The Russia House - Blu-ray Forum

Vintrus · 08-26-2012, 02:32 PM

Has anyone done a comparison with the German release? I'm trying to decide between the French and the German one the 2 things I'm looking for is No forced subs and quality.

marblearch · 08-26-2012, 08:22 PM

Hi - i have the German blu ray ( i don't take chances blind buying French discs anymore because of the tendency for forced subs). The subtitles can be disabled (there is occurrence of forced caption for example the translation of a book cover but it does not distract) .The really good news is that the picture quality is excellent - a clean print with good strong natural colours - vibrant in indoor scenes - and excellent detail. The opening title sequence with the cloudy sky panning down to Michelle Pfeiffer walking past the Kremlin is a bit grainy/murky but improves immediately after this shot. The audio is only 2.0 lossless - pity they couldn't raise a 5.1 - vocals at times seem a little low in the mix when for example when the music score is playing but it is serviceable. The major plus here is the quality of the picture.

Vintrus · 09-02-2012, 05:53 PM

one weird thing is the running times are different the German one is shorter for some reason.

marblearch · 09-02-2012, 06:54 PM

Yeah i noticed that - i ditched my dvd prior to the blu ray release so i cannot compare them. There are examples of running times given in different countries for titles which imply different cuts when it is not the case like Death Sentence theatrical cut and the first Saw movie ( of which the uncut version is only seconds longer not minutes).....however i hope there has not been actual cuts made with Russia House

TheOneWithThePrize · 09-02-2012, 09:13 PM

According to Bluray-disc.de the runtime for the German BD is 123 minutes, you might want to quiz Jarfa about the specs he posted here in the database.

Jarfa · 09-03-2012, 08:13 AM

It's based on Amazon http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0083U91ZO
123 m is the theatrical time
Conversions to PAL or NTCS rating times gives different times in discs in many cases, i guess

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheOneWithThePrize

According to Bluray-disc.de the runtime for the German BD is 123 minutes, you might want to quiz Jarfa about the specs he posted here in the database.

TheOneWithThePrize · 09-03-2012, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jarfa

It's based on Amazon http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0083U91ZO
123 m is the theatrical time
Conversions to PAL or NTCS rating times gives different times in discs in many cases, i guess

The database listing of the German BD is listed as 118 min. The review over at bluray-disc.de however says 123 min at 1080p24 so can't be a PAL conversion issue or else the disc would have been 1080i50.

marblearch · 09-03-2012, 06:50 PM

just checked the running time printed on the sleeve and disc on the German blu ray. It is 123 Min

moscone_bail_bonds · 04-13-2013, 06:37 PM

Does the french disc have removable subs?

James Luckard · 07-25-2013, 01:00 AM

Just discovered this film, one of my favorites, is on BD. Will be ordering both the German and French discs to compare them, I love it that much

Also, here's a link I found to caps from the French disc. It looks great, considering the age of the film and the fact that it's not a bestselling title that's going to get a gorgeous new 4K transfer or anything.

http://www.ecranlarge.com/forum/show....php?t=1053351

James Luckard · 08-10-2013, 07:50 AM

Do NOT buy the French BD, it is garbage. Buy the German BD instead.

This disc has two strikes against it:
- Forced French subs for the English-language version
- 1080i transfer from a PAL-spedup master, making the film 5 mins short. There is NO EXCUSE for a PAL-spedup HD version of a film. None!

Thankfully the German BD is 1080p, correct running time, with NO forced subs. Buy that superior disc and not this coaster.

James Luckard · 08-10-2013, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moscone_bail_bonds

Does the french disc have removable subs?

No

Millibar · 08-10-2013, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James Luckard

Do NOT buy the French BD, it is garbage. Buy the German BD instead.

This disc has two strikes against it:
- Forced French subs for the English-language version
- 1080i transfer from a PAL-spedup master, making the film 5 mins short. There is NO EXCUSE for a PAL-spedup HD version of a film. None!

