International Blu-ray discs

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gelich · #26 Post by **gelich** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 6:28 am

Korean Blu-rays are on their way. Predictably, the initial focus is on more on popular titles, but I'm sure more variety lies ahead.

These are all region A:

Taegukgi
D-War
Welcome to Dongmakgol
The Host

yoshimori · #27 Post by **yoshimori** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 1:09 pm

Good to see Korean DVDs. Now if the Japanese would only put out some, I don't know, JAPANESE films!

Added above:
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (UK)
Zodiac (Germany)
Zodiac (Scandanavia? Not sure about this one. The linked page says region "B". xploited lists an in stock Zodiac which I'd assumed was this release, but xploited says its "region all". Anyone have the scoop?)

Deleted:
German Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (reportedly only German subs)

Ivy Mike · #28 Post by **Ivy Mike** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 7:57 pm

Anyone know what's going on with Black Narcissus? First it was supposed to come out on the 16th. Then the date was the 23rd (that dvdtimes link), and now on Amazon.co.uk it says unavailable... Not to mention the uncertainty over region coding.

Cosmic Bus · #29 Post by **Cosmic Bus** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 1:22 am

All of the ITV titles from this release wave are listed that way now. Ugh, if this is delayed again (or, God forbid, cancelled) I'll be mighty upset.

pro-bassoonist · #30 Post by **pro-bassoonist** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 2:27 am

According to two different sources Pasolini's Salo has been set for a September 22 release in the UK. The previous release of this film in the UK was courtesy of the BFI and I have not seen any news indicating that they will be releasing on BR. But, Tartan own the rights for the rest of the Pasolini's works so if Salo has become their property perhaps there is a chance that the UK distrib could surprise us with another great transfer (The Seventh Seal).

Ciao,
Pro-B

peerpee · #31 Post by **peerpee** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 9:06 am

The BFI's new Head of DVD, Sam Dunn, announced SALO on Blu-ray in the current edition of UK trade mag RRP. He also mentioned Antonioni (gotta be RED DESERT), and some Tati.

Is there a chance of a Blu-ray section at this forum? Has this been discussed? All Blu-ray related posts can then all be centralised instead of scattered throughout the place as they are now?

Blu-ray posts are going to really pick up now, I'd wager.

MichaelB · #32 Post by **MichaelB** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 9:11 am

peerpee wrote:Blu-ray posts are going to really pick up now, I'd wager.

Agreed - the fact that Criterion, Kino, MoC and the BFI are all making Blu-Ray debuts in the autumn means that loads of people who've held off buying into the format will probably be taking the plunge in the next few weeks.

Me, for one.

ellipsis7 · #33 Post by **ellipsis7** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 9:47 am

Probleme!... Region A & B (US & Europe) BluRay discs are mutually exclusive so (bar obtaining a hardware modified player), there is no possibility of playing say a Criterion BluRay and a BFI or MoC BluRay disc on the same standard model machine... Kind of a downside for us cosmopolitan cinephiles on this forum used to the best of both... Rather takes the shine off developments, till this one is solved comprehensively... Meantime there's a basic BluRay player on my son's PS3 upstairs, I presume locked to Region B - I haven't really looked at it....

Postscript: Just been speaking with Stegen Electronics in the Netherlands - they are retailing a modified Sony BDPS500 BluRay player @ €799 - but you have to switch manually between Region A and B apparently when the machine is on standby... Sounds pretty awkward...

Another way round the difficulty I understand would be if Criterion, BFI, MoC were not to Region Code on BluRay at all...

peerpee · #34 Post by **peerpee** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 12:16 pm

Tartan and Warners have set a healthy precedent, and are helping to dispel any arguments that a licensor might have for region coding.

If you purchase a Blu-ray disc abroad you should be able to play it when you get home (wherever you may be). If you emigrate, you shouldn't have to ditch your entire collection, etc -- The music industry survived for over 20 years with region free CDs, blah blah. Twice as many PS3s would be sold if they were multiregion out of the box, blah blah.

A number of Japanese companies are currently preventing licencees in the West from releasing titles on Blu-ray until they've been released on Blu-ray in Japan and six months have passed. A further problem is that the Japanese have not scheduled Blu-ray releases for the films in question.

I presume this is why no Japanese titles appeared on Criterion's initial Blu-ray announcement list.

MichaelB · #35 Post by **MichaelB** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 12:22 pm

ellipsis7 wrote:Another way round the difficulty I understand would be if Criterion, BFI, MoC were not to Region Code on BluRay at all...

