Flash Gordon (1980)

The screenshots are up on caps-a-holic.  Overall, the UHD BD looks better than the standard BDs, although some shots look overly bright or otherwise odd; doubtless that's partly a result of the tonemapping.  In respect of the audio, we'd probably have favored the LD PCM anyway, so it's kind of a wash.

[SilverWook]

I watched the 4K version and it looks amazing. A truly great release in terms of video.
The audio is weird. Voices come out of all channels. This is with 5.1 and 2.0 mix on the disc.
Was this always like this?

As in extreme sound panning relative to what side of the screen a character is standing on? It would suck if they botched the mix somehow. Anybody got an old Discovision or the 1985 pan and scan copy to compare audio?

[bendermac]

As in extreme sound panning relative to what side of the screen a character is standing on? It would suck if they botched the mix somehow. Anybody got an old Discovision or the 1985 pan and scan copy to compare audio?

No panning of the voices. It just comes out of every channel.

[NeonBible]

No panning of the voices. It just comes out of every channel.

I wonder if there is a difference between the Studio Canal and Arrow audio.

[bendermac]

Afaik they have the exact same transfer. The SC 4K has all the extras, while Arrow is bare bones. The extras are all on the Arrow BD.

[SpaceBlackKnight]

As for dialog coming out of every channel (even on the 2.0), that could be how it was mixed. Arrow said they restored the 2.0 stereo from the Dolby Stereo LRCS element and pitch corrected the StudioCanal supplied 5.1 remix. There was a rumor that Flash Gordon was initially mixed in mono (like Creepshow was before Warner picked it up and insisted on a Dolby Stereo mix in the final cut) due to the cheapness of producer Dino De Laurentiis. But when ether Universal or EMI stepped in, they wanted a stereo mix so the Queen music would be more immersive and make it the next big Star Wars. I imagine this stereo mix was hastily created prior to premiere, and had the mono elements such as the dialog stems funneled through all channels.

[BDgeek]

I watched the 4K version and it looks amazing. A truly great release in terms of video.
The audio is weird. Voices come out of all channels. This is with 5.1 and 2.0 mix on the disc.
Was this always like this?

I just watched the Studio Canal UHD and the PQ is indeed fabulous!

After so many years of bad transfers are pure DNR wack jobs, I can't believe how insanely goods the movie looks now.

I can't comment on the audio portion as my receiver died during an update. So I had to manage with TV speakers for now.

[captainsolo]

The new release is stunning. I picked up the Arrow which has more extras but had to get the BD set because I’m not 4k set up yet.

I had to review it and not turn up to my normal volume levels so at first a few bits sounded weird but it was nice to have the original 2.0 mix back. Later on I got to do a closer comparison and found that there is indeed leakage into the surround.
It’s a consistent murmuring of all dialogue with certain pieces coming out much louder. So it affects certain scenes worse than others. The 5.1 had the same issue surprisingly. If you turn your system to low and put your ear to a surround you’ll hear all the leakage-but it’s not one of those truly awful leaky tracks that happened on bad mixes back in the day.

Ultimately this leakage should not be there. The letterbox LD is the same 2.0 audio but has everything locked to the center and fronts. I did extensive comparisons and the 2.0 audio is the same track doesn't have that full lock to the front. It also has a little high end roll off so the LD has some slight hiss and high end distortion. He LD is a touch more dynamic too as the new audio is a bit louder.

As otherwise this is an astounding release and one I dreamed of I wrote into arrow to ask about the audio issue. I’m sure this was all provided by Studio Canal who did the new master so I don’t know how this happened.

Lastly I have noticed the LD and even the USA bd are darker in color tone so this new release feels a bit weird. I think universal always used some kind of US IP which had a darker look tonit whereas the brighter European releases and now this new 4k version comes off of the negative.

[tjmackey]

Is it odd to anyone else that the main menu for the disc is completely silent? (unless there's something off with my player...)

It just feels wrong for a movie like FLASH GORDON

[professorwho]

It's supposed to be silent. If I had to guess, it's so that the iconic "FLASH AHHH AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" doesn't blast through the menu before one watches the film.