DVD and Blu-ray Disc Thread For Those with Region Free players!! (No Discussion Of Region Coding)

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by stepeanut, Jul 14, 2018.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off Thread Starter

    This thread was inspired by a comment made by @BILLONEEG in the Criterion Collection thread, concerning the lack of information being shared on the forum about worldwide DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases. So, here’s a place where we can do just that.

    All discussion of previous or upcoming releases from major and boutique labels is welcome here, e.g. Eureka Masters of Cinema, Arrow Video and Academy, BFI, Powerhouse Indicator, Artificial Eye, etc.

    I realise we have some dedicated label and genre threads already, such as the Arrow thread. This new thread isn’t intended to supplant those, but rather to provide a catch-all place for region-free collectors to discuss their passion for home video, and to share information with fellow collectors.

    N.B. If you are not region-free already, this probably isn’t the thread for you, so please try to avoid asking questions along the lines of, “Can I play this in the United States?”, or, “Where can I buy a region-free player?” There’s probably another thread for that. If you can’t find it, start a new one, please.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 20, 2018
  2. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off Thread Starter

    I’ll start.

    I’m a fan of Golden and Silver Age Hollywood, worldwide arthouse cinema, classic British films, Japanese cinema, etc. My favourite label is Eureka Masters of Cinema (MoC), and I’m lucky enough to own a complete, up-to-date collection of their releases — currently 192 spine numbers and counting.

    My latest purchase is MoC’s BD of Philippe de Broca’s 1966 absurdist, anti-war comedy King of Hearts. Cohen has made this new 4K restoration available in the U.S., also. Lovely little film.

    [​IMG]
     
    apesfan, Claus LH and ando here like this.
  3. Claus LH

    Claus LH Forum Resident

    Good thread!
     
    stepeanut likes this.
  4. Claus LH

    Claus LH Forum Resident

    To start, here's a beautiful box set I got recently, covering the 'golden years' of the realist wave in post-war British cinema. It is from the British Film Institute. Add Network's release of "This Sporting Life" and you' ll have yourself a treasure trove of "kitchen sink" drama.

     
    stepeanut likes this.
  5. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off Thread Starter

    Not picked that one up yet, but it’s on my must-get list for the next few months.

    My next box set purchase will be Second Sight’s limited edition of Fassbinder’s Berlin Alexanderplatz, provided it doesn’t get delayed again.
     
    apesfan and Claus LH like this.
  6. Claus LH

    Claus LH Forum Resident

    [QUOTE="stepeanut, post: 19092936, My next box set purchase will be Second Sight’s limited edition of Fassbinder’s Berlin Alexanderplatz, provided it doesn’t get delayed again.[/QUOTE]

    I have the DVD set of "BA" from Second Sight which, upscaled, looks decent. I tried to find images to compare the DVD with what Blu-ray mastering could do to the material (16mm, heavily filtered). I saw some frames from the German BR on a comparison site, and even zoomed in, the difference in picture quality was tiny (this presupposes the pics were done with good compression, et. c.)

    I'll wait and see if the upgrade is worth it; I had the BR set on pre-order but dropped it. I am very picky about image quality, but I also accept that some things just won't get any better...:)
    Of course, if you don't already have a set, then go for the BR.
     
    Last edited: Jul 14, 2018
  7. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off Thread Starter

    I’ve been holding off from buying this for a couple of years, as I knew the BD was on its way.

    Second Sight has really upped their game recently. Their BD box set of The Colour of Pomegranates was superb.
     
    Claus LH likes this.
  8. Graham

    Graham Senior Member

    Location:
    Perth, Australia
    Recent acquisitions include Indicator’s Five Tall Tales, featuring five Budd Boettcher / Randolph Scott collaborations, and their Samuel Fuller At Columbia set, and Studio Canal’s Jean-Pierre Melville boxset. All UK.
     
    stepeanut likes this.
  9. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off Thread Starter

    I’ve been tempted by those two Indicator box sets, but they aren’t top priority at the moment.

    I did receive the Second Sight BD of Berlin Alexanderplatz this week, and I’m currently working my way through that set.

    Latest news from Region B is that we will be getting the Criterion BD of Andrei Rublev in October, provided the longer cut passes uncut through the BBFC.
     
    Graham likes this.
  10. 93curr

    93curr Senior Member

    The Fuller set isn't region locked, is it?
     
  11. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off Thread Starter

    We’re not concerned with region-locking in this thread.
     
  12. Graham

    Graham Senior Member

    Location:
    Perth, Australia
    Heavy Music likes this.
  13. Claus LH

    Claus LH Forum Resident

    Since we are talking "international", here's a an example of how an American film can wind up on Blu-ray in overseas markets and be shut out at home.

    I have always had a soft spot for Robert DeNiro's directorial effort "A Bronx Tale"; it's like a Scorsese film with less violence, a lovely old-fashioned growing-up story (amidst gangsters...)
    With Chazz Palminteri writing the thing and co-starring with DeNiro, you'd think this would have been out on BR in the US years ago, but no.

