US release DVD VS Canadian release DVD (1 Viewer)

[Rolando]

THIS POST WILL BE UPDATED WHEN NECESSARY TO CONTAIN A LIST OF DIFFERENCES IN CONTENT WHEN APPLICABLE BETWEEN THE US AND CANADIAN RELEASE.

UPDATE 10/26/05

ALLIANCE ATLANTIS is the biggest offender

Here is their e-mail:

[email protected]



HELP SAY NO TO BILINGUAL COVERS

Contact info for Warner Home Video.

Try this number and ask for their Canadian home video department contact:

1-818-954-6000

(thanks to MarcoBiscotti)


You can refer to this first post if you do not wish to wade through the thread.

THE IDEA: I want to start a list of all DVD where the Canadian release is altered for some reason or another. Be it removing a track to add a French track or different cut due to different distributor.

I was really upset a few years ago when I found out the Abyss in Canada had no 5.1 track because it was removed to add a 2.0 French track! OMG!

Good thing some stores stocked both...

I think this will be very useful to Canadians who don't want to get screwed by some distributor removing a commentary track for example to include a French track instead, as well as for US residents buying from Canadian stores.

What else boys? (and girls of course...)

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Here is a small list compiled with the help of the members here. Most of the credit goes to Tom Tsai, trust me when I say 80% of what you see is copy/paste from his posts. thanks to CraigF for contributions as well as EnricoE, Jim Spencer, Christian Preischl, Greg Madsen, Bhavesh, Jean Paul Villeneuve, Rain, KerryK for info posted. If I forgot to mention you I am sorry but the list will just keep growing from now.

