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Import Blu ray must haves? (for U.S. residents with region free players, etc.)

27K views 120 replies 62 participants last post by  comixguru 
#1 ·
EDIT: For import DVD suggestions, please go to my 'Import DVD thread' in the DVD forum> http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1252945

This thread is basically for those who have region free capable Blu ray players, living in the U.S. (or Canada, etc.), and have or purchase Blu ray's from the UK, Europe, etc., Because>


1. The title is not available in the U.S. (yet)

2. The title is available in the U.S., but it's version is subjectively lacking (PQ, editing, censorship, missing scenes, etc.) than the Euro version(s)

3. The title is available here in the U.S., but for some reason is much more expensive than purchasing from say, Amazon.uk (even including ship costs which are, or where, very reasonable/cheap)


4. ?? (other possible reasons I haven't though of?).

5. >> Note: Suggestions need not be limited to just movies; TV shows on Blu's can be suggested too, as long as it fits the above criteria (not avail. here, etc.)

6. >> Note: Try not to include titles that might be released slightly earlier in, lets say the UK, but will obviously be released in the U.S. (i.e., Iron Man II, etc.). Essentially, redundant (to U.S. residents) releases.

7. >> Note: It's fine to mention if the disc is region locked or not (if known). This means those w/o region free players can still participate and play discs that are not region locked.

ALSO> Don't forget to list the country you got it from and the reason (#1., 2., or 3. from the above list).


I'll start the list with 2 examples for myself (EDIT: I have 2 DVD titles listed because this thread used to have DVD/Blu's combined, but I agreed to split DVD's into a separate thread in the DVD forum, mods edited my thread titles. I'll leave my 2 DVD suggestions here only as an example of how to list the titles) >


> Girl on the Bridge DVD (French), bought from Amazon.uk (which usually insures English sub titles). When I bought this 2/3 years ago, it wasn't available here in the U.S. even though the film was already about 10 years old. But a quick check on Amazon U.S. today revealed it's now available here (though I'm not sure if the 'version' is the same).


> Human Traffic DVD (U.K.), This was available in the U.S. (had rented it here!), but I heard/read the U.S. version was censored quite a bit for 'drug references', LOL. I bought the U.K. version. Ironically the UK version is much longer, but I don't think the U.S. version is any worse as a 'movie'. I'd only get the UK version if you're a big fan of the movie.


I'm looking to expand my Import collection, hopefully now with some Blu ray's
This is the main reason (selfish) for this thread.


PLEASE,
lets keep the discussion to my above criteria (open to suggestions of course). Lets NOT discuss region code related questions (what region disc will play on what player, PAL/NTSC questions, etc.). Mentioning if the disc is region locked or not is OK!

This thread is generally for those who already have region free players and assumes you can play a Blu ray disc from any region (A,B,C, for Blu's and 0-6 for DVD's) and your TV, PJ, etc. can display it. The exception are the discs w/o region locks on them.

EDIT: To help avoid this thread turning into a 'will this import disc 'x' play in my region locked U.S. player?' , here's a link that lists Blu ray disc region code info's by country>>
http://bluray.liesinc.net/ It shows if region locked or not, etc.
As an example; If looking at a disc from amazon UK, click on the 'B' region code tab.
 
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#102 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by DM2006RI
My import haul over the years...


SLEEPY HOLLOW -Japan, 1080i AVC, markedly better PQ than US release; Dolby TrueHD

RED SONJA - UK

RAW DEAL - UK

RED HEAT - UK (better PQ than US release)

TOTAL RECALL - UK (better pq than US release; comes in a pack with Raw Deal and Red Heat that's quite affordable)

FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR - Germany

D-TOX - Germany

1492 - France

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS THE DISCOVERY - Germany (I am a sucker for bad movies lol)

TIME BANDITS - Germany (doesnt have the awful DNR Image added to the US version)

LADYHAWKE - HK

PAYBACK - UK (has both versions on it)

PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE - France

THE THING - UK (has extras not on US release)

WIZARDS - UK

BUGSY MALONE - UK

CAPRICORN ONE - UK

COMPANY OF WOLVES -UK

THE INNOCENTS - UK

EAGLE HAS LANDED - UK

IPCRESS FILE - UK

PRINCE VALIANT - UK

ESCAPE TO ATHENA - UK

QUICK AND THE DEAD - UK (runs longer than the US version)

ULTRAVIOLET - Japan (runs longer than US version)

EL CID - Germany

BABE PIG IN THE CITY - Germany

13TH WARRIOR - Germany

FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE - Germany

THE PUNISHER - UK (better PQ and sound than us release, also has extras)
How is the German 13th Warrior? Does it have forced sub-titles, or any other serious problems?
 
#103 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Simandl
I just ordered THE FOG and THEY LIVE from Amazon UK. I'll receive both when They Live gets released there in September.


