I'm thinking about importing some more HD DVDs. I have heard that Equilibrium is good, but I was wondering what you would consider the top three to get. Because of how expensive they are, I need to narrow down the selection. Thanks.

the 2 imports i bought are The Pianist and The Prestige. Both movies look great, and The Pianist is one of my favorite movies

I'm betting the most popular is probably Harry Potter and T2 is probably up there too

Just go to imdb.com and pick the ones with good ratings in the genres you enjoy.

From my colelction of imports (non US releases) my favourites would be:

Total Recall
Running Scared
Renaissance

T2 has forced sub-titles, right? And no pitch problems?

1. Harry Potter
2. Equilibrium
3. Stalingrad
4. Bugs! - for being 3D.
5. Elephant Man
6. Running Scared
7. Terminator 2
8. Reign of Fire
9. Renaissance
10. 3 Days of the Condor
11. The Pianist
12. The Holiday
13. Total Recall

T2 has forced sub-titles, right? And no pitch problems?
The french HD DVD of T2 only has forced sub-titles on the theatrical HD DVD, the accompanying Directors Cut does NOT have forced sub-titles. There are no pitch problems either.

T2 has forced sub-titles, right? And no pitch problems?

You get 2 versions of T2 in HD when you buy it, the theatrical version has forced sub-titles, the director's cut does not.

The forced sub-titles on the theatrical really are not that bad either, got my disc today and was looking at it - it occupies the black bar at the bottom of the screen plus a small amount of the bottom of the picture if its 2 lines. Honestly I don't know how those subtitles accurately portray what's said, they are usually less than 2 lines of text and go by rather quickly.

And no pitch problems either.

T2 has forced sub-titles, right? And no pitch problems?

Depends, the Theatrical in the French two disc set is for france only. For some reason I think government controlled they force subs on any for sale only in France media. The DC (which is one of the few thats better and isn't the one with out JC's consent that has the future happy go lucky scene at the end) disc is going to be the only version available in the UK, so Studio Canal is selling it in the French set without forced subs. As far as I know neither disc has pitch issues.

Thanks for the clarification on T2. That one is toward the top of my list as are The Prestige and Equilibrium. Right now, those are my top three based upon feedback. My only reservation is that The Prestige may not be good for repeat viewing. Maybe?

I only have 2 so far, but they are Prestege and Underworld Evolution.

Out of the ones I own, for my tastes:

1. Brave Story
2. Fragile
3. Running Scared
4. La Haine
5. Equilibrium
6. Elephant Man
7. Reign of Fire

Just my tastes though. I'm happy with all the imports I've purchased.

My only reservation is that The Prestige may not be good for repeat viewing. Maybe?

That was my feeling upon immediately leaving the theater. I liked the film, but questioned whether it would be worth owning since it seemed a little long and dense, with a tit-for-tat structure that begins to feel repetative and has a pay-off that may be diluted upon subsequent viewings.

However I've come around (and now own the import). Its a densly plotted movie, so its not something you're going to pull out for a quick fix anytime- but its perfect for kicking back and immersing yourself in the mood.

and it has excellant a/v quality.

T2 is solid, and by all accounts better a/v quality than the version available on Bd.
also- the subs can be moved entirly outside of the black bars. Its a no brainer if you happen to like the movie and want the best version possible.


My favorite import is King Kong ('76). If you don't have any kind of nostalgic affection for this version, the love will probably be lost on you- but it is a HUGE upgrade over the R1 sd dvd, and it is not a title that Paramount is going to be releasing over here anytime in the next five years - if ever.

The Elephant Man

Probably the best overall movie you can import (story, acting, directing, etc)

And the hd dvd looks awesome compared to the dvd. If you're display has been calibrated for B&W material, it literally looks like you are viewing old film before your eyes. The extra detail in all the dark scenes is awesome - even the makeup on Hurt looks better (yuck)!

If you want a great looking action flick go for Equilibrium.

Running Scared
T2
Harry Potter

Brotherhood of the Wolf
Goblet of Fire
T2

I only have 3

Running Scared
Brotherhood of the Wolf
The Prestige

it's gonna take quite a release to know any of them out of my top 3 imports

Underworld evolution (one of the best pq and great audio
the prestige
harry potter

Another vote for Brotherhood of the Wolf. A French flick with a faux armored werewolf and fancy Indian martial arts. Great fun if you don't mind subtitles.

brotherhood of the wolf
arguably one of the best hd dvds period
great audio.great picture
do yourself a favor and buy this

1. Harry Potter
2. Equilibrium
3. Stalingrad
4. Bugs! - for being 3D.
5. Elephant Man
6. Running Scared
7. Terminator 2
8. Reign of Fire
9. Renaissance
10. 3 Days of the Condor
11. The Pianist
12. The Holiday
13. Total Recall
What a collection. All you need is Underworld Evolution to complete your set.

Imports are expensive. I'd limit it to movies that won't be available in the US for the foreseeable future that I'd feel would be worth paying extra to own in HD now.

For me The Prestige, T2, and Brotherhood of The Wolf rank on my import list. I may wait on Brotherhood though since the US DVD was released by Universal.

La Haine, Rebellion(Equilibrium), and Brotherhood of the Wolf.

Those are the only 3 I've bought. Of course, I'm not importing anything on blu-ray or other movies that I know are coming out here. La Haine wasn't released on dvd here until a few months ago, Equilibrium just got a single disc dvd whenever it came out, so I doubt disney plans on putting it on blu-ray any time soon, and I don't think the director's cut of Botw came out in the US.

Underworld Evolution
Goal!
HP: GOF

I own The Prestige, and Running Scared.

I'd say in terms of favorites. The 4 out of 9 I have.

1.equilibrium
2.brotherhood of the wolf.
3.harry potter GOF
4.the prestige.

All great movies. If you get brotherhood of the wolf or La Haine they are both french with english subs. Even though BOTW says english dubs. Its not their.but I my self prefure the orginal audio with english subs. I seem to remember a lot more with subs then dubs. Plus dubs are almost never good and it mutes the orginal actor. Of course some are good. One that have the orginal actors doing them. Even then some movies feel more real with the orginal track.

But my other imports I bought becase they looked good, becase I'm a fan of the actors or the style of the film.
The only blind buys were La Haine and renaissance. La haine was very good and renaissance just looked cool.. And ended up being a good movie..

1. Brave Story

Does Brave Story have English subtitles?

Underworld Evolution
Goal!
HP: GOF
How was Goal! and where did you get it?

La Haine, no doubt.

La Haine, no doubt.

I have to disagree, La Haine is one of those movies I only watch once before permanently shelving it.

Don't get me wrong it's a great movie but not worth importing at all.

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I have Terminator II, Total Recall and Mulholland Drive. Terminator II and Total Recall are must imports in my opinion while Mulholland Drive is a good choice if you can't wait for the eventual American release from Universal.

Does Brave Story have English subtitles?
No. It's not really the type of film that needs them, although I did watch the DVD version with subs before I watched the subless HD-DVD. To go from SD anime to this HD-DVD though is so visually pleasing that even if the disk did have English subs I'd watch the movie without them. Personally I think it's a pretty amazing looking disk, if you're in to anime and have a good idea of what it typically looks like on DVD. Ymmv though.

1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

2. Underworld Evolutions

3. Terminator 2: Judgement Day

My top three favorites in order:

Harry Potter, Goblet of Fire

The Prestige (Note: I have both HD DVD and blu-ray version- ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE that I can tell.)

Brotherhood of the Wolf