Good Non-Criterion Foreign Film DVDs
10-22-04, 11:29 PM
#1
Good Non-Criterion Foreign Film DVDs
I've been seeking out foreign films a lot lately. I have a reasonable amount, what would you list as the best foreign film dvds that aren't Criterions?
I'd give it up to:
Ran Masterworks Edition
La Dolce Vita Collector's Edition
Brotherhood of the Wolf 3-disc Canadian Edition
I'd give it up to:
Ran Masterworks Edition
La Dolce Vita Collector's Edition
Brotherhood of the Wolf 3-disc Canadian Edition
10-23-04, 01:19 AM
#2
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Rent the Ran Masterworks. The commentaries are certainly good stuff and all, but the transfer is still very poor.
Fantoma has a few fine discs of foreign films; in fact, they're probably second only to Criterion in that regard...all of their Fassbinder discs are great, but be warned: they're not among his most accessible films. Great extras, however. Their disc of Fando and Lis has a good deal of supplements, but the film isn't exactly in great shape, nor is it suitable for viewing if you need coherance. Their disc of The Great Silence is non-anamorphic, but the film is a treat (its a spaghetti Western, so while it is a foreign film, its also in English). They also have a selection of practically barebones discs from relatively unknown Japanese New Wave director Yasuzo Masumura.
Wellspring's DVD of Z is a good one, and most of their Fassbinder discs are pretty good.
The Three Colors Trilogy, released by Miramax, is a surprisingly good set, coming from Miramax.
Anchor Bay's collection of Wim Wenders films, and both Werner Herzog collections, are very good. The Herzog packages, in fact, are among the best boxset designs around, and 9 of the 13 films between the two sets have audio commentaries by Herzog (utterly priceless; Herzog is as fascinating as his films are). Considering that the sets cost half as much as the combined price of the individual discs, and that you can get the boxes for lower than $60, its a real bargain.
If you're looking into silents, I'm very fond of Milestone's Evangi Bauer disc entitled Mad Love...early cinema at its finest, and the films look good for their age. Another, non-silent, Milestone disc I'm fond of (if only for the film and the extras, as the transfer isn't so great) is The Mystery of Picasso, which is a priceless treasure if you're a fan of, or even remotely interested in, Pablo Picasso's work or painting in general. In fact, if you are, buy it immediately, and please try to remember to breath.
Kino isn't at all comparable to Criterion in the treatment of their films, but if you're a fan of early French sound cinema, their Fanny Trilogy is a worthwhile purchase, with a few nice extras. Their upcoming disc of Bunuel's L'Age D'or also looks promising, as it includes a commentary and is taken directly from the restored original negative (the upcoming BFI disc, while containing better specs, will be sped up for PAL, and Un Chien Andalou is likwely to pop up as a Criterion Bunuel extra soon enough...the BFI disc is terribly expensive, too). Most of their foreign film discs (like the otherwise very rewarding Blue Angel) are taken from PAL masters, so be careful. You might want to pursue a multi-region player before buying any of their foreign film discs; or, as it were, wait for the inevitable Criterion edition of some of them. I'm glad I waited for The Tin Drum.
For the most part, US distributor New Yorker should be ignored and even reviled...but their discs of Emir Kusturica's Underground and Mohsen Makhmalbaf's Kandahar are well-produced discs, the latter easily being the best R1 DVD of a Middle Eastern film. And if you just can't wait for an R2 player, L'Atalante is a decent disc of an ageless film.
MGM's foreign film line is limited, but mostly well done...in spite of some ratty commentaries, the Ingmar Bergman Collection is gorgeous. Salaam Bombay is another fine disc, and Wings of Desire also. If you don't mind inexpensive, no supplements, but a good transfer, To Live is a fine film.
Look up Home Vision...there are some real gems in Criterion's parent company.
Several of Image's DVDs for silent foreign films are excellent. Arsenal, The End of St. Petersburg/The Deserter, Bed and Sofa, The Parson's Widow, Outskirts/The Girl With The Hatbox are good discs. If you can find The Man With A Movie Camera, get it.
Fantoma has a few fine discs of foreign films; in fact, they're probably second only to Criterion in that regard...all of their Fassbinder discs are great, but be warned: they're not among his most accessible films. Great extras, however. Their disc of Fando and Lis has a good deal of supplements, but the film isn't exactly in great shape, nor is it suitable for viewing if you need coherance. Their disc of The Great Silence is non-anamorphic, but the film is a treat (its a spaghetti Western, so while it is a foreign film, its also in English). They also have a selection of practically barebones discs from relatively unknown Japanese New Wave director Yasuzo Masumura.
