Paul Anderson delivers 2 Disc Resident Evil with added supplements promise (1 Viewer)

[Shawn DuHast]

It's only a single DVD even if specs are not final yet so it's never going to equal the German 2 Disc that you made the right decision is buying James
Still looking forward to a review of your disc when you get it hopefully next week.
Also any idea if the 2nd Commentary by Producer Bernd Eichinger in English or German?

 

[James Reader]

Hi Shawn

Amazon.de has just shipped my Resident Evil. I expect it to arrive mid week.

 

[Shawn DuHast]

I await your findings with baited breath.........
What did it cost in GBP incl shipping etc etc in the end ?

 

[James Reader]

The total listed on my shipping e-mail is 29.36 Euros which is about £20.16 (based on last nights exchange rates)
Reading through the site now I've found this in English Shipping Table which indicates the wait for delivery may be longer than a week :frowning:

 

[James Reader]

Posted from member SvenL on the UK based theDVDForums:

I have the DVD now and the list I posted above is correct.
A few comments:

The menus are fullscreen and in German only.
The opening introduction "The Umbrella corporation ..." is written in German.
The 27 Minute "Making Of Resident Evil" is the same as the one on the R1 but it is dubbed in German and you cannot turn the German language off.
All other Extras are in English only - without German subtitles.
All the extras have the "Copyright by Columbia Tristar" at the end so nothing is really exclusive to the German DVD - it will all show up on some future R1 DVD.
There are eight "Extended Evil" clips that you can play while watching the movie (an Umbrella logo appears on screen) which total about 30 Minutes and are mostly new - meaning they're not part of the other extras.
The picture quality is about as good as the normal R1 - altough I think there's a little bit more print damage - but I'm not an expert picture judge.
I can't judge the dts track since I don't have the equipment (and will not get it - but let's not get into that discussion again).
It's packaged in a very nice looking DigiPack.
That's about it - if not for the German text at the beginning, the dubbed "Making Of" and the nonanamorphic and German menus this would be the perfect Resident Evil DVD.

My copy is still in the post.

 

[James Reader]

Well I got my German Resident Evil 2 Disc Special Edition in the post today and here's a quick review based on about 30 mins exploring both discs.
Firstly lets get the German content out of the way. As you would expect, the menus are totally in German - not a problem on the first disc housing the movie, but more of a problem on the second disc. Also the 'Making of Resident Evil' featurette (which I assume is the same as on the US Special Edition and the upcoming UK Pathe release) is 'overdubbed' in German. It is the only soundtrack so it cannot be altered.
Strangely the other featurettes and snippets on the discs are in English language. The text at the start of the film is in German on screen, but of course if English language soundtrack is selected the voice over is in English. You can change soundtracks at anytime using the audio button on your remote. Subtitles are optional English, German or none.
I know some US citizens have been making snide comments regarding the imagined picture quality being as the disc contains 2 DTS soundtracks, 2 DD 5.1 soundtracks and a DD 2.0 commentary track (yes, sadly there is only one commentary track). However, although not perfect, the picture quality is surprisingly good. Some MPEG artifacts are apparent at times, especially when the screen is virtually filled with the silver/grey of the lab walls but it compares favorably to my R1 Superbit Edition[*]. One of the reasons for this is the high bit-rate throughout the movie. It rarely drops below 8.0 and more often than not seems to be round about 8.9 - 9.1. It peaks at 10 many times as well. I would imagine that the picture is just as good as the R1 'Special Edition'.
As I previously mentioned, there is only one commentary track - featuring Paul Anderson, Jeremy Bolt, Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez. I assume this is the same as the R1 'Special Edition' - there is no Bernd Eichinger commentary track that I could find (and that includes cycling through the audio options on my remote).
I've not looked at the Extended Evil mode on the disc (which works like the 'White Rabbit' feature on the Matrix disc) so I don't know what these branch out to. Hopefully Deleted Scenes, as these don't appear to be on the second disc.
The second disc includes the German overdubbed 'Making of Resident Evil' plus 2 other featurettes - 'The Music of Resident Evil' and 'From Game to Film' available in English only. Unmentioned on the packaging is an addition featurette 'The Storyboards', again in English.
There are three 'Behind the Screens' features, which appear upon a brief glance to be substantial interviews with Milla Jonovich, Michelle Rodrigeuz and Paul Anderson.
Finishing off the disc is the Alternative End - brief at around 50 seconds(!) but there is also a Paul Anderson introduction to the alternative ending which runs for over 3 minutes.
There is a quite comprehensive Cast and Crew listing, featuring a brief biography (in German) on screen and some feature brief interview snippits (5 mins - 2 mins depending on the person) in English.
A German and USA trailer and a few other trailers for unrelated movies and a photo gallery finish the disc. The Slipknot music video is included as an Easter Egg (which I have been unable to find).
All in all I must admit the disc is probably a disappointment. It's certainly lacking some of the features we were led to believe were included. I hope the deleted scenes are included in the 'Extended Evil' mode when watching the film. Sorry Shawn, but it looks like the Pathe release isn't that bad after all compared to this :frowning:
Personally I will probably still by the Pathe UK release of the film as well - meaning I'll own the R1 Superbit, R2 German 2 disc and R2 UK editions of the film. I'm mad aren't I?
[*] I must admit my equipment isn't the best to be judging picture quality - considering how obsessive some members of this forum get. But it's more than good enough for me.