Thankfully the German BD is 1080p, correct running time, with NO forced subs. Buy that superior disc and not this coaster.

Thanks for the heads up on this

08-26-2012, 02:32 PM	#1
Vintrus Expert Member Top contributor Member since:Jan 2009 Location:QLD, Australia 4K collection:1013 Blu-ray collection:3967 DVD collection:456	The Russia House Has anyone done a comparison with the German release? I'm trying to decide between the French and the German one the 2 things I'm looking for is No forced subs and quality.

08-26-2012, 08:22 PM	#2
marblearch Senior Member Member since:Jul 2010 Blu-ray reviews:35	Hi - i have the German blu ray ( i don't take chances blind buying French discs anymore because of the tendency for forced subs). The subtitles can be disabled (there is occurrence of forced caption for example the translation of a book cover but it does not distract) .The really good news is that the picture quality is excellent - a clean print with good strong natural colours - vibrant in indoor scenes - and excellent detail. The opening title sequence with the cloudy sky panning down to Michelle Pfeiffer walking past the Kremlin is a bit grainy/murky but improves immediately after this shot. The audio is only 2.0 lossless - pity they couldn't raise a 5.1 - vocals at times seem a little low in the mix when for example when the music score is playing but it is serviceable. The major plus here is the quality of the picture.

09-02-2012, 05:53 PM	#3
Vintrus Expert Member Top contributor Member since:Jan 2009 Location:QLD, Australia 4K collection:1013 Blu-ray collection:3967 DVD collection:456	one weird thing is the running times are different the German one is shorter for some reason.

09-02-2012, 06:54 PM	#4
marblearch Senior Member Member since:Jul 2010 Blu-ray reviews:35	Yeah i noticed that - i ditched my dvd prior to the blu ray release so i cannot compare them. There are examples of running times given in different countries for titles which imply different cuts when it is not the case like Death Sentence theatrical cut and the first Saw movie ( of which the uncut version is only seconds longer not minutes).....however i hope there has not been actual cuts made with Russia House

09-02-2012, 09:13 PM	#5
TheOneWithThePrize Blu-ray Samurai Top contributor Member since:Jun 2009 Location:En flugskit i kosmos 4K collection:- Blu-ray collection:- DVD collection:- Blu-ray reviews:1	According to Bluray-disc.de the runtime for the German BD is 123 minutes, you might want to quiz Jarfa about the specs he posted here in the database.

09-03-2012, 06:50 PM	#8
marblearch Senior Member Member since:Jul 2010 Blu-ray reviews:35	just checked the running time printed on the sleeve and disc on the German blu ray. It is 123 Min

04-13-2013, 06:37 PM	#9
moscone_bail_bonds Senior Member Member since:Mar 2010 Trading Score:138	Does the french disc have removable subs?

07-25-2013, 01:00 AM	#10
James Luckard Blu-ray Count Top contributor Member since:Jan 2011 Location:Los Angeles, CA 4K collection:397 Blu-ray collection:1805 Blu-ray reviews: 34	Just discovered this film, one of my favorites, is on BD. Will be ordering both the German and French discs to compare them, I love it that much Also, here's a link I found to caps from the French disc. It looks great, considering the age of the film and the fact that it's not a bestselling title that's going to get a gorgeous new 4K transfer or anything. http://www.ecranlarge.com/forum/show....php?t=1053351

08-10-2013, 07:50 AM	#11
James Luckard Blu-ray Count Top contributor Member since:Jan 2011 Location:Los Angeles, CA 4K collection:397 Blu-ray collection:1805 Blu-ray reviews: 34	Do NOT buy the French BD, it is garbage. Buy the German BD instead. This disc has two strikes against it: - Forced French subs for the English-language version - 1080i transfer from a PAL-spedup master, making the film 5 mins short. There is NO EXCUSE for a PAL-spedup HD version of a film. None! Thankfully the German BD is 1080p, correct running time, with NO forced subs. Buy that superior disc and not this coaster.

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