Why are R2/R3 discs color while R1 B&W? (1 Viewer)

[likestowatch]

Why are US DVDs released in their original B&W format, but full color in some Asian countries? Example, fight scene in "Kill Bill" and "The Man Who Wasn't There". Is this a choice by the director, the studio or some sort of Asian film requirement?

 

[Douglas R]

I didn't know that but I assume it's because Asian home viewers are unwilling to accept black & white films or black & white sequences.

It happens in the USA as well of course. When I saw the two feature MOVIE, MOVIE theatrically, the first feature (about boxing) was in black and white but subsequent videos and TV versions were in color.

 

[JasonCC]

It's because of the American censorship. Japan is more adapt to watching violent film as opposed to America. The truth is Mirimax forced the B&W scene in Kill Bill. The is also an additional 3 or 4 minutes on the Japanese cut of the film. Mirimax is also rumored to have edited HERO when it comes to the US next year. I usually avoid the American version of any film, as they are the fist to be cut.

 

[Matt Czyz]

Well, The Man Who Wasn't There would be an exception to that. Censorship was hardly an issue. It was supposed to be B&W in North America. I have no idea why it was colored for overseas.

http://207.136.67.23/film/dvdcompare/manwho.htm

 

[Frederic_A]

Technically, it wasn't colored, because it was already shot on color film, according to the comments on the disc. It was then made black and white in post production, which of course makes sense for a tribute to film noir.

I could imagine that Asian audiences, who aren't that familiar with Western film traditions, weren't expected to appreciate this point, and therefore the unprocessed color version was released.

 

[Njal]

AFAIK, Kill Bill Vol1 was shown in all color only in Japan and Hong Kong in cinemas (maybe some other Asian countries ass well; There are some I haven't heard much about when it comes to cinemas), and has so far been released on dvd in all color only in Japan (the HK dvd goes B&W like the R1).
Man Who Wasn't There has been released on dvd in sets with both color and B&W in France and South Korea, afaik. I don't think either country had color prints for the cinemas.

 

[John*C]

I buy DVD from PAL countries to get what America doesn't have for sale. The first "Conan" over here they put out 2 monaural editions, before a limited 5.1 was released. I do have to admit I like color movies than B & W. The reason I had someone make a colorized "The Thing from Another World" (1951)to DVD from the colorized cassette in same Accademy Standard OAR.

 

[Rob Gardiner]

John,

If you're willing to accept a colorized version of a B&W film, and a 5.1 version of a mono film, why on earth does AOR matter to you?