Capelight

> Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray see caps

2001 R1 MGM DVD

Capelight 4K Blu-ray has better encode than Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Germany Capelight 4K Blu-ray, newly encoded 2025 disc only

Capelight 4K Blu-ray 2025 Disc

Comparison, caps

Capelight's 5.1 is sourced from the original 6-track. The fidelity is comparable to the 4.0 from the 4-track available on previous BDs.
An alternate 5.1 mix was created for the 1999 MGM DVD / LaserDisc, It boasts better high end detail throughout, but the trade off is reduced bass.

See additional info for more detail.

West Side Story was produced as a 70mm Todd-AO presentation, with an accompanying 6-track audio mix in the following channel configuration: see diagram. 35mm presentations used a 4-track or a mono mixdown instead.

The original 6-track elements were thought to have been lost until they were recovered and restored in 2010. In 1981, for the film's 20th anniversary, a new 6-track mix was created by upmixing the available 4-track elements.

Capelight's release is sourced from original 6-track elements uncovered in 2010, but unfortunately it's not as detailed as it should be, owing to unnecessary noise reduction. It's by no means bad, but it could be better. As the Lc/Rc channels are mixed into into L/C/R, it's also essentially no different to a 4-track fold-down. This isn't exactly an issue as left/right center channels mix down to L/C/R very well, but a better way of handling this would be to use Atmos objects to position those channels where they should be, as Disney did on The Sound of Music.

The 4-track mix was included in a discrete form on MGM's previous BD, it trades blows with Capelight's 6-track-derived 5.1.

Interestingly, the 1999 MGM LaserDisc/DVD release includes a different 5.1 mix, which sounds a bit more detailed than the two other tracks. It's sound signature is on the brighter side, with a slight emphasis on the treble instead of bass like other releases. Although that accounts for some of the perceived detail, even after matching EQ there are spots where Capelight loses out. It's a slight upmix, with split surrounds and LFE. Whether it was derived from 4-track or 6-track elements is not clear, though it matters little, as the end result would have been very similar in either case. There are no booklet notes stating the source used, but it sounds very similar to the matrixed 1992 LD, which was attributed to the 6-track. Still, given that the original elements were thought to have been lost, I would assume that this refers to the 1981 mix.

Previous LaserDisc releases are similar to the discrete 1999 track. All LD releases are missing the intermission music and a brief whistling sequence.

The 7.1 upmix on MGM's Blu-ray offers little of value.

Neither Criterion nor Germany Capelight 4K Blu-ray has good encoding https://slow.pics/c/bWhRoxpi also see Criterion review with disappointing compression per Geoff D

See nic's review for more: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=23180007&postcount=29.

Since posting this, I watched the Capelight in full and the anomalies the caps reveal didn’t bother me in motion. I did look out for issues and can’t really complain. The trickiest scenes are those set in daylight, particularly in the third act, and the Criterion looks terrible here. Unfortunately the caps are just from the first hour but in doing comparisons with the discs, I noticed that Capelight managed to resolve detail more evenly and makes for a more satisfying experience in my mind.

Australia Madman is very similar to Criterion, see caps provided by Joel https://slow.pics/c/9MDRLoOl and https://slow.pics/c/1EVsFQCZ

Altitude UK / Capelight Germany 4K Blu-ray

UK/Germany 4K Blu-ray

Arrow Blu-ray has the most extras

Arrow 4K Blu-ray in November

> US Shout! Factory - caps

5.1 mix: Germany Capelight 4K Blu-ray
Original matrixed Dolby Stereo: MGM NTSC DVD

The 5.1 track sounds very good and is said to be sourced from the original 6-track mix used for 70mm blow-up releases, but there is no conclusive proof of that.

Both 88 Films and Germany Capelight are superior to the Shout! Factory in HDR10 but their FEL layer may even things out. Objectively, the Capelight looks best as they avoided the chroma blocking that’s visible in 88’s disc but they in turn include an Atmos mix. I have the Shout! Factory, love how it looks and the 4K transfer is spectacular. https://slow.pics/c/vPmFQSAH

Original 5.1 mix: Amazon stream

Original stereo: 88 Films Blu-ray

Review for Shout and caps for Capelight

Capelight 4K Blu-ray
Original stereo mix: European MGM Blu-ray