Wellspring's DVD of Z is a good one, and most of their Fassbinder discs are pretty good.
The Three Colors Trilogy, released by Miramax, is a surprisingly good set, coming from Miramax.
Anchor Bay's collection of Wim Wenders films, and both Werner Herzog collections, are very good. The Herzog packages, in fact, are among the best boxset designs around, and 9 of the 13 films between the two sets have audio commentaries by Herzog (utterly priceless; Herzog is as fascinating as his films are). Considering that the sets cost half as much as the combined price of the individual discs, and that you can get the boxes for lower than $60, its a real bargain.
If you're looking into silents, I'm very fond of Milestone's Evangi Bauer disc entitled Mad Love...early cinema at its finest, and the films look good for their age. Another, non-silent, Milestone disc I'm fond of (if only for the film and the extras, as the transfer isn't so great) is The Mystery of Picasso, which is a priceless treasure if you're a fan of, or even remotely interested in, Pablo Picasso's work or painting in general. In fact, if you are, buy it immediately, and please try to remember to breath.
Kino isn't at all comparable to Criterion in the treatment of their films, but if you're a fan of early French sound cinema, their Fanny Trilogy is a worthwhile purchase, with a few nice extras. Their upcoming disc of Bunuel's L'Age D'or also looks promising, as it includes a commentary and is taken directly from the restored original negative (the upcoming BFI disc, while containing better specs, will be sped up for PAL, and Un Chien Andalou is likwely to pop up as a Criterion Bunuel extra soon enough...the BFI disc is terribly expensive, too). Most of their foreign film discs (like the otherwise very rewarding Blue Angel) are taken from PAL masters, so be careful. You might want to pursue a multi-region player before buying any of their foreign film discs; or, as it were, wait for the inevitable Criterion edition of some of them. I'm glad I waited for The Tin Drum.
For the most part, US distributor New Yorker should be ignored and even reviled...but their discs of Emir Kusturica's Underground and Mohsen Makhmalbaf's Kandahar are well-produced discs, the latter easily being the best R1 DVD of a Middle Eastern film. And if you just can't wait for an R2 player, L'Atalante is a decent disc of an ageless film.
MGM's foreign film line is limited, but mostly well done...in spite of some ratty commentaries, the Ingmar Bergman Collection is gorgeous. Salaam Bombay is another fine disc, and Wings of Desire also. If you don't mind inexpensive, no supplements, but a good transfer, To Live is a fine film.
Look up Home Vision...there are some real gems in Criterion's parent company.
Several of Image's DVDs for silent foreign films are excellent. Arsenal, The End of St. Petersburg/The Deserter, Bed and Sofa, The Parson's Widow, Outskirts/The Girl With The Hatbox are good discs. If you can find The Man With A Movie Camera, get it.
10-23-04, 01:25 AM
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Three Colors Trilogy from Buena Vista
Ingmar Bergman Boxset from MGM
Day for Night from Warner
Metropolis from Kino
Z - The Masterworks Edition from Wellspring
Umbrellas of Cherbourg from Koch Lorber
Ingmar Bergman Boxset from MGM
Day for Night from Warner
Metropolis from Kino
Z - The Masterworks Edition from Wellspring
Umbrellas of Cherbourg from Koch Lorber
10-23-04, 02:25 AM
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I'll group my recommendations into several different categories (in no particular order):
Great Film + Great DVD (R1/NTSC)
Amélie (Jeunet/2001/Miramax)
Three Colors: Blue/White/Red (Kieslowski/1993-4/Miramax) --- Absolutely Essential
Day for Night (Truffaut/1973/Warner)
Talk to Her (Almodóvar/2002/Columbia TriStar)
Y tu mamá también (Cuarón/2002/MGM/UA)
Le Cérémonie (Chabrol/1995/HVE)
