If you post all of the options, Daniel Windsor, I'll update the poll. However, people can still contribute without having either to vote or be restricted to the options shown.

There are a lot of options!

The Region 2 UK 1 disc
The Region 2 UK 2 disc

The Region 2 French 1 disc
The Region 2 French 2 disc limited edition
The Region 2 French 2 disc limited edition 2

The Region 2 Italian version

The Region 1 Canadian version

The Region 4 Australian [a pretty impressive release (and it's cheap)]


That's about it!

well, that's just the thing.. the French release has 5.1 audio, while opinions differ on the UK release which is supposed to be a port but may only have a 2.0 audio track and not 5.1 like it damn well should.. that's what i'm trying to find out here. the French 2-disc set is out of the question since it's not widely available anymore and i'm not willing to chase around for a used copy and pay plenty.

here are the side-by-side reviews of the R1 CC and R2 FR releases:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcom...oodforlove.htm
http://www.celtoslavica.de/chiaroscu...iche/mood.html

the R1 is heavily cropped, more saturated and doesn't show as great detail as R2..

but on the other hand, the UK 2-disc might only have a 2.0 track, which makes it a tougher decision..

You may well be correct about the DD2.0 on the UK set. It was a long time ago these came out and my memory may be wrong.

Sorry I can't help.

I got my 2 disc French set (limited) when Vivendi (now NBC-Vivendi-Universal) sold off www.cinestore.com It was verycheap. Something like US$14.

Keep an eye out at www.ebay.fr

The French disc is not only the best one video-wise but it has the best design as well. It is a superb presentation of this film and as Daniel already pointed out the disc is rather hard to track down these days.

As to the "new" tin release...in my opinion this is one of the saddest efforts I have ever seen. The subs are often cut and full of mistakes. They come on and off so fast (irregularly) that I was very, very annoyed after the first 20 min. Image on the other side is also slightly cropped.

Pro-B

after reading here:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcom...oodforlove.htm

http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=1538

I went with the Tartan 2-disc set (Region 2) for better composition, 5.1 DD (criterion's is 5.0), and a more accurate rendition of the intended color timing.

I haven't watched any of the R2 discs, but in every one of the screen caps on DVD Beaver I prefer the colors on the Criterion. "Accuracy" to a theatrical presentation is debatable and largely based on subjective memory.

The framing differences are also negligible, and are moot when you take television overscan into account.

I guess what I'm saying is that both copies look good, just slightly different than one another. Choose based on preference.

so you can confirm that the UK Tartan 2-disc release has indeed DD 5.1 and not 2.0 like i've been reading at various websites/retailers?

Unfortunately DVD Beaver ( which I enjoy reading ) resizes the screen caps which makes them far less useful . If they were shown to scale instead it would make the comparison far more useful in my opinion . The PAL image should be a little larger than the NTSC one .

Yes, well, they should also only let you look at the PAL image for 96% of the time that they allow you to look at the NTSC image.

my two disc Tartan has a 5.1 DD cantonese track. however, there is very little use of the surround channels other than rain fx.

I have the Tartan edition, it's qutie well put together. And yeah, you don't get the fantasic box art on the French disc. You can see what the French did with their key art design as one of the bonus features.

It's a 5.1 mix, but since it's not an action film or a thriller it doesn't suffer from not having an aggressive 5.1 mix. The music - a key element to the film's beauty - is faithful reproduced and nicely spaced in the sound field.

True , though in that case some of the NTSC caps should also be repeats of earlier ones as well

My point though was just about accuracy and being able to use the site at face value . All of the comparisons I've read do mention PAL speed up in the changed runtime . I find it odd that the NTSC picture degradation isn't also highlighted .

"Picture degradation" is the wrong way of putting it. A more accurate way of looking at it is to say that NTSC is good, PAL is incrementally better (for resolution), and both are far below HDTV.

Anyway, I think many would argue that the PAL speedup is more noticeable than the difference in resolution.

Has anyone seen the Wong kar-wai directed short film that is on the first disc of the Criterion edition? Is it worth buying just for that or just renting from Netflix?

I really enjoyed Kar-wai's BMW film, and I'm curious about the nature of this short... which no one seems to have commented on in all the talk about this film and the extras and what version to get.

As far as I can remember this is just a montage of brief clips from classic Hong Kong cinema - mostly black and white . Wong Kar Wai showing off his early influences I guess .

True , especially about HDTV . Though that "increment" is actually about 18% higher resolution for PAL over NTSC . And that's not even mentioning judder and colour issues ...

That is a very popular internet myth isn't it . Some people might notice on a few discs , but any more than that is unlikely .

No need to bring up this old chestnut yet again.

Anyone who gives a damn can read the bazillion old threads and links to scientific proofs etc. etc. etc.



Benedict
Moderator, International DVD Talk

thanks cygnet and Chuck.. that's all i wanted to hear. i just placed my order for the UK release.

Just too many versions. Sigh...

I got the first HK version. Didn't go for the criterion version. Now, there's a new remastered HK version. Should I replace my current version? Hmm...

the remastered HK Mei Ah disc is still a NON-anamorphic transfer,
and quality wise still nowhere near the Crit or French.

What makes you say that? My copy of the new Mei Ah disc is anamorphic.

I just check, the re-mastered version is presented in anamorphic widescreen.

Do you have the criterion version to compare with? If not, how do the images hold up?

Unfortunately, while I have seen the Criterion version, I do not own it and I wouldn't rely on my memory to compare them. I think the image on the remastered HK is good enough, since it only cost $11 (from CD-Wow). The subtitles are only adequate though. I will probably end up upgrading to the Criterion soon enough.