Hello,

I've picked up a few Region 2 Japanese DVDs over the past few months and I just wanted to comment on the quality of those discs vs. the US region 1 counterparts(where available). Hopefully any of you anamorphiacs out there will comment on others I should get:

Stargate R2 NTSC
The Japanese release is the original version of the movie(non SE) and is 16x9 enhanced. The disk includes 2 trailers and a Japanese language soundtrack. The menus are very basic and feature just a plain old "red curtain." The extra resolution from the anamorphic transfer looks GREAT on a widescreen TV. The US version had a lot of edge shimmer and over done sharpness enhancement, the japanese disc does not display these flaws! There is some slight grain and the contrast seemed a little off in a couple of scenes but otherwise it is a VAST improvement in picture quality over both R1 discs. The soundtracks are virtually the same DD5.1..(as far as I could tell). This disk is a good buy for Stargate anamorphiacs..

Pulp Fiction R2 NTSC
The Japanese release once again is MUCH better picture wise than the US version. The 16x9 enhanced disk seems flawless to my eyes! The picture is sharp and colors seemed to pop off the screen(especially when they are at Jack Rabbit Slims). There was no detectable grain anywhere--it is very smooth. For once, the annoying shimmer in the blinds of the diner scene are 95% gone because of the extra resolution! This disk presents a strong case for anamorphic enhancement!--This is my favorite R2 demo disc when it comes to picture quality. The disc features some "live action" menus and a few trailers. The DD 5.1 soundtrack is virtually the same as the R1 version. My only complaint is that it is missing the deleted scenes in the canadian version.(I don't care because I have the Criterion LD)

Scream R2 NTSC
The Japanese version is 16x9 enhanced and features the director's cut of the film. This is one disc I don't recommend over the R1 version. The anamorphic transfer looks like it is just upconverted from the non-anamorphic version. It has all of the shimmer and resolution handicaps of the R1 disk. I did side by side comparisons of the two and was disappointed I heard a rumor that the DD 5.1 soundtrack was transferred at a 448KB bit rate but I could not distinguish it from the R1 version. The disc does not have the commentary. I would skip this one.

Jackie Brown R2 NTSC
This disk is 16x9 enhanced and looks terrific! (Heck, even the picture on the box cover is anamorphic ) It is a long movie but they seem to be able to fit it on one RSDL disk with no problem. The colors are vivid and the image is sharp. My only complaint about the picture is a small amount of grain is some scenes or some fine detail. It has a DD5.1 soundtrack and I think has a trailer or featurette(I'm pretty sure from memory). A definate must have since this disk is so good and there is no R1 counterpart yet!

Sling Blade R2 NTSC
Once again this disc is 16x9 enhanced and has some cool looking "artsy" menus. There is a featurette(Billy Bob Goes to Hollywood) and trailers. The picture looks slightly better than the horrible R1 disk but it must have been the original film elements that were bad. It is slightly soft and grainy but it is sharper and has a little more detail than the R1 US disk. The soundtrack is the same DPL as in the US version but my processor did not auto detect it as DPL and left it at DD 2.0. IMHO this disk is a mixed bag. if you are a big fan of this movie then the disk is worth it. Casual fans should stick with the R1 US release.

Leon Integral R2 NTSC
This disk has no menus or anything else except for chapter stops. It is however 16x9 enhanced and features the "director's cut" of the film. (I had never seen this movie before and it has become one of my all time favorites!) The film looks great on a widescreen TV, the anamorphic transfer really rings the most out of the resolution. I did find that there was some slight grain at times but it is a sharp good looking disk overall. My biggest complaint is with the DD5.1 soundtrack. It sounded a bit compressed at times--not crisp and expansive in dynamics as in most modern US movies these days. It was still pretty good however. Another must have for lover's of this film.

Spriggan R2 NTSC
Action Anime. Another great 16x9 transfer! It appear flawless.. very smooth and eyepopping colors. I feel it actually looks better than Ghost in the Shell and is on par with Iron Giant. There was a slight flaw in framing of the the picture however: I have a widescreen TV calibrated with zero overscan.. Spriggan for some reason, puts up some slight black bars on the side(like in a 1.66:1 movie) and the slight 1.85:1 bars on the top and bottom. So the film actually appears to be framed at 1.78:1 but is slightly "inset" on my widescreen TV! It is really only a minor annoyance and most folks without zero overscan monitors will probably never notice. The soundtrack is slighly compressed in the beginning (lacking in dynamics) but seems to open up when the action got FURIOUS(!) near the middle of the flick. One other side note is that there is no english but you can probably still follow the film (It is a "mindless" action movie).
There were several trailers on the disc that was all 16x9 enhanced and one of them was even in english..

On the way: Judge Dredd R2 NTSC, ExistenZ R1 Canada, Good Will Hunting SE R1 Canada

Anyways, sorry for the long post, I was hoping to hear from others with other R2 NTSC reviews so I can spend money wisely instead of waste it!

Does anyone know anything about the upcoming Die Hard 1&2, Speed or Enemy of the State? I heard a rumor they were all 16x9 enhanced and slated for 12/17?

--mike

PS I bought my disks at cdjapan.com(very fast delivery within 5 days from Japan!) and laserexchange.com(very slow about 5 weeks but they are very friendly and will check things out for you)...