Man with the Movie Camera (Vertov/1929/Image) Silent
Great Film + Great DVD (R2/PAL)
The Apu Trilogy: Pather panchali/Aparajito/World of Apu (Ray/1955/56/58/Artificial Eye/UK)---Avoid overpriced, poorer quality R1 Columbia TriStar
Delicatessen (Jeunet/1991/Momentum/UK)
Happy Together (Wong/1997/Artificial Eye/UK) --- also recently re-released by Kino in R1
Partie de campagne (Renoir/1936/bfi/UK)
Rosetta/La Promesse (Dardenne/1999/96/Artificial Eye/UK) --- La Promesse also available in R1 from New Yorker
The Son (Dardenne/2002/Artificial Eye/UK) --- also available in R1 from New Yorker
Great Film with Barebones DVD or Unrestored (R1/NTSC)
Belle de jour (Buñuel/1967/Miramax) --- very good commentary, but transfer is non-anamorphic & a bit soft
Live Flesh (Almodóvar/1997/MGM/UA) Barebones
The Wild Child (Truffaut/1969/MGM/UA) Barebones
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Almodóvar/1988/MGM/UA) Barebones
Yi yi (Yang/2000/Starmax) Barebones R0/NTSC/Korea ----AVOID Winstar release
All About My Mother (Almodóvar/1999/Columbia TriStar) Barebones
Beau Travail (Denis/1999/New Yorker) Barebones
L'Atalante (Vigo/1934/New Yorker) Decent but not stellar. Artificial Eye to release The Complete Jean Vigo later this month in R2
The Sorrow and the Pity (Ophuls/1971/Image) Barebones
La Terra Trema (Visconti/1948/Image) Barebones + Unrestored
The Bicycle Thief (De Sica/1948/Image) Barebones + Unrestored
Les Bonnes femmes (Chabrol/1960/Kino) Barebones
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Demy/1964/Koch Lorber) Nearly Barebones
Bay of Angels (Demy/1963/Wellspring) Nearly Barebones
Lola (Demy/1961/Wellspring) Nearly Barebones
Wild Reeds (Téchiné/1994/Fox Lorber) Barebones + Non-Anamorphic
A Man Escaped (Bresson/1957/New Yorker) Barebones from PAL master ---- Artificial Eye will be releasing in R2
Night of the Shooting Stars (Taviani/1982/MGM/UA) Barebones + Non-anamorphic
Great Film with Barebones DVD or Unrestored (R2/PAL)
Festen (Vinterberg/1998/Bluelight/UK) Barebones --- also available in R1 from Universal as The Celebration
The Life of O-Haru (Mizoguchi/1952/Artificial Eye) Barebones --- Criterion will eventually release
L'Albero degli zoccoli/The Tree of Wooden Clogs (Olmi/1978/Nouveaux/UK) Barebones + soft transfer --- also available in R1 from Koch Lorber
Kaurismäki Collection: Shadows in Paradise/Ariel/The Match Factory Girl/Drifting Clouds/The Man without a Past (Aki Kaurismäki/1986/88/89/96/2002/Sandrew Metronome) Barebones R2/PAL/Sweden --- The Man without a Past is available in R1 from Columbia TriStar (also barebones)
Great Film + Great DVD (R1/NTSC)
Amélie (Jeunet/2001/Miramax)
Three Colors: Blue/White/Red (Kieslowski/1993-4/Miramax) --- Absolutely Essential
Day for Night (Truffaut/1973/Warner)
Talk to Her (Almodóvar/2002/Columbia TriStar)
Y tu mamá también (Cuarón/2002/MGM/UA)
Le Cérémonie (Chabrol/1995/HVE)
Man with the Movie Camera (Vertov/1929/Image) Silent
Great Film + Great DVD (R2/PAL)
The Apu Trilogy: Pather panchali/Aparajito/World of Apu (Ray/1955/56/58/Artificial Eye/UK)---Avoid overpriced, poorer quality R1 Columbia TriStar
Delicatessen (Jeunet/1991/Momentum/UK)
Happy Together (Wong/1997/Artificial Eye/UK) --- also recently re-released by Kino in R1
Partie de campagne (Renoir/1936/bfi/UK)
Rosetta/La Promesse (Dardenne/1999/96/Artificial Eye/UK) --- La Promesse also available in R1 from New Yorker
The Son (Dardenne/2002/Artificial Eye/UK) --- also available in R1 from New Yorker
Great Film with Barebones DVD or Unrestored (R1/NTSC)
Belle de jour (Buñuel/1967/Miramax) --- very good commentary, but transfer is non-anamorphic & a bit soft
Live Flesh (Almodóvar/1997/MGM/UA) Barebones
The Wild Child (Truffaut/1969/MGM/UA) Barebones
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Almodóvar/1988/MGM/UA) Barebones
Yi yi (Yang/2000/Starmax) Barebones R0/NTSC/Korea ----AVOID Winstar release
