Upcoming BCI Ultraman DVD is pretty suspicious . . . (1 Viewer)

[Dan Szwarc]

20 episodes at 23 minutes apiece is about 7.6 hours. Across 3 DVDs that's 153 minutes per DVD or just over 2.5 hours. Even for a dual layer disk, that sounds like a decent level of compression for good quality.

I have seen and heard some of the Ultraman bootlegs out there and one thing I noticed is that the sound quality of the original Japanese episodes seem to be much more vibrant and full with more bass. It seems there was a significant reduction in sound quality for the english dubs, probably due to second generation dubbing. This new release should sound very good!

I don't care who owns the rights. I'd like to see this series again, even though I am no longer 6 years old.

Did I read correctly somewhere up this thread that an english dub of Ultra-Q exists? I'd love to see the original Ultra-Q even with subtitles!

 

[TonyD]

$20 for the first vol

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...v=glance&n=130

 

[Michael Alden]

Not bad. My order just went in.

 

[Mark Talmadge]

What the hell is going on? I checked Best Buy's website and Brentwood Home Video is releasing the first yet yet TV Shows on DVD says it's bci. wHO IS RELEASING THIS SET BECAUSE THE COVER ART IS THE SAME ...

What the hell is going on? I checked Best Buy's website and Brentwood Home Video is releasing the first yet yet TV Shows on DVD says it's BCI. Who exactly is releasing this set because the cover art is the same.

 

[Mark Talmadge]

What the hell is going on? I checked Best Buy's website and Brentwood Home Video is releasing the first yet yet TV Shows on DVD says it's BCI. Who exactly is releasing this set because the cover art is the same.

 

[Steve Phillips]

Brentwood = BCI Eclipse. It's all the same company.

 

[Gord Lacey]

Yeah, calm down. You make it sound like the world is ending.

Gord

 

[Mark Talmadge]

ehehe ... thanks, Gord.

 

[Dan Szwarc]

Here is an Amazon Review: Is it really that bad?

 

[Gary Seven]

I don't think it's that bad. I think the reviewer is simply spoiled by releases done where the source was better preserverd or had more money to make it pristine.

However, this is the best I've ever seen it. He is correct that the dubs some times drop out and the Japanese bleed through. Another reviewer commented that this was due to the cuts done for US TV and thus there were no dubs available. However, I'm suspicious of that claim since I have the same pilot episode on tape and the dubs were there.

The sound could definitely be better but is listenable. Everything is clear, so that's what's important.

This release is what I've been waiting for... original Japanese dialog. I much prefer to watch this in the original Japanese uncut. The sub titles have different dialog than the dubs and is actually more adult oriented (they say Damn alot). Peter Fernandez in doing the dubs changed much of the dilaog to fit the lip movements so they stories are actually improved and make more sense in Japanese.

If you are a fan of the show or watched like I did when you were a wee lad, it comes recommended.

 

[Paul_Scott]

thats good to know Gary. I bought this yesterday, but never opened it up after seeing the Amazon review.

I'm still a bit concerned about this dialogue bleed thru- what exactly does this mean?
Does the dialogue (in English) just stop and then Japanese takes over
or can you actually hear the Japanese track underneath the English track at points?

 

[Jeffrey Nelson]

The Japanese takes over from the English dub during scenes that never appeared in the original English versions, and thus were never dubbed into English by Fernandez and Co. in the first place.

And this set is getting sterling reviews from places other than Amazon.

 

[Jeff Wilson]

I've seen some disagreement over this issue; more than one person has stated that nothing in terms of dialogue was originally cut from the English dubs, and that the reversion to the Japanese track is due to BCI being given cut versions of the dubs. Which, given their already shady behavior, wouldn't be a shock.

 

[Gary Seven]

That could very well be since I haven't viewed the tape I referenced in the above response in a awhile. In the pilot, the dialogue in question is over when Ultraman's light is blinking and its meaning. I could have sworn there was a reference to it in the English dub but certainly not as expanded as shown in the episode on DVD.

It's a great to watch these again after so many years.

 

[LaurenceGarvey]

I watched a few of the episodes last night; not perfect, but they looked far better than I expected.

 

[Erik Smith]

I'm pretty certain this isn't the case. I've seen copies of the show fairly recently, and there are definitely sections of the show that were dubbed that is not missing. For instance, the opening scene in episode 14 "The Pearl Oyster Protection Directive" on disc 3 was in Japanese with English subs and could not be switched to English. Bummer.

Also, is anyone else missing the baseball-style collector cards? My set didn't have any. :frowning:

 

[Gary Seven]

I didn't get the cards either. I've read somewhere that it is part of the set but the packaging makes no mention of them.

 

[Dan Szwarc]

How is the quality of the sound effects in the japanese dubs? I have seen footage with incredibly clear sound, but ti is always with the japanese dialogue. It think there was a huge generation loss when the english dubs were made. Can anyone confirm if the fidelity is better?

 

[Erik Smith]

I only gave it a cursory listen last night, but I think the Japanese audio sounded much cleaner. I'll try to listen to it a bit more tonight.

Even though I'm pretty disappointed that some of the English audio seems to be missing, I'm still excited to watch it with the subtitles. Like most dubbed films, I noticed there were lots of dialogue changes when I was watching it last night.

 

[Jeff Wilson]

I have now seen some reports that the audio switches are a player-related issue. It seems rather fitting that a release that was already under a cloud has been so shoddily manufactured as well.