I read The Fog's transfer is less than spectacular, but it's not been released here in the States at all.
THE FOG is one of the weaker BD transfers out there. It's not ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK bad (the Studio Canal version), but if you ever see the movie on HDTV broadcasts in the US, it looks so much better with less DNR and substantially more detail. Hopefully MGM will use that master for a US release one day because the Studio Canal BD is lacking (to put it mildly).
 
#104 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by sage
How is the German 13th Warrior? Does it have forced sub-titles, or any other serious problems?
Sage, it is region free, sadly it does have forced subs, but the PQ/sound are both pretty decent. I only paid about $18 from Grooves-inc so I felt it was worth it, considering there is no US release.
 
#105 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by spectator /forum/post/20582023


It has not.

thank you sir... I am also looking for the royal tenenbaums... any word on that title, import or not?
 
#106 ·
anyone know where(other than play-asia.com) the BD of ATRAGON(Kaitei Gunkan) is available? it is supposed to be Region A but if you've run across this title what are the specs, audio, subtitles et. al.


play-asia's price is exorbitant so I'm looking for an alternative(s) site.



thanx.
 
#107 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by DM2006RI /forum/post/20582423


My import haul over the years...


SLEEPY HOLLOW -Japan, 1080i AVC, markedly better PQ than US release; Dolby TrueHD

RED SONJA - UK

RAW DEAL - UK

RED HEAT - UK (better PQ than US release)

TOTAL RECALL - UK (better pq than US release; comes in a pack with Raw Deal and Red Heat that's quite affordable)

FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR - Germany

D-TOX - Germany

1492 - France

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS THE DISCOVERY - Germany (I am a sucker for bad movies lol)

TIME BANDITS - Germany (doesnt have the awful DNR Image added to the US version)

LADYHAWKE - HK

PAYBACK - UK (has both versions on it)

PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE - France

THE THING - UK (has extras not on US release)

WIZARDS - UK

BUGSY MALONE - UK

CAPRICORN ONE - UK

COMPANY OF WOLVES -UK

THE INNOCENTS - UK

EAGLE HAS LANDED - UK

IPCRESS FILE - UK

PRINCE VALIANT - UK

ESCAPE TO ATHENA - UK

QUICK AND THE DEAD - UK (runs longer than the US version)

ULTRAVIOLET - Japan (runs longer than US version)

EL CID - Germany

BABE PIG IN THE CITY - Germany

13TH WARRIOR - Germany

FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE - Germany

THE PUNISHER - UK (better PQ and sound than us release, also has extras)


Plus one on the sleepy hollow, i prefer it over the uk as well which is 1080/24 avc i believe.
 
#108 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by BIG ED /forum/post/20580719


Got the R2 "Basic Insticts"... man, do you have too really, really look too get the benefit.

When Michael Douglas has his back too the ocean on the deck when 1st meeting Stone's character; its evident BIG time. Other than that...

Damage is the same, throughout.


Got the R2 of "Twister" as well, improvement, less waxy, not huge, butt better.


How much better is the Japanese "Ironman"?!?!

My fave flick of that yr & my most watched BD.

Here is the japanese spanish/ironman comparison.


Dont know whats going on to me the paramount seems more washed out compared to the sony, but which is accurate?

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/60083/
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comp...0083/picture:1



No idea why this was never discussed more here. But from the comparison alone the spanish/japanese=sony looks alot better to me.
 
#109 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Murilo /forum/post/20585482


Here is the japanese spanish/ironman comparison.


Dont know whats going on to me the paramount seems more washed out compared to the sony, but which is accurate?

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/60083/
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comp...0083/picture:1



No idea why this was never discussed more here. But from the comparison alone the spanish/japanese=sony looks alot better to me.

BIG thanks for that!


EDitEDbyED:

I'd say the Spanish is more of a Hot Rod red.
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/60083/

I like the fleshtones on the US; butt the depth on the Spanish.
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comp...0083/picture:1

I'm BUYING$$$
 
#110 ·
"I have a tough time coming down on these transfers. The USA, Germany, and France transfers both look great and the differences are startlingly small. They both pick up on a good amount of grain while leaving the film looking crisp. The Spanish transfer is markedly darker. At first this is a bit pleasing to the eyes but the blacks get crushed in dark scenes such as the cave scene. Furthermore the picture looks a bit over sharpened. Only because of the hard coded subtitles issue will I stay away from the German version. Between the French and American versions it comes down to whether you prefer DTS-HD MA or Dolby TrueHD.

Note* There is now a 2 disc edition of Iron Man available using the same transfer as the USA one. Also- the UK version is contains the same video as the USA version."
http://www.hd-compare.com/2009/07/iron-man.html


I'll have too research this more on second thought.

I saw the backrounds 'crushed' on the Spanish, still I like the red better

We'll "see"!
 
#111 ·
#112 ·
The german I think looks very much like the u.s. but the grain is slightly less well resolved, the bitrate is a low vc-1 bitrate, i like to stick away from low bitrate vc-1. While they look similar, i always tend to find low bitrate vc-1 has less well resolved grain.


