A Few Words About A few words about...™ Time Bandits (Region B) -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

What I don't do for HTF...

In preparation for examining Arrow's new Blu-ray of The Fury, I added a new Oppo region-free player to my battery of gear.

A quick setup, firmware upgrade, and ready to test. My test disc -- Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits, an odd and delightful film, now somehow over two decades old.

I got the Blu-ray, because James White had performed the requisite transfer and clean-up necessities, and finally I've been able to take a quick look.

What I'm seeing, is in a word, magnificent. Totally film-like, with proper original grain structure, and a beautiful rendering of color and densities.

This what one receives when a bona fide archivist is given the reins. Think Sony and Fox.

A great fantasy from the always wonderfully odd minds Mr. Palin and Mr. Gilliam, now available in a perfect Blu-ray.

Tons of extras, and for those who delight in such things, a beautiful steel case.

Image - 5 (derived from an Arriscan of the original camera negative)

Audio - 5 (both original 2-track Dolby encoded, as well as 5.1)

With another world of regions out there, I can't believe it took me this long to go for a region-free player.

Highly Recommended.

RAH

 

[schan1269]

Did my "rants" over the last two months have any sway in picking up a region-free?I have 7 more pre-orders for the year of BD from the UK, Fr and De that have no sign of ever getting a domestic release.Several of them are Huppert.

(by the way, on the fence on this one...but glad it is good in case I decide on it)

 

[Charles Smith]

With another world of regions out there, I can't believe it took me this long to go for a region-free player.

May I just say ..... stunned?

 

[Charles Smith]

And on a serious note, is adding the new player better than using one of the plug-in mods for which you enter the code and cycle the player off and on (besides the convenience factor)?

EDIT: I do suppose there are many good reasons to get a newer Oppo, anyway!

 

[EddieLarkin]

Very happy to see you taking on some region B locked discs Mr. Harris.

In addition to The Fury and Time Bandits, James White has performed restorations on The Passion of Joan of Arc and Zombie Flesh Eaters (Zombi 2/Zombie) in Region B, both of which I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on.

 

[schan1269]

Very happy to see you taking on some region B locked discs Mr. Harris.

In addition to The Fury and Time Bandits, James White has performed restorations on The Passion of Joan of Arc and Zombie Flesh Eaters (Zombi 2/Zombie) in Region B, both of which I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on.

I'll chime in on TPoJOA. Easily a benchmark for pre-30s movies. I had it before my Orei arrived. Easily recommended.

 

[John Hodson]

What I'm seeing, is in a word, magnificent. Totally film-like, with proper original grain structure, and a beautiful rendering of color and densities.

That's what I'm seeing too; Arrow's work of late has been quite stunning. With more riches to come.

 

[Powell&Pressburger]

Yeah the transfer is really great. The U.S. and Previous UK blu release for this title was 1080i and some say it looked worse than the DVD. I went region free a few years back. Shocked Mr Harris wasn't yet! There are some cool region locked Blus to enjoy. I just got the UK 3 Disc Wicker Man set WED and so far it seems the best release of that film.

other titles to ponder are


Cleopatra - Eureka
Lifeboat - Eureka
Odd Man Out - Netwerk
Lost Weekend, The - Eureka
Dr Mabuse - The Gambler + Testament Of... - Eureka
Care, The - Arrow
Foxy Brown - Arrow
Double Indemnity (Although it could use more restoration curious to see the U.S. when it gets released.)

 

[Sgt Pepper]

I think David Mackenzie deserves as much praise for his work on encoding these movies.

RAH, I am pleased you like them...................look out for Cinema Paradiso's 25th Anniversary release.

 

[schan1269]

Hey Robert. Another "crime against the US market"....(definitely a love it or hate it movie...but no matter how you shake out the tone of the movie, the visuals are striking)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Post-Tenebras-Blu-ray-Nathalia-Acevedo/dp/B00CG6IUR6/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1382808790&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=post+tenabras+lux

 

[Mark-W]

I am migrating from owning region-free Blu-rays from the UK and other countries, to region-locked due to better images and bonus content.

