R2 Anamorphic list... etc etc (1 Viewer)

[Omer M]

Hopefully it could be useful for a few of ya.
(*) Take under consideration that some of the titles listed below are up to reissue of their R1 release quite soon with a new anamorphic transfer, I will post a re-issues thread quite soon hopefully.
(*) Sorry for the mess… This thread was compilled from a various threads I posted to other forums.
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EXCLUSIVE R2 ANAMORPHIC RELEASES
Only titles which were non-anamorphic on R1
(1) A Bug's Life (Only on the movie-only edition)
(2) A Life less ordinary
(3) Arachnophobia
(4) Armageddon
(5) Babe
(6) Bound
(7) Brassed Off!
(8) The Bridges Of Madison County
(9) Broken Arrow
(10) Con Air
(11) Crimson Tide
(12) Dangerous Minds
(13) Dead Poets Society
(14) Dead Presidents
(15) Deep Rising
(16) Die Hard
(17) Die Hard 2
(18) Emma
(19) Enemy Of The State
(20) Ever After
(21) Faculty (The)
(22) Fargo
(23) Game (The)
(24) Grosse Pointe Blank
(25) Hard Rain
(26) Hellraiser
(27) Hellraiser 2
(28) Hilary and Jackie
(29) Lethal Weapon 2
(30) Liar Liar
(31) Life is Beautiful
(32) Matilda
(33) National Lampoon's Vacation
(34) Nikita
(35) Private Benjamin
(36) Raging Bull
(37) Rocketeer
(38) Romeo + Juliet
(39) Seven Years In Tibet
(40) She's All That
(41) Snake Eyes
(42) Speed
(43) Speed 2
(44) Ten Things I Hate About You
(45) Ten
(46) Thelma & Louise
(47) There Something About Mary
(48) Timecop
(49) Tin Cup
(50) Trainspotting
(51) Volcano
(52) Quiz Show
(53) X-Files Movie
(54) Total Recall
(55) The Truman Show (1.85:1 R2 vs 1.66:1 R1)
(56) Career Girls
(57) The Fabulous Baker Boys (No commentary but added interviews)
(58) Raining Stones
(59) Secret & Lies (Not Available on R1)
(60) True Blue (Not Available on R1)
(61) The Winter Guest (Not Available on R1)
(62) The Rugrats Movie
(63) 48 Hours
(64) Lolita (Cuncut, 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, DD 5.1, director's commentary)
(65) Buena Vista Social Club
an addition to the anamorphic list (titles which are Anamorphic in their R2 release compared to a non
anamorphic copies in the R1). for answers on any specific title to find out on the rest of its features (as extras, audio mode etcetera) place a following thread, I will be reviewing this thread a few times laters.
Japaneese = states that the anamorphic R2 release is the Japaneese one and not the UK release.
German = states that the anamorphic R2 release is the German one and not the UK release.
French = all the same.
Both Japaneese and German titles' soundtracks are English (as well as German at most German releases)
(1) 187
(2) The Blair Witch Project Japaneese
(3) The Body Guard German
(4) Color Of The Money German
(5) Cybernator German
(6) Dead Man Walking
(7) Desert Blue French
(8) Evil Dead 2 - Dead by Dawn German
(9) Fly Away Home
(10) Faust German
(11) Good Morning Vietnam German
(12) JFK French
(13) Metro German
(14) Nothing To Lose German
(15) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest German
(16) Outland German
(17) A River Runs Through It Japaneese
(18) The Rock
(19) Six Days Seven Nights
(20) Sling Blade German
(21) Seven French
(22) Space Jam Japaneese/German
(23) Space Truckers Japaneese
(24) Stargate Japaneese
(25) Terminal Velocity
(26) Universal Solider Japaneese
(27) Undercover Heat Japaneese
(28) What's Love Got To Do With It Japaneese
(29) While You Were Sleeping German
(30) Ace Ventura Warner
(2) Die Hard 1 & 2 - Neither of these had been cut for the UK DVD release, although Die Hard 2 had been cut by 28 seconds for the UK Theatrical and Video release. Both DVD releases are anamorphic.
(3) Lethal Weapon 2 is cut by 24 seconds but is 2:35:1 widescreen anamorphic compared with the 4:3 and 1:66:1 widescreen non-anamorphic formats. the missing footage is a headbutt as far as I noticed. whether the fact that the transfer is anamorphic or not on Region 2 make enough difference to prefer it over the Region 1 is really up to ya.
(4) I added that the anamorphic releases noted on the list are only the ones who were not anamorphic on Region 1.
a thread on the better region 4 releases is soon to arrive. in short, there are not so few titles which are
