Conan the Destroyer (UK R2) Aspect Ratio and Sound (1 Viewer)

[Howard S]

Could anyone who owns the UK R2 version of Conan the Destroyer (distributed by Castle?) confirm the aspect ratio for me?

It's advertised on more than one website as 1.78:1 (i.e. 16:9), but the R1 version (and I believe the theatrical presentation) is 2.35:1. Has this film been cropped for the UK?

Also, the sound is described as mono, however I've read one review which suggested it was 5.1. If the review was correct, has the mono track been digitally processed to derive 5 channels, or is this a proper multi-channel re-mix from the original elements?

Any advice on whether to go for this, or the US R1 version would be appreciated.

Many thanks.

 

[TheBat]

I can answer part of the question.. the region 1 is 2.35 and is in mono, its not enhanced for widescreen.. however there is a region 2,4 special edition dvd which is enhanced for widescreen and does include 5.1 soundtrack. there is one for germany, france, japan, and australia. I have not seen the UK version of conan the destroyer. It does have a nice cover.

Jacob

 

[Med]

Howard S - I can't say for sure, but I remember a friend of mine buying the UK R2 disc a while ago and he said it was 2.35:1. It seems that some web sites have it wrong, but that's not surprising as I think it states the ratio as 1.78:1 on the DVD packaging! Please don't quote me on this as I can't confirm it at the moment - my friend is away for a few weeks.

What I can confirm is that the Australian disc is dual coded for R4/R2, has a very good (if not reference quality) 2.35:1 anamorphic picture & a fairly good 5.1 sound mix. It also has a few decent extra's such as 2 commentary tracks and 2 featurettes (one about the adaptation of Howard's stories to comic book form consisting of interviews with Roy Thomas & Gerry Conway and the other concerning the music score & a 17 min interview with Basil Poledouris).

The UK R2 is also cut by around 28 seconds I believe, though I couldn't give you precise details of what's missing.

I picked up the R4 for less than £10 from CD Wow and think it's your best bet to be sure of pic/sound quality and also some pretty good extra's.

 

[TheBat]

I did a review on the germany R2 version of conan the destroyer on my site. I am currently trying to get the uncut version released on dvd for region 1, since universal owns the rights to the cut footage.

www.angelfire.com/ca4/sarahdouglas

JACOB

 

[AlexBC]

I have the Brazilian R4 NTSC version (and I think it's R1 compatible too), it's the same special edition released by MGM in R2, R4 and R3. With the advantage that it doesn't suffer from PAL speedup and is much cheapier than The japanese edition. I own the R1 edition too, but it's non-anamorphic, mono and has almost no extras.

Man this gotta be one of the best movies ever, top three right bellow Conan, The Barbarian and Terminator 2. And Jacob all for that uncut version.

 

[TheBat]

I never encounter any speed up on the region 2 or region 4 of conan the destroyer SE.

JACOB

 

[Howard S]

Thanks very much for the advice.

I've just tried CD Wow to see if they still have the R4 Australian version, but no Conan DVDs are being returned by the search. Can you recommend any other retailers?

 

[TheBat]

try here:

http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/220148

in the other news.. universal re-released both conan films this past july, and they are going to re-release them again in Jan.. its region 1 version.. it will have a new coverbox, but have the same extra features.

JACOB

 

[Mark_Wilson]

The R3 Korean disc is 2.35:1 anamorphic, English 5.1, and has TWO commentaries while the Japanese and others only have one. The second audio commentary with cast Tracey Walter & Olivia d'Abo is very good, although Olivia doesn't say much.

 

[Med]

Mark - as I already mentioned in my first post, the R4 disc also has both commentary tracks.

Howard S - you could email CD Wow to see if they will be getting more stock in (they also had Conan the Barbarian R4 in stock for a while, which is uncut but has the 5.1 sound mix). They are, in my experience, a very helpful company and usually respond within 24 hours to email enquiries.

 

[TheBat]

the region 2 germany & region 4 australia of conan the destroyer include both commentaries.

JACOB