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Direct Graphic DVD Comparisons now Online! - Page 3

post #61 of 2333
10/21/02 at 11:30am
Thanks for this wonderful site. Really a treasure to film lovers/collectors around the globe!

dave
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post #62 of 2333
10/21/02 at 12:19pm
Another "silent appreciator" of this thread! :b
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post #63 of 2333
10/21/02 at 1:42pm
Me too! Please keep posting those comparisons here!
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post #64 of 2333
10/21/02 at 2:03pm
Yeah, I think the whole thing is a great idea and a useful resource.
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post #65 of 2333
10/22/02 at 4:08pm
Your site is bookmarked, of course, and I frequently check for updates, but if it wasn't for your posts, I would have never found the site in the first place!

So please keep posting, nobody's complaining.....

Quote:
There probably is not much discussion going on in this thread for the simple reason that... there's not a whole lot to add to what you have already done.
He's right.

BTW: Does anybody know why the R2/BFI version of Salò doesn't seem to suffer from the PAL speed-up?
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post #66 of 2333
10/25/02 at 5:00am
Thread Starter 
New: DVD Comparison: RusCico "Belle De Jour" vs. Miramax

Big thanks to Gregory for all his work on this obtaining both sets of screen captures...

As the image quality seems negligible, I have made links to the native resolutions.

Anyone have any opinions on these, please let me know.

DVD Comparison: RusCico "Belle De Jour" vs. Miramax

http://www.compare.dvdbeaver.com/
Quote:
What is that bitrate thing?
RE: The Bitrate. It does have its limitations., but is better than simply a curiousity. On the Main page we have listed the "Methodology" with a better understanding of the bitrate charts.

Regards,
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post #67 of 2333
10/28/02 at 6:12am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the support !

From now on I will go to the extent of determining whether or not the image was film or video sourced. With Jeroen help I can determine in most cases. I put my Power DVD in "weave" mode and wait for a horizontal panning shot, if I see any "Combing" it is video sourced.

I have done a side-by-side comparison of True Romance, the old Warner release ( video sourced ) vs. the new Special Edition ( film sourced ). The differences are huge. You can even see ( in captures 3, 4 and 5 ) that the original release was cropped (2.35 to 2.20)...

http://www.compare.dvdbeaver.com/ It's in the R1 vs R1 Section !

Regards,
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post #68 of 2333
10/28/02 at 6:25am
Yes Gary, keep it coming thats my opinion.

Great job.
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post #69 of 2333
10/28/02 at 10:12am
Hey,

I'd love a comparison of the R2 vs R2 Pride and prejudice. The R1 has some odd pixelation artifacts during pans and seems to be PAL-NTSC conversion (looks pretty bad depsite being 16x9).

I've always wondered if the R2 is any better (perhaps bcs it's native PAL?)

-dave
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post #70 of 2333
10/31/02 at 3:32pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks to Steffen Becker for his comparison of the Criterion "M" (Fritz
Lang) to Universum (German) - R2


http://www.compare.dvdbeaver.com/


Granted 3 years later edition... but the animated .gif he did helps shows
it...


That's 17 Criterion comparisons ( listed below), with them only be best in
about half:

Universum Film (German - R2 ) "M" vs. Criterion Region 1
Criterion R1 "Salò or The 120 Days of Sodom" vs. BFI Region 2
Criterion Region 1 "Diabolque" vs. TF1 Vidéo Region 2
Pioneer "Rashomon" vs. Criterion Region 1 vs. German Television transmission
Criterion Collection Region 1 "In the Mood For Love" vs. TF1 French Video
Region 2
Criterion "Andrei Rublev" Region 1 vs. Ruscico/Artificial Eye Region 2
Criterion R0 "The Cranes are Flying" vs. R0 RusCiCo
Criterion Region 0 NTSC "The Killer" vs. Region 1 encoded Fox/Lorber -
Winstar
Criterion Region 1 "The Lady Vanishes" vs. Platinum Disc Corp. Region 0
Criterion Region 1 "The 39 Steps" vs. LaserLight Region 0
Universal Studios Region 1 "Spartacus" vs. Criterion Region 1
Universal Studios Region 1 "Do the Right Thing" vs. Criterion Region 1
Criterion Collection "Juliet of the Spirits" Region 1 vs. Image
Entertainment Region 1
Criterion Region 1 encoded "Hard Boiled" vs. Region 1 encoded Fox/Lorber
- Winstar
Criterion Region 0 "The 400 Blows" vs. Region 0 Fox/Lorber - Winstar
Criterion "Rebecca" Region 1 vs. Anchor Bay "Rebecca" Region 1
Criterion "Notorious" Region 1 vs. Anchor Bay "Notorious" Region 1

I hope we are not being considered an anti-Criterion site because of this...

Gary
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post #71 of 2333
10/31/02 at 4:05pm
No fair Gary. That disc doesn't have English subs. At least thats what Amazon.de says.

http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/tg/...360270-5759719
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post #72 of 2333
10/31/02 at 4:34pm
In Criterions defense, it is likely they had inferior elements for M.