If they don't own the material outright (which will be the case with most of their releases), they may not have a choice - region coding is often stipulated by licensing contracts in order to protect the rightsholder's rights in other territories.

A Hollywood major like Warner will generally own its materials, so can do whatever it likes - but Criterion, MoC etc. will have far less room to manoeuvre.

Rich Malloy · #36 Post by **Rich Malloy** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 12:22 pm

Sure would love to know if MOC's planning on releasing a "METROPOLIS" blu-ray...

Awesome Welles · #37 Post by **Awesome Welles** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 12:43 pm

peerpee wrote:The BFI's new Head of DVD, Sam Dunn, announced SALO on Blu-ray in the current edition of UK trade mag RRP. He also mentioned Antonioni (gotta be RED DESERT), and some Tati.

He says it'll be September, so it'll be going head to head with Criterion for us UK buyers and with this problem of regional coding I think the BFI will do very well (Dunn also mentions that Salo was one of their best sellers previously. In RRP a couple of months ago their technical guy (can't remember the name) mentioned that Red Desert was coming from the BFI, I can't imagine that their Blu Ray would be anything else (looking forward to whatever they have to offer)!

ellipsis7 wrote:Probleme!... Region A & B (US & Europe) BluRay discs are mutually exclusive so (bar obtaining a hardware modified player), there is no possibility of playing say a Criterion BluRay and a BFI or MoC BluRay disc on the same standard model machine... Kind of a downside for us cosmopolitan cinephiles on this forum used to the best of both... Rather takes the shine off developments, till this one is solved comprehensively... Meantime there's a basic BluRay player on my son's PS3 upstairs, I presume locked to Region B - I haven't really looked at it....

And that's why I'm holding off Blu Ray until the players improve, come down in price and have multi region capability. I've bought two Blu Rays so far and will just play them on my brother's PS3, he's only a fifteen minute drive away, that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make, rather than splashing out on a Blu Ray player now that will only do half of what I want it to do.

MichaelB · #38 Post by **MichaelB** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 12:49 pm

FSimeoni wrote:In RRP a couple of months ago their technical guy (can't remember the name).

James White, I suspect, unless it was an impostor.

Awesome Welles · #39 Post by **Awesome Welles** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 12:56 pm

That name sounds familiar. Probably, I've thrown the issue away now. It was a feature on his collection, which looked pretty impressive!

#40 Post by **zedz** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 6:32 pm

davidhare wrote:I personally prefer to see Criterion MoC Kino Tartan etc Blu news under those companie's headers, but others may not.

Not that I'm Blu-enhanced, but I'd much rather see discussion on this site organised around films than around formats. I can't see any point in segregating discussion of any given film / release into separate forums based on whether its Blu-Ray or DVD. This thread seems like the ideal clearing house for what's out there. If people include hotlinks to the threads devoted to individual titles (be they MoC, Criterion, Warner, Facets or Alpha) and focus their discussions of the actual releases there, then it should fulfil the function of a dedicated forum.

Further to David's other suggestion, how about retiring the HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray thread and starting up a Blu-Ray Technical Discussion thread, if one is needed.

s.j. bagley · #41 Post by **s.j. bagley** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 8:15 pm

zedz wrote:
davidhare wrote:I personally prefer to see Criterion MoC Kino Tartan etc Blu news under those companie's headers, but others may not.
Not that I'm Blu-enhanced, but I'd much rather see discussion on this site organised around films than around formats. I can't see any point in segregating discussion of any given film / release into separate forums based on whether its Blu-Ray or DVD. This thread seems like the ideal clearing house for what's out there. If people include hotlinks to the threads devoted to individual titles (be they MoC, Criterion, Warner, Facets or Alpha) and focus their discussions of the actual releases there, then it should fulfil the function of a dedicated forum.

Further to David's other suggestion, how about retiring the HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray thread and starting up a Blu-Ray Technical Discussion thread, if one is needed.

i agree with all of this.

Antares · #42 Post by **Antares** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 8:25 pm

Rich Malloy wrote:Sure would love to know if MOC's planning on releasing a "METROPOLIS" blu-ray...

No, but it looks like Kino is...

from IMDB:

Fritz Lang's classic 1927 epic Metropolis, for years available only on home video only as a scratchy, washed-out print, has been painstakingly restored frame by frame and is due to be released on high-definition Blu-ray disc in 2009, according to Kino International, the New York-based distributor of art-house-type home videos. The film was restored to mark the 75th anniversary in 2002 of the silent movie's original release and included a new soundtrack based on the original score created for the movie.

