"Jack, I swear..." on the DVD

[SFEnnisSF]

Now, I saw BBM 38 times in the theatres.  Many different theatres to be exact.

I am 99% positive the "Jack, I swear" line is different on the DVD.  It sounds a little more quiet and emotionally reserved.  In the theatre it seemed more confident and powerfully delivered.

I'm also noticing more posts on TOB about people asking "What did he say at the end?"  We had none of that during the theatrical release.

Thoughts?

[DeeDee]

Now, I saw BBM 38 times in the theatres.  Many different theatres to be exact.

I am 99% positive the "Jack, I swear" line is different on the DVD.  It sounds a little more quiet and emotionally reserved.  In the theatre it seemed more confident and powerfully delivered.

I'm also noticing more posts on TOB about people asking "What did he say at the end?"  We had none of that during the theatrical release.

Thoughts?

On this I will agree.  I had no problem hearing it multiple times in the theater.  When My
husband watched the DVD he called me to the living room and said, "What did he say?"

Sure enough, when I played it back, it almost sounded mumbled.

[moremojo]

I'm also noticing more posts on TOB about people asking "What did he say at the end?"  We had none of that during the theatrical release.

Thoughts?

I have yet to watch the film's ending on my DVD--still too scared to let that devastation into my home. It'll happen sometime.

I do remember a few folks on TOB asking "What did Ennis say?", concurrent with others asking "What did he mean by that?" As I recall, even Oprah Winfrey asked Heath on her show what Ennis's last words were.

I wonder why the line would sound differently on the DVD than in the film. Would the people behind the DVD transfer really make a conscious effort to change it? It seems odd, and unpleasant to consider, as I would want the DVD to be as close as possible to what we experienced in the theater (though I confess I'm not complaining about the facial expressions and hand gestures I can now discern in the first tent scene).

Thanks for the heads up, sfericsf, and I'll keep my ears perked up when I do review this scene at some future time.

Scott

[RouxB]

I think I've only watched the end of the DVD once-I can't handle of week of emotional down-time right now. I don't remember it being different but I'll watch it tonight.

[SFEnnisSF]

In the theatre, the word "Jack" had more of a yjack sound to it.  And 'I swear' was sincere and confident.

On the DVD, it sounds as if he's whispering and over-emotional.  If it has been changed, it's as if they tried to put more crying emotion into the line.  It's as if he's talking through his breath.

[rtprod]

I think this is attributed simply to the transfer of the DVD and the home sound system, versus the different theater venues, prints and sound systems. 

I don't think the film was altered in any way prior to DVD release, and it sounds exactly the same on my commercial release DVD as on the Academy screener I have had since November. 

I saw the film in multiple theaters and two of them had slight alternations in their sound -- Dolby to THX, mixes between speakers that wrapped around versus just in front, audio too low, etc., and on a few occasions the "I swear" line was not audible and companions quickly asked, "What did he say?" 

It would seem an improbability that they would loop this line for the DVD in a different way, it's just not a standard thing to do and the explanation is likely a variance in sound systems. 

rt

[littleguitar]

I'm thinking rt is right, though I will say that the two times I've watched my DVD I've thought to myself, that line sounds really wrong, like they changed it.  I thought it was just me, I'm glad it isn't

[SFEnnisSF]

I am just 99% convinced it's different.  It's as if he's trembling when he says it now on the DVD.  To me it didn't sound that way in the theatres.

[Brown Eyes]

The sound on my DVD just sounds a bit muffled in general.  I know some people have been complaining about the DVD being too dark, but for me the problem is definitely the sound.  I've been noticing the tears in Ennis's eyes a lot more during my home viewings than I did in theater viewings.
 

[amh]

sfericsf and all, I noticed the difference as well. I never had a problem understanding it in the theater (although the question did get posted a lot), but I immediately thought it was nearly inaudible and mumbled on the DVD.  But I have to agree what others have said - it doesn't make much sense that they would deliberately alter it, it's most likely a transfer issue.