    Turns out that the actor who played the boy as a teen-ager got in trouble with drugs and killed a man. He went to jail, and seemingly this soured everyone involved on re-issuing this film on BR in North America, so as not to 'remind' people of it:
    Wasted Talent

    Thus, from a collector's perspective, one had to look overseas and find that StudioCanal put the film out on BR in Britain. It is not pretty. The Digital Noise Reduction has been used to scrub the film of texture, a classic example of how not to "improve" a film image, but....it's all that was available, so that's what I have.

    Now there is a region-free Australian release, which, according to reports, isn't much better (maybe the same master?)
    A Bronx Tale Blu-ray

    It is ironic that such a US "name film" can be shut out from having a domestic BR release and instead be schlepped around the world to be released in inferior copies.

    If Criterion either doesn't want the film or feels nervous about it, I'd love to see what Arrow or Indicator could do with a fresh 4K scan of this....
     
    budwhite, Myke and stepeanut like this.
  14. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off Thread Starter

    I haven’t got the U.K. BD of A Bronx Tale, but I agree that it’s a thoroughly charming film, which doesn’t deserve to be buried. Doesn’t surprise me that StudioCanal have been a little overzealous with the DNR; it’s typical of them.

    Amongst my many interests is charity shop hunting. My latest find, made just yesterday, is this highly regarded Hungarian film from 1971:

    [​IMG]
     
    johnnyyen and Claus LH like this.
  15. Rachael Bee

    Rachael Bee Miembra muy loca

    I just got Indicator's Ship Of Fools and I think that the Dillinger BD I got was also from them.... I get quite a few U.K. BD's and maybe half are Wee-Jun Emancipated. I think that most if not all Indicator BD's are emancipated. I know I have at least one more from them...
     
  16. I think that Dillinger is Arrow. it's a fine looking transfer with some nice special features.
     
    Myke likes this.
  17. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off Thread Starter

    Yep. I picked it up last year, during a visit to Canada. One of the few Arrow releases that was not released in the U.K.; apparently, the rights here lie elsewhere.
     
  18. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off Thread Starter

    Indicator is an odd label. They put out beautiful editions of films that I’m mostly ambivalent to. Hence, I only own eight of their releases, so far. There are a couple more I wouldn’t mind getting, but the label stands out amongst the competitive U.K. boutique market inasmuch as they rarely allow their products to go on sale, or even participate in the common B2F£25 offer. It’s easy to pass on a blind buy at £15 when other fine titles are on sale as low as £6.

    Still, they must be doing something right, as they’ve managed to build a significant, loyal fanbase in the short time they’ve been around.
     
  19. Graham

    Graham Senior Member

    Location:
    Perth, Australia
    I'm working through Arrow's Sartana Collection at the moment. Two films in and really fun spaghetti westerns. Almost like the most spaghettiest of spaghetti westerns. Nice.
     
    stepeanut likes this.
  20. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off Thread Starter

    I have, just this morning, finished Berlin Alexanderplatz. The entire series is wonderful, but that epilogue, wow. That last two hours alone is enough to qualify this as a masterpiece.

    Now on to Second Sight’s extras.
     
    Claus LH and Graham like this.
  21. Rachael Bee

    Rachael Bee Miembra muy loca

    That sounds right. I think that my other Indicator title is Mickey One.
     
    wayneklein likes this.
  22. An underrated New Wave influenced film from Arthur Penn. The only time that Warren Beatty stepped outside of his comfort zone in a truly experimental film. It's a fascinating film particularly from Penn during this period. The film it is most closely modeled on (except for the more absurdist aspects of Traffaut's film) is Shoot The Piano Player.
     
  23. Rachael Bee

    Rachael Bee Miembra muy loca

    I saw Mickey One a very long time ago. I don't remember it at all well much beyond that I liked it. I have not watched it yet. My brother is visiting and I've watched a bunch of action movies he likes lately.
     
  24. Heavy Music

    Heavy Music Forum Resident

    So what are all the opinions here determining what is region free? Because, if I understand it correctly, there are about 6 regions throughout the world. So if a release has region 0 (zero or all/free) printed on it, is it considered no region coded and should be able to be played on any player. Region A/B/C should be only playable on those three region players only and no where else, right? Thanks.
     
  25. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off Thread Starter

    You appear to be confusing the different regional coding systems for the DVD and BD formats. This information is easily found via a quick Google search.

    Please read the OP in full. The purpose of this thread is for collectors who already own region-free players to discuss their worldwide DVD and BD purchases without the usual tedious interruption of regional coding questions. If you are region-locked, or unsure what that means, you are in the wrong thread. Please search the forum for a suitable thread to pose your question, or else start a new thread.

    If this thread continues to be mired down by regional coding chatter, I will consider its purpose to have failed, and will request that it be locked.

    Thank you for your cooperation.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine