Destroy All Monsters DVD/Blu-ray Pitch Changes

[Great Hierophant]

SpaceHunterM discovered an issue with the Frontier Enterprises, (a.k.a. the "International) dub featured on certain Region 1/A DVD and Blu-ray releases of Destroy All Monsters. Certain releases have their audio pitch shifted 4% lower than other releases. The result is that one some discs, the music is at a lower pitch and the voices sound deeper than they should.

Destroy all Monsters has been released six times on disc in the United States :

1998 ADV DVD
2004 ADV DVD (identical disc contents to 1998 release)
2011 Media Blasters DVD (with extras and AIP dub)
2011 Media Blasters Blu-ray (with extras and AIP dub)
2014 Media Blasters DVD
2014 Media Blasters Blu-ray

SpaceHunterM identified the 2011 DVD and 2014 DVD and Blu-rays as having the lower, incorrect pitch. You can hear samples of the correct and incorrect audio here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7Ju7nyUEGY I provided the samples from the "correct" 2011 Blu-ray.

The AIP dub found on the 2011 Blu-ray does not appear to be affected by a pitch shift, but it is so bad that you should really be watching Red Menace's reconstructions instead.

Pitch shifting is common when US films running at 24fps are released in Europe, which uses 25fps (and multiples like 50i) It can also be done in the opposite direction when European films are distributed in the US. When you speed up video 4%, audio must be sped up at that speed or you will lose sync. Pitch shifting helps to correct the differences in audio, but if you are unfamiliar at how a track should sound, it will not necessarily be noticeable.

What I think may have happened was that there was an error where pitch shift got applied when it shouldn't have. Pitch shifting is appropriate for 25->24, but not 24->24. It is possible that Media Blasters used a European mastering firm which by default applies pitch shifting for DVDs to be released in the US market.

[godzilla98rules]

I mentioned about this audio shift back when I got my copy. I noticed it almost instantly, and for me it's really annoying.

[Kaiju no Kami]

By pitch, do you mean the echo that occurs if you watch the movie in 5.1? Becuase Megalon does that too.

[Great Hierophant]

By pitch, do you mean the echo that occurs if you watch the movie in 5.1? Becuase Megalon does that too.

I believe that the DAM and GvM discs have a 5.1 track option only for the Japanese audio. I am not aware of any pitch shifting between the mono and the 5.1 Japanese audio.

Pitch shifting does not have anything to do with echo. It deals with the tones or the frequencies (and not volume) of the voice. Higher pitched voices sound more lively, perhaps too lively, than lower pitched voices. Adding echo is one way to expand mono sound to 5.1.

I mentioned about this audio shift back when I got my copy. I noticed it almost instantly, and for me it's really annoying.

Thanks for identifying the issue, I could not find any other mention and thought it was important enough to alert people in its own thread.

[JetrellFo]

it is so bad that you should really be watching Red Menace's reconstructions instead.

... this should be anyone's go-to at this point. It is for me.

[SG-17]

Was the 2011 release the one that was pulled quickly because they didn't get approval for the extras?

[Great Hierophant]

Yes, that is our understanding, the 2014 release was barebones.

[Kaiju no Kami]

I wonder if the 2011 BD will still be worth anything after Criterion's release hits.

[Goji]

Well, if it's barebones and/or doesn't contain the Titan dub, then yes, it absolutely will be.

[Golden Bat]

On the BD master, and on the older Aussie DVD, the film sticks when the SY3 goes underground on the moon.

[Gojirawars 03]

I think this pitch change is also true of the TV airings of DAM on channels like the El Rey Network. The pitch seems lower than it should be. It's especially noticeable in the sound of the monsters' roars. They all sound off, especially Godzilla and Ghidorah. Not to mention that the music sounds off.