When
Saving Private Ryan came out on Blu-ray, some enthusiasts claimed that they noticed an audio issue with the movie and that, starting at chapter 15, the sound went out of sync with the picture. Now Paramount Home Entertainment has unofficially confirmed to The Digital Bits that "there IS a sound sync issue on current copies." The studio is reportedly working on fixed discs for retail, and is expected to announce a replacement plan soon.
This issue also affects releases of this title in other territories - actually, the first whistle-blowers were from the UK, as the film was released on Blu-ray a week earlier there.
In the meantime, Amazon.com has temporarily pulled the disc from sale (but its European branches haven't).
Site reviewer Martin Liebman had reported this issue as early as May 2 in his
review of the Blu-ray, in the following words: "If there's a misstep in the track, there appears to be a slight lip synch issue before the battle of Ramelle, found around the 2:06 mark in the film as a character shares a story about one of his brothers' girlfriends and their encounter in a barn. The effect was blatantly obvious when viewing the film with a combination of a Panasonic DMP-BDT300 Blu-ray player and Denon AVR-3808 audio receiver connected via HDMI (with the audio stream sent through a separate HDMI cable from the video stream), but seemed to be less of an issue when the Denon was paired with a PlayStation 3, also connected via HDMI."
Update
Minutes ago Amazon UK has also stopped sales of the
British release.
Update 2
We have received word from Paramount confirming that the error was due to quality control issues at Technicolor. As part of the Paramount's and Techicolor's continued dedication to providing consumers with the best possible Blu-ray experience, they have setup a replacement program for the defective discs. Those who have purchased the disc can either return the disc to the retailer or contact Technicolor directly at 888-370-8621 for the US or Canada and 08000-852-613 in the UK. Technicolor expects replacement discs to be at retailers by May 18th.
Update 3
Amazon UK has resumed sales of
Saving Private Ryan, under a different identification number. The previous release was ASIN B0035ER236, whereas the new release appears under ASIN B003LVZYL0, and with the message "Usually dispatched within 1 to 3 weeks."
Similarly, Amazon USA is offering the new version under ASIN B003LL3N1I, without an availability date.
The German release has been pushed back one week, to May 21. The Spanish release, initially slated for May 26, has been delayed without a date. The French release hasn't changed its street date of June 3.