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Gary Tooze · #76 Post by **Gary Tooze** » Thu May 03, 2007 4:10 pm

New...

Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC "The Third Man" vs. Criterion (2-disc RE-Issue) - Region 1 - NTSC

Original Criterion Edition

New 2-disc REISSUE

One new....

Strand Releasing - Region 0 - NTSC "Blissfully Yours" vs. La-ong Dao - Region 0 - PAL vs. Second Run - Region 0 - PAL vs. MK2 - Region 2- PAL

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/

Best,

Rich Malloy · #77 Post by **Rich Malloy** » Fri May 04, 2007 6:17 pm

The Strand "BLISSFULLY YOURS" is 14 minutes shorter than the PAL sped-up Second Run and MK2?? Wha...?!

(Gary, did you account for the speed-up when you did that math? I notice that the runtime is listed as only about 6 minutes shorter... heh, "only" 6 minutes.)

This is positively insane. Or at least inexplicable. I mean, 6 or 14 minutes is quite a long time either way, and - at least going on memory - I don't recall the explicit scenes lasting that long. Not that there's any reason to cut the explicit scenes anyway. So, color me perplexed (a putrid shade of mauve, most likely).

Once again, a completely fucked-up Weerasethakul R1 release. I'm not crazy about the interlaced transfer on the Second Run disc, but at least it contains the complete film.

Gary Tooze · #78 Post by **Gary Tooze** » Fri May 04, 2007 8:25 pm

(Gary, did you account for the speed-up when you did that math? I notice that the runtime is listed as only about 6 minutes shorter... heh, "only" 6 minutes.)

Yes Rich. It should be about 8 minutes longer (PAL 4% speedup).

I'm waiting for some one from Stand to respond. It's a real screw-up when they have the director introducing the film as the 'uncensored version'... I still keep thinking I've made a mistake somewhere. ?!?!?

New...

BFI - Region 2 - PAL vs. "Army of Shadows" Criterion (2-disc) - Region 1 - NTSC

Two new...

Masters of Cinema - Region 0 - NTSC "Grey Gardens" vs. Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Criterion (Package with The Beals of Grey Gardens) - Region 1 - NTSC

Optimum Classics (Western Classics) - Region 2 - PAL "Broken Arrow" vs. 20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC

Have a great weekend,
Gary

Gary Tooze · #79 Post by **Gary Tooze** » Wed May 16, 2007 12:53 pm

One and...

Universal (lone edition) - Region 1 - NTSC "Scarface" (1932) vs. Universal - 83' Deluxe Giftset - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Universal - Region 2,4,5 - PAL

Plus in Henrik's review of Tartan's Region 2 "The Alejandro Jodorowsky Collection", he has compared it to the new region 1 release of April 30th.

One new...

Paramount - Region 1 - NTSC "True Grit" vs. Paramount (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC

One new... finally back in print!

HBO Home Video - Region 0 - NTSC "Ball of Fire" vs. MGM - Region 1 - NTSC

New...

Artificial-Eye - Region 2 - PAL "Regular Lovers" vs. Zeitgeist Films - Region 1 - NTSC

On deck - Rio Bravo and a review of The Chantal Akerman Boxset (the one with Eng subs!).

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/

Best,

Gary Tooze · #80 Post by **Gary Tooze** » Thu May 24, 2007 12:21 am

As promised....

Warner - Region 1 - NTSC "Rio Bravo" vs. Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1, 2, 3, 4 - NTSC

Original

2-disc Special Edition

Posted

MGM (2-disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC "Duck, You Sucker" vs. MGM (UK) (Old) - Region 2 - PAL vs. MGM (Europe) (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL

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Best,

skuhn8 · #81 Post by **skuhn8** » Sat May 26, 2007 8:28 am

I just watched the old Rio Bravo DVD the day before the Beaver posts. No regrets with that purchase. Warner seems to hate Westerns. How on earth did that happen?

Gary Tooze · #82 Post by **Gary Tooze** » Sat May 26, 2007 6:31 pm

Hello,

In our posted review of Eclipse's Late Ozu boxset, we have compared it to the existing Pamorama and Artificial Eye DVD edition counterparts.