Abyss, The - In Canada had no 5.1 track because it was removed to add a 2.0 French track
Adjuster, The - CDN has commentary by Atom Egoyan but non-anamorphic. MGM version is anamorphic but no extras
Alone In The Dark - (the Uwe Boll classic) Realeased May 10. IF YOU WANT a DTS audio track, you're out of luck. For some reason, Alliance Atlantis is releasing this DVD (it's a Lions Gate film?!) and of course dropped the DTS track (I believe it was supposed to have a DTS-ES track) in favour of a French 5.1 audio track. The DVD still has English 5.1 EX audio.
Amelie - Canadian version does not allow the player-generated subtitles to be turned off
Atanarjuat AKA Fast Runner, The - US has better video (but some claims that it loses the "feel" that the director wanted) but the CDN is a 2-disc SE. US release has no features and is cut somewhere. Interesting post about here: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...09#post2332409
Band Wagon, The - Canada version missing "Two-Faced Woman" outtake
Boondock Saints –US has a DD5.1 track and some pretty good extras including an audio commentary. The Canadian version by Lions Gate/Columbia Tristar only has a DD2.0 track and minimal extras
Bowling for Columbine - Alliance Atlantis (who else) screwed up on this one. While the US-MGM release has all the original burnt-in theatrical subtitles and title cards, Alliance removed them and replaced them with player-generated subtitles. The problem is that in the second half of the film the original title cards were occasionally left in (accidentally?), resulting in both original title card and subtitle appearing on screen at the same time, one over the other
Brotherhood of the Wolf - CDN is a 3-disc release, slightly inferior video, but has the extended cut, more extras, better subtitles, and a DTS track
Cinema Paradiso (New Version) - not available in Canada
Confessionnal, Le - The DVD is in "full frame", which seems to be the OAR (part of the film is based on the making of "I Confess" by Hitchcock, so the OAR might be a sort of reference to it)... but the picture quality is just bad! Right when the opening titles come up, you see tons of edge enhancement and then pixellation... and none of the colors seem to stay still, especially during darker, indoor scenes.. the colors seem to move around if you look closely. The transfer doesn't seem to have much definition... I suspect it was taken from a lesser source. Not quite bad enough to be a VHS-to-DVD transfer, but I suspect it may have been transfered from a laserdisc. Also, most stores want around $40 for it... absolutely outrageous for a title with poor PQ and no extras.
Cube - Signature series is not available in Canada. Canadian disc is P&S only
Das Experiment - Better cover, additional international trailer. May have used a PAL transfer, but looks good nonetheless
Easter Parade - 1 disk version in Canada, 2 disk version in USA
Eat Drink Man Woman - The CDN Seville version has superior transfer
English Patient,The - on the Canadian version Alliance Atlantis have replaced the DTS with a French DUB (in both new and old version).
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind dts isn't noted on the case of the AA Canadian release of this Focus film: cutting something out would be par for these release circumstances.
eXistenZ - more extras on Canadian version, better audio and video transfer according dvdangle.com
Fantastic Four - Different cut of the film. for details start with JoSAN's post
Far From Heaven - Much better cover from Alliance
Fast Runner, The AKA Atanarjuat - US has better video (but some claims that it loses the "feel" that the director wanted) but the CDN is a 2-disc SE. US release has no features and is cut somewhere. Interesting post about here: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...09#post2332409
Finding Neverland - AVOID CANADIAN RELEASE. Canadian release has a forced ad for a truck at the beginning that you cannot skip, fast forward or avoid by any means before you access the menu.
Foolproof - The Canadian WS release includes a soundtrack CD, not at all mentioned on the cover nor is there a sticker. Some people on it you've probably heard of are Dr. John, Dandy Warhols, Sam Roberts, Danko Jones, Three Dog Night, Crystal Method...the tracks from the first three you've almost certainly heard before.
Freaky Friday - CDN P&S only...OAR version replaced by the French track
Ginger Snaps - CDN has better transfer (16X9 widescreen while the US one is Pan & Scan/full screen ) and more extras
Ginger Snaps 2 - Canadian Version Exclusive: TV-Spots, Auditions, Behind the Scenes, Teaser for Ginger Snaps 3, Theatrical Trailer for Ginger Snaps 2 (English and French versions). US Version Exclusive: Trailers for other Lions Gate movies: House of 1000 Corpses, Cabin Fever, Serial Killing 101 (NO TRAILER for any Ginger Snaps movies). both versions are in 1.78 anamorphic widescreen, Canadian version has English 5.1/2.0 and French 5.1/2.0 US version only has English 5.1(FOR FULLER DETAILS REFER TO TOM'S POST, NUMBER 68 ON THIS THREAD)
Ginger Snaps III: The Beginning - video isn't Anamorphic. The package list the video as a (16/9) transfert, but it's not... Seville made a mistake
Good Will Hunting - Anamorphic on Canadian version
Great Raid Director's Cut, The - In Canada the DVD only came with a chapter insert. It didn't come with a book like the US version.
