Hitchcock's Psycho Gets First Time Ever 5.1 Surround Sound Blu-Ray Release
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Ever watched a DVD copy of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho in your home theater and wondered how it would feel like if you could be surrounded by those immortal, screeching violins while Janet Leigh's scream blared through your glorious center channel? Now, your dreams can come true.
To coincide with the 50th anniversary of the film, Universal Studios is releasing will be releasing a high-def Blu-Ray of Psycho, which will feature a 5.1 surround sound mix for the first time ever. Hit the jump for details on the disc.
From Universal's press release, we learn that the announcement coincides with the film's selection as a Cannes Classic this year. At this point, it's unclear to me if the 5.1 mix will be anything more than a marketing gimmick, since in my (limited) experience, classic films that have been remastered and mixed for 5.1 (e.g. The Kubrick Collection) generally haven't taken full advantage of the aural space. But who can blame them? The movies were made decades ago, far before the concept and technology was popular. Psycho's original sound track is in mono, and will still be available on the disc for the purists.
In the press release, Universal does its damndest to convince you that a crapload of work went into the new DTS HD 5.1 digital mix.
Universal Studios BluWave Audio (Universal's in-house post production sound facility) started the re-mastering process with the film's previously preserved and restored soundtrack to create a new 5.1 mix. BluWave then contracted Audionamix, a Paris-based audio technology company, to split the original mono music source into quasi-orchestral tracks. Audionamix, a leader in soundtrack separation, then applied their breakthrough proprietary technology enabling BluWave to create a discrete 5.1 split music mix. BluWave's creative talent gathered the original sound effects from the Studios' extensive effects library and, using these source materials, created a 5.1 up-mix to bring Psycho's soundtrack up to the expectations of contemporary audiences while maintaining the original integrity of the filmmaker's vision.
I'm actually more interested in whether or not the images will look any better. Have you seen the Kino International's re-release of Metropolis? Truly it demonstrates the full extent of what can be done with a remaster of a classic film.
In addition, the disc will sport the following special features:
It's worth noting that many of these special features, including "The Making of Psycho" and "In The Master's Shadow" can already be found in the Psycho: Special Edition disc that's currently available right now on DVD. That disc currently sports a stereo mix that's apparently not too shabby. The Psycho Blu-Ray will hit stores on October 19, 2010.
Discuss: What has been your experience with classic films, remixed to have 5.1 surround tracks?