All About My Mother (Almodóvar/1999/Columbia TriStar) Barebones
Beau Travail (Denis/1999/New Yorker) Barebones
L'Atalante (Vigo/1934/New Yorker) Decent but not stellar. Artificial Eye to release The Complete Jean Vigo later this month in R2
The Sorrow and the Pity (Ophuls/1971/Image) Barebones
La Terra Trema (Visconti/1948/Image) Barebones + Unrestored
The Bicycle Thief (De Sica/1948/Image) Barebones + Unrestored
Les Bonnes femmes (Chabrol/1960/Kino) Barebones
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Demy/1964/Koch Lorber) Nearly Barebones
Bay of Angels (Demy/1963/Wellspring) Nearly Barebones
Lola (Demy/1961/Wellspring) Nearly Barebones
Wild Reeds (Téchiné/1994/Fox Lorber) Barebones + Non-Anamorphic
A Man Escaped (Bresson/1957/New Yorker) Barebones from PAL master ---- Artificial Eye will be releasing in R2
Night of the Shooting Stars (Taviani/1982/MGM/UA) Barebones + Non-anamorphic
Great Film with Barebones DVD or Unrestored (R2/PAL)
Festen (Vinterberg/1998/Bluelight/UK) Barebones --- also available in R1 from Universal as The Celebration
The Life of O-Haru (Mizoguchi/1952/Artificial Eye) Barebones --- Criterion will eventually release
L'Albero degli zoccoli/The Tree of Wooden Clogs (Olmi/1978/Nouveaux/UK) Barebones + soft transfer --- also available in R1 from Koch Lorber
Kaurismäki Collection: Shadows in Paradise/Ariel/The Match Factory Girl/Drifting Clouds/The Man without a Past (Aki Kaurismäki/1986/88/89/96/2002/Sandrew Metronome) Barebones R2/PAL/Sweden --- The Man without a Past is available in R1 from Columbia TriStar (also barebones)
10-23-04, 01:18 PM
#7
So stay away from New Yorker and Kino? I just bought The Wind Will Carry Us released from New Yorker. I haven't watched it yet. Hmm, I'll check out if Home Vision has a website.
Well checked out Home Vision's website. Aside, from their Zatoichi series there isn't much I'm interested.
I'll check out some of the MGM titles.
Well checked out Home Vision's website. Aside, from their Zatoichi series there isn't much I'm interested.
I'll check out some of the MGM titles.
Last edited by PopcornTreeCt; 10-23-04 at 01:28 PM.
10-23-04, 06:03 PM
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Originally posted by PopcornTreeCt
So stay away from New Yorker and Kino?
So stay away from New Yorker and Kino?
Also: If you like foreign or older films, an all-region player is a great investment. A decent player can be purchased for well under $100.
10-23-04, 06:33 PM
#9
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Behind the Sun (2001)
Aimée & Jaguar (1999)
Amores Perros (2000)
Antonia's Line (1995) (too bad that it has a terrible R1 release)
Live Flesh (1997)
Belle de Jour (1967)
Blue Kite (1993)
Code Unknown (2000)
Chunking Express (1994)
Stalker (1979)
Elling (2001)
Festen (1998)
Hana-Bi (1997)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974)
Man on the Train (2002)
Sorrow and the Pity (1969)
Mondays in the Sun (2002)
My Life in Pink (1997)
Terrorist (1999)
Murderers Among Us (1946)
Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000)
Color of Paradise (1999)
Together (2000)
Three Colors: Blue (1993)
Three Colors: White (1994)
Three Colors: Red (1994)
Under the Sun (1998)
Yi Yi (2000)
to name few...
Cheers
DVD Smurf
Aimée & Jaguar (1999)
Amores Perros (2000)
Antonia's Line (1995) (too bad that it has a terrible R1 release)
Live Flesh (1997)
Belle de Jour (1967)
Blue Kite (1993)
Code Unknown (2000)
Chunking Express (1994)
Stalker (1979)
Elling (2001)
Festen (1998)
Hana-Bi (1997)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974)
Man on the Train (2002)
Sorrow and the Pity (1969)
Mondays in the Sun (2002)
My Life in Pink (1997)
Terrorist (1999)
Murderers Among Us (1946)
Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000)
Color of Paradise (1999)
Together (2000)
Three Colors: Blue (1993)
Three Colors: White (1994)
Three Colors: Red (1994)
Under the Sun (1998)
Yi Yi (2000)
to name few...
