What are some good non-Region 1 DVDs?

I have the opportunity to modify my Region 1 DVD player to make it region free. I'm just curious as to what's out there that we wouldn't have available as a Region 1 release. I'm not a big foreign film/anime collector. I do like music/concert DVDs though.

What do you think, worth messing with?

 

Apparently there is a good Region 2 (I think German) version of Fritz Lang's "M", which bests the Criterion Region 1 disc. That's if you don't mind old old thrillers.

 

Keep in mind that for part of Region 2 DVDs (Europe, not Japan), and R4 (Australia) you would also need a multisystem player/TV (capable of playing/showing PAL material).

 

The two Old Grey Whistle Stop Sets are nice - the first set has a different extended line up compared to the US release.

Although you won't be able to order from this site it gives a good indication of what is available

http://www.play.com/play247.asp?page=front&r=R2M

All the best - Andrew

 

Very good suggestions!

Yes, I don't have a PAL->NTSC converter in the player, nor is my TV multisystem. So, any Region2/etc. discs would need to be NTSC.

 

Doesn't that rather limit you to Japan (the NTSC part of region 2), South-East Asia (region 3) and a couple of Australian (region 4) releases?

 

Well, my "The Shadows Live In Concert" from England is awesome, and my "The Ventures Live At Doc Severinsons" is cool as well.

My Pioneer 563-A player played these with no problem at all, yet another reason why i love that player!!

 

I wouldn't necessarily rely on Australian Region 4 being safe! I was in Australia this past summer and picked up a handful of DVDs because i own a player that allows me to switch regions via the remote control. It was not indicated anywhere on the packaging, but the video format of all of those DVDs was PAL.

If you do intend to buy Region 4 DVDs, do what you can to find out what the video format is or you'll end up with some coasters. That's the spot i was in until i picked up an InFocus X1 projector. That handles PAL and NTSC just fine. Yippee!

BTW, one of the better non-Region 1 DVDs i picked up was Toto - Greatest Hits Live.

 

I wasn't aware that I had said that they were! Read what I wrote again and you will see that I refered to "a couple of Australian (region 4) releases". Not all Australian releases, but just a (very) few. From what I have seen on Australian sites they do have a few releases in NTSC.

 

I stand corrected. Sometimes my enthusiasm gets in the way of thoroughness.

 

Australia is a PAL country. For some reason, they sometimes release DVDs here as NTSC, though still Region 4 - presumable because most players sold here are multi-zoned, and most TVs sold handle both NTSC and PAL.

As to why they release a few titles in NTSC and not the mainstream PAL, I suspect in some cases it's cheaper for them to release an NTSC version. Examples are the recent Australian release of "An American in Paris", as well "Forbidden Planet", and "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" - all NTSC region 4 (And we only got the non-letterboxed version of Willy Wonka - bummer!)