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Best

tryavna · #83 Post by **tryavna** » Sat May 26, 2007 7:26 pm

Gary Tooze wrote:MGM (2-disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC "Duck, You Sucker" vs. MGM (UK) (Old) - Region 2 - PAL vs. MGM (Europe) (Special Edition) - Region 2 - PAL

Gary, I'm surprised you didn't emphasize more strongly that the R1 boasts the original mono soundtrack. (At least, I'm assuming that that's the original mono.) This has been a bone of contention for many fans, and I'm sure I'm not alone in being extremely grateful that MGM aren't forcing the remixes on us for all the new titles -- though I guess GBU will still have just the 5.1 remix and original Italian mono.

It does make a huge difference, especially for that uniquely Leone-esque gunfire!

Michael Kerpan · #84 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Sat May 26, 2007 8:40 pm

Gary Tooze wrote:In our posted review of Eclipse's Late Ozu boxset, we have compared it to the existing Pamorama and Artificial Eye DVD edition counterparts.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/

For Criterion, the song should be, "It's all too easy being red(dish)". Too bad.

Gary Tooze · #85 Post by **Gary Tooze** » Sun May 27, 2007 1:58 am

Autumn afternoon certainly looks a lot nicer to me than the Oz disc.

David, Autumn Afternoon is not in the Late Ozu boxset.

It has Early Spring (1956), Tokyo Twilight (1957),Equinox Flower (1958),
Late Autumn (1960) and The End of Summer (1961) - also known as Early Autumn.

Autumn Afternoon (1962) was Ozu's last film, but it is not in this collection.

Best,
Gary

Michael Kerpan · #86 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Sun May 27, 2007 6:05 pm

Gary Tooze · #87 Post by **Gary Tooze** » Mon May 28, 2007 2:02 am

New...

Union Square Music - Region 0 - PAL "Slade in Flame" vs. Union Square Music (CE) - Region 0 - PAL

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/

Cheers,

Person · #88 Post by **Person** » Mon May 28, 2007 10:27 pm

Slade on the Criterion Forum - I've seen it all now! Awesome band and an awesome movie. I never knew it was shot in scope - it looks gorgeous.

Gary Tooze · #89 Post by **Gary Tooze** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 12:36 am

3 new...

20th Century Fox (2-disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC "The Hustler" vs. 20th Century Fox (Special Edition) - Region 1- NTSC vs. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (Special Edition) - Region 2, 4 - PAL

MGM (Lenticular Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC "Robocop" vs. MGM (Trilogy) - Region 1- NTSC vs. Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC vs. MGM - Region 2,4 - PAL

20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC "The Verdict" vs. 20th Century Fox (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC

New... great film!

Weinstein Company (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC "The 36 Chamber of Shaolin" vs. Crash Cinema (USA) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Celestial Pictures (Hongkong) - Region 3 - NTSC

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/

Gary Tooze · #90 Post by **Gary Tooze** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 12:48 am

New...

Buena Vista - Region 1 - NTSC "Infernal Affairs" vs. Media Asia (Limited Edition 8-Disc Box Set) - Region 0 - NTSC

Warner - Region 1 - NTSC "The Searchers" vs. Warner (Ultimate Collector's Edition) - Region 1,4 - NTSC vs. Warner HD-DVD.

Still digital photography I'm afraid, but some relevant observations I think...

CE

HD-DVD

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/

Best,

exte · #91 Post by **exte** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 3:03 am

Pretty stunning, actually... I can't get over how soft dvd looks, and yet when it first came out there was nothing better. Now component cables are taken for granted, but all for the better, really...

Ornette · #92 Post by **Ornette** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 7:17 am

davidhare wrote:I don't know of any review sites that have yet accessed the crack codes to actually capture images from HD or BD discs on the computer...

These guys did it all right: http://hdmovies.co.nz/index.html (and some more here that not up on their site yet).

There was some discussion regarding this in the HD DVD vs. Blu-ray thread and I think that in an early incarnation of either PowerDVD or WinDVD this was possible before they "corrected" it in a later version. So I guess that the only things that are needed are a HD DVD optical drive (the Xbox 360 HD DVD drive, for example) and the right version of either software.

BTW, David, I suppose this is the same thing that you're describing in your review:

DVD Times Mulholland Dr. HD DVD Review

While the grain is rendered beautifully in the daylight sequences, those that take place at night or in shadow reduce the grain to a swathe of smeared or frozen blocks. This is an incredibly distracting effect and one that really hampers the enjoyment of these scenes.