I noticed this as well in the departed, u.s. was low bitrate vc-1 and french is high bitrate avc, and grain/compression looks better.


With regards to the French iron man, it is a lower bitrate avc i think it should look very similar to the u.s.


Spanish/Japanese/Sony is around the same bitrate as u.s. AVC but perhaps the blacks are crushed, i wonder whats going on their?


Almost looks like its encoded at PC levels, while the other releases are done at studio levels (16).



Wheres xylon?
 
#113 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by DM2006RI
Sage, it is region free, sadly it does have forced subs, but the PQ/sound are both pretty decent. I only paid about $18 from Grooves-inc so I felt it was worth it, considering there is no US release.
I can't remember the aspect ratio, so this question may not apply -- but are the subs below the bottom edge of the film -- i.e. could I obscure them with non-reflective masking?
 
#114 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by MSchu18
I am also looking for the royal tenenbaums... any word on that title, import or not?
Not from me.
 
#116 ·
If anyone is thinking of buying Kung Fu Hustle, buy the UK version. The American disc is actually censored in a few spots, even though it's still rated R. The UK disc is region free.


Also, the American disc only has Cantonese PCM 5.1, whereas the UK disc has a regular Cantonese 5.1 in addition to the PCM (for those who use toslink, I think toslink only supports PCM 2.0).
 
#117 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by brigand /forum/post/20596083


If anyone is thinking of buying Kung Fu Hustle, buy the UK version. The American disc is actually censored in a few spots, even though it's still rated R. The UK disc is region free.


Also, the American disc only has Cantonese PCM 5.1, whereas the UK disc has a regular Cantonese 5.1 in addition to the PCM (for those who use toslink, I think toslink only supports PCM 2.0).

Thanks for this!


I also recommend the UK releases of:


HIGHLANDER; THE THING; TOTAL RECALL. Personal choice was the UK Back to the Future Trilogy and for price again UK ALIEN Anthology.
 
#118 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by sage
I can't remember the aspect ratio, so this question may not apply -- but are the subs below the bottom edge of the film -- i.e. could I obscure them with non-reflective masking?
I'd have to double-check. I know I had to move them off-center on my Oppo player so the default setting is probably on the image to some degree. (It's a 2.35 film)
 
#119 ·
Screencaps!

Can't live w/'em; can't live w/o 'em!!!


(I'm 'good' w/screencaps, BTW)


Watched the US... its "Hot Rod" red.

It's dark; can't see (ha, ha) the scene w/Tony S. driving up too the event being any darker.


The screencap of the close-up of the mask is tricky.

It's a tracked-in shot, so the light/reflections changes during the shot.

As does the backround (going from light too dark).


The R1 does go 'orangey' during the tracking; as does the backround go too dark.

So its really, really is important what frame is used in the screen capture.


And I don't know if the examples from all the releases (shoot, they all don't even contain the same scenes) are the exact same frame.


Yeah, where's Xylon?!?!
 
#121 ·
Some imports I bought or am considering. I don't like region locked editions, it means you need a region free player forever. I like things to be inexpensive and that's not an inexpensive path to take.


Sense and Sensibility - UK (not available in the US) Region free.

Remains of the Day - UK (not available in the US) Region free.

As Good As It Gets - Europe (limited edition Twilight Time in US) Actually significantly cheaper to import, same transfer as US. International region free release with tons of language and subtitle tracks. I purchased from Amazon.it

Singing in the Rain digibook - Italy (book/text on cover in english, region free, inexpensive) Outer wrap in Italian, rest is english. Worthy package for this classic, no idea why Warner didn't release this in the US this way. May be OOP now.

Casablanca 4K digipack - Italy (region free, 2-disc set). 4K remaster, includes the second blu-ray from the big new box set. Nice book also in english. Super reasonable. May be OOP now.

Le Diner De Cons - France (remade as Dinner for Schmucks) Not available in US. English friendly, region free.

Cousin Cousine - France (remade by Hollywood) Not available in US. English friendly, region free.

Crimson Rivers - France (Not available in the US). English friendly, region free.

MR73/36/Les Lyonnaise (triple-pack) - France (3-pack of thrillers) Not available in US. English friendly, region free. Inexpensive.

Sleepless in Seattle - Europe (limtied edition Twilight Time in US) Actually cheaper to import. Region free. No commentary, different extras. International release with tons of language/subtitle options.

Philadelphia - UK/Europe (limited edition Twilight Time in US). Actually cheaper to import. Region free. International release with tons of language/subtitle options.

Agatha Christie Movie Collection (Death on the Nile/Evil under the Sun/Mirror Cracked/Murder on the Orient Express) - Spain/Italy/Germany (not available in the US). Ustinov, Lansbury, Finney feature films, not the BBC TV productions. Studio Canal Euro releases, region free. Most of these look good.

Doris Day Collection - Germany (not available in the US) - Inexpensive, region free, english friendly release of three Doris Day romcoms from the 60s.

Beverly Hills Cop 2 - UK (not available in the US) Region Free.
 
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