slop101

I did choose "English" on the documentary disc (it then goes into an English menu), but I still got the forced French subtitles - so that might be a player thing.

I went frame-by-frame through certain scenes of the film and I noticed nothing "wrong" or even unusual - certainly nothing on the level of that first pic in the linked review (I freeze-framed that exact scene also). The other pictures are more acurate - but they're still not a fair representation of the image I get on my set-up.

Bottom line: I eneded up paying the same price for the Canadian 3-disc, as I would have for the US disc. I got a transfer that's not quite as good (if no one told me I would not have noticed), but I got a great soundtrack full of Chopin (my favorite composer), a handfull of more extras, nicer packaging and artwork that's not insulting. I think that's a fair trade.

gjamesm

I have no problems with the Canadian 3 disc set. Picture is fine. Something blown out of proportion as usual.

Flynn

Looks good on mine. I really like the packaging too. Is this pretty normal for non-US DVD releases?

serse

I watched it again, this time on my Dvdrom, and this time I see what I didn't see on my 27" TV. On my TV I did notice some scenes where there was "movement" in the background where there shouldn't be any, like on walls, stairs, etc. What I mistook to be movement was actually a blurring in the background. In my computer it's not just a blurring in the background but in the foreground as well whenever there is movement in the frame. I cannot account for why this did not show up on my TV but it is definitely there when played using Powerdvd. Otherwise, the picture is very sharp.

eau

The Canadian version may have a transfer issue that is not really blown out of proportion with the US version. How about the usual PAL speed-up? I read reports that the Canadian running time is slightly shorter than the US version though.

The Canadian version has a really good packaging and a theatrical artwork to boost. Too bad its transfer is subpar with the US version.

Coral

As soon as Gary Tooze (hopefully) does a screenshot comparison between the 2 versions - we'll see how much of a difference there is.

I'm expecting a big enough difference to concern people who currently own the Canadian version.

BuckeyeDawg

I have the canadian version of Brotherhood of the Wolf, which was released by the same company. I have had no problems with any of the discs on BotW. I've viewed in French and English a couple times each, and had no noticed problems with the transfer.

I'm looking forward to this one quite a bit.

Sartana

Since a lot of people are mentioning BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, it's worth pointing out that the complaints people had with that Canadian transfer are not at all similar to the problems that people are having the with THE PIANIST Canadian transfer. So just because BROTHERHOOD looked good on your player doesn't guarantee that THE PIANIST will also look good to you. The BROTHERHOOD gripes were relatively minor complaints about compression flaws, whereas the problems with THE PIANIST have to do with faulty PAL-to-NTSC conversion that can affect any scene with motion, depending on your equipment and/or tolerance level for that sort of thing.

tacomantt

Who is Garz Tooze, and where can I find the comparisons?
Does he run DVDBeaver?

Cosmic Bus

My copy arrived from Amazon.ca today, and I've skipped around through various parts of the movie. The "ghosting" is a little noticable (mainly on scenes with a lot of movement and camera panning), but not nearly as bad as people were making it out to be... many of which I suspect haven't even seen the Canadian version in person, only the screen captures that make it look much worse because you're seeing the problem frozen on a single frame.

If I could get a true NTSC transfer of the movie from, say, R3 that looks like what was released in the US, then I would probably buy that to go along with my 3-disc. Universal can keep their double-sided disc, though.

jough

Ugh, this transfer was horrible. Low frame rate (they did a 2:2 pulldown) makes it all look wrong - like a video tape of someone's bar mitzvah or something.

Nice extras, though. I guess I'll have to pick up the Uni version if I want to actually watch the film again.

-- Jough

gjamesm

Each to their own I guess. I have no problems with the transfer and I have watched the film twice.

jetjaguar69

I'm pleased with the Canadian version. It looks great on my sony vega!
jg

gjamesm

Looks great on my Sony Vega TV too!

bdots48

Looks fine on mine too, but I've got a Sony Wega.

gjamesm

I was being sarcastic, I also have a Sony WEGA.

jough

Whatever genius decided that "Wega" should be pronounced "Vega" should be fired... upon by some squad.