recommended is Region 4 over both R1 and R2, such as Pulp Fiction (although the Alliance canadian version can compete with the R4 release) or The Matrix for instance, which offers the same features as the Region 1 release but has a superior PAL transfer.
A few extra Region 2 titles which I highly recommend over those Region 1 releases must be:
(1) Fifth Element - 22mins making-of Documentary along wit Trailers and (?) Animated menus and a pal
presentation, delicious
(2) Leon (Version Integrale) - added 26 mins of unreleased footage, Japaneese disc, one of the first to be released and a quite expensive one I must add, no menus or any other dvd features beside a smooth anamorphic video.
* Colombia did promise a SE Region 1 disc later this year.
(3) Lock, Stock and 2 smoking barrels (Directors cut) - Anamorphic Widescreen, Behind The Scenes Interviews With The Cast And Crew, Original Theatrical Trailer, 15 minutes extra footage to the theatrical release. New Key Art Sleeve. Out-takes Montage During End Credits.
(4) Friends (TV Series) Seasons 4-5-6 - Quite poor Video conversion but the content makes it worthwhile.
(5) Just in case ya ran into the wonderful Golden Globe winner: 'All About my Mother' as your local theaters, it was just released as a Region 2 disc (2/28), original spanish soundtrack (+ or -, you decide), Original theatrical trailer and English Subtitles. (July 11th for the R1 release)
(6) Se7en - quite expensive, but for $29 ya can get a hold of this TF1 (French) release which contains not only the anamorphic widescreen and the DD5.1 but also Making Of a making of documentary and an Extra scene. (no english subtitles, just french), take under consideration that there is a Se7en Platinum series Region1 disc planned later this year.
(7) Pulp Fiction - Either the R4 release or at least the Canadian extra scenes versions, Do not dare to buy the common R1 Release
Region 2 DTS DVDs which were only DD5.1 as Region 1 discs are Soldier, Notting Hill and Music for Monserrat. Ya might also want to look for the uncensored 'Eyes wide shut' which for some reason was not released as an unrated region 1 dvd.
And you might also appriciate Region 2 Seven Years in Tibet which has a commentary track.
* Leaving Las Vegas Region 2 has an additional making-of feature.
* region 2 release of Shawshnak Redemption also contains some interviews with the actors etc but lacks
audio/video quality (not anamorphic and poor audio mastering) - it was released almost two years ago tho.
* Scream R2 is the director's cut.
* When a man loves a woman was released decades before the US R1 Release
Finished ?? not yet...
To that ya might want to add Jackie Brown which had not even been announced yet as Region 1... The French DVD is 16x9 BUT it has irremovable French substitles when you play the film in English. The R4 version has no subtitles,
is 16:9 and RSDL. for all ya laser disc owners out there, the DTS LD is godly (www.lvd.com for purchasing if interested)
Ever considered buying Stargate SE ? well, if you're into features ya might as well do that. but I must warn The Japanese R2 disc is anamorphic and DTS, while the SE has one of the worst video transfers.
Region 2 DTS DVDs which were only DD5.1 as Region 1 discs are Soldier, Notting Hill and Music for Monserrat, and a few other Japaneese releases as:
(1) Thin Red Line
(2) Who Am I ?
(3) Terminator 2
(4) Cliffhanger
(5) Showgirls
(6) Basic Instinct
I'm adding Tom H. true comment to this thread: 'You can not really compare Region 1 to Region 2 either way. A Region 2 disc may be more superior than Region 1 but then a Region 4 disc could be far superior than the Region 2. Comparing different region releases is fruitless, somthings have to be different to keep the market stimulated. Otherwise companies grow lazy and just issue the same thing in a box with a different label and wording.'
Having said all that, I still sworn for Region 1, for its release time, price and most commonly supplements are far superior.
I will be glad to answer to any specific question regarding any title.
Laters,
Omer
Note: For further reference on Japanese titles browse to Yaso Manickarajah thread.

