gopeglegs!

This may have been discussed already, but I'm looking at my collection and I see that I have:

In the Mood for Love R2
Trois Colours (R0; Korean version)
Chungking Express (R0; HK version)

I was also close to buying:
Chungking Express (R3(?); Korean version)
Trois Colors (R2; UK non-boxset version)
Beau Travail (R2)

Now that they're or will be all available in the U.S., I wonder whether it's much ado about nothing to get early non-R1 releases of movies and put up with stuff like int'l shipping, PAL-NTSC conversion, half-octave higher sound, non-existant english subs, region-free playback, etc.

Granted, I don't see the possibility of some old Japanese animation, such as my Galaxy Express 999 (R3) ever coming to R1, but if it's or was a relatively recent big hit on the int'l art cinema circuit, then it may pay to just wait until it comes out in the U.S. That is, unless you're a diehard fan and want all the different versions of the same movie and must have all the non-duplicative special features....

My personal view is to build my dvd collection for the long-term, i.e., refraining from buying barebone dvds like Black Hawk Down when it's clearly rumored to be rereleased with extra features. I still bought Criterion's Great Expectations because the possibility of it being rereleased is probably slim. Of course, some people will love any movie enough to get it asap regardless of the hurdles, but in retrospect . . .

Well, things always look greener over the septic tank....

Giles

my problem, and dumb luck is that I purchase a Region 2,3 etc only to find out that in a few months that a Region 1 release IS going to happen. Case in point, I prematurely purchase "Man Bites Dog", "My Life As A Dog" (I see a theme here), "Ordinary Decent Criminal", "Beau Travail" only to find out that, yes, indeed a reg. 1 is getting released. I have really bad timing.

joelgee

Well now you've gotta do your homework.
As I understand it, many aspects of a particular DVD can vary from region to region. Things that can change might include video and audio quality, special features, running time, etc. I know there's a site that compares DVDs from different regions. Sadly, I don't know the URL.
With greater choices comes greater research.
J

pro-bassoonist

well......gopeglegs....are you trying to convince yourself that you need a region free DVD player or is there something else I am missing here.....

In my opinion it is pointless to even begin such a discussion.
First off, even if a movie gets released in the US (assuming that we speak of non-english productions mostly) it will either get censored by the idiots at Miramax/Disney-given the fact that they own most of the movies that I want to purchase for example- or it will be dubbed, cut, or worse it will not be released at all.

Here are a few reasons why I bought a region DVD player and have no regrets at all:

The Piano Teacher- only available 16/9 version with subs is R2.

L'appartament- Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel- no R1

Alice Et Martin- J. Binoche -no R1

Les Amants Du Pont Neuf (known in the US as Lovers on the Bridge)- Lavant/Binoche. This movie alone was worth the money I spent on my player.

La Haine- another Cassel movie- in my view a modern classic.

Lost Highway- Only the german release is worth owning. NO R1.

The upcoming Francois Ozon coffret (boxset)- half of the movies are not available in R1.

AVALON- the 2 DVD set(DTS plus tons of extras)- R3

Sandokan the Miniseries- R2-Dutch only available in Europe.

Queen Margot- an absolute MUST for me- NO R1

The Driver- No R1 (Ryan O'Neal/ I. Adjani)- in my opinion the best classic chase movie. Yes, better than Bullit and Vanishing Point

The Dancer-(DTS) Luc Besson presents series- NO R1

La Fidelite- Sophie Marceau- a 3 hours epic (in my view) romance- available only in France

DOBERMANN- Cassel/Bellucci.....a violent urban French production...if this movie gets released by Buena Vista in the US I will drink a glass of milk (I am lactose intolerant). Period!!

La Chambre de Officers- Cannes official selection (DTS)- NO R1

TAXI 1 and 2 dir by Luc Besson- NO R1 ....

Crying Freeman- dir. C. Gans (Brotherhood of the Wolf)- awesome movie....of course no R1.

TOSCA- Roberto Alagna- NO R1....if this gets released on a quality disc (as this French DTS, 6.1 disc)...I will drink another glass of milk.

Le Mari de la coiffeuse- an absolute classic. NO R1

Girl on the Bridge (La Fille sur le pant) V. Paradis...it is more likely that we get a Hollywood remake with Vin Dissel than this beautiful french movie.

For Roseanna- Jean Reno....available in widescreen on a German disc only.

Le Samorai- A. Delon's classis......R1...mmmmm...I think not.


I mean.. I can keep going on and on and on .........Dont even get me started on the Italian and German movies that I have on my list.

So, the question is....what do you want to own...and what do you find valuable. A single DVD region could never cover entirely a film buff's taste in movies. It's like trying to claim that you can only eat Italian food...what about French, Greek, Russian......with more spices than ever before.