-- Jough

Decker

Maybe he was Hawaiian. After all, the Sony Open is in Honolulu every year.

I'm sorta glad the video isn't that bad. I say sorta because I went and gave away my Canadian version as a gift and bought the US after hearing horor stories about the Alliance release. Does anyone have IGN Insider here? I was curious about what they said in their comparison piece.
BTW jough, I think the DVD extras are the same on both editions, save some text-based stuff that's Canadian exclusive and the bonus CD. Am I not right about that?

babka

Does anyone have a scan of the 3-dvd set & how the inside looks as well? thanks

jough

You are NOT right about that.

The extras are completely different. The Canadian version was produced by a different company and includes a second disc of documentaries and all kinds of special edition features. The U.S. version is a single disc which, while not bare-bones, doesn't have too many extras on it.

The only difference between the two disc and three disc (besides the packaging) is the addition of the soundtrack CD (which is very good - Chopin, mostly).

-- Jough

Decker

Well, here's a description of the extras on the canadian set that I found off the net:
Disc 2 includes the Focus Features-produced "A Story of Survival: Behind the Scenes of The Pianist" (39 mins.), an essential making-of that put me in my place with regards to Adrien Brody's performance, which was invested with the kind of Method dedication that gets you honourably discharged from military duty. Therein also, director Roman Polanski tells a rare anecdote from his childhood that suggests the same kind of "astonishing objectivity" towards ghetto life that he says attracted him to Wladyslaw Szpilman's autobiography. Three theatrical trailers, eight TV spots, interesting poster and photo galleries, stereo bonus tracks (Chopin's "Nocturne in C-Sharp Minor (1830)" and "Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72, No. 1"), a CD spot, text-based "Director's Notes" and a Q&A with Polanski rendered superfluous by the aforementioned featurette, text-based histories of The Warsaw Ghetto and Szpilman's life (the latter supplying an overview of the musician's post-war life and career), and cast and crew biographies finish off the second platter. As this is the "Limited Soundtrack Edition", Disc 3 is Sony's soundtrack CD, featuring various Chopin selections and an original composition from Wojciech Kilar. Wafer keepcases store all three DVDs while a cardboard sleeve houses the set proper

And Here's DVDFile's review of the extras in the US release:
With the feature given its own side of this DVD-14 disc, the supplements are all located on the opposite, single-layer side of the disc. However, the back packaging may appear deceptive at first. It touts such extras as behind-the-scenes interviews, archival footage and clips of the real Wladyslaw Szpilman as if they were separate features. However, they are all contained in a single 35-minute documentary, Story of Survival: The Making of The Pianist, which is presented in 4:3 full screen and with no subtitle options included

While a single doc may seem slight, and this one certainly doesn't reinvent the form, it is still a very comprehensive and classy piece. While brief interview clips with Adrien Brody, producer Robert Benmussa and screenwriter Ronald Harwood are also included, as well as many of the crew, it is really Polanski's show. Despite his broken English (always charming) his passion is clear in every word, from the personal nature of the project to the surprisingly jovial onset atmosphere. We are also treated to some disturbing archival newsreel footage as well as the real Wladsylaw Szpilman, who would eventually enjoy a long and fruitful life following the horrors of the Holocaust. This is a comprehensive and very well-produced making-of that is bereft of gimmicks but infused with hope and humanity.
The only other extras are some fairly good production notes, filmographies for the main cast and crew and the film's original theatrical trailer as well as a soundtrack promo spot.


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So I think the main supplement in these two sets is probably the same documentary. At HTF they kept talking like the only differences in the extras were some text-based stuff, but I guess there are more trailers and ads as well as the Q&A session, FWIW.
IGN did a comparison and concluded it thusly:
If you're in the US, don't import either Canadian release. If you're in Canada, do yourself a favor and try to get a copy of the US disc.