I'm having a lot of trouble deciding which version of Hero to get. Which version, that is reasonably obtainable, is the best one to get with English subtitles and menus? Should I stick with the region one or is there another version that is even better than the American release?

The subtitles on the R1 disc are an insultingly simplified translation. The R3 edition from Edko in Hong Kong is a better bet.

Edko released two versions of the movie: a 2-disc set for the theatrical cut and a single-disc edition for the "Director's Cut", which runs 10 minutes longer. Picture and sound quality is very similar on both. General consensus (which I agree with) is that the theatrical cut is a better movie.

I'm sure someone will jump in here and claim that the R2 edition from Japan has a much better video transfer, but I have that disc and the colors are all completely inaccurate. If you do a search on this forum, you should be able to find previous threads with screen caps.

Josh, is the director's cut anamorphic?

what did you think of the korean edition Josh?

Does the R3 two disc theatrical cut have menus in English?

Yes. Just make sure you get the version from Edko, not the version from Guan Dong Face, which looks like garbage and has an annoying logo that pops up on screen every 5 minutes.

It's the theatrical cut. Very similar to the original Edko 2-disc but slightly better compression quality. I tend to defer watching to the Korean copy, but they are very similar and I believe the Korean disc is out of print.

Yes, however the supplements are a mixed bag as far as which ones are subtitled and which aren't. I reviewed the disc back when it was first released here:

http://www.dvdfile.com/software/revi...on_3/hero.html

Thank You Josh

Ben86:

Welcome to dvdtalk and the world of non-R1 dvd's. I noticed you are doing research on titles that have been out for awhile....Hero and Shaun. As you can imagine they have come up as topics before, especially those titles that are high profile releases. I would do some research first before posting....the search engine would be the first place. You will find a ton of info on past threads and comparisons to their R1 counterparts. Another source is dvdcompare and dvdbeaver for comparisons of different region's titles.

The forum asks that members do research first to keep the redendant threads from clogging the forum and two as a courtesy to other members, who have discussed and answered these questions before....

Good Luck
Ron