Back to the Future trilogy audio mixes

[SpaceBlackKnight]

It's widely speculated the 5.1 tracks starting from the DVDs (as well as the Atmos) are ground up remixes from the M/D/E and soundtrack stems. 

One widely known change for BTTF is the scene where Doc is testing out the DeLorean and shouts out "You did it!". On the older TV prints, Dolby Stereo and (possibly) 70mm six-track, Doc's shouting has more energy and sounds severely distorted. The 5.1/Atmos has a redubbed take that is much softer in delivery and was probably recorded around the time of the DVD release as the mic audio quality drastically different. 

One report on the Blu site said the 5.1/Atmos for II has several SFX changes ranging from gunshots and other ambient sounds. The Atmos in particular is believed to use a censored TV line (no doubt by mistake) for the scene where Future Biff is shooting at Marty and yells out "Snot nosed punk!" instead of "Son of a Bitch!".

It's known that the LDs have the Dolby Stereo and some of these have been preserved, but did any other releases outside theatrical runs contain the 70mm six-track mixes?  

There's another rumor that some streaming/digital versions have a 2.0 track that is only accessible when the equipment is set to output stereo only. I rented BBTF on the now defunct AMC On-Demand service some time back and it used the old HD master but had what I believed was the Dolby Stereo mix, as it contained Doc's distorted line and different SFX compared to the 5.1/Atmos. Other places like Prime Video and Netflix had obvious downfolds of the remixes.

I'm not entirely sure if such titles like these just have downmix compatibility tracks or the original DS. It also depends on the retailer and which master they have. I know this is a real thing and I'm not going crazy because when Broken Arrow was on Starz Amazon Prime Channel and I played it on my ATV 4k set to multi-channel/original, it was the 5.1 mix. On my Win 10 PC (with stereo output only) and through Chrome browser, it played what sounded like the Dolby Stereo mix.

[uVSthem]

Has anyone confirmed that the first DVD set from 2002 has the audio changes? This is the same set that has a 4x3 version available.

https://www.amazon.com/Back-Future-Compl...B00006AL1E

[Stamper]

Fascinating. I think the "Snot nosed punk!" was used on purpose, because the director had second thoughts.
BTTF series basically has a family vibe, so they probably decided a decade and a half later to soften it up.

[wongfeihung]

Fascinating. I think the "Snot nosed punk!" was used on purpose, because the director had second thoughts.
BTTF series basically has a family vibe, so they probably decided a decade and a half later to soften it up.

Apart from the whole attempted date rape and incest elements...

[Stamper]

hahahaaa don't start on these!

[SpaceBlackKnight]

Has anyone confirmed that the first DVD set from 2002 has the audio changes? This is the same set that has a 4x3 version available.

https://www.amazon.com/Back-Future-Compl...B00006AL1E

The 5.1 remixes started with the 2002 DVDs, widescreen and fullscreen. The Widescreen DVDs for II were recalled at some point due to misframed shots and audio glitches (some lines missing and/or using "TV overdubbs") which were fixed by the 2009 DVDs and BDs.

Fascinating. I think the "Snot nosed punk!" was used on purpose, because the director had second thoughts.
BTTF series basically has a family vibe, so they probably decided a decade and a half later to soften it up.

"Snot nosed punk!" was a part of lines later recorded by Thomas F. Wilson for the censored TV version. The old 5.1 and I'm pretty sure the VHS/LDs have the "SOB" line for that scene.

Also, when the BTTF trilogy was on Netflix they briefly used the TV censored versions (with additional edits to the Oh-La-La scene for II, which the Network broadcast version left completely intact) before switching to the uncut HD masters (not the degrained BD ones nor the 4k).

The TV versions are odd beasts as each film has more than one version. I believe there are two TV versions of BTTF, one has most of the main cast reprising their roles (sans Fox and Glover, who have impersonators) and is less edited. The other (done post-2002) hacks up the Libyan subplot and trims even more controversial scenes (one recent TV airing of this version removed the scene of Marty talking to George about making out with Lorraine and most of the scene with Biff and Lorraine in the car, which makes the subplot almost incomprehensible). The overdubs on this one reuses recordings from the first version, but now has Michael J Fox doing his lines (mainly in scenes that were retooled to cover up the subplot) and other incidental characters were dubbed by impersonators (with very silted performances). The sequels only have one TV version with various content edits performed over the years.

Anyway, there was talk somewhere of later JPN trilogy widescreen LDs having downfolds of the 70mm mixes, while the early ones had Dolby Stereo.

[wongfeihung]

Re. PART II: Did a very brief comparison between the LD 2.0 and BD 5.1 and you can hear new FX in the latter mix.