Recall: 'Saving Private Ryan' Blu-ray discs have audio problem

Posted Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 12:12 PM Central

by John Couture

If you purchased Saving Private Ryan last week when it came out on Blu-ray, you might be wondering when they turned one of the seminal World War II movies into a bad kung fu film. Don't go out and have your vision and/or hearing checked, it seems that the culprit is a manufacturing error.

According to a press release from Paramount Home Entertainment, "there is an audio synch error that occurred during Technicolor’s authoring process on the Blu-ray Sapphire Series edition of Saving Private Ryan."

So basically that's technical mumble jumble for when you watch the movie, it's going to look like a really bad kung fu movie that was dubbed into English. The words and mouth don't quite match up.

Paramount Home Entertainment is working with suppliers and retailers to replace the defective copies on the shelves. How will you know if you have a defective copy (other than the obvious audio synch issue)? Just check the bar code. Original (defective) copies have a white background on their bar codes, while revised (working) copies have a yellow background on their bar codes.

As a consumer, you have two options. You can return the defective copy to the place of purchase and the retailer will be able to replace it with a correct version. Or, you can call a toll free consumer hot line at 1-888-370-8621. The hot line has been set up by Technicolor and if you choose this option, they will send you a pre-paid envelope in order to return the recalled product for a replacement.

I suppose if you were a true collector, you could keep the Kung Fu version and simply buy the correct version.