As for the All About My Mother comparision on your site, seems something seems askew there, as some of the criticisms leveled against the R1 are actually true of the R2. In particular, it is obvious that the R2 is cropped, but the summary claims that the R1 is.
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post #73 of 2333
10/31/02 at 4:57pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
No fair Gary. That disc doesn't have English subs. At least thats what Amazon.de says.
You are right. I have told Steffen Becker who did the comparison. The lack of Eng subs should have been mentioned I think...
Quote:
but the summary claims that the R1 is
Typo... has been corrected... thanks RAIN...

G
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post #74 of 2333
11/1/02 at 1:13am
Nice M comparison. I just replaced my poor R2/UK copy with the Criterion, which is in fact R0 BTW.

One thing: in the comparison, it is mentioned that the German release "features the newly restored, longer version which premiered at the Berlinale in 2001".
I thought that the Criterion DVD already contains the longest available version. Can someone explain?
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post #75 of 2333
11/1/02 at 6:01am
Thread Starter 
And just as the words have left my mouth, Criterion bests another RusCiCo, with ( for the aficionados ) - Native resolution screen caps:

Criterion "Ballad of Soldier" vs. RusCiCo

http://www.compare.dvdbeaver.com/

All screenshots courtesy by Ashirg

Unless you are just about anything but English or Russian, then this is an easy one. The Criterion quality far exceeds the RusCiCo in every capture. The Ruscico disc has, of course, more subtitles as they always do...they have also upgraded the original soundtrack to 5.1 from monaural... purists would not approve, so its a personal choice. Regardless, Criterion wins this one quite easily. Ohh yeah, the RusCiCo interview with director Chukhrai is 20 minutes longer and much more detailed, actually more modern, the Criterion stuff is stills and a radio segment from the 60's. I suppose REAL fans might want both... but those just keen on the film will want the Criterion.
Quote:
One thing: in the comparison, it is mentioned that the German release "features the newly restored, longer version which premiered at the Berlinale in 2001".
I thought that the Criterion DVD already contains the longest available version. Can someone explain?
I have asked Steffen becker, who did the comparison. he has not got back to me yet...'

Regards,
Reply
post #76 of 2333
11/1/02 at 6:11am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
No fair Gary. That disc doesn't have English subs. At least thats what Amazon.de says.

Steffen has added that to his comparsion and I have updated it... he is working on the other questions as we speak...

Regards,
Gary
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post #77 of 2333
11/1/02 at 6:33am
Gary, the Belle De Jour review says the Ruscico disc is R5. That a typo?
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post #78 of 2333
11/1/02 at 6:57am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Geary, the Belle De Jour review says the Ruscico disc is R5. That a typo?
No it is Region 5 (Russia)... but "Geary" IS a typo

Cheers,
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post #79 of 2333
11/1/02 at 7:12am
It says,"Region 5 - PAL (Europe, Middle East & Japan only)". Maybe the Europe/Japan part is wrong then. I knew R5 was Russian but that last bit confused me.

Quote:
but "Geary" IS a typo


Doh! Thats what you get while holding the baby in one hand and typing with the other.
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post #80 of 2333
11/1/02 at 7:19am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Region 5 - PAL (Europe, Middle East & Japan only)".
Dohhh!... thanks...

It has been corrected...
Region 5 - PAL (Eastern Europe - Former Soviet Union -, Indian Subcontinent, Africa, North Korea, and Mongolia)
Quote:
holding the baby in one hand and typing with the other.
then you are forgiven

Cheers,
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post #81 of 2333
11/2/02 at 3:16am
Thread Starter 
and another Criterion comparison:

Criterion "Spellbound" vs. Anchor Bay (Native resolution screen caps)
Thanks to Gregory for both sets of Screen Captures

http://www.compare.dvdbeaver.com/

NOTE: It is the the R1 vs. R1 Section at the bottom !

Cheers,
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post #82 of 2333
11/2/02 at 10:47am
Concerning the questions to my "M"-comparison:

(sorry for the delay but I had to wait for the confirmation of my forum registration)

quote:
"No fair Gary. That disc doesn't have English subs. At least thats what Amazon.de says."

That's right. The emphasis with those three comparisons I did so far was just the difference in picture quality (so is the title of my comparisons). In this case I simply forgot that the language-thing is vital information for non-german-speaking people. As Gary posted earlier, the "M" comparison is updated now.

quote:
"I thought that the Criterion DVD already contains the longest available version. Can someone explain?"

Well, I had strong reason to believe that the new german release provides a longer version. But very strictly speaking I can't tell for sure. So I deleted that statement until I know definetely.
The runtime of the movie on the german DVD is 104:56. Considering PAL-speedup this makes a runtime of 109:25 (measured with the beginning of the actual credits of the film). Maybe someone could check this value with the Criterion disc while also subtracting the usual Criterion credits at the beginning.