Cheers
DVD Smurf
10-23-04, 07:18 PM
#10
Here's my take on what I own:
Amelie (Fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain, Le) Buena Vista
Audition (Oodishon) Ventura
Battle Royale (Batoru rowaiaru) Starmax/Tartan
Billy Elliot Universal
Chungking Express (Chong qing sen lin) Buena Vista
City of God (Cidade de Deus) Miramax
City of Lost Children, The (Cite des enfants perdus, la) Columbia Tristar
Cure Home Vision
Cyclo (Xich lo) New Yorker Video
Failan China Star
Fireworks (Hana-bi) Spectrum
Hard Boiled (Lashou shentan) Mei Ah
JSA: Joint Security Area (Gongdong gyeongbi guyeok JSA ) Modern Audio
Le Dernier Combat (The Last Battle) Columbia Tristar
Leon: The Professional Columbia Tristar
Nang Nak Ocean Shores I hear this is a VCD, but I have not confirmed (however, surround sound is incredibly engaging if so)
Oldboy Starmax
Rainy Dog (Gokudô kuroshakai) Artsmagic
Tale of Two Sisters Metro DVD
Underworld Beauty (Ankokugai no bijo ) Home Vision
Amelie (Fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain, Le) Buena Vista
Audition (Oodishon) Ventura
Battle Royale (Batoru rowaiaru) Starmax/Tartan
Billy Elliot Universal
Chungking Express (Chong qing sen lin) Buena Vista
City of God (Cidade de Deus) Miramax
City of Lost Children, The (Cite des enfants perdus, la) Columbia Tristar
Cure Home Vision
Cyclo (Xich lo) New Yorker Video
Failan China Star
Fireworks (Hana-bi) Spectrum
Hard Boiled (Lashou shentan) Mei Ah
JSA: Joint Security Area (Gongdong gyeongbi guyeok JSA ) Modern Audio
Le Dernier Combat (The Last Battle) Columbia Tristar
Leon: The Professional Columbia Tristar
Nang Nak Ocean Shores I hear this is a VCD, but I have not confirmed (however, surround sound is incredibly engaging if so)
Oldboy Starmax
Rainy Dog (Gokudô kuroshakai) Artsmagic
Tale of Two Sisters Metro DVD
Underworld Beauty (Ankokugai no bijo ) Home Vision
Last edited by visitor Q; 10-23-04 at 07:21 PM.
10-23-04, 07:36 PM
#11
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Some obvious ones (not sure of the quality on all the releases though)..
Lola rennt
CTHD
Nikita
The White Balloon
Wings of Desire
Zentropa
Eat Drink Man Woman
Raise the Red Lantern
The Scent of Green Papaya
Lola rennt
CTHD
Nikita
The White Balloon
Wings of Desire
Zentropa
Eat Drink Man Woman
Raise the Red Lantern
The Scent of Green Papaya
Last edited by abintra; 10-24-04 at 01:08 AM.
10-24-04, 03:10 AM
#13
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Another vote for the Anchor Bay Herzog/Kinski collection. 3 of the films are outstanding imo, Aguirre, Wrath of God, Fitcarraldo, Nosferatu and the the other two are interesting.
I'm also very fond of my R3 DVD of Green Snake. This is put out by Spectrum and looks and sounds great and it only cost me $10. It is a Chinese fantasy movie directed by Tsui Hark.
I'm also very fond of my R3 DVD of Green Snake. This is put out by Spectrum and looks and sounds great and it only cost me $10. It is a Chinese fantasy movie directed by Tsui Hark.
Last edited by chente; 10-24-04 at 03:13 AM.
10-24-04, 07:45 AM
#14
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Originally posted by PopcornTreeCt
Well checked out Home Vision's website. Aside, from their Zatoichi series there isn't much I'm interested.
Well checked out Home Vision's website. Aside, from their Zatoichi series there isn't much I'm interested.
I personally have enjoyed their Merchant-Ivory series, their japanese films and much more.
Along with all the dvd studios mentioned above, I also have enjoyed some dvds produced by:
Tokyo Shock. Central Park Media (I've only seen Grave of the Fireflies so far), Tai Seng (Untold Story), Zeitgeist (Little Otik), SOmething Weird (usually low budget exploitation), UNEARTHED Films (japanese shock cinema), Pioneer released Onmyoji, which is excellent. Synapse. I just picked up a couple of Fassbinder Films released on Fantoma (www.fantoma.com) but haven't watched them yet. Wellspring. RusCiCo. Palm has also been releasing a few foreign titles.