 

[Shawn DuHast]

Thank you James for your review of the German version.
As you say a bit of a disappointment :frowning:
All you need now is the R4 version to complete your collection
plus the R1 Ultimate Tricked Out Extreme Overkill Dead Horse Sp Ed - when ever CTHE ever get off their backsides (probably the same time Paramount release the oft rumored Sp Ed of Event Horizon ):rolleyes

 

[Shawn DuHast]

http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=2336R4 Resident Evil Review [/url]
Another review of the R4 DVD - DTS is obviously the way to go.........importing to the UK will only cost about 12.50GBP or less. Def an alternative to the Pathe-tic UK R2 DVD.....

 

[Mark_Wilson]

James, did you find the Deleted scenes?

 

[James Reader]

Not had time to look, and I probably won't be able to until well after this coming weekend.
The only place they could be is in the 'Extended Evil' user branching viewing mode on disc 1. However, I've heard this just branches out to small 'making of' supplements.
I don't think that they are on the disc, just like the 'reported' second commentary track is missing. Rather disappointing :frowning:

 

[James Reader]

First UK Resident Evil review here

 

[James Reader]

Right two things.
Firstly the ongoing German release/deleted scenes issue.
I've played the disc through in "Extended Evil" mode and can find no deleted scenes. I also can find no deleted scenes on the second disc - so I'm inclined to think that they're not on.
The specs do include a hidden feature I've not yet found, but this is the Slipknot music video.
Secondly the Pathe UK release arrived this morning.
I've only had a quick look bit the bit rate seems to be hovering around the 5-6 mark throughout, most often in the lower 5's. From the brief snippits I've seen the picture quality seems to be worse than the German release, despite the fact the German release has the commentary track and 2 DTS and 2 DD 5.1 soundtracks. The UK release only has the commentary and 1 DD 5.1 soundtrack.
(Note: My opinion of the transfer does not seem to match Julian's here. I will try to view the whole film this weekend as post back a proper mini-review. As I've stated before on this thread, my equipment is hardly state-of-the-art as well.)

 

[JulianK]

Thanks for the update, James. I'll add your info' to my review. I thought that the big selling point for the German DVD was the deleted scenes! Grrrrr.

I'm not surprised that the UK disc looks worse than the German one. I assume all the bonus features have been moved to the second disc? They'd take up a lot more room than the extra soundtracks.