Deke Rivers

just watched Battle Royale for the second time..I really enjoyed this movie (still think the ending sucks) but the movie on the whole is just so damn entertaining compared to some of the newer stuff being released here in the USA ..im really starting to like this all region player to be able to see all this good stuff out there..any other suggestions on some good non region 1 one movies ?????

benedict

The one and only NON-R1 DVD personal recommendations thread

Deke Rivers

I wanted to know some of the others personal reccomendations...along the lines of Battle Royale.not just a list!

benedict

Deke, you've got mail.


Benedict
Moderator, International DVD Talk

Crazy Aoshi

Can the Korean version that is supposed to be good be found anywhere? I already have the special version Japanese R2, but my roommate wants his with subs...

skokefoe

I think it's become very hard to find. I heard (somewhere, sorry I forget where) that it's being re-released by a different distribution company in Korea in the next month or two (most likely the exact same DVD), but that'll probably become apparent within the next few weeks. I'm hoping so, as that's the one I'd like to get too.

skokefoe.

Corleone

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...&category=2299


anyone know if this is a bootleg?

axolotls return

Yes. It's another bootleg that originated from a person I'll leave unnamed (but most people that have been around know about).

You are linking to a bootleg is the now out-of-print Cream DVD that had a holographic cover. The studio went out of business.

He said it was factory-made... a bootleg factory.

Also, if you check his other auction listings, they are all bootlegs (100%). How can you tell. They are all Region Free NTSC DVDs of Import Movies that have never been released officially in the NTSC format. For example, the Ring Trilogy, Shogun Assassin, Rasen. I have been told from unwitting buyers that the quality is horrible and most are defective. Don't support this crap.

I applaud you for taking the time to ask the forumites whether it was a bootleg or not? What made you suspicious?

=============================================

For Korean (2 Disc Set - Ltd Edition w/ Slipcase and Bonus Map) Battle Royale Director's Cut NTSC Here's the real deal:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=3309017385

Corleone

The red special edition bar on the top. Also that he has 50+ for sale. What tricked me though was that there had only been one negative. I just ordered the one from Amazon.uk

eXcentris

It's available here, look in the Asian films section.

http://www.machiaveldvd.com/

VicVegaMRBLOND

Ok need some help here
I really like this movie but from looking around I see ther are almost 5 diffrent versions and I don't want a bootleg
I have a region free player so which is the best version of BR with english subtitles?

boc4ever

http://www1.cd-wow.net/detail_result...duct_code=4098

This is the one I plan on buying. It has the extended version, English subs, and it is a two disc set...

fnordboy

Definitely the best release of the movie (with eng. subs).

This is the only one I recommend to anyone.

Franchot

My seaching found that the the Director's Cut (122 minutes) Korean version with map and pamphlets is available at:

http://www.koreandvds.com/search_result.html


and

http://www.dvdasian.com/cgi-bin/dvdasian/14535.html

(I bought it from the first place which is located in Korea. The 2nd place is located in the United States in La Mirada, CA.)

Note: The 2nd disc (the extras) has only Korean subtitles.

The 1st disc (the movie) has DTS sound and English and Korean subtitles. The transfer (audio/video) of the movie was very good to excellent.

The discs are all region NTSC so they will play on any Region 1 player.

cultshock

I agree with Franchot, that is the best version to get, IMHO. I got mine from the second place he mentioned. No need to buy off of ebay and have a good chance of getting a bootleg, when you can buy the real thing from a legitimate dealer for about 25.00.

VicVegaMRBLOND

I'm alittle confused from looking at the etailers you guys gave like to it appears there are TWO director's cuts :the Extended version and the so called Director's Cut
does anyone know what the diffrence is ,and if so which one is better?
thanks

dlew308

i ordered the battle royale (starmax) release from krdvd.com

Franchot

IMHO, The latest released and best quality DVD so far is the Korean Director's Cut. It includes a cut of the movie which is 122 minutes as opposed to the Extended cut which is 118 minutes (as far as I can tell.) The main problem with the Korean version is that the extras do not have English subtitles so you either have to figure out what they're talking about or have an understanding of Japanese or be able to read Korean.

Trencher

Well I haven't watched any of the Director's cut which I beleive is the same as the extended. The difference in time I think would just be due to PAL speed up. Also remember longer does not necessarily mean better. Many prefer the theatrical cut of this movie and others don't. So far word seems that the Korean (Starmax) disc is technically the best. Does anyone know if it is flagged as a progressive disc?

axolotls return

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=251055

Make sure it's in stock (1-2 weeks...)

dlew308

doh!

Hannibal

Can someone who has the starmax release tell me how the subtitles are? Over at battleroyalefilm.com they compare all the versions. They say the subtitles are simple English. I am now considering the Tartan tin edition. The Tartan ntsc version had the best subtitles till that point. I would assume they carried to the later se release. In regards to the pal speed up issue, I found this at the above site:
" The Tartan UK release of the Special Edition of BR, even though it's in PAL, doesn't have the PAL speed-up (despite what it says on the packaging). This is because the feature was converted to PAL not from the original print, but from an NTSC version of the film. The downside is that the image suffers from a bothersome "tracer" effect as a result of the NTSC-to-PAL conversion."

Anyone care to comment on the "Tracer" effect? Are they talking about jittering?

cultshock

The subtitles weren't too bad on the Starmax DVD IIRC. Of course, after years of watching badly subbed HK films, I've developed a high tolarance to bad spelling, grammar, etc but I don't recall any glaring problems that made me shake my head.
I know basically beginner level Japanese, so when I actually understood a sentence being spoken, the subs seems to reflect it pretty well.

I've heard about some problems with the conversion on the Tartan disc, but I'm afraid I've never seen it, so can't comment for sure.

d2cheer

How is the DTS track on it?? The Starmax version that is....

axolotls return

1) dts on Starmax = AWESOME!! much better than Tartan NTSC 5.1
2) subtitles on Starmax = disappointing. they don't look pleasing (bolded). I'd rather watch burned subs.
3) Jitter effect is combing. Shouldn't happen in progressive mode (but most of us can't do this anyhow). Think any Tartan PAL title on a Malata in interlaced mode on an NTSC TV.
4) Overall, for the U.S., the Starmax is the one to get despite a few flaws. Try to get the limited edition one with the bonus map (3,000 made).