10-24-04, 10:34 AM
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Italian:
Cinema Paradiso
Malena
The Starmaker
Spanish:
Son of the Bride
Sex and Lucia
Talk to Her
Live Flesh
French:
Amelie
Swimming Pool
Under the Sand
L'Auberge Espanol
My Wife is an Actress
German:
In July
Nowhere in Africa
Run Lola Run
Chinese (Mandarin)
Hero (import)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Happy Times
The Road Home
To Live
Once Upon a Time in China
Eat Drink Man Woman
Cinema Paradiso
Malena
The Starmaker
Spanish:
Son of the Bride
Sex and Lucia
Talk to Her
Live Flesh
French:
Amelie
Swimming Pool
Under the Sand
L'Auberge Espanol
My Wife is an Actress
German:
In July
Nowhere in Africa
Run Lola Run
Chinese (Mandarin)
Hero (import)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Happy Times
The Road Home
To Live
Once Upon a Time in China
Eat Drink Man Woman
10-24-04, 08:04 PM
#18
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The only foregin films that I have and enjoy so far are:
Lola Rennt (Run Lola Run)
Princess and the Warrior
La Femme Nakita
Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon
Iron Monkey
Lola Rennt (Run Lola Run)
Princess and the Warrior
La Femme Nakita
Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon
Iron Monkey
10-24-04, 11:12 PM
#20
Originally posted by cygnet74
the tarkovsky discs from RUSCICO.com
the tarkovsky discs from RUSCICO.com
Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I'll definitely be checking out some titles.
10-25-04, 10:16 AM
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war and peace (russian version/i ordered it from dvdsoon) has quite a good quality imho. and a bonus dvd is included.
but you may call it a 4-movie-series gg
but you may call it a 4-movie-series gg
10-25-04, 11:39 AM
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Some companies aren't my favorites. Tai Seng just releases the HK DVD many times, espcially for older DVDs. The Onmyoji DVD is barebones, although sound/picture are good. I do like Pioneer's Akira SE, though.
Personally, I buy all my foreign flicks from foreign dealers, but because this isn't the international forum, I'll stay with R1 companies.
Nobody mentioned Manga yet. If you want animes they've got them. Many times, Media Blasters does good on their releases. The Versus SE is just awesome. ArtsMagic is a relatively new company that's really good on their DVDs. Their Takashi Miike DVDs are all really good. Extras are nice, sound is good and picture is good enough.
Their DVDs are absolutely horrible, but Ground Zero has some very interesting old-school HK movies.
I really second Anchor Bay. They've got some really good releases. I love my Suspiria DVD. Other than the companies already mentioned, foreign flicks really get cheap treatment in R1, which is a shame. That's why I usually get my flicks elsewhere.
(BTW, chente mentioned Green Snake from Spectrum. That's actually a direct port (plus Korean subs) from the R0 HK remastered Mei Ah DVD. So if you want that movie you don't need a regionless player.)
Personally, I buy all my foreign flicks from foreign dealers, but because this isn't the international forum, I'll stay with R1 companies.
Nobody mentioned Manga yet. If you want animes they've got them. Many times, Media Blasters does good on their releases. The Versus SE is just awesome. ArtsMagic is a relatively new company that's really good on their DVDs. Their Takashi Miike DVDs are all really good. Extras are nice, sound is good and picture is good enough.
Their DVDs are absolutely horrible, but Ground Zero has some very interesting old-school HK movies.
I really second Anchor Bay. They've got some really good releases. I love my Suspiria DVD. Other than the companies already mentioned, foreign flicks really get cheap treatment in R1, which is a shame. That's why I usually get my flicks elsewhere.
(BTW, chente mentioned Green Snake from Spectrum. That's actually a direct port (plus Korean subs) from the R0 HK remastered Mei Ah DVD. So if you want that movie you don't need a regionless player.)
10-25-04, 01:01 PM
#25
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Originally posted by pat00139
(BTW, chente mentioned Green Snake from Spectrum. That's actually a direct port (plus Korean subs) from the R0 HK remastered Mei Ah DVD. So if you want that movie you don't need a regionless player.)
(BTW, chente mentioned Green Snake from Spectrum. That's actually a direct port (plus Korean subs) from the R0 HK remastered Mei Ah DVD. So if you want that movie you don't need a regionless player.)
