Hello, I've tracked down a few editions, and here is how they compare. If anyone has the 1997 R1 Warner DVD or any of the Laserdiscs, they would be greatly appreciated for comparison.

2023 Warner UHD

Terrible. Extremely filtered and very bass heavy.
Spectrum: https://imgur.com/a/88e28sT
Spectogram: https://imgur.com/a/tEdDF1P

2008 Warner BD

Better. Not nearly as filtered. The 2008 R1 Warner DVD - Deluxe Edition is identical.
Spectrum: https://imgur.com/a/8bATg83
Spectogram: https://imgur.com/a/Zjll8Fr

2005 R2 Warner DVD

A bit less filtering still compared to the BD. The best of the bunch here.
Spectrum: https://imgur.com/a/6fYtabY
Spectogram: https://imgur.com/a/XzL5Y95


Once again, if anyone has the 1997 R1 Warner DVD, any of the laserdiscs, or any other audio sources they would be greatly appreciated

Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

While you might expect the story for the lower-budget sequel, Beneath, to be a bit more straightforward, it has its own quite complicated history. True, the theatrical release was only ever mono, and again this original mix only survived until the earliest days of home video. However, it appears that a true stereo mix also exists for this film - I'll come back to that shortly.

Theatrical mono



As with the first film, the mono soundtrack heard on this instalment's theatrical release only stuck around as far as the very first VHS and laserdisc releases. For my BD-synced preservation, I've used the PAL CBS-Fox laser from 1983 (1013-70) - it's clear and detailed, unlike the equivalent 'mono' on the Blu-ray. Once again, this is the most authentic option.

Pre-release stereo



I need to skip ahead a bit release-wise now. While researching these tracks, I happened upon some forum posts from the sound engineer who mixed Beneath for the initial (2000) DVD release. He confirmed that there had most definitely been a 4-track mix made during this film's initial post production, and (unlike any that might have existed for the original film) these elements survived, in the form of 4-track 35mm mag. This master formed the basis for the Dolby Surround track on that 2000 DVD, making it the rare case of an original mix preserved in excellent quality - and it sounds terrific. Many thanks to @Stamper for helping source this one for my BD sync project!

Chace stereo

I don't currently own a laserdisc copy of this mid-80s mix, only VHS, so I haven't synced it for now. We're not missing much - it's even worse than the Chace remix for Planet, with similarly artificial steering and some elements actually missing. That said, if anyone has the SWE LD (1013-80) and would like to hear it synced, do send it my way.

When the whole series was rereleased on DVD in 2006 (including new anamorphic transfers), Beneath received a 'new' 5.1 track. Predictably, this was closer to the Chace mix than anything else, with variable balance and missing effects. The Blu-ray version goes some way to re-balancing everything, but the quality (on both the 5.1 and folded-down mono) is surprisingly dull. Once again, the laserdisc and DVD tracks are the way to go.

So excited to be part of this community! I got a Terminator regrade releasing soon  Stay tuned!

Greetings from New England. I'm a big fan of sci-fi and 80's films.

I've been working on these tracks in one form or other for quite a while now. I've just now had the time and tools to put everything together - hope it proves of use or at least interest to someone!

The original Planet of the Apes movie has had quite the convoluted history of soundtracks. Legend has it it initially received a 4-track stereo mix, which some claim to have heard on the film's original run, while others insist that only mono prints ever made it to theatres.

In any event, any original stereo mix is long gone and even that mono track is something of a rarity, since it was only used in home video releases for a very small window of time before Fox commissioned a stereo rework by Chace Audio (more on that in a moment). Here are the three tracks that make up my Blu-ray synced preservation project, starting with the way it was heard in theatres.

The original mono mix



For my preservation of the theatrical mono, I used the non-CX analogue sound from the 1982 Japanese laserdisc FY515-26MA. It's not terribly high quality, with an overall harsh sound and occasional crackles and pops (none of which I have attempted to clean up). That said, it is clearly a different piece of work from anything released since, with the fantastic music well to the fore as opposed to buried under sound effects (and it's quite obvious now that the so-called original mono on the BD is nothing of the sort). If you want authentic, this is the way to go.

The Chace stereo mix



Chace's stereo mix was commissioned for the mid-80s VHS release and carried over to the 1990 Special Widescreen Edition laserdisc (1054-80, the belated first issue for this film in the US). While it's undoubtedly cleaner than the old analogue mono, its stereo steering (based on mono dialogue, sound effects and music elements) is forced and phony, and (as mentioned before) the score is frequently buried in the mix. I've captured and synced this track (in digital PCM) for posterity, though it's not really one I'd choose to listen to.

The 5.1 anniversary mix



When the first DVD was released in 2000, the Chace mix was rechanneled to 5.1 and pretty clunky-sounding as a result. A few years later, a new disc was released for the 35th anniversary and a proper 5.1 mix was made from scratch. This mix is far more careful and respectful than the previous remix efforts, with excellent clarity and balance between the elements. The new 5.1 was presented in both Dolby Digital and DTS on the disc - I've losslessly resynced the DTS for this collection. If you want to hear this film in its best fidelity, this is my recommendation.

This timeline brings us to the Blu-ray that these tracks are intended for (the same disc that Fox have repeatedly reissued since its first release 16 years ago). Its DTS-HD master 5.1 is curiously flat compared with the 2003 mix (and clearly still from mono elements, including the music), and the included mono track is most likely a fold-down of the elements prepared for the surround.

Now that I've excavated the first movie as far as currently possible, I'm keen to keep going with the four original sequels, whose sound stories are somewhat simpler than the original (though not without incident). More to follow!

Hello. I like movies. And cars. Especially movies about cars. Oh and Godzilla.

1. English for "pure" Cantonese tracks
   
2. English for my custom HKR Cantonese/English track
   
3. English for the English dubs
   
4. SDH for Miramax dub
   

hi im a 40yo film nerd living in nashville TN. i play music and like to Dj\VJ. really interested in seeing some of these fan restorations and maybe doing my own some day. just want to learn more about the community and see what projects everyones doing. esp interested in 90s tv remasters, avant-garde, artsy obscure stuff, the weird and rare. glad to meet yawl.

New to the site. Nice to be part of this community.

I am new to this site!

Jay