for your idea of "theatrical editions" of films opens it up to display defects the filmmakers never wanted you to notice. You can't pause the movie while it's playing at a screening to notice changes in color or a problem with an effect. Today's high definition transfers aren't forgiving on old processes of achieving special effects. Even make-up on the actors is now more noticeable than ever.

It's a touchy subject because there's even minor changes made between theatrical releases and home releases, minor tweaks not even meant to be consciously picked up. Then again, most film changes are meant to keep the viewer in the movie as opposed to taking them out. Star Wars offers an exception with the special editions; it was meant to draw viewers to new CGI enhancements for the sake of the anniversary, but then these versions became the norm.

Nevertheless, something that stuck with me when watching restoration artists touching up old Universal films is that the goal was to make it look like opening day. That should be the top priority of presenting any film in home video; without exception, the version of the film presented in theaters is the version that struck a chord with audiences, garnered the acclaim, and is remembered historically.

[Kamdan]

Reviewers with early screeners report that the original 5.1 mix is available on the 4K disc and the Blu-ray disc included is the new transfer with the new audio mix and the original.

[Kamdan]

Here's a clip featuring the new transfer and sound mix.