German Blu-rays to import?

[Kynch]

Okay so I've been wanting to import a few Blu-ray releases from Germany as some are only available there or boast a superior transfer to other releases.

So far here's what I've gathered in my basket on Amazon.de:

- 12 Monkeys
- American Psycho
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
- The Machinist
- Meet Bill

So I wonder if these are good choices and/or if there are others I should consider. I've only seen Meet Bill (which I really loved) and 12 Monkeys (but I don't remember it... at all).
I've heard that the US American Psycho Blu-ray boasts a better transfer compared to the German one.

I already have most German SteelBooks so that's cool, along with The Italian Job.

[kpkelley]

Control, a film about a british punk group - no english subtitles, film is in english
Death at a Funeral - British comedy
Perfume:The Story of a Murderer- English language film based on the german novel

[Blacklac]

Originally Posted by Kynch

Okay so I've been wanting to import a few Blu-ray releases from Germany as some are only available there or boast a superior transfer to other releases.

So far here's what I've gathered in my basket on Amazon.de:

- 12 Monkeys
- American Psycho
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
- The Machinist
- Meet Bill

So I wonder if these are good choices and/or if there are others I should consider. I've only seen Meet Bill (which I really loved) and 12 Monkeys (but I don't remember it... at all).
I've heard that the US American Psycho Blu-ray boasts a better transfer compared to the German one.

I already have most German SteelBooks so that's cool, along with The Italian Job.

I have also heard the German American Psycho is Cut and incorrect aspect ratio.

German Casino Royale is Uncut but does not have a lossless track. The AUS is Uncut AND lossless track. US is CUT.

German Crank is Extended Edition in Germany and slightly better PQ than US.

German Jumper has a 7.1 track, but it's DTS-HR and not DTS-MA.
I have no idea how PQ compares.

German Resident Evil Apocalypse is the Extended Cut vs Edited US.

Running Scared isn't even out in the US, German release is better than the Dutch release.

German Saw I and III are Uncut. Saw I (German) is VC-1, DTS-HD 7.1 (HR not MA), BD50. (US) is MPEG2, DD EX or DTS-ES, BD25.

German Silent Hill should have slightly better PQ.

German [REC] by E-M-S is supposedly the only release that is 1080p24, but it's region locked and no English subs! French, Spanish and Swedish are all 1080i50 and Japanese is 1080i30.

[jcs913]

Tomb Raider 2, Cradle of Life has a very good transfer.

[Pondosinatra]

Germany huh? I'd humbly suggest you might want to check out some of their 'adult' fare. Best there is

[Bruce Morrison]

I don't have any of those titles in your basket, but I do have 'Dances With Wolves' and 'The Painted Veil', both of which are excellent.

I've just ordered 'The TV Set' as I really like the film, so I hope the quality of that one will be equally good. I also intend to order 'Five Easy Pieces' when it's released later this month.

I would have ordered '12 Monkeys' but I think I remember reading on one of the websites (can't recall which one) that the transfer was rather disappointing. If you do get it, it would be interesting to hear your views about it.

[DCSholtis]

Time Bandits just was added to pre order status today if your a Terry Giliam fan.

[Kynch]

Thank you for the replies guys, just saw that American Psycho is indeed better to get from the US, although it seems to be locked to Region A, so I'll have to wait until I get a region free player.

And thanks for the 12 Monkeys thing, I might get it and let you know.

Ayy thoughts on the other movies I chose?

[dandeeswish]

SAW 1 & 2 Look better then the US releases! I know Saw 2 is locked to Region B (played it on the LG BH200) but Played SAW (part one) on North American PS3!

[Che]

Is meet bill region free?

[AnimeOnBlu]

Originally Posted by Kynch

Thank you for the replies guys, just saw that American Psycho is indeed better to get from the US, although it seems to be locked to Region A, so I'll have to wait until I get a region free player.

AUS Version of AP is the best version (AVC, TrueHD 5.1, Correct AR, Region Free). The US version has the worst transfer and audio of the AP available.

[HumanMedia]

Jennifer Lynch's Surveillance (know as Unter Kontrolle in Germany) - but Region B

[Grubert]

I have Tideland. That's a good release, and a very interesting movie.

(PM sent.)

[dixonhill]

If you intend to buy in germany you better check for the subtitles,
should you need them!

[irony mode on]
Some german distributors do actually have the generosity
to provide us with an english audio track.
And since any german is a native speaker they don't
bother waisting precious disc space with english subtitles!
And in addition to such a customer friendly marketing
strategy the prices are ridiculous!
[irony mode off]

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by dixonhill

If you intend to buy in germany you better check for the subtitles,
should you need them!

[irony mode on]
Some german distributors do actually have the generosity
to provide us with an english audio track.
And since any german is a native speaker they don't
bother waisting precious disc space with english subtitles!
And in addition to such a customer friendly marketing
strategy the prices are ridiculous!
[irony mode off]

The OP is in France so I am not sure what language/s he speaks. I agree 100% with the pricing specially if you are importing from the US. I imported Das Perfum for my wife (she really wanted it) and ended up paying $52.

[Rantlers]

Originally Posted by Blacklac

German Crank is Extended Edition in Germany and slightly better PQ than US.

This includes a DTS-HD (HR) track, not an MA lossless one, correct?

[Kynch]

I forgot to state that I'm fluent in English, French, Danish and that I speak Italian alright.

As long as there's English audio for a movie in English or German audio with English/French subs for a German movie, I'm fine.

[xradman]

Originally Posted by dixonhill

If you intend to buy in germany you better check for the subtitles,
should you need them!

[irony mode on]
Some german distributors do actually have the generosity
to provide us with an english audio track.
And since any german is a native speaker they don't
bother waisting precious disc space with english subtitles!
And in addition to such a customer friendly marketing
strategy the prices are ridiculous!
[irony mode off]

I disagree. Amazon.de is great for ordering many movies since their shipping cost is fixed regardless of quantity. Amazon.fr IMO is worse in terms of both movie cost, shipping cost, lack of English subtitles and god awful forced French subtitles for those movies in English.

[Kynch]

Originally Posted by xradman

I disagree. Amazon.de is great for ordering many movies since their shipping cost is fixed regardless of quantity. Amazon.fr IMO is worse in terms of both movie cost, shipping cost, lack of English subtitles and god awful forced French subtitles for those movies in English.

9€ plus 1,90€ per article, ouch! I didn't know! That's harsh.

I love Amazon.de, I mean, 6€ is steep if you take just one article, but after 2 or 3, it's quite cheap.

[Blacklac]

Originally Posted by Rantlers

This includes a DTS-HD (HR) track, not an MA lossless one, correct?

I believe that is correct, however I only own the HD DVD. I assume the Bluray is just a port of the HD DVD.

Edit: I think the HD DVD was like a 2046kbps track, sounded excellent. I personally can't tell DTS-HR from DTS-MA... Like on Running Scared and Silent Hill (both HD DVD), the dubbed tracks are MA and the English tracks are HR. They sounded identical to me.