James Dean Ultimate Collection (Blu-ray) Available for Preorder (2 Viewers)

[Ronald Epstein]

Robert,

Oh, I am with you on this.

In fact, more than the extras included here I would rather
have the larger box (to match my other WB and Fox sets).

...but I can certainly settle for the smaller box knowing that
I got these movies and most of the extras for more than 50%
less than what the domestic release is selling for.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Robert,

Oh, I am with you on this.

In fact, more than the extras included here I would rather
have the larger box (to match my other WB and Fox sets).

...but I can certainly settle for the smaller box knowing that
I got these movies and most of the extras for more than 50%
less than what the domestic release is selling for.

You're right when you earlier stated the US boxset will go on sale at a lower price. It could be the Holidays or some time next year, but it's going to happen eventually.

 

[Professor Echo]

FYI: I read on another forum today that this big set and all the junk is selling for $32 shipped at Amazon UK. It says REGION FREE.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/James-Dean-Blu-ray/dp/B00E7W5354?SubscriptionId=AKIAIY4YSQJMFDJATNBA&tag=bluraycom-21&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00E7W5354&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

 

[Mark-P]

FYI: I read on another forum today that this big set and all the junk is selling for $32 shipped at Amazon UK. It says REGION FREE.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/James-Dean-Blu-ray/dp/B00E7W5354?SubscriptionId=AKIAIY4YSQJMFDJATNBA&tag=bluraycom-21&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00E7W5354&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Yes, but keep in mind that these box sets include 3 bonus DVDs in addition to the 3 Blu-ray discs. How much do you want to bet that the DVDs are region 2 and PAL?

 

[Professor Echo]

Not an issue for me personally, but for those who don't have a multi-region player and just want the movies, it comes out to ten bucks a title and you get all the junk. I already ordered mine and consider it one of the best deals of the year.

 

[classicmovieguy]

I may end up getting the UK edition - despite not wanting "Rebel", as it may end up being slightly cheaper for me in the end.

 

[Persianimmortal]

Looks like the UK set is a go for me too, if the overall box is not too big. Not interested in all the extras, posters etc. but all three movies at around $40 is a good deal even though I was mainly after Rebel.

 

[moviebuff75]

I can't wait for this. I will have to get the James Franco film by itself now, but I'll deal with it.

 

[David Norman]

How much do you want to bet that the DVDs are region 2 and PAL?

I guess I don't have to bet, but under what circumstances would they not be PAL (R0 or R2). I would say 99.9% chance.

 

[moviepas]

For in Australia with a drop in our exchange rate but less the 20% VAT plus the postage it works out just under A$40. From USA it would work out just over A$80. A big difference. It should also be noted that, never announced, Amazon US has increased their unit price for DVD/CD 50% but left the ordering fee static at $4.99. It is still a great delivery rate and the terms with the postage are the best.

 

[Persianimmortal]

I guess I don't have to bet, but under what circumstances would they not be PAL (R0 or R2). I would say 99.9% chance.

Of course the DVDs will be PAL 50Hz, they'd have to be to strictly comply with all UK DVD players and TVs, especially older ones.

Anyway it's a funny situation similar to the Hitchcock set - artificial regional restrictions causing a massive price differential, simply resulting in the funneling of a lot of sales from the US to the UK. Not sure what is achieved by this sort of price differentiation.

 

[John Hodson]

Of course the DVDs will be PAL 50Hz, they'd have to be to strictly comply with all UK DVD players and TVs, especially older ones.

Not necessarily so; UK TVs /players have long been capable of handling NTSC, to the point that supplements on quite few Warner BDs have been in NTSC as a matter of course. Now, whether these separate DVDs in the set will be PAL or NTSC is another question.

 

[Persianimmortal]

The same here in Australia - we use the PAL system but most of our TVs and players can handle both NTSC and PAL, and switch automatically when native 50Hz (PAL) or non-native 60Hz (NTSC) content is detected.

