I did not pay attention to the sound on DVD of War of the Worlds. Is the original stereo mix on the current "special edition" from the original multi-track stereo mix source material or is only availble on the 35 mm print in the magnetic prints as the multi-track stereophonic mix?


As I said, I'm unsure if the original 3-track survives. However, both DVDs have a stereo mix on them.

Here is an illustration (sorry for the blurry pic... still working on this camera):

image

On the left, you have the normal 35mm print with optical/mono track. The middle film is what is called a "fullcoat" which would have carried the 3-track audio for films like IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE or WAR OF THE WORLDS (it would be run in sync with the normal print and the optical track could be used as a back-up). On the right is a CinemaScope mag-only print with 4-tracks adhered onto the film. Not shown is a mag/optical print, which is just that 4 track film ALSO with an optical track. The CinemaScope style print is what was considered the industry norm until the '80s, when Dolby took over (Dolby uses the optical track with the stereo encoded).