I've heard some bad things about the Kino and Spectrum releases, so are there any other alternatives?

Dunno about other releases but Korea has a pretty nifty 3-disk set.

If you're not sure and you can wait, I'm sure Criterion will pick that movie up eventually.

Doubtful since Kino holds the rights.


The Korean release has both the Ruscico and Image transfers, so you get both of them. Neither is perfect but the Korean set is the way to go since you get both transfers.

If that is literally true, I would NOT recommend getting the Korean DVD. Ruscico's NTSC transfers are PAL to NTSC conversion: it is always best to get their PAL originals (or Artificial Eye version thereof, where applicable).

Unless I am missing something the Korean DVD would be NTSC, and if they used Ruscico's transfer, than it is a PAL to NTSC conversion.

Ted

Plus you get both cuts of the film, the theatrical and the international cut. I found the 2-disc Russico transfer (despite being anamorphic) to be almost unwatchable due to extreme frame flickering (like in silent films) that's in the transfer. Also the US cut has much better subs...

Here's a screenshot comparison:

http://207.136.67.23/film/dvdcompare/dersuuzala.htm


My opinion? There's no 'great' version out there right now. I've got the Kino and I'll live with that until someone puts out a significantly better version. It's definitely watchable, although nothing to write home about.

ok, is the Kino version exactly the same as the Disc 3 on the Spectrum release? dvdbeaver lists the Kino disc as 2:23 running time and Spectrum disc 3 as 2:21. I'm conflicted on which one to get. I can get the R3 for a few bucks cheaper than the kino version. which one should I go with?

and the same for Come and See. should I go with the Spectrum version or the single disc Kino R1

the korean set may have a Pal/ntsc conversion of the Rusciso, but if you buy the Ruscico version here in the US, that's what you get as well. The question remains which does it better, or is it really worth tracking down the PAL version of the Ruscico.

which one is the kino disc though? the american cut or the original version?

Thanks for the info.