Hard Core Logo - The Canadian Limited edition has lots more extras and a non-soundtrack CD
Hole, The - Now that the US version of THE HOLE has been released, I guess it's time to replace my Canadian version. The only difference is the new Dolby 5.1 track on the US version.
Intermission - the Canadian version of Intermission does not have any extras. The US version has two brief deleted scenes and a theatrical trailer. Nothing much, but thought some of you might want to know.
Island, The - U.S. version has English DD5.1, Can. version has English DD2.0 (besides the French).
Jet Lag - wrong aspect ratio, but more extras (some in French only)
Kid Stays in the Picture – Separate barebone and SE from Alliance
Last Night - again, much better cover art from Alliance
Legend of 1900 - CDN version doesn't have DTS. Don't know if the transfer is also different or not
Long Way Round - It seems the Canadian version of "Long Way Round," the Ewan McGregor ride-around-the-world-on-a-motorcycle documentary, is the 3-disc 10-episode Special Edition while the US version is the 2-disc 7-episode Standard Edition.
Lord Of The Rings - The Canadian version has a French 2.0 track instead of the English 2.0 track. Most of the text fonts in the booklet and disc art are approx. half the size to make space for duplicate French writing. I am sure this applies to all 3 movies both the 2 disc and Extended 4 disc Editions.
Lost in Translation - better cover and theatrical trailer included which is not on the u.s. release
Mambo Italiano - Canadian version by Warner Brothers, has a blooper featurette, added scenes, deleted scenes, and an additional French track, etc. Also available in a 2-disc set (with CD soundtrack). The 1-disc US version by Columbia Tristar only has a theatrical trailer as the extra
March of the Penguins - Canadian version does not have all the features of US release, only one doc.
Monsoon Wedding - CDN is not anamorphic
Monsters Inc. - French track replaces the P&S transfer and isolated score/FX track
Owning Mahowney - The Canadian version is modified to 1.78:1 (from 2.35:1)
Passion Of The Christ, The - Canadian version does indeed have a full bitrate DTS track as opposed to the typical half-rate DTS track that's on the U.S. version. Still no word on whether or not this affected the PQ.
Pianist, The - CDN Lions Gate 3-disc has bad transfer (apparently the transfer was a PAL to NTSC conversion which was badly executed) but has a few more extras and a CD soundtrack
Piano Teacher, The - US version has a 20 min interview
Pulp Fiction CE - much cheaper/inferior packaging than the US edition
Punisher, The - The Canadian release of The Punisher (also known as 'Le Punisher: Les Liens du Sang') doesn't have the prequel comic inside. Alliance Atlantis Strikes Again!
Red Violin, The - CDN fullscreen, US widescreen
Running Man,The - Alliance Atlantis removed the DTS-ES track and replaced it with a french 2.0 track for the Canadian market
Run Lola Run - I think there are two versions in Canada. The one by Columbia Tristar is superior
Sin City Recut & Extended - the Canadian release does NOT have DTS!! Another case of Alliance Crap-tlantis removing it to make room for French track.
SNL: 25 Years of Music - (which is a 5 DVD set) is in thinpaks, the US it's regular amarays. Everything else is the same
Star Wars Episode I and II - have a French track instead of a Spanish Track like the US release.
Stir Of Echoes - New S.E. only: The U.S. DVD features 5.1 Dolby Digital EX and 6.1 DTS ES audio tracks, however Alliance Atlantis dropped the DTS track in favour of a French 5.1 Dolby Digital track.
Straight Story - US has better transfer according to Gary (who added "Not me... according to the screen captures. Here)
Swimming Pool - no DTS track on CDN version. Apparently PAL-NTSC (?) conversion bonus featurette on the Canadian version
Together - slightly better video/audio according dvdtimes.com a 6 min featurette, but has some subtitle problems
Trainspotting - CDN more extras...but then the CE is coming out so there's no point. The Canadian version apparently has a few seconds of one scene replaced with another. new CE of trainspotting doesn't have a collectable booklet in canada but there is a chapter listing insert in the U.S.
Treed Murray - well...the CDN version is not called "Get Down". That should count for something right?
Triplettes de Belleville/Triplets of Belleville,The - Triplettes de Belleville has the original French track in Canada, but the US one only has english (I think I heard it might have Spanish, too).
Toronto Rocks Rolling Stones Concert - US is 1 disc and Canada 2 Disc
Unleashed: Extreme Version Atlantis has dropped the DTS track on Unleashed: Extreme Version, in favour of a French 5.1 Dolby Digital track. Those who want the DTS track will have to import.
White noise ? OAR?
Wizard Of Oz 3-disc set Apparently the 1933 historical Ted Eshbaugh cartoon was not included on disc 3 of the set, despite it being in the library of public domain. CONFIRMED: THE 1933 CARTOON IS NOT INCLUDED. The Back of the larger pack does not indicate it, but the included fold out digipak DOES say its included, only to not find it available in the main menu of disc 3.
Y Tu Mama Tambien – Canadian version doesn't have 5.1 and barebones from Alliance

