Howling 3 is maybe not the best movie in the world, but it is stupid fun and a must for people wanting to have the complete series.
This is the versions I have tested:
Japan CBS FOX - Laserdisc
USA IVE/Image - Lasderdisc
USA Elite - DVD
They are some big difference between these releases (the both LD's are rather alike). What version is best is a personal thing but for me the Elite DVD is out because of the contrast boosting
Japan vs Elite vs USA
Here we can quickly see that the Elite version is losing a lot of detail on the shirt. The leaf are also "glowing". We also see that there is a big difference in color timing. And the 16:9 DVD are the version with softest image and less detailed! Both the Japan LD, but even more the USA LD, are a lot shaper, giving more detail and film grain
Half the sky is just white and tree branches are gone because of the contrast boosting.
And now to this about the different color timing and sharpness. Yes, the Elite DVD have a supervised transfer by the director, but that are no guarantee for a great transfer, as we see on the contrast boosting.
Japan vs Elite vs USA
Here we see that both the USA and Japan LD have a more saturated transfer with, to me, a more life like skin color. The Japan LD are almost in Suspiria territory, maybe too much for some, but I like it.
We also see how much shaper and more detailed the Japan LD, and even more so, the USA LD, is. That is both good and bad. We got more details but also more film grain.
One more image, here we also have some contrast boosting.
The Elite DVD is 16:9 and both LD's are open matt. The DVD is showing very little more on the sides but mainly are matted up and down. In most scenes it looks good but in some few, I find the ratio a little tight
But it works okay, but I watch my LD's with a 1.66:1 matting instead.
So what release is the best? Personally I prefer the Japan's color, but also like the USA sharpness and detail. The Elite DVD are not in question because of the contrast boosting, I will sell it now.
Questions?
***DVD screenshots are taken with Power DVD 6. Laserdisc screenshots are taken with a Pioneer HLD-X0 LD player, connected to PDI Deluxe capture card. I use Dscaler to record and everything is calibrated with Video Essential. I use Photoshop to re-size the images***