All in all -I have no regrets. See money.....that's another issue!!!

pro-bassoonist

This is the site that compares DVDs from different regions:

http://www.dvdcompare.org.uk/compari...omparisons.php

Numskull

It's always worth getting the release from another region of the R1 version is from Miramax...because Miramax releases movies in their entirety with about the same frequency with which total solar eclipses occur.

Lucas

The upcoming Francois Ozon coffret (boxset)- half of the movies are not available in R1.

I have the single disc releases from FilmOffice/Paramount in France and you should note that the disc with the film shorts Regarde La Mer/Une Robe d'été etc have no English subtitles.

All the others discs do have subs (on the film only -but not on the extras or the alternate versions of Les Amants criminels) -and very nice images they are! The Region 1 discs that are available are poor in comparison.



What's the Point of Getting Non-R1 Editions?

As we all know the USA has the best bombs, cars, and food -but they do not always have the best DVDs! I've had (and watched many many times over several years) DVDs that aren't available in Region 1 and even if they are/were many would be or are poor. Also of course many discs are available in many Regions but that doesn't mean Region 1 is best (or any other Region -it's nice to buy from everywhere).

Klaus

Pro-bassoonist,

Any chance of opening your collection up for public viewing?

Cheers.

pro-bassoonist

Klaus....thanks for the compliment...but my collection is a drop in the ocean compared to say...Hendrik(though he has not posted a link to his films). Too bad he lives in Switzerland.

(i have not uploaded my French discs yet).


Lukas..Thank you for the heads up...I am aware of it!! And I think that you are very much wrong about Ozon's R1 discs-They are not poor- I would describe them as horrible.

Jay G.

I think Klaus meant that when someone clicks on your collection, they get this message:

slymer

DDDhouse = Cheap!!! I like the fact that I can order 5 or 6 movies for about $40 shipped.

Civic2oo1

I buy the official releases whenever possible. I waited a few weeks for Friend Korean release, but got that instead of getting the cheapo H/K version.

joelgee

What do you mean by "official?"
Unless they're bootlegs, purchased through a disreputable source, HK DVDs are as "official" as anything else.
I get lots of stuff through places like DDDHouse. When I haven't seen the movie, $40.00 HK is a good investment. Then, if I want, I can get a version, if available, with more features, higher quality, etc.
Then, I can take my HK version to a local store that buys used DVDs and sell it for virtually the same price I paid.
What's wrong with that?
Also, there's no way I could afford to buy all the HK films I want for HKL-type prices (although I probably will start replacing the HK discs slowly).
J

Civic2oo1

I'm talking about Korean movies, as my HK collection isn't all there. In the instances of Friend, JSA, and a few others, the HK version came out first and is cheaper, but in my experience, they pale in comparison to the R3 or R0 release.

d2cheer

Agree totally with the above statements!! Also will add that OAR is a BIGGER issue in other Regions than here in the good ole USA. Case in point the Principal, Happy Gilmore and Vacation are in OAR in other Regions NOT here however....

Chuck Tatum

I agree with Pro-bassonist, there are countless films that are available outside of the USA that ARE different in various ways. Or there are films that just won't come - Doberman is a classic example, that movie takes the bank heist film to a new extreme and it hasn't seen the light of day in the US on DVD or VHS.

The Hollywood Studios are bent on making as much money as they possibly can on the highest profile titles, and that means that they'll release the versions of films that have been released in the US -- only!

For instance, say what you want about Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, but the films IS a different film without the sad digital censorship. And I assume that we'll never see a complete version of Bertolucci's 1900 in R1 - the only reason the director's cut of Last Emperor came out was because it was released in the theatre, and if the studio was going to pour money in for a theaterical release, then they needed to reap the benefits on DVD.

Kieslowski's Three Colors Trilogy is a pretty amazing set of movies and there is no release date in R1, and the extras might not be the same. I saw a screening of John Carpenter's Assault On Precint 13 w Q&A from Carpenter afterwards and someone asked him how come the bonus material for Star Man was only available on non-R1 DVDs; Carpenter's response was basically that the studios could justify the extra expense for the US, but the R2 distributor new the film would sell better in Europe (where the film was better received when it originally came out) and opted to included those bonus materials.

There's also rights issues to contend with which would prevent the R1 DVD from coming out at all. It took forever for Glengarry Glen Ross to come out in R1, any one really know why?

