Final Approach was the first feature film to use digital sound processes at every stage, from recording through mixing and mastering. Sound editors used computers, rather than analog mag film, to cut and arrange sound effects, Foley, and ADR.
       Stahl’s interest in digital audio extended to distribution and exhibition. He planned to present the picture in Cinema Digital Sound (CDS), a new digital exhibition format offered by Eastman Kodak Company and Optical Radiation Corporation. According to a CDS promotional brochure, the system “optically encodes digital sound on a sound negative and decodes the soundtrack through a modified theater projector.” Kodak supplied the requisite “sound negative film.” A 30 May 1991 LAT article clarified that the “digital track” was printed directly on the film, in the location where the analog sound signal normally sat. When played back through a digital system, the resulting audio had the same fidelity as the original master soundtrack. In addition, CDS allowed for an encoded six-track stereo track on 35mm film. As noted in a 29 Jul 1991 Var article, six-track split-surround sound was, prior to the introduction of CDS, only available on 70mm magnetic-striped prints. With CDS, filmmakers could save money and still acquire immersive, high-quality audio: Six-track 35mm CDS prints cost $2,000, while 70mm prints cost upwards of $7,000.
       As excited as Stahl was about the potential of digital distribution, CDS required theaters to upgrade their equipment at a cost of around $20,000, according to the LAT. HR predicted that Final Approach would be shown in Dolby SR Analog in many locations. However, on 6 May 1991, Var reported that the Bouri Theater at the Cannes Film Festival had been outfitted with the Cinema Digital Sound system, and the picture premiered there on 13 May 1991. The film marked Stahl’s directorial debut. Six months later, a 27 Nov 1991 DV news item announced that Final Approach would open 4 Dec 1991 in Los Angeles. The weeklong run at the UA Coronet in Westwood allowed the movie to qualify for Academy Awards consideration. Trimark Pictures acquired domestic distribution rights to the $13 million picture, which received widespread theatrical release in Mar 1992. Critical reception was mixed. LAT and HR reviews of 4 Dec 1991 claimed the CDS system provided “rich wraparound sound” and “startling clarity.” However, the critics faulted the story for its plot-less predictability. The 13 Mar 1992 NYT dismissed the computer-animated visual effects as “slick, superfluous filler.”
       End credits include numerous technical equipment acknowledgements: “Digital mastering tapes, DATs and video stock provided by BASF Magnetic Tape Division; Field & studio DAT recorders and mixing console provided by Panasonic/RAMSA Professional Audio Group, Panasonic Communications & Systems Company; Recorded and edited entirely in the digital domain with New England Digital equipment; Synclavier 9600 and Direct-to-Disk® System provided by New England Digital; Digital synthesizers and samplers provided by Roland Corporation US.”
       End credits continue with a variety of production credit acknowledgements: “Lighting and grip equipment provided by Keylite Production Services Inc.; Digital slates provided by Denecke Electronics; FGV Panther Dolly provided by FGV Panther; Construction materials provided by True Value Hardware; Glass blocks provided by Pittsburgh Corning; Commercial carpeting provided by Bentley Mills; Marble polishing by Battaglia Marble, Harbor City, CA; Wedding gowns provided by Eve of Milady; Police lights provided by Federal Signal; Ray Ban sunglasses provided by Bausch & Lomb; Fluorescent colors provided by Day-Glo Color Corp.; Laminated materials provided by Formica Corporation; Donuts provided by Donut Inn; Television monitors provided by The Proton Corporation; Polyester sculptures by Fred Eversley.”
       End credits list additional audio and sound equipment credits: “Editing equipment provided by Eagle Eye Film Company; Dialogue digitally edited on AudiflexTM; ADR and Foley digitally recorded at Larson Sound Center; Digital multi-track recording equipment provided by CMS Digital, Inc.; Optical storage media provided by Laser Magnetic Storage International; Rewritable optical disk media & digital tape cartridges provided by 3M; Digital outboard interfacing from Livingstone Audio; Digital outboard interfacing from Time Line, Inc.; Additional 3348 Digital Multi-Track provided by Sony; Emulator III from E-mu Systems; Digital mixing console and synthesizers provided by Yamaha; EEG footage shot at UCLA EEG Lab, Dee Quinonez R. EED/EPT., Walt Bancozi.” However, the medical designation of electroencephalographic technologist Dee Quinonez is incorrect; the credit should read: “Dee Quinonez R. EEG/EPT.”
       End credits include the following acknowledgements: “The producers wish to thank: Denny Kelly; Beverly and Bruce Gladstone; Pat Johnston; Vons; Howard Anderson, Jr.; Peter Marcus; Stephen J. Woolley; Ron Perryman, AMPRO; Duane Laginess, Mel Brown Furniture; Larry Waterman; Blue Lustre™; Magee Audio Engineering; True Value Hardware; Gene Shiveley; Roger J. Huybrechts, Ing., AGFA Corporation; National Epilepsy Society of Los Angeles; Angel Banos, Gold’s Gym, North Hollywood, California,” and, “Special thanks to the: United States Airforce Strategic Air Command’s 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing and Lockheed.”
       End credits also acknowledge: “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe used by permission, Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster; Rip Van Winkle used by permission, William Morrow & Company; Computational Fluid Dynamic Graphics courtesy of NASA Ames Research Center; CAD Graphics copyright © 1988 Digital Equipment Corporation, all rights reserved, used with permission.”
       The last name of actor Hank Garrett is misspelled “Garret” in end credits.
      In a Mar 1992 Theater Crafts interview, producer-director Eric Steven Stahl recalled that Final Approach was written to showcase new advances in digital sound post-production technology. Although very little information was published about the actual production, end credits indicate that the picture was: “Filmed at South Bay Studios, Carson, California, and on location in Monument Valley, Arizona.” Principal photography was likely completed prior to early 1990, at which point an unusually large crew of sixty sound editors began work. In a 26 Nov 1990 HR article, Stahl said the movie’s sound design comprised 18,000 individual sound effects, most of which were created “from scratch” using a digital audio tape (DAT) recorder.