I read Holly E. Ordway's DVD review of The Red Violin at http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=6453 and...

About to buy a copy of Red Violin Dvd from Lions Gate. Can anyone clear a discrepency on the issue of whether it is in Dolby Digital 5.1(per review) or Dolby Stereo(indicated on back cover of Dvd). The version to which I am refering is also the widescreen version with the same cover art as the one from the review. I understand Lions Gate released a full screen version also (slightly different cover art, which has bad sound and picture (per a review I read somewhere on the net)....Thanks

Andy

Avoid the Lion's Gate version at ALL COSTS! They still haven't corrected the subtitle/close caption problem. They did not respond to my numerous e-mails about this. And neither did DeepDiscountDVD for that matter. All I wanted was a good copy, not a refund. They SUCK!

...plus, of course, the original American release featured a dts soundtrack...
(don't know whether the Canadian disc does)...

. . . . . .

Not absolutely sure, but I think that the Canadian version is 4:3. If Lions Gate's WS is defective and Universal's (video is apparently inferior) is out of print, where do I turn? Region code alternatives are fine.

... ? ...

Quote from the DVD Town review:
Video:
The transfer on this DVD is quite sharp and clean. It is displayed in an anamorphic 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Colors are not as vivid as you might expect but keep in mind that most of the film takes place during the 1700s when colors may not have been quite as brilliant as today's times. Colors are mostly in brown and gray tones, and the violin itself is not a vivid red, but rather an amber color. The visuals in the film are quite stunning at times and tend to leave you forgetting about issues with color and hue. There's very little film grain, if any, to speak of and for the most part it is very nice transfer.

Quote from the DVD Review e-zine:
Universal Home Video presents this remarkable film in a stunning widescreen version on this disc. The anamorphically enhanced transfer is very clean and beautifully rich in color, with a great level of detail and great shadow delineation. From the deep solid blacks of the darkest shadows, to the brightest highlights, this transfer always maintains the warm look of the original film. No discoloration, over-saturation or other problems are evident. The film is always sharply defined but does not exhibit any signs of edge-enhancement, and compression artifacts, such as pixelation are also not visible in this superb presentation.

Quote from Home Theater Info:
As stated above this disc is among the new touchstones to gauge a home theater system. The video is completely without flaw. Whether the camera is in bright light of murky shadows, the transfer is without artifact or blemish. As for the sound, again all that can be said is to marvel at its perfection.

Quote from the DVD Talk review by Cuck Arrington:
Video
The video presentation is magnificent. It's anamorphic transfer & rendering is nothing short of perfection.

Quote from the DVD Verdict review:
The disc's video is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer and is absolutely stunning in every way. The presentation is fairly dark and lit in a low-key fashion, which is to be expected from a period piece such as this. Even the modern day shots, though, are quite dark. The piece utilizes a very earthy color palette, including lots of browns and greens. There is only a slight film grain present, which only adds to the experience. The picture is totally devoid of any artifacts, digital or otherwise. Shadow detail is terrific and fleshtones are dead on. Very high marks for the team at Universal.

Quote from the DVD Angle review:
The picture quality server its purpose well. The way it was filmed certain segments were intended to be grainy - and grainy they are. Alain Dostie, Director of Photography, used a variety of filming techniques to help capture the aura and feel of the different eras. Though intentional it does pose some problems in this digital medium. Some of the scenes where the film grain is more prevalent exhibit some minor pixelation and wavy lines. In the same way this added to the experience of Saving Private Ryan these slight imperfections enhance the tone of the movie. It may seem strange, but perfect is not always better. Aside from that the colors are some of the most realistic I've ever seen. During the 'romantic' eras the picture has a soothing warm red hue that is utterly incredible. The 'modern' eras set in China and Montreal look sensational. The Montreal skyline at night is 100% accurate and reflects the feel of the city. What really 'blew my mind' were the colors of the so-called Red Violin. Withered by age and use the colors blended together to create an ambience that tied the whole movie together.

. . . . . .

In my review of the Lion's Gate version (the one linked in the original post), I compared the Lion's Gate and the Universal transfers and concluded that the Lion's Gate was superior.

Of course, the Lion's Gate one has the screwed-up subtitles, which is a major blow, but for what it's worth, after having compared both scene-to-scene, I decided that the Lion's Gate was the one to keep for my own collection, despite the subtitle problem.

Wow, I didn't know about the subtitle fubar with the Lion's Gate release... That and no DTS track seems like an inferior release to me. I own the Universal and thought the transfer was pretty solid... And the DTS track is excellent (if I'm not mistaken, this was the first release to have both a DD 5.1 and a DTS track).

I dunno... But if I were buying this one for the first time, I'd try to track down the Universal release...

I actually couldn't tell much of a difference between the DTS and the 5.1 tracks, and I listened quite closely to them (since the music is so important to the film). The 5.1 is excellent.

Thank you for your input guys. For those who already own the Lion's Gate widescreen release... what's the verdit....does the Lion's Gate widescreen release have DD 5.1 (per review) or just Dolby Stereo (per back cover)?

Have come across some printing errors in the past on several dvds, for example, E.T. Collector's Edition....a comedy of errors. Thought maybe a mistake has been made on this dvd too.

Thanks.