Do any of my fellow message boarders own the UK ITV 10-disc set "The David Lean Collection"? It's a great set with remastered prints but I have noticed a problem with "The Sound Barrier", as the opening sequence has been recut and rather badly at that.
This is how the sequence has always played (sorry about the ad intro):
I've broken this down as follows (from sequence with resting soldiers):
Shot 1: reclining soldiers on cliffside turn to look up to sky Shot 2: plane flying over distant fields with Arnold's waltzing theme cued in on the soundtrack Shot 3: John Justin in cockpit Shot 4: direct view from cockpit as camera flies through clouds Shot 5: another shot of Justin as he begins to steer plane higher Shot 6: plane soars higher and higher and as it begins descent music stops Shot 7: new shot of plane diving Shot 8: shuddering sequence
But in the remastered version, the sequence has been altered to:
Shot 1 / Shot 6 / Shot 7 / Shot 2 (but minus introduction with plane over fields and so there is an abrupt start to the music) / Shot 3 / Shot 4 / Shot 5 / Shot 6 / Shot 7 (again!) / Shot 8
This means that the remastered print is missing the introductory footage from Shot 2, but also the flow of the music has been interrupted; instead of being one continuous sequence it is now split into two partially repeated segments with abrupt segues.
Do I possibly have a faulty copy or is this an error on the part of the restorers? I'd be very grateful to hear from anyone else who owns this DVD before I contact the BFI. Thanks!
StudioCanal will bring to Blu-ray David Lean's film The Sound Barrier (1952), starring Ralph Richardson, Nigel Patrick, Ann Todd, Dinah Sheridan, and Joseph Tomelty. The release will be available for purchase on April 11.
Synopsis: David Lean directs this adaptation of the Terence Rattigan play. Ralph Richardson stars as an aircraft maunfacturer whose all-consuming passion with making the ultimate supersonic jet kills both his son and son-in-law and almost destroys him and the rest of his family.
The film marked a departure from the domestic or literary concerns which had characterized the director David Lean's choice of subject matter to date. Its heroics pre-empted his later films Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962). NEW 2K RESTORATION.
Special Features: Archival BFI interview with David Lean Interview with Geoffrey Wansell (Terence Rattigan biographer)
