North By Northwest Blu-ray left out the Mono track

The original picture looks great on blu--in part because of VistaVision....

 

Great, pic, Benjamin -- that's not one I've seen before. Big, big camera!

 

Cool! I guess it was because MGM never used Vista and figured mono was fine to stick with.

I just still cannot understand why people want to remix film soundtracks so badly. And on top of that compress them so badly that the soundstage, ambiance, effects etc. begin to get lost. If HD is the big step forward, why can't we finally get away from lossy Dolby Digital?

I have never heard a 5.1 remix of a mono soundtrack that ever improved upon the original. Never. The only time this might actually improve sound is remixing Dolby SR to a discrete 5.1. But even in that case, most remixes aren't done well.

If the film was released with a certain track, then don't jettison it! It makes perfect sense.

 

This movie does sound good with the 5.1, but I was curious to hear the mono track

 

I watched To Catch a Thief on Blu Ray last night and preferred the mono track to the stereo track.
And the movie looked amazing.

 

If it's an American Hollywood studio picture, any creative changes are covered by the Director's Guild of America contract, which forbids "substantial changes" after the film's release. That specifically includes recutting the film and also colorizing a B&W film. Interestingly, it's assumed it does not cover remixing a mono film into stereo or 5.1 surround. I'm not sure where they sit with 3D, but the upcoming Wizard of Oz reissue in 3D does bother me just on general principles.

Where it gets complicated is if all the filmmakers are dead. The DGA has threatened to sue any studios that attempt to change films covered by the contract. And there are also many cases (i.e., George Lucas, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, Michael Mann, etc.) where directors have gone back and made major changes in their own films, with mixed results. The studio owns the film in terms of copyright and finance, but the director has a kind of ownership of the film as well in terms of artistic rights.