Time Bandits, as available in the USA on Blu-ray, seems pretty paltry in terms of quality and bonus content.

Without derailing the thread, does anyone care to recommend a brand and vendor for purchasing a solid other-regions player? (I see RAH mentioned the Oppo, but not the model.)

 

[schan1269]

I'll gander a total guess this is where Robert got his...if he bought it online...

http://www.bombayelectronics.com/All_Multi_Region_Free_Blu_Ray_Players_s/72.htm

I have the Orei M2. Yeah, it is cheap...but it works. Tempted to buy a 2nd...but this time one of the LG 220.

I didn't pay $199 for the Orei. I paid(counting mailing* my original dead one back) $119.

*Turned out I didn't have to mail mine back. Bombay isn't exactly expeditious on emails. My exchange took awhile cause they had to get one fresh from being hacked. I simply mailed mine to them...when I should have waited for the return slip in the new one. But...I took their extended email time as more than it was. It took 10 days to get the new one, so when they received mine they simply had the hacker mail it direct. Whereas they were going to wait for all of them from the hacker to mail me the replacement.

 

[schan1269]

Mark, I'll give you a movie that darn near pays for the price difference of the region-free player...all by itself...

http://www.amazon.com/Last-Marienbad-Criterion-Collection-Blu-ray/dp/B001WLMOHI/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1382815096&sr=1-1&keywords=marienbad

Granted, I have no idea what "the extras" difference is...and I don't care...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Year-In-Marienbad-Blu-ray/dp/B002BC9YZM/ref=lh_ni_t?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

According to DVDcompare....it is a "draw" between all releases.

 

[JoshZ]

And on a serious note, is adding the new player better than using one of the plug-in mods for which you enter the code and cycle the player off and on (besides the convenience factor)?

No Blu-ray player is natively region-free. The manufacturer would be stripped of Blu-ray licensing if they attempted that. In order to make the player region-free, you need a modification. There are vendors who will sell pre-modded players to you (usually at a significant markup), or you can buy the mod chip and install it yourself. In either case, I would assume that the modification in RAH's player requires him to enter a code on the remote and cycle the power to manually switch regions. Most, if not all, region mods for OPPO players are like that.

I've programmed a macro in my Harmony remote to go through the region-changing steps with one button push for my OPPO player.

 

[schan1269]

Is that "power cycle" an Oppo thing?

This Orei I have you just have to have no disc in it. Haven't tried "tray open"...but there is no power cycle.

On this Orei it is a straightforward 10 second thing.

 

[Robert Harris]

I am migrating from owning region-free Blu-rays from the UK and other countries, to region-locked due to better images and bonus content.

Time Bandits, as available in the USA on Blu-ray, seems pretty paltry in terms of quality and bonus content.

Without derailing the thread, does anyone care to recommend a brand and vendor for purchasing a solid other-regions player? (I see RAH mentioned the Oppo, but not the model.)

103.

 

[Robert Harris]

And on a serious note, is adding the new player better than using one of the plug-in mods for which you enter the code and cycle the player off and on (besides the convenience factor)?

EDIT: I do suppose there are many good reasons to get a newer Oppo, anyway!

For me, it's worth having stacked Oppos (Oppi?). They seem to be the Apples of Blu-ray players.

RAH

 

[Jari K]

OT: I have two PS3 (Slim) models: Euro and U.S. All PS3 Slim models have universal power supply, so you don't need any converters.

 

[Danny Burk]

Like the others, I'm surprised that you (Robert) didn't go RF till now! I love the Oppo that I've had for, what, maybe 2 years now. To change regions, one presses "1" or "2" (or "3" for Region C, which I've never used) prior to turning on the player. Easy as can be, and lets me feed it all sorts of goodies from Eureka, BFI, etc.

 

[bgart13]

Robert, I highly recommend the UK bd of QUATERMASS & THE PIT. It may be thee best looking/most significant upgrade to HD I've seen for a film of its vintage and genre.