Forbidden Planet on region 2 on 20th September. (1 Viewer)

[Steve Christou]

Well I've been called worse, and on this thread!

So are we all finally in agreement that region 2 is far superior to region 1 in every way? Thank you! Not only do we get superior PAL picture quality but each film finishes a few minutes earlier than that other region, we're so lucky!

 

[Zen Butler]

With the exception of a few titles, I believe Region 2 does get better treatment. I don't belong to NicheFlix for nothing. This though is not the subject of the thread, so I'm off.

Thanks for listening.

 

[Anthony Neilson]

Right - now you're just trying to wind me up !

OK, so here's the proof. Of the discs that www.dvdcompare.net have run comparisons of, the results are this :

Region 1 Winners : 1204 Region 2 Winners : 856
Region 3 Winners : 44 Region 4 Winners : 66
Region 5 Winners : 0 Region 6 Winners : 0
Region 0 Winners : 455 Draws : 2164

OK, so just dealing with R2, that's 368 discs judged to be superior in R1. There are 2164 draws, pretty much all of which will include the R1 versions ; 455 R0 winners - most of which (despite being R0)are only available in the US ; and you will find that there are still MANY discs this site hasn't covered.
Also, as R2 covers the whole of Europe and Japan as well, the R2 UK total of superior discs is even smaller.

If you then go to Mr Tooze's excellent www.dvdbeaver.com comparison site, you will find that nine times out of ten, the transfers for even identical R1 releases are superior to those of R2.

And none of this even takes account of minor differences, such as the MUCH nicer menus for the R1 Hitchcocks or the R1 Bond editions.

Add to that the fact that 95 percent of all discs are released in R1 first and cost AT LEAST a third less than discs in other regions, and I think you have overwhelming proof that you R1 monkeys have got NOTHING TO WHINE ABOUT !!

 

[Jeff_HR]

The "Forbidden Planet" R2 release does seem to make little sense. Personally I'm glad to have a multi-regional DVD player that does PAL-to-NTSC. That way I can buy the best version of a film in whatever region it is released.

 

[Derek_McL]

Thanks for that Anthony coming back to this thread I'm as bemused as you by some of the responses. I don't know how any serious film fan (with respect someone who enjoys a variety of films from the Lumieres to Lord of the Rings) can argue that the US isn't better served in the comprehensive selection available there. As you have so ably demonstrated Anthony even when we do get UK editions they are usually cut down in some way.

Such has always been the case alas and I think will always be the case to a certain extent. I remember a similar situation with VHS : I was amazed in the 90s visiting the US and seeing the films available on VHS. Thankfully modern technology and the Internet has at least made US DVDs more easily available though sadly not all of us can buy all our titles online. In recent times I'll admit things have got better but Region 1 or US discs are still king.

 

[Zen Butler]

I'll mention one, then return to my "superior" format.


Trouble in Mind


Bye

 

[Zen Butler]

 

[Steve Christou]

Patriotic Steve is back! Wahay! [cheers, whistles, boos]
Oh dear it saddens me to see fellow Brits championing pictorially inferior region 1 dvds. I have hundreds of dvds from both regions in my near 1000 dvd collection, and I'm very proud of my collection. I know which region I want for each particular film, if on occasion region 1 has more extras I'll buy it, but if I know the region 2 has a subtitled commentary than that might tip the scales in favor of r2, it's a matter of choice. But I have a feeling some of you guys have stuck resolutely to NTSC, missing out on some genuine PAL exclusives, such as the upcoming Battle of Britain 2 discer, may I suggest you HTF Brits wait a few years for the region 1 edition to arrive in lovely 'count the lines' NTSC format and who knows if you're lucky the music might be redubbed by Hans Zimmer and the wailing Lisa Gerrard for the US market [wink wink].

 

[Derek_McL]

Yes we know PAL has more lines etc and I am not at least an NTSC junkie. I'm not missing out on the cream of the R2s if anything I've had to buy some in R2 when I might have been better getting R1 but my situation prevented it. Yes theoretically PAL should offer better picture quality but DVD Beaver shows that doesn't always happen.

Steve I'm curious : What is the oldest film in your collection ? The older and more obscure you get the more likely you will see only a US release. The silents available here simply offer no comparison to what you can get in the US. There are so many more titles available there.

Some pretty mainstream classics have still to get a UK release too and the likes of the Criterion collection aren't in UK stores. Here's a list of titles that are available or have been in the past in the US but not in the UK :

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Love Me Tonight (1932)
42nd Street (1933)
Halleluyah I'm A Bum (1933)
Little Women (1933)
The Thin Man (1934)
Mr Deeds Goes To Town (1936)
Thimgs To Come (1936)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
Stagecoach (1939)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Sullivan's Travels (1941)
The Ox Bow Incident(1941)
The Lady Eve (1942)
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
Woman of the Year (1942)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
My Darling Clementine (1946)
Pat and Mike (1952)

Not as many as a few years ago to be sure but the present mass catalog releases by Warners and Universal I really doubt are going to duplicated in their entirety in the UK. I don't think the UK is going to get the Abbott and Costello sets or all the Judy Garland films for example. So this list is set to get longer again and I'm sure others could add to it.

 

[Steve Christou]

Lang's Metropolis R2.

 

[Anthony Neilson]

Steve - there's no question of missing out on R2 discs like THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN S.E. Nor am I arguing for the superior quality of the NTSC format - quite the opposite ; I'd happily buy all my discs on R2 PAL, but I don't have that choice if I want the best editions.

The reason why R1 punters get so pissed off about the occasional R2 release they can't get over there, is because they haven't HAD to buy multi-region players like we have.
In that sense, we have an advantage, albeit one born out of necessity.

In fact, I don't much mind importing discs. What bothers me is when the process goes wrong ; the customs charges, the risk of being ripped off by websites, discs going missing in the mail, having to return faulty discs etc etc
These events are relatively rare but SUCH a pain when they occur.

Indeed the "second-ratedness" of R2 is illustrated quite well by this very conversation. Only on the Regional Area forum could we thread-fart to such a disgraceful extent and not get shut down !

BECAUSE NOBODY CARES !!!!!

 

[Miguel M Santos]

Regarding Meet me in St Louis the BBFC has passed some the extras that are in R1 but not in the press release. The Judy Garland Special has passed a few days ago as a PG certificate. It could be that WB doesn't want to raise the certificate of the film (which is U) or it could be that the press release is incomplete or plain wrong. It wouldn't the first time: when they announce the R2 release of the Looney Tunes All stars 2 the extras are exactly the same as the vol 1 which is not true.