But as a DVD disc issued in the UK, the only way for the manufacturer to be 100% certain that it will comply with all local TVs and DVD players, is for it to be PAL encoded. I've never heard of a native UK or Australian DVD being issued as NTSC.

Anyway it's a silly dilemma for people in the US to be in - pay twice as much to be guaranteed DVDs that work on their system, or save a large chunk of cash but have to find some other way to buy the extra DVDs. Price differentiation usually only makes sense if the regions have vastly different economic conditions and local wages, and it makes even less sense when people can readily compare prices and order the cheaper product online regardless of which country they're in.

 

[Professor Echo]

You would think that anyone even considering a purchase for any title from Amazon UK would at least have a multi-region SD player, but I do understand it's a valid concern for the minority who don't. All region players have been so cheap in recent years, for those who don't have one I highly recommend it even if it's just for occasions like this.

 

[John Hodson]

I've never heard of a native UK or Australian DVD being issued as NTSC.

As I said, it's not unheard of; there are full discs - example - that have been issued as NTSC, Warners North By Northwest has NTSC extras - it's just not that big a deal in the UK. It doesn't mean that the discs here will be NTSC, it just means there are precedents.

 

[Persianimmortal]

You would think that anyone even considering a purchase for any title from Amazon UK would at least have a multi-region SD player, but I do understand it's a valid concern for the minority who don't. All region players have been so cheap in recent years, for those who don't have one I highly recommend it even if it's just for occasions like this.

Region coding is separate from PAL or NTSC encoding. A DVD can be Region Free (R0), but will be encoded in PAL or NTSC, and since many TVs and players in the US can't play back PAL, it's an important distinction for those in the US. I believe many Blu-ray players are effectively region free for DVD playback anyway, so again, the region coding isn't the key issue.

As I said, it's not unheard of; there are full discs - example - that have been issued as NTSC, Warners North By Northwest has NTSC extras - it's just not that big a deal in the UK. It doesn't mean that the discs here will be NTSC, it just means there are precedents.

The North by Northwest disc is a region free Blu-ray, and it makes sense that Warners wouldn't go to the trouble of encoding the SD extras as NTSC and PAL respectively for different regions. They just used the same source material for the US market to create the disc for every region. So yes, SD extras on any Blu-ray may be encoded in either PAL or NTSC depending upon the original source. Which begs the question why they didn't just put the James Dean set extras on a single Blu-ray, rather than 3 separate DVDs.

Fair enough regarding the DVD example you gave, although it is a special MOC release which is Region 1/2/3 (i.e. pretty much most of the world), and they probably took the NTSC encoded original and played with it slightly rather than bothering to reencode it in PAL. They could also safely assume that their niche market would have dual standard players.

Anyway we'll find out soon enough. I don't care about the extras myself, I just find it a real peculiarity the actual manner in which this set is being released globally. On the bright side, it's good to have several choices.

 

[Professor Echo]

Thanks for the clarification. My guess is that many HD sets in the US are capable of Pal playback, but your apparently endless source of knowledge and frequent corrections are always appreciated by us mere mortals.

 

[bluirv]

Which I have already on DVD. My UK preorder came to $31.60

Amazon UK has lowered the price of this set down to £21.01 or $28 in US, even lower than previously!

Compare that to the Amazon US price of $69.99!

 

[Charles Smith]

I'm trying to figure out how the UK & US outer box dimensions can appear so different but hold the same contents. Or did I miss something?

 

[John Hodson]

Fair enough regarding the DVD example you gave, although it is a special MOC release which is Region 1/2/3 (i.e. pretty much most of the world), and they probably took the NTSC encoded original and played with it slightly rather than bothering to reencode it in PAL. They could also safely assume that their niche market would have dual standard players.

It's not the only example; in fact, I imported the Warner DVD of Now Voyager from Australia in 2002 - it was encoded NTSC...