 

[John DrakeLaw]

Thanks Omer, a really useful list.
Some sites (euroDVDexpress) give Stargate as anamorpic. Dont know if this correct?

 

[Omer M]

With Stargate, I had been in quite a dillema before deciding to go for the Region 2 anamorphic release (the Region 2 release is anamorphic and was disregarded from the list for some reason...).
While the R1 collector's edition featured commentary by director, production notes, theatrical trailer, TV spots and includes both the theatrical version and the special edition version with nine additional minutes of footage it still lacks a good video transfer quite badly.
The European Region 2 release has a glorious anamorhpic transfer but includes only animated menu as supplements (?!)... not even the trailer and TV spots the standard Region 1 release got.
If you're really into it, I must recommend the Japanese release (an excellent anamorphic transfer with a DTS soundtrack).
I guess this is it.
Omer

 

[Omer M]

EXCLUSIVE REGION 4 Releases.
============================
Titles which were never released as Region 1.
(1) Aladdin - Prince of Theives
(2) Black Adder, The-Series 1
(3) Blue Angel, The: Director's Cut (Der Blaue Engel)
(4) Chain Reaction
(5) Courage Under Fire
(6) Deceived
(7) Don Quixote
(8) Dumbo
(9) Fighting Sullivans, The
(10) Four Feathers, The
(11) Gilda
(12) Guilty As Sin
(13) Hideaway
(14) Hocus Pocus
(15) Jack
(16) Jackie Brown
(17) Jungle2Jungle
(18) Laurel & Hardy-Be Big!/Laughing Gravy
(19) Love Bug, The
(20) Married To The Mob (June 13th - Region 1)
(21) Mary Reilly
(22) Night With Handel, A
(23) Of Human Bondage
(24) Operation Dumbo Drop
(25) Pete's Dragon
(26) Pirates
(27) Plunkett & Macleane
(28) Point Break
(29) Richter-Enigma, The
(30) Solo
(31) Swan Princess, The
(32) Sword In The Stone, The
(33) Tango Bar
(34) Tap Dogs (Dein Perry's)
(35) Thief Of Bagdad, The
(36) Unlawful Entry
(37) White Fang
Music titles :
(1) Brian Adams - Unplugged
(2) Brightman, Sarah-In Concert
(3) Corrs, The-Live At The Royal Albert Hall
(4) Dire Straits: Sultans Of Swing
(5) Flatley, Michael-Feet Of Flames
(6) Oldfield, Mike-Tubular Bells II & III Live
(7) Simply Red-Live In London
(8) Wet Wet Wet-Live At Celtic Park
(9) ZZ Top-Greatest Hits
Again, toss a note if ya got any questions or additions, I'll gladly update.

 

[John DrakeLaw]

Thanks again Omer. Stargate (Japanese) now on order. I can see this thread costing money
Another query. Some sites list the R2 Disney Mulan as anamorphic. Do you know if this is definite?

 

[Omer M]

John,
First things first, Yup, Mulan Region 2 release does feature a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 format, it does lack the 'True To Your Heart' music video, the Reflection music video with Christina Aguilerathe, the Theatrical trailer and the Full-screen format and to set it straight, has no extras what-so-ever (tho I was really not impressed with the region 1 supplements as well)
The critical drawback on the region 2 release, at least in my opinion, is the 1.5 seconds cut ('Vicious' head butt, yeah yeah...).
The transfer is sumptuous

 

[Omer M]

Another addition to the list of Region 2 recommended releases is the upcoming 19/4 release of Studio 54.
Unlike the anamorphic-less US (Widescreen Letterboxed - 1.85:1) release, the TF1 French disc features a glamorous anamorphic transfer along with 'The myth of the studio 54' documentary which was not featured in the 1999 Miramax
Region 1 release. The disc also features the 'If You Could Read My Mind' music video which appeared on the US release and both English and French DD5.1.

 

[John DrakeLaw]

Omer,
You`ve done a lot of research. Brilliant for all of us. It seems like I`ll stick with the R1 Mulan, although the better transfer of the R2 is tempting, the stupid cut is just a bit too annoying.
Now one movie I`ve always enjoyed is The Lawnmower Man. I`ve read the review and comparison at DVDdebate, where the R1 seems to have the edge for sound and picture. What I was wondering was, does any of the other European countries, or Japan, have the longer directer`s cut?

 

[Lars Larsen]

Omer, that is excellent work! The most comprehensive list I have ever seen. It's a shame only readers of this forum benefit from this. You should make a website for this thing and update it continously. Just a suggestion of course.
Many members have posted threads on this subject (better versions in other regions), and I think a definitive regulary updated list would be a great idea!
- Lars from Mars

 

[Omer M]

Thanks a bunch for the good words, a quite comprehensive site which will follow region 2 more closley and will give insight to some productions is actually planned for launch around August, till then, I might add a kind of growing list which will be updated continuously.
The Lawnmower Man was released only as NewLine Region 1 and the Columbia/Tristar Region 2 releases, no director's cut is planned for the moment, I will validate that quite soon with my source at Gaumont to see if a french release is being planned and what will it include.

