I just bought the R1 edition of The Eye put out by Lions Gate yesterday and right when I started up the film, I noticed that the whole beginning "gag" of the film is missing (which I saw during the brief/limited theatrical run of the film earlier this year).

For those who haven't seen the film, I'll have the following in spoiler tags:

When my friend and I saw that in theaters, we nearly craped our pants. It would've made a really nice "demo" scene to scare the crap out of your friends, but why is this scene missing from the DVD? Do the DVDs from other regions include this scenes? One of the reasons I enjoyed the film so much was for this scene alone and I'm sad that it's not even on the DVD.

sounds similar to that Night of the Living Dead start up.

Yeah, it is similar, but this scene was in the theatrical version and not the DVD version. Maybe the directors only intended the gag for theatrical prints, I don't know. I know the film is out in other regions on DVD, but do they all include the "messed-up" opening?

I was going to pick this up but spaced it off. I'm curious now also....before I go ahead and choose which one to get.

I will have to check my R2 when I get home tonight. I don't remember if it is in it or not.

I have the region 2 "special edition" from Panorama Pictures. The beginning contains no such opening on my disc.

Thats the R2 I have... oh well. Saves me the trouble

I just check out mine which is the R2 version also and the only thing that might be like that is right when you first start the disc it's got a few scenes from the beginning of the movie and it's all pixeled and crappy looking then the picture shatters and it says something in Chinese or something.

Rockat, which R2 version do you have?

With the "pixeled" and the picture shattering, does this happen over what should be the beginning credits?

i had the panorama dvd from HK and it had that opening on it.

i loved that opening in the theater, i guess it really doesnt translate to DVD, but i think it should still be there. trimming it off of the R1 DVD will have me looking at other regions for this DVD. another disappointment from Lions Gate (though the fault may not lie with them). its unfortunate.

Wow, I saw this flick in a theater in L.A. and have absolutely no memory of that opening!

Hmm. I have the Panorama HK DVD and I just popped it in to see if it had it cause I didn't remember it. Mine does not have it. It does have the scene at the very beginning of the dvd where it shows the beginning and pixelates than shatters like glass.

That is the Pang boys having a laugh.
They probably felt that the film print joke wouldn't work on a DVD so they altered it.

What the writing actually says is - "Don't Worry, This Is Not A Bootleg".

My Panorama version is R0, and it does have the opening BB describes -- freaked me out when I first saw it. I was sure I had a bad copy and would have to send it back.

I definetly remember that beginning in theaters when I saw it. Oh well, looks like I'm going with the Panorama R0 version instead of Lion's Gate.

Same here!

I have the Region 0 disc from Panorama Entertainment and it does, indeed have that opening. Great disc, reasonable alternative to R1.

I just rented this from Blockbuster last night, great movie. Now I have to buy my own copy.

After reading this thread Im confused on which is the better version, the new Region 1 DVD or the HK import everyone is talking about.

The one I rented last night has an anamorphic picture and 5.1 sound. Is the other anamorphic? Does it possibly have dts?

Running Time: 98 mins. (approx.)

Language(s): Cantonese, Mandarin

Subtitles: ENGLISH, Chinese

Distributor: Panorama Entertainment [A Hong Kong-Based Distributor]

Rating: UN - "Unrated. This film has not been rated by the review board."

Features: Letterboxed; DTS Digital Surround

For those who have the Panorama disc, is the runtime really 98 minutes? The Lions Gate DVD says 98 minutes on the back, but only clocks in at 94 minutes.

The anamorphic transfer looked good on my HDTV, but it looks like it came from a PAL source. The Dolby Digital 5.1 was excellent (very loud, I remember the mix being a good one when I saw it in theaters).

Does the Panorama disc have any extras? The R1 has a 17 minute making-of documentary on the film, a US theatrical trailer and TV spot for the film, and previews for future Lions Gate/Palm releases.

cover art
hk version
http://www.hkflix.com/xq/asp/filmID.2536/qx/details.htm
the region 1 disc

I don't know why I got confused, but I have the R2 Tartan release. Don't know why I thought it was the Panorama release.

After reading this thread, I was definitely leaning towards the Panorama release.

However, using DVD Basen, I found a number of reviews, and none of them seemed too complimentary about the picture, although the DTS track sounds good!

I'd like the HK opening, but not at the cost of a decent picture. Although The Eye (Panorama) is only $11.95 at CD Wow right now!

Matthew - why do you think the US release is from a PAL source? Are you finding ghosting in freeze frames?

Does anyone know of a full review of this new R1 version? My guess is that the picture will be better than the Panorama version, which I have. If the DD track is up to par with the DTS track from Panorama or better, you guys would be better off with the Lion's Gate release. Sure, the pixelated opening is fun, but not entirely necessary if you want a better presentation. I wouldn't call it "edited" out...it seems more like an opening DVD studio title than an actual part of the film.