The Fanciful Norwegian · #43 Post by **The Fanciful Norwegian** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 12:48 am

I'm waiting for Facets to jump into Blu-ray. I wanna see how a late '80s-vintage Betacam festival screener looks at 1080p.

Rich Malloy · #44 Post by **Rich Malloy** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 9:57 am

Antares wrote:
Rich Malloy wrote:Sure would love to know if MOC's planning on releasing a "METROPOLIS" blu-ray...
No, but it looks like Kino is...

It is KINO's announcement of a BD-Metropolis coupled with MOC's announcement that it will begin to release BD titles that has caused me to wonder if MOC has any hi-def plans for Metropolis.

I'd much prefer to support MOC, and if Nick is willing to let on about their plans, I'll Netflix the KINO release and then purchase the eventual MOC release.

Darth Lavender · #45 Post by **Darth Lavender** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 11:20 am

zedz wrote:Not that I'm Blu-enhanced, but I'd much rather see discussion on this site organised around films than around formats. I can't see any point in segregating discussion of any given film / release into separate forums based on whether its Blu-Ray or DVD. This thread seems like the ideal clearing house for what's out there. If people include hotlinks to the threads devoted to individual titles (be they MoC, Criterion, Warner, Facets or Alpha) and focus their discussions of the actual releases there, then it should fulfil the function of a dedicated forum.

Further to David's other suggestion, how about retiring the HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray thread and starting up a Blu-Ray Technical Discussion thread, if one is needed.

Actually, a while ago, I recall starting a "format neutral" High Definition thread, to discuss just the technical aspects of High Definition (with none of the blu vs hddvd arguing)

I think there probably is room for a few threads specifically dealing with aspects of 'High Definition' (and, for that matter, we should really set up a Home Theatre/Calibration thread some time)

But, I agree with the above, there's no need for an actual 'blu-ray' sub-forum. All of the 'HD-relevant' discussion can be fit into just a few threads (upcoming/rumoured releases, technical discussion of the codecs, etc.)

MichaelB · #46 Post by **MichaelB** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 11:25 am

DVD Times on Black Narcissus - seems to confirm that it's region-free.

ellipsis7 · #47 Post by **ellipsis7** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 12:15 pm

MichaelB wrote:DVD Times on Black Narcissus - seems to confirm that it's region-free.

Granada/ITV can do this safely because they own the film... Problem arises if a title is released through a sub license or territorial license, which, as you point out, might force a region coding...

Ivy Mike · #48 Post by **Ivy Mike** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 7:11 pm

I think I'm seeing what you're referring to, David. Looking at the DVDBeaver captures of Black Narcissus, the shot of St. Faith against the mountains prominently shows the difference where the Criterion is more 3-strip-like. The blue skies are that technicolor blue. And the green is much deeper, although it looks like it's bleeding into areas that aren't supposed to be green (but that's only from comparing to the other dvds, which of course aren't definitive, especially since Cardiff oversaw the Criterion and not the others, as far as I know). I don't have near the experience of others with watching 3-strip films, although I have seen a few IB prints before of various films. But I do see where David's defense of the Criterion has merit.

I know we aren't talking about the actual transfer quality, which the Criterion certainly has issues, and I know you've mentioned that before in the Thief of Baghdad thread. Although it's nice to see some non-mainstream releases - and I will wait for further reviews and caps on the Granada disc - hopefully, we can look to Criterion for a definitive re-release on blu in the future. Same thing with The Red Shoes...and Col Blimp...etc.

yoshimori · #49 Post by **yoshimori** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 8:02 pm

added: Salo, This Is England
clean up: UK Black Narcissus region free, German Traffic region free, etc.

off topic. I noticed while browsing amazon.com that an $8 blu-ray of Beat the Devil releases on 10.28. There's also now up for pre-order on amazon.com Miami Vice, The Band's Visit, and Kiss of the Spider Woman.

pro-bassoonist · #50 Post by **pro-bassoonist** » Sun Jun 29, 2008 3:55 am

Some very exciting news...Paris has been announced as English-friendly (BR) and region-free. DTS-HD Master Audio will be the codec of choice. Below is a look at the BR and the Colelctor's SDVD edition.

July 15th also sees the releases of two Johnny To films in Hong Kong: Mad Detective and PTU.

Language : Mandarin, Cantonese
Subtitle : Simplified Chinese, English, Traditional Chinese

Language : Cantonese, Mandarin
Subtitle : English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese

Pro-B

International Blu-ray discs

First Korean Blu-rays