 

[Lars Larsen]

Cool. Please post the URL for the site on this forum when you launch it.
- Lars from Mars

 

[Omer M]

Additions... additions:
First, a few anamorphic 'Cruises' to the list (the 3 titles will be released on July 6th):
(a) Mission Impossible (2.35:1 anamorphic compared with a 2.35:1 Widescreen Letterboxed)
(b) Top Gun (2.35:1 anamorphic compared with a Region 1 release of both 2.35:1 Widescreen Letterboxed and 1.33:1 Full Screen)
(c) Days Of Thunder (2.35:1 anamorphic compared with a 2.35:1 Widescreen Letterboxed)
I got a preview copy of Top Gun and the transfer is certainley superior to the previously released Region 1.
Beside those Tom Cruise titles, Waking Ned Devine will be 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen compared with a 2.35:1 Letterboxed transfer from region 1, both Region 2 and Region 1 include Dolby Digital 2.0 in English, English subtitles for the Hearing Impaired, theatrical trailer and cast biographies.
Regarding 'The Other Sister', I was emailed this a few days ago:
Buena Vista release Garry "Pretty Woman" Marshall's romantic drama, THE OTHER SISTER, starring Juliette Lewis as a mentally challenged woman leaving home for the first time, on May 15th. The disc is anamorphic 2.35:1, has
English and Italian languages and English, French, Italian, Dutch and English for the Hearing Impaired subtitles. The advance info says that the audio is "5 Dolby Surround Sound", so who knows what will turn up there then...
(The region 1 release is 2.35:1 letterboxed and DD2.0 but includes 2 music videos [Pretenders, Savage Garden])

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Great thread! Great info!
I'm going to sneak a repeat of a previous post in here to see if it gets a better response. It is off topic for this forum but is on-topic with the thread (many people who are interested in this thread will have interest in this).
What ways can one play PAL DVDs on an NTSC set.
1) Apex DVD player (not new circuit city modded version)
2) Raite DVD player (with appropriate firmware).
3) Home Theater Personal Computer
4) PAL DVD player with PAL-NTSC convertor
5) Multistandard TV, some multistandard VCRs
Any other ways for us Yanks to watch PAL DVDs on our NTSC sets?

 

[Chris Maynard]

Great list!
One correction I noticed though.. Tin Cup is anamorphic in R1. There is no advantage to the R2 on this title.

 

[Omer M]

Well, first thing first, I just re-viewed my copy of the TIN CUP and the widescreen side is anamorphic, true
This makes the Region 1 release superior on that case, as it includes an 1.33:1 full-screen transfer as well. (The only added supplements on the region 2 is bios.)
Second, a few additions yet again:
(1) the Muppets is taking Manhattan on region 2 in the 5/30 with an anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer as well as a 1.85:1 ratio version, an English mono soundtrack, and a Theatrical trailer.
(2) The Straight Story - Released as a region 2 title on May 22nd and features a sumptuous anamorphic transfer. more on The Straight Story can be found on this thread.
(3) World is not enough - Sadly the Region 1 is missing three featurettes. The Region 2 version has the three minute
music montage tribute to Q. Along with two 25 minute featurettes focusing on the boat sequence and on the formula that made the Bond films so popular (Bond cocktail - 20 minute documentary looking at Bond and James Bond Down River - looking at how they filmed the spectacular River Thames sequence.)

 

[Dan Brecher]

Bugs Life does not need to be there. The 2 disc CE is 16x9 and Disney are re-issuing the movie only R1 as anamorhphic soon.
Great list though.
Dan (UK)
PS: If we're going for "discs not even on region 1" how about the Peanuts DVDs from Japan? 10 are planned, 3 are currently available with english and japanese audio tracks.

 

[Alec M]

What is the difference between widescreen letterbox, dual layer and anamorphic?
How does one find out if it is anamorphic or enhanced?
These are the widescreen DVDs I have:
Titanic
Hilander
Matrix (dual layer - letterbox, enhanced)
Austin Powers II
SPR DTS dual layer
Face Off dual layer widescreen
Top Gun dual layer
The Rock widescreen
Finally, it looks like all US DVDs are Region 1?

 

[Timmy T]

Omer,
How about BBC's The Planets? The 'R2' and 'R2+4' are anamorphic but not the 'R1'. Which one would you recommend?
Thanks

 

[Roger Mathus]

Regarding Stargate, unless you want dts, the Korean Region 3 DVD of Stargate is the best one for video transfer and a strong DD5.1 soundtrack.

 

[Roger Mathus]

Regarding Pulp Fiction, the Japanese R2 release is anamorphic and was compared to the R1 version on 60 inch screen at HTF California meet last November. No comparison, the Japanese anamorpic release blows away the poor USA release. All Miramax releases in Japan have been anamorphic. Also, Fox is now releasing in Japan numerous titles that are not only anamorphic but RSDL. Coming soon, Full Monty.