Lars Von Triers _The Kingdom_ Pts I-II: Which DVD version is best?
10-09-02, 09:23 AM
#1
New Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Lars Von Triers _The Kingdom_ Pts I-II: Which DVD version is best?
I'm told the Seville version is bad and have just been to Kim's Underground, where I found the Brit (purple above and below baby) and American versions. The Brit is PAL and runs 300 minutes, including a short called "Tranceformer"; the Am. version is 265 minutes and is NTSC, of course. Does anyone know which transfer of the film is best and most complete? PAL always *looks* to be longer, but that has something to do with the format, if I understand correctly. And then there's the inclusion of Tranceformer to confuse the issue more.
Last edited by scrypt; 10-09-02 at 09:25 AM.
10-09-02, 11:46 AM
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Europe
Posts: 550
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Amazon UK have the R2 listed at 325 mins:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...401168-8590264
It's actually NTSC that always looks to be longer - PAL playback runs at a faster frame rate, so PAL video releases always look to be shorter (by about 4%); hence that's why people in the past often used to mistakenly think that stuff had been cut out.
"Tranceformer" runs at just over 50 mins, if I remember rightly, so even taking this out you're looking at 270 mins (going by Amazon UK), so I guess the R2 must be the more complete version.
Hope this helps...
Dazza.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...401168-8590264
It's actually NTSC that always looks to be longer - PAL playback runs at a faster frame rate, so PAL video releases always look to be shorter (by about 4%); hence that's why people in the past often used to mistakenly think that stuff had been cut out.
"Tranceformer" runs at just over 50 mins, if I remember rightly, so even taking this out you're looking at 270 mins (going by Amazon UK), so I guess the R2 must be the more complete version.
Hope this helps...
Dazza.
10-09-02, 03:44 PM
#3
DVD Talk Special Edition
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Indiana, USA
Posts: 1,161
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I've got the HK version and my friend has the Seville. I compared them and while the Seville's picture looked better (which honestly doesn't matter much due to the source material), the HK's subs were a lot better. They didn't have the annoying Black boxing around the subs...
10-09-02, 03:59 PM
#4
DVD Talk Special Edition
Join Date: May 2002
Location: The Netherlands
Posts: 1,516
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The Kingdom, Part I:
First I had the UK version, and now I have the R1 Seville version.
The UK version has a little better image quality during the first four episodes, but the final episode is pretty bad. Strange and annoying video artifacts can be seen at several occasions......
Besides, the UK version is actaully cut for several seconds! It's not really a big deal (MINOR SPOILER: only a few seconds during 'rat-hunting' in the final episode), but it's still annoying...
And on top of that, the UK version is missing three of the five closing statements by Lars von Trier at the end of eacg episode (the epilogues from episodes 2 & 5 are left intact)......
The documentary on the R2 disc is very nice (not new or exclusive though: I had already seen it on TV), but is also present on Criterion's The Element of Crime.
The other department where the R2 wins out, is in the subtitle department. Both versions have burnt-in subs, but the subs on the UK version are quite pleasing to the eye and don't obstruct more image than usual. The subs on the Seville release however, are placed against an ugly black background, which is quite annoying.....
Some interesting news on a possible superior release of The Kingdom I & II can be found here.
Although these versions contain no English subs, at least this means director approved (or so I assume) masters now exist, complete with commentaries and docs. All we need now is for some company to license these versions, and add English (or Dutch
) subtitles...
First I had the UK version, and now I have the R1 Seville version.
The UK version has a little better image quality during the first four episodes, but the final episode is pretty bad. Strange and annoying video artifacts can be seen at several occasions......
Besides, the UK version is actaully cut for several seconds! It's not really a big deal (MINOR SPOILER: only a few seconds during 'rat-hunting' in the final episode), but it's still annoying...
And on top of that, the UK version is missing three of the five closing statements by Lars von Trier at the end of eacg episode (the epilogues from episodes 2 & 5 are left intact)......
The documentary on the R2 disc is very nice (not new or exclusive though: I had already seen it on TV), but is also present on Criterion's The Element of Crime.
The other department where the R2 wins out, is in the subtitle department. Both versions have burnt-in subs, but the subs on the UK version are quite pleasing to the eye and don't obstruct more image than usual. The subs on the Seville release however, are placed against an ugly black background, which is quite annoying.....
Some interesting news on a possible superior release of The Kingdom I & II can be found here.
Although these versions contain no English subs, at least this means director approved (or so I assume) masters now exist, complete with commentaries and docs. All we need now is for some company to license these versions, and add English (or Dutch
) subtitles...
