A Single Track on the River Kwai*
by Bob Heiber

"When the legend becomes the fact, print the legend." - Maxwell Scott

This famous quote from John Ford's classic western film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is also classic for other reasons. When great motion pictures undergo image and sound restoration the facts of their origins, like original picture aperture and track configurations can become lost. The 2011 Blu-ray/DVD release of The Bridge On The River Kwai is a recent example of the legend becoming the fact.

Remastering classic motion pictures for image and sound is nothing new. In 1954, David O. Selznick revisited Gone With The Wind to remix the film with a Perspecta-Sound soundtrack. However, with a release date of 1939 the film's soundtrack origins as monaural could never be in doubt.

For The Bridge On The River Kwai, released in 1957 in the CinemaScope® format, rumors about a stereo sound track accompanying that release have eddied around the film like currents on the River Kwai. Some of these rumors undoubtedly stem from Director David Lean's reputation for making wide-screen, stereo-sound blockbusters. Also lending seeming credibility to the legend is the existence of a stereo sound track on the 1994 home video release. The '94 home video track was the result of an abandoned 70mm, 6-channel stereo sound track remastering project for Kwai done in 1991.

For the recent 4K image restoration and release on Blu-ray, some disc reviewers once again perpetuated the stereo legend of The Bridge On The River Kwai. The fact is the new BD/DVD and recent limited theatrical showings have used the 5.1 re-mastered version produced in 2000 under the supervision of Grover Crisp, Sr. VP Asset Management, Film Restoration and Digital Mastering at Sony Pictures Entertainment. For that project, the audio underwent an extensive evaluation, which undisputedly resolved Kwai's mono origins.

Though the film did not have any major re-release in 1991, the work of picture editor George Hively, sound editor Don Hall and re-recording mixers Tennyson Sebastian, Joel Fein, and Bob Minkler provided pivotal sound elements for the subsequent work in 2000. The decision to revisit the 1991 stereo sound track was due to several factors.

The fact that the mixers created a 70mm 6-track, Left/Baby Boom/Center/Baby Boom/Right/Surround version to accompany a planned 70mm release meant that the "baby boom" channels contained frequencies up to 250 Hz, including music score content. The LFE (Low Frequency Extension) channel for a modern 5.1 soundtrack is usually restricted to frequencies below 120Hz, so creation of new LFE content was necessary for the 5.1 discrete multi-channel stereo presentation.

Also, the reader should be aware that in 1991 sound mixers did not have at their disposal some of the digital tools commonly used in sound re-mastering today. Digital processing systems and editorial methods to reduce distortion and optical noise, pops and clicks were not as readily available then as they are today. Thus, for the current release, there was an opportunity to revisit and improve on some of the work that was done to address noise issues present in the original mix. However, the sound work prepared for the 1991 version provided important sound elements and information for the remastering project of 2000.

In 1991, after inspecting the entire sound element inventory - about 260 single stripe magnetic film reels - editor George Hively and sound editor Don Hall proceeded to make new 35mm magnetic preservation copies of the original separate mono Dialogue, Music and Effects (DME) reels. Their goal was to provide as complete an original DME track for the Sony mixers as possible. However, since many of the acetate reels were more than 34 years old and suffered from vinegar syndrome (displaying both shrinkage and curling), portions of the dialogue and effects had to be taken from optical tracks. Thankfully, all of Malcolm Arnold's Academy Award®-winning score was recovered by the Sony editors.

For the 5.1 re-mastering in 2000, engineers made extensive use of the mono preservation transfers and pre-mixes made in 1991. The element inventory was well-labeled and well-documented, which made it possible to efficiently identify and access the needed reels. After evaluating and comparing the 1991 6-channel version, a mono 1957 print and the mono magnetic dialogue stems, it was evident that the magnetic stems would yield the best quality. It was also determined that the 1957 composite track would be used, much the same as in 1991, when the stems were incomplete or would not yield good quality. This occurred in several sections.

To get the project started, 104 reels of 4-track dialogue, effects and music pre-dubs were organized and transferred. These 35mm, 4-track mags contained the 1991 mix of the dialogue, effects (both original and library augmentation), backgrounds (also original and library), and mono music.

Since the production dialogue was predominately mono on the 4-track stem, it was loaded directly into a NoNoise® workstation to be synchronized and cleaned up. The 35mm mono music units also received the same NoNoise® treatment. In several sequences in the 1991 work it had been noted that the mono music appeared to be alternate takes, as it did not sync with the 1957 composite. However, using editorial and digital time manipulation programs, the score was adjusted to more closely match the composite.

While the dialogue and music tracks were being processed, conform engineers were busy pre-laying the 1991 sound effects and foley tracks to be certain that all of the 1991 work would be available for the 2000 remastering. Minor flaws found in the tracks were also repaired prior to the mix. As the cleanup work was going on, Chace Digital Stereo® cues were designed for the 5.1 remastering. By having seven inputs available on the CDS processor, the entire variety of formats - mono, stereo, or LCRS (left, center, right, surround) - could be incorporated. Using the CDS processor, 5.1 stereo backgrounds were created from the original tracks during the mix. The stereo backgrounds helped to eliminate edit anomalies and blend ADR with production dialog.

Yet with all the tools assembled, great care was taken not to change the true character of the mix. Filmed on location in Ceylon under difficult circumstances, the background noise of generators and insects are often indistinguishable and thus become the sound of the camp and its oppressive environment. With a few slight adjustments, the 5.1 soundtrack created in 2000 was the track used for the 2011 Blu-ray release of The Bridge on the River Kwai. Considering the careful examination of all of the elements which went into the 2000 restoration, there is no doubt of its monaural origins. Hence, it's time to put the "Legend" to bed!

*Editor's note: The real bridge over the Kwai River in Thailand supports a single narrow gauge railroad track!

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