CREEP - What have I got? (1 Viewer)

[Chris Parham]

I don't want to support bootlegging, but I'm pretty sure that I have inadvertently purchased a burnt copy of a British horror flick called Creep.


-If this thread is in contrivance of forum rules then by all means close it!!--


My dilemma- With all it's warts as a story, I loved this DVD! This dub had to have been ripped from a commercial DVD as it had a director's commentary and a list of extras which I have not yet checked out. The soundstage on this disc was absolutely amazing. The aggressive use of the surrounds put you right in the middle of the claustrophobic underbelly of the London subway system! Aside from a few minor "artifacts" in complex patterns, the transfer of this film was also quite pleasing- colours were vibrant yet true to life in station scenes and shadow detail was excellent in the many tube scenes.

As amazing as this transfer was, I would purchase an original copy to support the film makers and the original authors of this DVD. Unfortunately, the specs for the region 1 DVDs available on Amazon list the aspect ratio as being 1.85:1. My copy and the OAR are in glorious 2:35:1.

This may be at odds with forum policy but my feelings against butchering a films aspect ratio are marginally stronger than my distaste of bootleggers.
I don't have a region free player and even if I did, I have no idea were this transfer originally came from. Amazon's spec list is not in error as many online reviews from the DVD list it as 1.85:1 or 1.78:1.

Is the an NTSC copy of this title in OAR that will play on my R1 player. I just noted that the cover art on the bootleg lists this dub as being PAL which the disc most certainly is not. Mr projector can accept PAL but my R1 pioneer player does not output it and this disc played flawlessly in my system. It is definitely a dual layered DVD.

 

[Jesse Skeen]

Well, where did you get it? I'm showing this was released in Region 1-land by either Lions Gate or Artisan. I've never seen any sold (legit or not) discs on DVD+RDLs, but I did see some pressed dual-layer discs of dubious origin at a flea market recently. The aspect ratio listed on Amazon is probably just wrong.

 

[Chris Parham]

I bought it in a store that was in a mall. The dvds were packaged in regular enough looking cases. Now, upon closer inspection, I can tell that artwork is a bit unprofessionally printed. At first glance, I may not have picked up on this assuming that, because it's a foreign low budget feature, it didn't have splashy artwork.
Interestingly enough, the box lists the aspect ratio as 1.85:1 so I can definitely see how a retailer could have it listed incorrectly.
The plot thickens... I've noticed that reviews for the DVD that I believe originate from R1 seem to indicate that the R1 disc is 1.78:1, while reviews for the R2 disc mention the proper aspect ratio. In fact the copied artwork on my bootleg seems to have an 18 rating on it just like the UK disc.
It appears that I have a bit perfect copy (dvd9) of the original UK release.
My question now is, if I purchase this disc from the UK, will it play on my system? Can anyone verify that the release across the pond is NTSC?

 

[Ryan Belfast]

Hi. Im in Northern Ireland UK, If you import the disc across, you must have a Region 2 or Region free player.

Thanx!

 

[Lone Wolf]

Just watched this a couple of weeks ago and I can confirm that the Region 4 disc is indeed a 2.35:1 ratio.

Johnny B.

 

[Chris Parham]

Is region 4 NTSC? If I purchase a region free player, will it output NTSC or PAL depending on the disc or will it convert all things to NTSC.
As I mentioned, my projector can accept either.
BTW, what did you guys think of the movie and the transfers in your respective regions? IMHO the sound on this disc made the movie more enjoyable than it ought to have been based on the story alone.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

When you buy a region free player, you should be sure to get one that converts PAL to NTSC; they're not expensive. That way you can watch virtually anything (except R1 discs that have RCE applied to them, which is very few, and for those you can usually adjust the player to be R1 again). There are region-free players that don't convert PAL to NTSC, which I find fairly useless unless you have a TV that will accept both formats (common in Europe, unheard of in the USA).

 

[Vincent_P]

I believe most front-projectors will display native PAL. My Panasonic LCD does, and I discovered that my Toshiba DVD player (which is NOT region hacked mind you) will play PAL discs in PAL so long as they are region free.

Vincent

 

[Mark_Wilson]

Sounds like a rip of the R2UK disc. On the legit version there is a very cool (and scary) easter egg.

I've seen the R1 release of this on Netflix. I believe it was released last December.

 

[Dave Mack]

Are there different aspect ratios for the Pal and Ntsc versions?
And Australia is PAL

 

[Lone Wolf]

Chris,

Just to confirm that Region 4 (Australia, New Zealand) is PAL, as is Region 2 (United Kingdom).

Johnny B.