IF ANYTHING IS MISSING OR IF THERE ARE ANY MISTAKES PLEASE FEEL FREE TO POST OR PM OR E-MAIL ME!

 

[CraigF]

Packaging Discrepancies
This list is intended to contain Canadian releases of discs whose packaging does not agree with the actual discs regarding content. There may be some overlap with the "differences" list, but only if the difference is not *correctly* listed on the packaging. In some cases these "packaging discrepancies" might also cause you to think the disc belongs on the "differences" list, but the Canadian discs are in fact the same as the U.S. ones.

Please help by mentioning in this thread anything that belongs.

Packaging Discrepancies
The Abyss The original SE in a double keepcase with "Bonus French Track" (??) on the case front and on the discs is incorrectly listed as "enhanced for widescreen TVs". At this time, no DVD version of The Abyss is anamorphic.
Chicago - The Razzle Dazzle Edition: There is an unlisted dts 5.1 English track.
The Corporation This is not really a discrepancy, but rather a clarification of missing package info. The 1-disc is anamorphic WS and has Dolby 2.0 surround sound.
The Devil's Rejects The AR is 1.85:1, not 2.35:1 as listed.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Single disc package: There is an unlisted dts 5.1 English track.
Gangs of New York There is an unlisted dts 5.1 English track.
Ginger Snaps III: The Beginning: The transfer is listed as anamorphic but it's not.
Hero There is an unlisted dts 5.1 Mandarin track.
The Island The listed English DD 5.1 track is not there, it's actually 2.0
Last Night Be careful with this one, a few versions, all bad to date. The WS version is not anamporphic as stated.
Ripley's Game: There is an unlisted dts 5.1 English track.
The Saddest Music in the World: Be careful with this one, two versions, both bad. The package says WS, but original versions were in fact FS. If you do get the actual WS disc in the package, it is not anamorphic...not an error in itself, as anamorphicity is not claimed.

================================================== ==========
First off: Let's all say Anamorphic Abyss a few times.

You have brought up a subject which is outside my normal rules, so I would have to think pretty hard...maybe tomorrow. My rules pertain to Canadian releases that are not U.S. films, but when U.S. films are involved, who knows what they might do to the DVD, thankfully generally not a lot different re PQ/SQ. You've mentioned one of the most annoying recent ones: Freaky Friday. I think they had no idea that would be a video hit, and that anyone in Canada would care.

Any Canadian DVD that is not of a U.S. film will almost certainly be different from the U.S. release in some significant way, be it a PAL-based video transfer if the film is from a PAL country, missing dts, or different/missing extras, maybe slightly different cuts. This is virtually guaranteed at this time. Usually the U.S. version of the feature is notably superior.

Sorry I can't add anything of what you really want, which seems to be major U.S. films. I do wish you hadn't reminded me about the missing 5.1 on The Abyss though...doing things like that cause a huge language backlash and luckily it hasn't happened often.

 

[Tom Tsai]

^ as Craig know, I found out about Freaky Friday the hard way. Thank goodness that Disney let's you exchange it.

Anyways, as for the list, here're some to start:

Good Will Hunting - Anamorphic on Canadian version
Swimming Pool - no DTS track on CDN version
Jet Lag - wrong aspect ratio, but more extras (some in French only)
The Fast Runner - US has better video (but some claims that it loses the "feel" that the director wanted) but the CDN is a 2-disc SE.
Brotherhood of the Wolf - CDN is a 3-disc release, slightly inferior video, but has the extended cut, more extras, better subtitles, and a DTS track.
Monsters Inc. - French track replaces the P&S transfer and isolated score.
Cinema Paradiso (New Version) - not available in Canada.
Das Experiment - Better cover additional international trailer. May have used a PAL transfer, but looks good nonetheless.
Far From Heaven - Much better cover from Alliance
The Adjuster - CDN has commentary by Atom Egoyan but nonanamorphic. MGM version is anamorphic but no extras.
Irreversible - I THINK there's a difference between the Alliance and the Lions Gate version...forgot what though.
Last Night - again, much better cover art from Alliance.
Legend of 1900 - CDN version doesn't have DTS. Don't know if the transfer is also different or not.
The Pianist - CDN Lions Gate 3-disc has bad transfer, but has a few more extras and a CD soundtrack.
The Piano Teacher - US version has a 20 min interview.
The Red Violin - CDN fullscreen, US widescreen
Straight Story - US has better transfer according to Gary
Together - slightly better video/audio according dvdtimes.com a 6 min featurette, but has some subtitle problems (but then I understand mandarin, so no problems for me )
eXistenZ - more extras on Canadian version, better audio and video transfer according dvdangle.com
Run Lola Run - I think there are two versions in Canada. The one by Columbia Tristar is superior.
Lost in Translation - better cover.
Ginger Snaps - CDN has better transfer and more extras
Treed Murray - well...the CDN version is not called "Get Down". That should count for something right?

