Dawn of the Dead (1978) 4K (1 Viewer)

[Bryan^H]

I’d be interested in this, but on principal I don’t lIke the idea of paying for a disc I can’t use. I have heard that some players aren’t truly region locked and you can get around it through a secret menu. Anyone know anything like that on an Oppo 4K player, or is that a taboo subject?

The Panasonic UB-420, and 9000 have a "top menu" trick that works with a lot of region locked discs. However the bonus material BD is truly locked on this. That trick will not work with my player.


Good news, the best it will ever look on disc. I'm not terribly impressed, because I wasn't expecting a miracle to begin with. It simply looks really good. I have been collecting this film on VHS, and disc for years. From Anchor Bay's dual sided "Director's Cut" and all after that.

This is the first transfer of the film that I think is deserving of this quality, and iconic horror masterpiece.

 

[titch]

Absolutely no question that this set is a dream come true for fans. The previous Italian (Koch Media) 4K version contained ONLY the Dargento cut in 4K and it looks washed-out and faded in comparison. Even the blu-rays on the Koch Media version look vastly inferior compared to the colours and detail on the Second Sight versions. This is an amazing presentation. The film grain is very prominent. I've only been able to sample tiny bits and am going to devote the coming weekend to going through this.

 

[Vincent_P]

Bill Hunt's review is up and the box set is back in stock at Amazon UK, although it will probably sell out quickly, despite the expensive retail price. When Amazon sells out, the price from resellers will probably double anyway. Mine is on it's way. It will be interesting to compare it with to the Italian 4K SDR box.

Dawn of the Dead: Limited Edition (UK Import) (4K UHD Review)

Munching its way into cinemas in 1978, George A. Romero’s masterpiece Dawn of the Dead redefined the zombie film ten years after the horror landscape had been altered with the original, and still effective, Night of the Living Dead. As was the case with Night, Dawn also reflected what was going...

thedigitalbits.com

That review is wrong re: the music used in the Cannes cut:

" Interestingly, though, this version has only library music (The Goblins’ score was added later when the Theatrical Cut was complete)."

While the Cannes cut has more library music than the theatrical cut, it isn't entirely missing the Goblin music. There's still plenty of Goblin music in the Cannes cut. The first 20-minutes or so IS lacking Goblin music, though, and also some of the motorcycle seige towards the end, but it's not "only library music" as this review claims.

Vincent

 

[Reed Grele]

I snagged one for:

Order Summary

Item(s) Subtotal:

GBP 66.66

Selected the "Gift" option. Perhaps the gift box/wrap will protect it from bumps and drops... We shall see.

 

[titch]

I snagged one for:

Order Summary

Item(s) Subtotal:

GBP 66.66

Selected the "Gift" option. Perhaps the gift box/wrap will protect it from bumps and drops... We shall see.

A suitably apocalyptic price! Mine arrived, unscathed, in a Amazon cardboard box with paper stuffed in, to prevent it rattling around. Not very protective, but courier by DHL to Norway is generally much more gentle than risking the postal service compactor machines! Using the cheaper postal option for shipping from the UK doesn't make sense with such expensive sets anyway - the price difference gets eaten up by customs fees by the Norwegian post office.

 

[Reed Grele]

My strategy of ordering the box set from Amazon U.K. as a "gift" to avoid damaged corners during transit proved successful. I figured that the extra wrapping that a gift required would protect the contents better than the regular thin, paper wrapping, and that was correct. The outer cardboard box had most of the corners dented, but the contents weren't affected because of the extra protection afforded by the heavy duty gift pouch.

So if you're worried about shipping wear and tear when ordering items from Amazon U.K., the extra few dollars invested in gift wrap may save the day.

 

[Denham]

I believe the trick is to put the disc in the player. When you get the region restriction screen, press stop, then press the top menu button and some players will then by pass the restriction...or something like that.

I don't believe it works on the Oppo players- but you can easily use a DIY "kit" to modify that Oppo to be region free
$130 might be more than people want to spend, but the Oppo is a great player and I would personally spend the money to modify one of those rather than dropping $130 on a cheaper player that lets you use the top menu hack.

JVB Digital Store

www.jvbdigital.nl

BTW, my DotD set showed up from Diabolik today. Looking forward to digging into later tonight- but wishing I dropped the extra $10 to get the UHD version.

 

[Bryan^H]

The sound on the theatrical cut is phenomenal. It impressed me more than the video quality.

 

[TravisR]

My strategy of ordering the box set from Amazon U.K. as a "gift" to avoid damaged corners during transit proved successful. I figured that the extra wrapping that a gift required would protect the contents better than the regular thin, paper wrapping, and that was correct. The outer cardboard box had most of the corners dented, but the contents weren't affected because of the extra protection afforded by the heavy duty gift pouch.