Re-editing and differring bonus material is a good enough reason (Piano Player was edited even for US theatrical release, and Miramax is out to make the pockets fatter, not please movie fans), and that UK DVD compare site should give you enough information to make the best purchase. Price to is something to consider. And 16x9 availability, I mean if you are really into DVDs then you should be watching on a monitor that accepts a PAL signal, so there's no conversion issues.

pro-bassoonist

Chuck Tatum:

Kieslowski's Three Colors is coming out this March 3/4/03 with plenty of extras (and in a boxset as well). The price is also very attractive. I have pre-rodered mine but will always be a bit nervous until I get them and check the quality myself. After all we are talking about MIRAMAX here. Here's a link:

http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_ite...item_id=465406


ps
Just a side note.....Horsemen on the Roof is also coming this July.

mdm67

Hi there!
being a DVD collector, I live on the wrong side of the Atlantic.
Though I think being region free is the best condition to be an happy DVD collector, I really can't share pro-bassonist's opinion:

1- for an american fellow to become region free is much more complicated than for an european fellow (NTSC/PAL conversion and so on)

2 - R1 is the leadin' DVD market: what do you want, Fellini? R2 Italy releases? no!! R1!! an asian master like Imamura? R1!! OK, I admit you can find only in France two masterpieces by Bunuel - Los Olvidados and Ensayo de un crimen - and the same could be said for a few other movies, but overall if you want to build a huge DVD collection I think R1 offers enough good choices to exhaust your credit cards.

If I lived in the US I would never think that being region free is a necessary condition to satisfy my desire of collecting DVD's.
For an european fellow is quite different, our TV's can play both NTSC and PAL, so with a little modification of the software of our DVD players we can easily gain access to the wonderful world of R1.

mdm67

renaldow

mdm67, I think the grass is greener on the other side of the Atlantic!

It's not complicated at all for a R1'er to become region free. All you've got to do is buy a region free player. Plenty of them are available at low prices, and they have built in PAL/NTSC conversion so the TV standard is not an issue.

I agree with both points that as a collector R1 is king and you can build a satisfying collection of DVDs from R1 alone. The problem doesn't stem from lacking enough interesting discs in the US, but not having access to films and content that are interesting and may never be released in the US. For example, I'm a fan of Rick Mayall and Adrian Edmondson. Bottom will probably never be released in the US. But, since I have a region free player I've been able to get the Bottom DVDs.

Pricing and release dates can be another issue. I bought the R2 Red Dwarf (not available in the US until late next month) at a cheaper price online than I would've been able to when it's released in the US. I imported Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon from HK the same day it was released theatrically in the US, cheaper than it would have been for 2 people to see it in the theater.

To me there are enough titles that I want that aren't available in the US but are in Europe that it makes sense for me to be region free. There are quite a few US movies that have been released in Europe on DVD but never in the US. There are a lot of Danish, English, and French films that will never come to the US, but I still want to see them.

If someone was only interested in mainstream US titles, then it wouldn't make a lot of sense to get a region free player, there just isn't enough out there in other regions to make it worthwhile.

mdm67

Hi renaldow!
I repeat myself: I think being region free is the best condition to be an happy DVD collector. Though I think region free is vital for not R1 collectors, while is a matter of choice for R1 collectors.
It's obvious we're not talkin' of mainstream movies, but what about "mother and son" by Sokurov? it's a german production, but the only DVD release is an american one. As a fact R1 is the best region if you are interested in art house movies - the fact that many releases - Fox Lorber and so on - suck is another matter.

mdm67

Lucas

Region 1 is very important to me and will always be the most profuse release Region. Aorund 90% (500) of my DVDs are Region 1 but the others (from Spain, Italy, germany, Austraila, UK, Holland, Denmark etc) are just as important and in someways more important as they are 'special' because I've hunted them down.

Multiregion isn't for everyone though.

Tom Army

Dobermann and Taxi 1&2 are available in R1 but were made in Quebec and i don't think english subs are available

Dobermann
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/tg/...414655-9888836

Taxi 1
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASI...414655-9888836

Taxi 2
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASI...414655-9888836

pro-bassoonist

....and are P/S.

I do not consider such "releases" available in R1.

By the way, thank you for pointing this out....though I have been aware of them for over a year now.

boc4ever

The main advantage to buying outside of R1 is options. In some cases, the R2, R4 or R0 versions have more features, correct aspect ratio and in some cases cheaper! For example, I picked up an R3 version of the Blues Brothers from http://www.cd-wow.net for $12.95 shipped! It is the same as the R1, but half the price.

In other cases the R2 version is the only one available. I picked up James' Getting Away with it Live for $17.95 shipped. Great band that was more popular in the UK. No US release was on the horizon and it was packed with material.

The bottom line is that your choices are limitless with a region free player and you aren't restrained by copyright issues for domestic releases. To me, the best reason right now to get a region free player is to get the R2 Friday the 13th SE coming out shortly. It is uncut, has a documentary, and isn't slated for release in the states uncut.

Here are some of my favorite non-R1 e-tailers that offer free shipping to the US -

http://www.bensonsworld.co.uk
http://www.cd-wow.net
http://www.dvdoo.dk

Have fun!

Giles

I though has been noticing that the the UK music scene is prevailent in Canada, so sometimes a music DVD does come out on Region 1 disc but is a Canadian release: case in point, SUEDE's 'Lost in TV' is available, as supposedly is JOOLS HOLLAND: 10 YEARS LATER, and PULP: HITS. I cant verify the last two and would love to hear from someone who can in fact verify that these have been released in Canada.