I got the limited one as soon as it came out and it had the map and the sticker on the shrink wrap (I can't remember the sticker because I threw it away with the shrink wrap).

At any rate, the map is nice to have but really no big deal as it is in Korean with no English on it. Too bad, because the DVD packaging on the other hand is mostly English.

I got the Japanese R2 "Special Version". I recommend that one if you're confident in your Japanese skills, it's progressive I think.

hi axolotls,

thanks for your replies. can you provide me with the contact info for that store you mentioned? it'd be appreciated!

The Limited Editions are long gone by now... there were after all only 3000 of them. They are the same exact things as the regular Korean SEs except for the map. I have the map and let me tell you that it's not that big a deal. It's all in Korean and it's just a folded piece of paper. Nothing to get all excited over. The Korean disc though is great.

Here's a graphic comparison of the Tartan R0 NTSC and Universe R3 NTSC DTS Theatrical versions.

http://207.136.67.23/film/dvdcompare...eroyale-th.htm

a comparison of DC is on its way.

That guy makes the mistake of assuming that the Tartan PAL versions look the same as the NTSC version. They most definitely do not. The NTSC version was a vast improvement on their previous PAL release. Totally different transfer.

Sartana, can you provide screen shots?

Sorry, I cannot, but here's a link to one review that compares the Tartan PAL and NTSC releases alongside other versions:

http://www.bulletsnbabesdvds.com/mod...rder=0&thold=0

If you want the Special Edition (extended) cut of Battle Royale, your most cost-effective solution is the r0k Starmax disc. Its film-sourced transfer is a direct port of the r2j Toei disc and the Starmax one-ups its more expensive Japanese sibling by adding a Japanese DTS track. All this for half the price, plus English-language subtitles (albeit flawed).

I would not recommend getting the r0uk PAL Tartan as it a) has a softer transfer with more compression artifacts, presumably because it is pressed on a DVD-5, not a DVD-9 like the Starmax or Toei discs and b) has screwed-up progressive flags so on some players its video-sourced transfer induces some severe combing and motion-blurring. Not cool.

I prefer the extended cut.

The comparison of the DCs is now up:

http://207.136.67.23/film/dvdcompare...eroyale-dc.htm

Did you actually watch all those discs or are you just going by screenshots? The reason I ask is that you mentioned that you didn't like the subtitle font on the Korean release, but you didn't mention that the subs are riddled with typos and garbled translations. That's something people should definitely consider when choosing between the Korean and UK releases.

Word!

I own all of the discs but Gary actually made the comment. Which disc were you referring to?


Someone sent in screen shots of the French R2 version of the Theatrical, they're up now. At first glance it looks significantly sharper than the other two. But after looking at all of the shots you can tell that none of the scenes are 'tinted'. Its really obvious in the 'field' scene. Each scene has a certain color, I assume to evoke a certain feeling or emotion. Did they director ever comment on this in interviews before he died?

I'm talking about the Korean Starmax disc, but I imagine the Cream disc is probably the same translation.

So, just so I have it straight, you sent that site screenshots of your discs and then somebody else at that site made critical comments based on those screenshots? I guess that would explain a few things. Like how their review of New Yorker's FIREWORKS fails to mention that the disc looks like compression artifact hell if you actually try to watch it and not just judge it by a few screenshots. It just seems like a strange system. Shouldn't the person who actually owns the discs and has watched them be the one to make the critical comments?

You'd think so and it is like that most of the time. I think he's mostly comparing PQ and features. Comments are always welcome and usually posted too. I've watched the Universe and Tartan discs but not any of the Korean ones yet. I'll compare the Cream and Starmax subs to see if their the same and pass on the note to Gary about the spelling errors.

Here's some more comments from Mobius Home Video Forum about using screen captures to compare DVDs:

http://www.mhvf.net/forum/general/posts/124238653.html

http://www.mhvf.net/forum/general/posts/124238693.html

I agree with all of those, although the screen shots must and do come from the same capture and image applications. I can't speak for Gary on why he does it that way but I personally only use it to get a rough idea of what discs are really bad. Look at the AoD comparo for what I mean. Now look at the Total Recall comparison. From the captures the non-anamorphic disc looks the best but in reality the PAL R2 is much sharper and has better more accurate colors. You can't represent that in a small screen shot.

is the korean 2 disc region 0?

Yep (but the original Korean single disc release was R3, I believe)

^bump

Hope it's not a repost, but now there's a German 5-Disc coming out.

http://www.dtm.at/ (scroll down)

Translation:

Disc 1:
Theatrical version (German master); German 5.1 DTS & DD; Japanese 2.0 DD & DS, optional German subtitles)

Disc 2:
Theatrical version (Japanese master); Japanese 5.1 DTS & DD; German 2.0 DD & DS, optional German subtitles)

Disc 3:
Director's Cut (uncut); in 2.0 DD Japanese and German; additional scenes in Japanese with optional German subtitles

Disc 4: Complete Bonus materials

Disc 5: Soundtrack CD

Really the "Perfect" collection?

If it had English subs it would be the perfect collection, but it doesn't seem to, anyone know if it does? I might double dip on this if it does (and if the price is right).

Don't need a german version of the film... no english subs on anything... uncut version only has 2.0... don't need german bonus material... don't need the soundtrack.

However, the packaging is probably gonna be something really amazing that'll make me get this completely unnecessary set.

The packaging is what is getting me, I'm too lazy to go back to the site and convert the currency, anyone have an estimate on price in US?

1 USD = 1.61677 DEM 1 DEM = 0.618516 USD

Hmm, then the price isn't too bad. I just can't justify it for packaging though. If only they put english subs....