Mainly at night or in shadows, would you agree on that?

Gary Tooze · #93 Post by **Gary Tooze** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 4:25 pm

New DVD from Ki-duk Kim (Tartan)...

KD Media - Region 3 - NTSC "The Bow" vs. Tartan - Region 1 - NTSC

If anyone is curious I have done a review of the HD-DVD version of Kurosawa's RAN from Studio Canal in France. We posted some captures comparing it to the Criterion and Optimum (UK) SD DVDs.

For those unaware - HD-DVDs do not have region or standard coding. This DVD will play on any HD-player (firmware upgraded) in the world. The link is on our homepage. But this particular HD-DVD has many limitations.

New...

Warner - Region 1 - NTSC "Blood Diamond" vs. Warner HD-DVD (no standard or region coding)

SD - Version

HD-DVD

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/

Best,

ellipsis7 · #94 Post by **ellipsis7** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 8:53 pm

Well I like the SD version of that one best... The HD version while slightly crisper has colours tending towards fluorescence...

Gary, while the HDDVD/Blue-Ray is an interesting side spat and an indicator of how things will eventually go in a big way, it has totally skewed the Beaver's reviews...

The point about SD is diversity and all the films that need DVD release, or better versions... Neither of the 2 rival HD formats will give us that, they will release surefire high profile titles, not the eclectic stuff we're really interested in...

So don't stray too far from your proven patch, that of reviewing the quality of the films on DVD, not the technology... i.e. stick with the SD reviews while giving us occasional glimpses of things to come, and crucify what looks not up to standard like that HD Blood Diamond capture!!...

Gary Tooze · #95 Post by **Gary Tooze** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 9:01 pm

Thanks ellipsis7,

This was posted on our homepage a few days back:

Fear not: Just to satisfy several emails regarding DVDBeaver and our recent new format (HD + Blu-ray) reviews listed HERE: We are not dismissing SD reviews and will continue to review all formats - of all regions - wherever possible. This past week we have had a bit of catch up to do with HD + Blu-ray. SD will remain our major focus.

Classic Fritz Lang...

Kino - Region 1 - NTSC "House by the River" vs. Wild Side Video (2-disc) - Region 2 - PAL

New...

Nouveaux Pictures - Region 2 - PAL "La Jetée / Sans Soleil" vs. Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC

Madman - Region 4 - PAL "High and Low" vs. BFI - Region 2 - PAL vs. Criterion Region 0 - NTSC vs. MEI AH (Hong Kong) Region 0 - NTSC

Eureka - Masters of Cinema - Region 0 - PAL "Diary of a Lost Girl" vs. Kino - Region 0 - NTSC

New.... (an improvement!)

Mei Ah - Region 0 - NTSC "Princess Raccoon" vs. Geneon [Pioneer] - Region 1 - NTSC

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/

Cheers,

Michael Kerpan · #96 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 7:55 pm

Gary Tooze wrote:New.... (an improvement!)

Mei Ah - Region 0 - NTSC "Princess Raccoon" vs. Geneon [Pioneer] - Region 1 - NTSC

Well, the skin colors are more accurate on the Mei Ah....

Gary Tooze · #97 Post by **Gary Tooze** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 8:38 pm

Hard to say for sure Michael... I like the Geneon. I prefer to think of Zhang Ziyi as more milky white.

Mei Ah

Geneon

She certainly looks more pale in the interviews... or are you going to give us some caps that show otherwise? I'm quite willing to admit that I am wrong - I never saw it theatrically, but the Mei Ah's colors ARE manipulated.

Best,
Gary

Michael Kerpan · #98 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 9:10 pm

I guess one needs to see the Japanese DVD -- colors being manipulated in a Suzuki film can be colors being manipulated by Suzuki. ;~}

I don't recall ZHANG Ziyi having milky white skin in "Road Home" (for instance).

Gary Tooze · #99 Post by **Gary Tooze** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 9:25 pm

I don't recall ZHANG Ziyi having milky white skin in "Road Home" (for instance).

True but that was last century

Gary

Daze73 · #100 Post by **Daze73** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 9:37 pm

HERE is a comparison of the R3HK and R2JP releases and as you can see the skin colors are accurate on the R1 Geneon release which is exactly the same as the R2JP release...

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