German "Terminator 2" Blu-ray from Kinowelt (1 Viewer)

[ChristianLiemke]

In May 2009 German label Kinowelt will release James Camerons "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" [1991] on Blu-ray. Their 2008 HD-DVD release of this title was one of the most elaborate discs of that format (see the German review over at Area DVD). At last years DVDA Excellence Awards Kinowelt was honored for this title in two categories: "Authoring Design und Implementation" and "Technical Achievement".

Infos on the upcoming Blu-ray are slim but Kinowelt had mentioned, that all the interactive content from the HD-DVD will be on the BD in an edvanced form. While the HD-DVD only offered the "Special Edition" cut (153 min.) the Blu-ray will have all three versions: theatrical version (136 min.), the "Special Edition" version and the extended "Special Edition" version (with an extra T1000 scene and an alternate ending) known from the "Ultimate Edition"-DVD.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

The HD DVD was outstanding. I'm glad their are putting the same (if not more) effort into the Blu-ray.

 

[Southpaw]

There were a couple special features on the HD DVD that were in German language only. I remember one being the "flubs" extra and I can't remember the other one. I know there was talk at one time of downloading the english subs for those special features that were in German but that never came to fruition due to the format war ending.
I wonder if this new BD release will rectify this issue for us that need English text and most importantly, will it be region free.?

 

[Jari K]

Interesting.. I cancelled my order (HD DVD) back then when the "war" was over, so Blu-ray sounds good (all 3 versions? Nice..). Then again, if it´s 50 Euros or something...

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

I should point out that regardless of how many bells and whistles the various UK, FR, and DE versions of T2 have over the US version, all current HD versions of the movie are still using a poorly-done transfer (as admitted by Cameron himself) that is supposedly being revisited after Avatar is completed. People who have seen prints say they're easily sharper than the current transfer.

Unfortunately this means that the earliest we'll see a decent HD transfer would be 2010, as a tie-in with Avatar's home video release. With any luck, they won't hold off until 2011, which would be the film's 20th anniversary.

 

[Jari K]

This could be true. Then again this upcoming Blu-ray from Kinowelt could be nice alternative before the new U.S. Blu-ray SE/20AE/etc arrives (and we all know that it WILL arrive at some point).

But like I said, if it´s 50 Euros or something like that, I´ll pass. I have seen the film about zillion times already.

 

[DVDvision]

Wow, I was about to dip for the japanese double disc, I may wait a bit...

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

Because I wasn't happy with the US BD, I went ahead and got the Optimum UK disc. It's an HD version that cost me 11 GBP (it's about 13 GBP now), which at the time came to $20-$25. Sure, I knew it was the same transfer, but the PQ was actually quite a bit better than Liongate's version, and the price was a steal. But that was almost 6 months ago. The closer we get to 2010, the less likely I would have been to buy it.

 

[Timothy E]

I have the UK HD DVD as well as the Kinowelt HD DVD, and the quality of picture is notably sharper in the Kinowelt version. I am actually not very impressed with the picture quality of the UK version.

If Kinowelt provides the same quality on the Blu Ray as they did on the HD DVD version, then the Kinowelt version will be the definitive version to have on high definition. If something better comes along in 2 or 3 years, that is great, but for now the Kinowelt HD DVD is still the prize of my collection, and I look forward to the Blu Ray with anticipation. It remains to be seen if the Blu Ray will be region code B or all region.