Heat

If so, I had a few quick questions:

1. Did you like the movie? (I haven't seen it yet)

2. Does the movie have the Spanish language track (the box said that it had the dubbed version, but didn't mention the Spanish langauge track).

3. Does it have subtitles?; and

4. Can you watch the movie in Spanish with all subtitles turned off?

5. Any other movies in Spanish you would recommend?

Thanks!

termite

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes
4. Yes
5. None.

-termy

hanami

Central Station is pretty good. You may also want to try All About My Mother but I don't really like that movie. :>~

Gallant Pig

Central Station is portugese.

Todo sobre mi madre is good. I have Kika, but I don't like it. Not sure if other Almodovar films are out on DVD. I wish Amores Perros would come out on DVD, but it probably won't

Gallant Pig

I should mention that I heard Tango is really good, but haven't seen it. El Marachi is pretty good with the double movie set El Marachi/Desperado

Hendrik

Tango 'really good'? Naaahh (IMHO)...

Central Station is indeed in (Brazilian) Portuguese (which is about as different from Portuguese Portuguese as le Français canadien is from the language of Corneille ... he said, feeling very smug)

The industrious Almodóvar is rather an acquired taste (IMHO) and not nearly as 'great' as some people would want one to think (IMHO)...

For DVDs of Spanish (and Cuban!!!) titles, take a look here:
http://www.mundolaser.com/

... ...

Heat

The reason I was asking the questions was that I hate buying a movie in Spanish where you cannot turn off subtitles (I have heard Tierra and The Official Story are like this)or, worse yet, where the movie is dubbed in English and the Spanish track is not available (I have heard that Guantanamera & Outrage are like this). Hastings (a book store and music store) is going out of business here (Springfield, Illinois), they had Like Water for Chocolate for about $14 after discount.

Kika was a good movie but I have heard bad things about the DVD transfer, thus I did not buy it on DVD.

As for All About My Mother, I liked the movie. It was a little depressing, but there were enough twists and turns to make it an entertaining film.

Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down (Atame!) (also a Almodovar film) will be released on DVD in January or February. Hopefully it will be a good quality transfer with lots of extras.

Mundolaser was an interesting site, I may use it in the future for obscure titles but I wouldn't use a Spanish company for my everyday purchasing of Spanish DVDs (international shipping, currency conversions, what if it doesn't arrive, etc).

If you are looking for a list of movies in Spanish, some good, some bad, Amazon has their movies broken out by genre, here is the link to the Spanish genre:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/284940/105-5049121-6244701

Hendrik

"...I wouldn't use a Spanish company for my everyday purchasing of Spanish DVDs (international shipping, currency conversions, what if it doesn't arrive, etc).
.."

Well, ahh, umm ... I order the bulk of my R1 (NTSC) DVDs from the USA, a very few from Canada. I order R2/Europe (PAL) DVDs from e-suppliers in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and - yes! - Spain. I have ordered R2 (NTSC) DVDs from Japan, R3 and R0 (NTSC) DVDs from Hong Kong, and even a few R4 (PAL) DVDs from Australia. So far they have all arrived in more or less good condition... What currency conversion? I pay with Visa or Master Card, am billed in local currency (Swiss Francs, since I live in Switzerland)...

The only 'problem' I have, occasionally, is how to pay my bills ...

(signed) The Happy Camper

Heat

I am still new to the DVD world, can players sold in the US (Region 1) play Region 2 DVDs? I think my DVD player (Toshiba SD1600) can't play PAL movies (there was something about that in the manual, it's been 6 weeks since I've read it though).

What do the prices of your international purchases end up being in US dollars (a range, I know each movie is differnt) after all is said and done (that is, including the price, any taxes, shipping, handling)?

Also, what does PAL stand for and are "Region 2" and "PAL" interchangable?

Hendrik

...take a look here:

http://www.high-techproductions.com/pal,ntsc.htm

Note 1:
As far as (laserdiscs) and DVDs are concerned, you can forget about the SECAM system.

Note 2:
The three systems, basically, are INCOMPATIBLE - the reasons for this are 'historical' (NTSC is the 'oldest' of the three by at least some 15 years) and 'political' (but you can forget about that, too).

Note 3:
European (i.e. PAL) TVs, LD players, DVD players and VCRs, by and large, will allow you to play NTSC LDs, DVDs and tapes.
American (i.e. NTSC) TVs, LD players, DVD players and VCRs will let you play only NTSC LDs, DVDs and tapes (unless you have a multi-system TV and/or LD player and/or DVD player and/or VCR - which, I feel safe in saying, are as rare as the proverbial hen's teeth in the area where you live).

Note 4:
With the introduction of DVD, the world was divided into six 'Regions' (a.k.a. 'Zones', a.k.a. 'Areas') which you can take a peek at here:
http://www.pioneeraus.com.au/multime...region_map.jpg

Basically, DVDs from Region 1 (North America/NTSC) will not play in, say, Region 2 or 4 (both PAL), and vice versa.

Clever heads immediately came to the rescue and quickly devised ways to get around this restriction: various versions of 'code-free' DVD players abound all over Europe --and elsewhere in the world, I'm sure-- but not in the USA or Canada. The reason for that discrepancy is simple enough: Region 1 today has well over 8000 titles on DVD (not including 'adult' movies and/or games), whereas Region 2 barely manages some 2- to 3-thousand titles (including 'adult' material and/or games)...

Have to pee. Bye for now!

! !





[This message has been edited by Hendrik (edited December 13, 2000).]

Gallant Pig

Kika has the subtitles burnt into the transfer and it's not anamorphic. IMO, it's the weakest Almodovar film I've seen, and goes beyond bizarre. I much prefer ¡Átame!, Todo Sobre Mi Madre, and Tacones Lejanos.

His next slated film is The Paperboy, based on a novel by Peter Dexter. I assume it'll be in Spanish right? Why would it have an English title though? Weird. Maybe he's coming to the US to make films now... I hope not, I fear he'll lose the freedom over the film he has in Spain.

I hear Tango is a visual masterpiece. Saura is my favorite Spanish director too, I must see that... La Prima Angélica is awesome... so is Ay Carmela (is that out on DVD yet?)

I think my favorite Spanish film, though, is El Espíritu de la colmena... Brilliance... I'd love to see this on DVD.

Amores Perros is a must see Mexican flick, in the Pulp Fiction genre... good stuff.