Monsoon Wedding - CDN is not anamorphic
Eat Drink Man Woman - The CDN Seville version has superior transfer
Trainspotting - CDN more extras...but then the CE is coming out so there's no point.
Freaky Friday - CDN P&S only...replaced by the French track.

 

[EnricoE]

who cares for the p&s transfer but the exclusion for the isolated sond effects tracks was a wrong thing

 

[Rolando]

Wow Tom that is a great list, just what I was hoping to find. I had forgotten about the Monsters Inc screw up. Like Enrico said, youpi on the no P&S but the isolated SFX track...

 

[Jim Spencer]

Its 16X9 widescreen while the US one is Pan & Scan/full screen.

Pulp Fiction CE - much cheaper/inferior packaging than the US edition.

 

[Herb Kane]

Rolando... not sure if there is anything new from this link but EW from Mississauga keeps a separate list as well.

http://www.dvd-plus.com/catalog_sear...ction=canadian



Herb.

 

[Christian Preischl]

Same goes for Jackie Brown CE. Also note that the Canadian Edition of Pulp Fiction is missing the Jack Rabbit Slim's menu.

And one more for the list:

Bowling for Columbine: Alliance Atlantis (who else) screwed up on this one. While the US-MGM release has all the original burnt-in theatrical subtitles and title cards, Alliance removed them and replaced them with player-generated subtitles. The problem is that in the second half of the film the original title cards were occasionally left in (accidentally?), resulting in both original title card and subtitle appearing on screen at the same time, one over the other.

Chris

 

[Tom Tsai]

Another one here:

Mambo Italiano - Canadian version by Warner Brothers, has a blooper featurette, added scenes, deleted scenes, and an additional French track, etc.. Also available in a 2-disc set (w/Cd soundtrack). The 1-disc US version by Columbia Tristar only has a theatrical trailer as the extra.

 

[Tom Tsai]

Also forgot Hard Core Logo - The Canadian Limited edition has lots more extras.

 

[Jim Spencer]

I think that was only in the first batch of the release, because I received a copy with the menu in it when I got it from Columbia House Canada in Feb/03.

 

[Dan Rudolph]

The Fast Runner aka Atanarjuat: The Canadian release has crappy PQ, the US release has no features and is cut somewhere.

At least that's my understanding. Is this correct?

 

[Johnny Jr.]

Tom, I am stuck with the fullscreen freaky friday just curious about the exchange. Does disney exchange it for the widescreen or do you mean they will exchanged it at the store for your money back? Thanks

 

[Tom Tsai]

^ I called Disney, explained that I got the Canadian version without knowing the changes they made. They just told me to ship it to their headquarter in the States and that they'll give me a US version instead. I'm still waiting for mine so don't quote me on this.

 

[CraigL]

Oh my god!! Thank you so much for this information! This was my favorite movie of last year! I'm going to pick it up asap!!!

 

[Tom Tsai]

^ you're welcome

 

[Greg Madsen]

Canadian Alliance Atlantis versions of The Kid Stays in the Picture and Y Tu Mama Tambien are barebones.

 

[Tom Tsai]

^ Alliance has a separate Special Edition version of The Kid Stays in the Picture. Not for Y Tu Mama Tambien though.

 

[CraigF]

Here is a cut'n'paste post I tried to make the other day when there were database problems. I hope it's not too redundant now, but may be slightly useful to somebody still. There is some info that is also cut'n'paste from some previous posts I made (I can't type so I save stuff ), so if it doesn't *quite* fit :b :b

OK, since covers are often bilingual or have other differences, plus possibly packaging differences, I'll leave that out, too much to consider, and just consider the content.

