DVD releases... 101 question....

[joker-scar]

Okay I know some DVD’s are held up for legal reasons, ie. Wonder Years...because of the music rights...I get that...but why do they (film company’s) continue to fiddle and muck with new releases of old films? The whole changing the “terrorist” line from BTTF, I understand...I DON”T agree with it but I understand the cowardly “politically correct” stance that those corporations take, but why...why do they muck with a films original score or sound effects? This is but one example there are many out there, ie. DIRTY HARRY...they have since replaced the original MP-40 submachine gun sound effect that was originally in the film with some newer sounding element...why? It always throws me off and out of the movie every time I see it. If it is a “Directors Cut” with new scenes, etc then I can see and expect changes, but if it isn’t....WHY DO THEY DO IT ???????? Anyone out can answer this one? :confused

 

[exoray]

WHY DO THEY DO IT ????????

Because it's their property and they can do what they want to do with it...

Just like if you choose to paint the outside of your house a different color then it was originally, while all your neighbors go "Why did they do that!" the answer is simple as the owner you wanted to...

 

[joker-scar]

Because it's their property and they can do what they want to do with it...

I am looking for an answer...not a smart-ass comment!

 

[Scapey]

That, sadly, IS the answer, though

 

[dualedge]

I don't think he meant it as a smart-ass reply. Honestly, I think that IS the reason they mess with stuff which can be pretty pathetic. Star Wars gets picked on the most because it's the perfect example. Lucas literally... I do mean literally... continued making edits and changes from the day it was released in '77. If you go back to really early versions and slightly later versions, there were changes even back then.

The THX rereleases from over a decade ago were not 100% "original" theatrical versions even then... Don't get me wrong, I'm not even saying that's a bad thing (I don't mind most of those changes at all). But despite what any of us feel about it - like it or hate it - it IS his property.

The same can be said for ANY movie. Somebody owns it and all it takes is one guy with the authority to not like one little thing to demand it has to be changed. Maybe for whoever owns or is in charge of Dirty Harry, that particular sound effect wasn't "perfect" in their opinion so they just had it changed.

I don't think it's always an issue with laws or conflicting copyrights but sometimes it's just as simple as whoever has the final say, simply LIKES it better some other way.

For better or worse, that's just life. :unsure

 

[joker-scar]

Re: DVD releases... 101 question....
I don't think he meant it as a smart-ass reply. Honestly, I think that IS the reason they mess with stuff which can be pretty pathetic. Star Wars gets picked on the most because it's the perfect example. Lucas literally... I do mean literally... continued making edits and changes from the day it was released in '77. If you go back to really early versions and slightly later versions, there were changes even back then.

The THX rereleases from over a decade ago were not 100% "original" theatrical versions even then... Don't get me wrong, I'm not even saying that's a bad thing (I don't mind most of those changes at all). But despite what any of us feel about it - like it or hate it - it IS his property.

The same can be said for ANY movie. Somebody owns it and all it takes is one guy with the authority to not like one little thing to demand it has to be changed. Maybe for whoever owns or is in charge of Dirty Harry, that particular sound effect wasn't "perfect" in their opinion so they just had it changed.

I don't think it's always an issue with laws or conflicting copyrights but sometimes it's just as simple as whoever has the final say, simply LIKES it better some other way.

For better or worse, that's just life.

I get the whole Lucas mucking with his brain-child thing....but Star Wars is still, can't believe it...but still is a money making machine after 34 years. Dirty Harry is an old film that nobody but fans and film buffs care about, I include myself in that fan base. So my questions was/is... what would be the reason for someone to be paid, because someone did to re-do the effects, go through the film and put in the time and money to change something that was fine for decades. All the old VHS prints and up to the laser disc release was the orig sound track. Warner bros would not spend the money on this task unless they are going to see a profit from it. re=packaging old films is a tried and true game in home video, just ask james cameron and the hundreds of versions of T2, but i just don't see the corporate thinking in spending money to change one sound effect. my question was why after decades, they change a one sound effect. nothing else was touched. I get the idea that effect wasn't "perfect" to who ever...but it seems there might be more than just that reason. maybe it was a narrow question...but i felt there might be a better answer than ....because they can.

 

[Solo4114]

Because it's their property and they can do what they want to do with it...

Just like if you choose to paint the outside of your house a different color then it was originally, while all your neighbors go "Why did they do that!" the answer is simple as the owner you wanted to...

"...and if I want to paint my house Jar-Jar, then..."




Anyway, that's probably part of it, but part of it might also be for a few other reasons:

- The source material degraded too much. The MP-40 sound effect might not have been workable or available for a "remastered" edition. Like, maybe the original sound effect didn't have enough bass to take advantage of a subwoofer, and adding bass made it sound...wrong, where as the other sound effects in the scene WERE right, but incorporating that sound effect would've stuck out like a sore thumb.

- By changing things ever so slightly, they renew the copyright on the product. Copyright applies to a particular expression, fixed in a tangible medium, of some copyrightable material. If you do a "remastered" edition, you may have changed enough to legally extend the copyright of the work or at least create a new "derivative work" of the original which will itself be subject to copyright. I'm not sure if this has been litigated (I think it hasn't), but I'd bet a court would uphold the argument that the new format with a few minor tweaks counts as a new work or a new derivative work. Thus, they have, in essence, a whole new property, so even if the old film is rapidly approaching the public domain, THIS version of the film is new enough to be protected for another 70 years.

 

[joker-scar]

- The source material degraded too much. The MP-40 sound effect might not have been workable or available for a "remastered" edition. Like, maybe the original sound effect didn't have enough bass to take advantage of a subwoofer, and adding bass made it sound...wrong, where as the other sound effects in the scene WERE right, but incorporating that sound effect would've stuck out like a sore thumb.

- By changing things ever so slightly, they renew the copyright on the product. Copyright applies to a particular expression, fixed in a tangible medium, of some copyrightable material. If you do a "remastered" edition, you may have changed enough to legally extend the copyright of the work or at least create a new "derivative work" of the original which will itself be subject to copyright. I'm not sure if this has been litigated (I think it hasn't), but I'd bet a court would uphold the argument that the new format with a few minor tweaks counts as a new work or a new derivative work. Thus, they have, in essence, a whole new property, so even if the old film is rapidly approaching the public domain, THIS version of the film is new enough to be protected for another 70 years.

ok...that is an informative answer that makes sense. thank you sir...it is a much more positive answer than ..."Because it's their property and they can do what they want to do with it..."""