Do any of my fellow message boarders own the UK ITV 10-disc set "The David Lean Collection"? It's a great set with remastered prints but I have noticed a problem with "The Sound Barrier", as the opening sequence has been recut and rather badly at that.
This is how the sequence has always played (sorry about the ad intro):
I've broken this down as follows (from sequence with resting soldiers):
Shot 1: reclining soldiers on cliffside turn to look up to sky Shot 2: plane flying over distant fields with Arnold's waltzing theme cued in on the soundtrack Shot 3: John Justin in cockpit Shot 4: direct view from cockpit as camera flies through clouds Shot 5: another shot of Justin as he begins to steer plane higher Shot 6: plane soars higher and higher and as it begins descent music stops Shot 7: new shot of plane diving Shot 8: shuddering sequence
But in the remastered version, the sequence has been altered to:
Shot 1 / Shot 6 / Shot 7 / Shot 2 (but minus introduction with plane over fields and so there is an abrupt start to the music) / Shot 3 / Shot 4 / Shot 5 / Shot 6 / Shot 7 (again!) / Shot 8
This means that the remastered print is missing the introductory footage from Shot 2, but also the flow of the music has been interrupted; instead of being one continuous sequence it is now split into two partially repeated segments with abrupt segues.
Do I possibly have a faulty copy or is this an error on the part of the restorers? I'd be very grateful to hear from anyone else who owns this DVD before I contact the BFI. Thanks!
Do any of my fellow message boarders own the UK ITV 10-disc set "The David Lean Collection"?
I don't own this 10-disc set, but in the past I've purchased Region 2 DVDs from Amazon.uk containing films I'd never see otherwise. Especially with classic/golden-age British films, the only way to hear the film scores of Alwyn, Malcolm Arnold, Frankel, Matyas Seiber, etc. is to buy the films on home video.
I own most if not all of the LP soundtracks of film music by Malcolm Arnold, and thanks to U.K. DVD I got to see a number of Arnold-scored items such as the 1955 THE NIGHT MY NUMBER CAME UP.