Now Tom mentioned a lot of discs that are not U.S. films, and they are almost always different than the U.S. product these days. "Not U.S." includes Mexico and Canada, just to be clear. Very often the distribution rights of a "foreign" (from the U.S. perspective) film are unique to the U.S., not all R1, so we get something different in Canada. I'm gonna add my own comments to a few of these non-U.S. films Tom mentioned since I have lots of them, at least where I may differ slightly from him.

I will say that how a PAL->NTSC transfer looks for you will depend a LOT on your DVD player, and frankly most do a poor job of handling these abortions, but a few are great (unfortunately, most of those are no longer available [hint: certain Pannies], but that's another forum...). Since mine does a good job as far as it goes, I may rate any PAL->NTSC less bad than some would.

Swimming Pool (France): A noticeable PAL-NTSC conversion, possibly the most annoying I've seen. You get used to it, sort of, after a while, but it's noticeable whenever the camera moves...luckily this isn't an action movie, would be intolerable if it was. Nice-looking photography otherwise. This is a movie VERY open to interpretation. You can tell that most U.S. viewers have no idea what it's REALLY about (rarely have I read anybody who even comes close to the director's intended interpretation, which is really artsy: the whole movie is a metaphor, but you don't have to know that to enjoy it) because they haven't seen the bonus featurette that's on the Canadian version, which BTW looks far better than the feature and better than almost any featurette I've ever seen re clarity. Don't need dts for this film, it's mainly dialogue, and not even a huge amount of that. I'd say go for the U.S. version, and ask somebody who's heard the director as to what it's all about, or else don't, and think of a different interpretation every time you watch the film (more fun).

Atanarjuat/The Fast Runner (Canada): The Canadian video presentation is supposedly closer to what the director wanted and closer to the source. However, IMO both the U.S. and Canadian video have different and incorrect color presentation, at least compared to how it is in nature, so pick your poison. If the Can. PQ is to your taste, then the Can. disc release is definitely the superior package.

Brotherhood of the Wolf (France): The Canadian release (any) has superior sound to the U.S. version, though very marginally poorer PQ. Sound is important to this movie, and the soundtrack is a notable one. No contest IMO, get a Can. version, preferably the 3-disc that's quite cheap now, if you care about sound. Must be viewed in French with English subtitles to get the good sound.

The Pianist (misc. Europe): Suffers from a PAL->NTSC transfer. Not nearly as bad as some say, least on a smaller screen, but possibly will be a problem with a projector on 10' screens (aren't MOST discs anyway?...to me they are, sensitive to artifacts made large). On a 4-5' screen it looks fine, and the Can. 3-disc package is pretty good and a good deal.

Trainspotting (U.K.): The Canadian version apparently has a few seconds of one scene replaced with another. Otherwise a better "package" than U.S. version, but non-anamorphic and *another* CE supposedly coming soon...let's assume it will be anamorphic, but what cut will it have (?) as the original U.S. cut was apparently released by mistake, in that the studio is not known for such "graphic" cuts. We want the original cut.

Y Tu Mama Tambien/Unrated (Mexico): Canadian version doesn't have 5.1 and I believe has fewer features.

Pulp Fiction/Original 1 disc SE (U.S.A.): Canadian version has 5.1 sound (U.S. version doesn't) and some deleted scenes that I think are not found on any other R1 version of this movie (I'd have to check again to be 100% sure), so a keeper for completists. This disc is still easily found new, though it has been "replaced" by the 2 disc SE.

Hard Core Logo (Canada): Canadian version has a non-soundtrack (unfortunately) music CD included with much fancier packaging/inserts. Very decent film, IMO underrated, any early-Tarantino fan should like. Don't buy this for the CD, it's not nearly as good as the soundtrack IMO, but you may like it, and it's a difference!

 

[Joe Schwartz]

Check again, I'm pretty sure you're wrong about the deleted scenes. The original Canadian disc contains four deleted scenes, all of which are on the two-disc Collector's Edition.