kristoffer

Does anybody have the R3 version of Avalon directed by Mamoru Oshii?? Its susposed to be Anamorphic...how the sound, subtitles??
and the movie itself??

Jay G.

The Movie
From http://us.imdb.com/Plot?0267287
"In a future world, young people are increasingly becoming addicted to an illegal (and potentially deadly) battle simulation game called Avalon. When Ash, a star player, hears of rumors that a more advanced level of the game exists somewhere, she gives up her loner ways and joins a gang of explorers. Even if she finds the gateway to the next level, will she ever be able to come back to reality?"

This live action movie is directed by the director of the anime Ghost in the Shell, Mamoru Oshii. It is in many was similar to Ghost in the Shell, in terms of pacing and mood. The intro credits are very reminiscent of Ghost in the Shell, which were also the inspiration to the credits for The Matrix. This movie comes off as a thinking person's Matrix, offering no clear-cut answers where The Matrix provided many, and relying on character and mood instead of action to propel the story. I'd highly recommend the film.

Packaging:
The DVD comes in a DVD case enclosed by a cardboard slipcase colored a shiny silver, similar in appearance to the T2 UE slipcase. There is no insert in the case, unless you count the bonus postcard. The Box states that the disc is encoded for Region 3, however it is in actuality encoded for All regions.

Picture:
The image is non-anamorphic, letterboxed at 1.85:1. The image is slightly higher than center, creating more black space on the bottom of the screen allowing for the subs to not overlap the image. The movie as it was shot is rather dark with muted colors, making almost everything appear a shade of brown. There are no noticeable film defects or compression artifacts, and it is overall a very nice clean picture.

Sound:
The disc contains both Polish DD 5.1 and Polish DD 2.0 Stereo tracks. The Stereo track is not encoded for Dolby Surround. The 5.1 track has very active surrounds and it wouldn't be surprising if it was the same as on the Japanese DVD. The action scenes make full use of all channels, while the surrounds provide ambient noise and music during the rest of the music.

Subtitles:
The disc contains removable subtitles in English and Chinese. The English subtitles are very good, with no grammatical problems and only two spelling errors that I noticed. However, the subtitle track isn't always in sync, sometimes falling behind or racing ahead of the in-screen dialogue. This only happened for a short while, a few seconds, in a couple of spots.

Extras
This disc contains 3 short trailers for other Panorama releases: Blow, La Femme Nakita, and Nowhere to Hide. There is no trailer for Avalon itself on the disc.

Summary
The main attractions of this disc are the fact that it's Region Free and that its price tag is less than half of it's Japanese counterpart. The main drawbacks are the lack of an anamorphic image and the lack of any extras. This film is set to be released theatrically later this year in the US with a revised script by Neil Gaiman, so this DVD is best for those who cannot wait to watch the film.

cine

My copy came (last week) in "cost-reduced" packaging: clear-plastic DVD case, no slipcase, no insert, no bonus postcard!!!

Jay G.

Maybe just the initial pressing had the special packaging. I dunno, I got it when it first came out, and that's what it had.

nekobus

Even the regular edition has some type of packaging.

Heliosphann

Save up your dough and buy the "Official" Bandai R2 edition... It's really ****ing sweet. It's pretty expensive, but it's worth every penny!

lordzeppelin

Are you talking about the Memorial box? Hmm...I'm gonna have to look this up, as I've had the "SE" without the slipcover, but with the postcard for quite some time....


The video on that edition is quite good, as is the sound. I wish there were more extras available with english subtitles though...

ellone

Are the extras in Polish or Japanese?

Heliosphann

I've got just the regular edition of the Bandai release. Basically nothing but some trailers/tv spots and that's it for extra's. I would have liked to have the Memorial Box Set because of the DTS track, but it's not worth it for that much extra cash... Hey, the 16x9 transfer and 5.1 DD track are good enough for me!

ntuc

is the show nice? the extras got english subtitle?

Jay G.

Avalon just got a Korean R3 DVD release. Supposidly it's a 2-disc set, with most of the features of the Japanese R2 memorial set.
Details here:

http://www.krdvd.com/details.php?id=251

The main advantages over the HK will be the DTS 6.1 track, and the anamorphic image, which will most likely be progressive as well. Most Korean DVDs don't have English subs for the extras though.

Gimbob

Yes, dvdasian.com has it now . details are at

http://www.dvdasian.com/cgi-bin/dvdasian/14131.html

Audio Format: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo / Dolby Digital 5.1 EX, DTS 6.1 ES Surround

Video Format: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 (Disc 1), Standard 1.33:1 / Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 (Disc 2)

Languages: Japanese, Polish (Disc 1), Japanese (Disc 2)

Subtitles: English, Korean, Japanese (Disc 1) / Korean (Disc 2)

Region Code: 3

Running Time: 106 Min

Special Features: Disc 2(177 minutes): Bonus Materials - Day of Avalon, Avalon VFX Making, Visual Image Library, Trailer & TV Spot


It seems to me it has the same features in R-2 Japanese Memorial Edition.

Giles

So... I watched the movie (R3 edition) for the first time last week and I was somewhat disappointed. IMO I found the hype way overrated. Can someone please explain the ending. *** out of 5 Stars.

Ericf

There's a French edition coming out soon. 2-disc with all the same features as the Korean DVDs. French is at least possible to translate if anyone has the time an patience. Then you can understand what the cocumentary is about.

Ericf

axolotls return

I traded my Avalon R2. I really couldn't get into it. Also, I'll emphasize again the HK R3 (really R0) version transfer is almost as good (I mean really damn close) to the quality of the Japanese DVD (if you don't have a widescreen TV) and probably only $10 new.

Furious

That's a pretty big "IF" But I'll agree...not as much point splashing out on the Japanese import if one is running a standard 27-32" set. On a front projection setup it's a whole nother issue....

Ericf

Just saw the movie. I didn't like it much. Slow and meandering and with a pretty contrived "ending". I don't think I'll get this one from either region. A shame, since I thought the music was pretty nice.

Ericf

axolotls return

Definitely true. You have to know your bottom line. If you are running a front projector... then anamorphic is the only way to go. I mean ever watch Monsters Inc. and Star Wars II or a front projector ---then--- watch a Mei Ah HK (say God of Gamblers) on it..

I am not big into the Final Fantasy or Avalon stuff. I just got hooked on Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away (but not much else in that genre interest me... although I haven't really looked into it)

Furious

Oh I have, believe me...not a pretty site at all...sometimes the only way to see the burned in subs on some of the scope films from HK tho!

Jay G.

Here's a review:
http://www.thegline.com/dvd-of-the-w...11-28-2002.htm

notvandnobeer

Sorry to drag this old thread up, but I just heard about this movie and it seems really interesting. I was wondering if anybody knows whether the 2 dvd Korean release is really region 3 or if its region 0? I've heard that its region 0 even though the box says region 3. I don't have a codefree player and I'd like to get an anamorphic dvd of this rather than the non-anamorphic HK version.

Heliosphann

The 2-disc Korean DVD of Avalon is indeed R3... I double checked a minute ago just to be sure. You can always get the R0 HK dvd... It's not anamorphic, but I hear it's a good letterbox transfer.

jonathan.e

Brilliant movie. Ranks alongside Blade Runner IMO. I’d love to see those extras subbed though.

Trigger

Maybe I'm alone in thinking this film was pretty bad. Perhaps I should give it another shot.

candyrocket786

Just picked up the R3 Korean release and would like to know if the soundtrack is available anywhere.


(Sorry about resurrecting an old thread. Didn't see the need to create a new one)