So if you're worried about shipping wear and tear when ordering items from Amazon U.K., the extra few dollars invested in gift wrap may save the day.

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That's the right kind of gift to give to yourself. Or anyone else really.

 

[titch]

My strategy of ordering the box set from Amazon U.K. as a "gift" to avoid damaged corners during transit proved successful. I figured that the extra wrapping that a gift required would protect the contents better than the regular thin, paper wrapping, and that was correct. The outer cardboard box had most of the corners dented, but the contents weren't affected because of the extra protection afforded by the heavy duty gift pouch.

So if you're worried about shipping wear and tear when ordering items from Amazon U.K., the extra few dollars invested in gift wrap may save the day.

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That's a smart trick. And the extra cost for gift-wrapping is insignificant, with such an expensive set. There have been many complaints in the past on the forum, regarding damaged steelbooks and box sets arriving from Amazon. Absolutely worth trying gift-wrap to cushion the package. I also re-use the gift bag, when Amazon uses those, for when I give little gifts to other people.

 

[titch]

Caps-a-holic have posted only screen shots from the 4K Theatrical Cut, but even these demonstrate how vastly superior the Second Sight scans are to anything that has ever been released previously. Looks like both the blu ray and 4K sets are selling out. Just goes to show that there is a market for quality physical media.

https://caps-a-holic.com/c_list.php?c=3827

 

[TravisR]

Just out of curiosity, how can Second Sight afford to license this movie when every other boutique label hasn't been able to? Have the owners of Dawn gotten realistic and lowered their price? Is Second Sight spending like hell and just hoping for the best?

 

[titch]

Just out of curiosity, how can Second Sight afford to license this movie when every other boutique label hasn't been able to? Have the owners of Dawn gotten realistic and lowered their price? Is Second Sight spending like hell and just hoping for the best?

Good question. Arrow previously issued a blu ray with the same three cuts, in 2010. I would have expected Arrow to have re-issued this with a new 4K scan on 4K UHD. But Second Sight seem to be upping their ante. They have also released a fantastic blu ray of Walkabout, from a 4K scan from the original negative. The Criterion edition now looks completely redundant, in comparison. I don't really mind that all these boutique labels are breathing down Criterion's neck. Even UK's Artificial Eye has just released a 4K UHD of Parasite. Soon Criterion will be the only quality arthouse label not releasing 4K UHD discs.

 

[WillG]

doesn’t seem to be showing up as available anymore

 

[titch]

doesn’t seem to be showing up as available anymore

It's listed as "Temporarily out of stock" and it still looks like it's possible to purchase from Amazon UK. But if people are still sitting on the fence and looking nervously at their credit card balance, they should be aware that Second Sight's limited editions tend to sell out. Amazon UK usually sell these only for a limited period, before they end up with re-sellers, who charge a hefty mark-up for the privilege.

See on Amazon

 

[JoshZ]

The sound on the theatrical cut is phenomenal. It impressed me more than the video quality.

Which soundtrack option did you choose? I played around with all three and settled on the stereo mix.

 

[JoshZ]

I’d be interested in this, but on principal I don’t lIke the idea of paying for a disc I can’t use. I have heard that some players aren’t truly region locked and you can get around it through a secret menu. Anyone know anything like that on an Oppo 4K player, or is that a taboo subject?

but you can easily use a DIY "kit" to modify that Oppo to be region free
$130 might be more than people want to spend, but the Oppo is a great player and I would personally spend the money to modify one of those rather than dropping $130 on a cheaper player that lets you use the top menu hack.

FYI, the region-free kit for the OPPO BDP-93 also works in the DBP-103 and the UDP-203. I wrote an article several years back about how easy it is to install:

OPPO Region Hack – Easiest Hardware Mod Ever

When it comes to DVD and Blu-ray players, OPPO Digital has been my brand of choice for years. The company’s first Blu-ray player, the BDP-83, wa...

www.highdefdigest.com

Prices may have gone up in the meantime, but I don't believe the instructions have changed.

 

[Bryan^H]

Which soundtrack option did you choose? I played around with all three and settled on the stereo mix.

I chose that one as well, and thought it sounded the best. Although the new 5.1 mix is really good too.

 

[JoshZ]

I chose that one as well, and thought it sounded the best. Although the new 5.1 mix is really good too.

Dialogue seemed soft in the 5.1 mix, at least during the opening scenes.

 

[Kaskade1309]

Interestingly, the DTS remix on the Anchor Bay DiviMax release (DVD) is pretty weak in most spots; seems like they just relooped certain foley effects for the surrounds and they just came off sounding weird and super-lean. A good example of this is when "Flyboy" is being chased by the security guard zombie in the mall's lower bowels and he fires off the gun. This comes across as really weak and "tinny" in execution, what with the bullets artificially pinging around the soundstage in a way you can tell was forced.