Just Got a Region Free Player- What are the Must Have DVDs and Good Places to Order? (1 Viewer)

[Kevin Grey]

Just received my Liteon LVD-2001. I'm curious to what are the significant movies available in other regions that either

a) aren't available in Region 1
b) Significantly better than their Region 1 counterparts in anormorphic video, sound, etc

I like movies of all types. I've already ordered City of God (Region 3) and I am planning to order the Japanese True Lies anamorphic. What else should I be looking for?

Also, what are reputable online dealers for the various regions?

 

[JonZ]

Ive used

www.hkflix.com

and

www.koreandvds.com/

 

[Brian Thibodeau]

I believe there's R2 european releases of John Carpenter's They Live and Prince of Darkness with special features not available on the bare-bones US versions. Not sure where to point you though. There's also a German special edition of Deep Rising, a personal favourite that I'm looking to grab someday. Again, no leads as I don't remember where exactly I saw them. You might start at England's Benson's World:

http://www.bensons-world.co.uk/

Another good site is CD-WOW, which has sites based in various countries. This link is for the Hong Kong version of the site. The prices, once the exchange is factored, are actually a buck or two cheaper from this site (check out xe.com for a money converter) and packages from ALL the sites are shipped free from Hong Kong anyways.

http://www3.cd-wow.com.hk/index_2.php

You'll also find a nice 2-disc R2 special edition of The Hitcher at these sites. Definitely not available in North America.

I'm sure others will recommend more specific discs, but the best way is just to start surfing. I've found some amazing things simply by browsing around.

If you're tastes run toward the wonderful world of Hong Kong cinema, try
www.dddhouse.com
and be sure to check out their weekly cheap sale for some excellent titles (all legit) for about $3.00 US apiece.

 

[Anthony Neilson]

From the UK -

THE DEER HUNTER S.E
MISERY S.E
HENRY - PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER S.E
A FISH CALLED WANDA S.E
ANGEL HEART S.E
THE BOUNTY S.E
THE ROMAN POLANSKI BOX SET
THE AMICUS HORROR BOX SET
THE MAN FROM UNCLE BOX SET

Try www.play.com

From France -

FLASH GORDON S.E
THE SHELTERING SKY S.E

Try www.amazon.fr

Will post more if I can think of them. If you want any further info on these, just let me know.

 

[Yee-Ming]

Amazon.co.uk. Their listed price might be marginally higher than some other sites, and shipping too, but the big difference is if you are not in the EU, they will then deduct the 17.5% VAT (value-added tax, ie sales tax) from the price, which means the actual price you pay is around 85% of whatever's listed. Most other sites don't bother to factor out tax. This makes a big difference on big-ticket box sets, but less so for single-disc titles.

Of course, the big problem with R2 right now is the strength of the Pound and the Euro, making everything a lot more expensive than it was just 6 months ago... :frowning:

 

[Paul_D]

But good for us!

I would recommend the following R2 discs:
Trainspotting SE (UK)
Roman Polanski Box (UK)
Brotherhood of the Wolf 4-Disc (France)
Gaspar Noe Box (France)
Rules of Attraction 2-Disc SE (France - Only uncut version available)

 

[Chad A]

Here are a few of the ones I think are worth picking up:

Heat - R2 Japan w/ DTS and extras
Sleepy Hollow - R2 Japan w/DTS
Finding Nemo - R3 Korea w/DTS
Ronin - R2 Japan w/DTS
Signs - R2 Japan w/DTS 6.1 ES matrix
Monsters Inc. - R3 HK w/DTS 6.1 ES Matrix
Army of Darkness - R3 HK best picture of ANY region and a longer cut than any region

and my personal favorite,
4 disc Blackhawk Down Superbit - R3 Korea w/DTS and sound track cd

I have the last 4 listed and can honestly say they are worth tracking down. Happy hunting.

 

[Roger Mathus]

I have a number of the DVDs on Chad's list and find them very good. In general, I would recommend that you look towards Korea and Japan.

For Japan, I generally look towards http:www.amazon.co.jp[/url]

For Korea, there are two US based and dependable sites that import Korean DVDs.

http://www.DVDAsian.com excellent service and generally same day shipping for items in stock. Excellent website.

http://www.hanbooks.com

They are a little slower but have some titles (especially USA studio releases with a difference) and will accept special orders for items not on website.

For Hong Kong, I have enjoyed good success over several years from.

http://HiViZone.com

http://www.dddhouse.com

All of the above dealers accept USA based credit cards without question so long as shipping address is same as billing address.

I have encountered a couple of Asia dealers that insist upon copy of credit card and copy of latest credit card bill. I am reluctant to supply this info to unknown dealer, particularly in a foreign country.

Other considerations are:

1.0 Japanese releases of non English language films generally offer no English support in form of English tracks or subtitles. English films with some foreign spoken words however generally offer English suntitles. Example...Dances With Wolves.

2.0 Korean and Hong Kong releases generally have English support.

3.0 Lately, in my experience, Korean releases offer the most consistent quality of transfers and features. Hong Kong can be quite variable with Japanese releases somewhere in the middle. Japanese DVDs are the most expensive and Hong Kong DVDs generally the cheapest with Korean DVDs somewhere in the middle.

4.0 Special features and extras on Japanese releases generally offer no English support with sometimes Japanese dub over English. The same applies to Korean releases but more likely to include English.

 

[Kevin Grey]

Thanks for the input guys, I will definitely be picking up some of these titles.

A few questions:



Does this have better picture quality than the Region 1 version?

 

[Paul_D]

I haven't seen the US/Canada transfer, but I was very happy with the French transfer. A beautiful version of the film. Also, it comes in an ultra-cool, collectible, hologram covered case. Unfortunately, it does not have English subs.

[c] [/c]

 

[Bob Graham]

Before ordering from Europe check Australia first. The US dollar is much stronger against the Australian dollar than it is against European currencies and some PAL discs are both Region 2 and Region 4 compatible. So the same disc will usually cost a lot less if ordered form Australia. I've ordered from both ezdvd.com and atlanticdvd.com. Both have relatively low prices and very reasonable international shipping ($5 Australian or about $3.50 US).

A few Austalian exclusive discs that I'd recommend:

THE LIGHTHORSEMEN (terrific WW I epic about the Light Horse Calvary)
WATERSHIP DOWN SPECIAL EDITION
HELLZAPOPPIN

 

[Mikel_Cooperman]

Great subject here. I have a non region DVD player but was never sure what available in Differearent available here.
Is there an actual site that lists movies and the differences in different regions like on this thread???

 

[David Yevin]

one

two

 

[Thomas Agermose]

Link Removed if you're into Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee etc. Don't know if they ship to the states though.
- Police Story - SE (Jackie Chan)
- Project A - SE (Jackie Chan)
- Way of the Dragon - SE
- Fists of Fury
etc.

www.cd-wow.com (I believe the .hk site have adjusted their prices recently).

These are not available in R1 to my knowledge (but most of them will probably come to R1)
- Karate Kid (16:9 but no extras)
- Fish Called Wanda - SE
- Predator - SE (coming soon R1)
- Twin Peaks Season 1 (includes the pilot episode).
- Friday the 13th (uncut w/extras)

Regarding They Live. I believe that the framing switches from 2.35:1 to 2.0:1 after the title, so stay clear of that one.