Cheers,
Steffen
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post #83 of 2333
11/2/02 at 4:06pm
Steffan, welcome to the forum and thank for the info.

The Criterion disc of M runs 110:19 (excluding the Criterion/Janus logos).
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post #84 of 2333
11/3/02 at 2:42pm
Thread Starter 
And yet another Criterion comparison:

Criterion "Silence of the Lambs" vs. MGM (SE)

http://www.compare.dvdbeaver.com/

NOTE: It is the the R1 vs. R1 Section at the bottom!

This was initially a tough one. At first I would have easily said that the MGM is far superior, but upon closer examination I was unable to make a positive determination regarding the image quality. The MGM has a greenish/yellow tinge to its images (see capture #5) in comparison to the Criterion which has a reddish/pink hue, but the skin tones are more accurate on the MGM (captures #2, 3). The Criterion is darker and video sourced where the MGM is film sourced to the best judgment of my naked eye. As far as I was concerned both discs image quality was acceptable, but viewing on a widescreen television the MGM was the winner being anamorphic and much sharper. On the MGM disc the blacks are pitch black. Neither image has excessive edge enhancement. The MGM has close captioned for the hearing impaired and 5.1 sound, both a bonus over Criterion. The Extras probably lean toward the Criterion for the commentary, but the MGM has some nice features too with the Foster/Hopkins interviews and short featurettes. Okay, MGM is the winner, but it took them 3 years and 10 days to come up with a better DVD ( I am aware of the 'rights' issue ).

Cheers,
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post #85 of 2333
11/4/02 at 1:00am
I own both the Criterion and R2 MGM version of The Silence Of The Lambs, and the stupid thing about MGM is that they still remove the original burnt-in titles in PAL versions!

I really think it's a stupid decision, look at this for example (screencaps from Whiggles.tk):

Criterion:



R2/4 MGM:




{P.S. they also messed up The Usual Suspects - S.E. [R2/4])
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post #86 of 2333
11/5/02 at 4:04am
Thread Starter 
I thought I posted this in the previous Tri-Color thread, but I can't seem to see it :?:, so I will post here instead...

This comes right on the heels of The Digital Bits posted the announcement for Krzysztof Kieslowski's Three Colors Trilogy (Blue, White and Red) from Buena Vista coming March 4th!

To view my, now accurate, comparisons of the Artificial Eye Region 2 "Tri-Color Blue" vs. Paradise Entertainment Korean Region 0
Artificial Eye Region 2 "Tri-Color White" vs. Paradise Entertainment Korean Region 0
Artificial Eye Region 2 "Tri-Color Red" vs. Paradise Entertainment Korean Region 0
, please click below:

http://www.compare.dvdbeaver.com/

It appears as though the Korean release have taken all the exact extras and similar transfer from the Artificial Eye disc and are also anamorphic. They are not quite as sharp, but still acceptable, but they do not have English subtitles for the Extras, which is a negative. I would say the Korean discs are a legitimate purchase for those who do not own a region-free machine or do not wish to wait till March for the Buena Vista releases to see these classic films on DVD in R1. If you have a Region-free machine (or live in R2) then the Artificial Eye are the way to go.

Regards,
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post #87 of 2333
11/6/02 at 6:06am
Thread Starter 
Criterion Region 1 "Rififi" vs. Madman Entertainment Region 0 PAL

http://www.compare.dvdbeaver.com/

Although it appears as though the Australian Madman version has duplicated the Criterion extras they certainly couldn't duplicate the image quality. Hazy and washed-out the Madman release borders on sepia tones. The Criterion on the other hand is sharp (see the Umbrella top in capture #3) with solid black levels. My only complaint with the Criterion is, probably unavoidable in the restoration, two reels are out of sync with the sound being slightly early. Picky, I know. The Australian release has inaccurate and incomaplete sub-titles. Go with the Criterion all the way on this one.

Aside: Unclear throughout the narrative of the film, the cabaret song in the show that details what the word "rififi" means 'for the rough and tumble', as an active sexual reference.

Cheers,
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post #88 of 2333
11/6/02 at 6:42am
Thread Starter 
Note: the "Out of sync audio" was corrected in a 2nd printing by Criterion.

Regards,
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post #89 of 2333
11/6/02 at 1:25pm
Gary,

Any plans to do a Region 1/2 comparison for The Wind Will Carry Us?
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post #90 of 2333
11/7/02 at 11:38am
This is a nice site, but I wish every comparison page had a short conclusion at the end, which tells the reader which version is better, which one is more faithful to the original source, which one has more accurate AR, etc. It's sometimes hard to tell from just viewing some jpegs on a computer screen which version is to be preferred (computer monitors vary greatly in quality from one to the other). The comparison between the two versions of Rear Window, for example, just shows pictures with no commentary whatsoever.

I know it's good for everyone to come to their own conclusions about which version is best for them (which seems to be the idea behind the site), but it would also be nice if the author(s) injected their own opinions at the end of each article. Some comparison pages have this, others don't...
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