Hellraiser: Bloodline & Hellraiser: Inferno Japanese releases

[Prim]

Does anyone here know anything about these two releases? I see Inferno in the database here, but not Bloodline (can be found at CDJapan here) or Amazon Japan here.

Primarily, I was interested in how these two stack up against the sometimes criticized Echo Bridge releases. According to specs, both of these JP releases have a 5.1 soundtrack (unsure about lossless status in Bloodline) and are in 1080P, but I can't find any PQ comparisons anywhere. Are these two worth the extra price, considering how cheap the dual-feature (and quadruple feature) from Echo Bridge are?

EDIT: I gathered the very little info I had on Bloodline and added it to the database. Hopefully it will show up soon.

[Torrente]

I have to receive Inferno in a few weeks (along some other japan BDs), I will try to tell you how I feel about it, then.
I can't be precise on when exactly 'though...

[Prim]

Originally Posted by Torrente

I have to receive Inferno in a few weeks (along some other japan BDs), I will try to tell you how I feel about it, then.
I can't be precise on when exactly 'though...

That would be great, Torrente! I watched the first three yesterday (I still have my old R2 Anchor Bay set), and started searching around for the best Blu-Ray editions of the films. That Japanese Trilogy set seems to be the best for the original trilogy, and if JP Inferno/Bloodlines is in the same quality, it would be better than the Echo Bridge releases.

[Torrente]

I have the feeling that if they are on par with From Dusk Till Dawn 2 and From Duslk Till Dawn 3 BDs from Japan, then Inferno and Bloodlines will also be better in Japan

[Prim]

Originally Posted by Torrente

I have the feeling that if they are on par with From Dusk Till Dawn 2 and From Duslk Till Dawn 3 BDs from Japan, then Inferno and Bloodlines will also be better in Japan

Do you have some comparisons for those two JP Dusk till Dawn releases? So I can see what you mean?

[Vintrus]

I Have Inferno Jap and the Austrian Bloodline.

[Torrente]

Originally Posted by Prim

Do you have some comparisons for those two JP Dusk till Dawn releases? So I can see what you mean?

No I don't, sorry

I just compared them all on my screen (I have the french, the UK, the US and the japanese releases - I know, I'm crazy - and the japanese look better)

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally Posted by Prim

Do you have some comparisons for those two JP Dusk till Dawn releases? So I can see what you mean?

I have all four FDTD titles from Japan (1-3 and Full Tilt Boogie) and they're all upgrades over the US releases. WB has the Dimension titles over there and have been doing a better job with them than Echo Bridge here in the US.

[Prim]

Originally Posted by Torrente

No I don't, sorry

I just compared them all on my screen (I have the french, the UK, the US and the japanese releases - I know, I'm crazy - and the japanese look better)

We're all crazy, one way or the other.

Originally Posted by DetroitSportsFan

I have all four FDTD titles from Japan (1-3 and Full Tilt Boogie) and they're all upgrades over the US releases. WB has the Dimension titles over there and have been doing a better job with them than Echo Bridge here in the US.

I just wish I knew how much better. Can I safely assume that we're not talking The Descent levels of differences?

[Torrente]

Yes you can

There were a difference to my eyes and mostly on the second episode. It's the one that I carefully compared between all the releases I have. I didn't compare the first movie (as we already know which releases are better)
The japanese disc of the second episode is really close to the french one but with a slightly so slightly better compression.
Again "to my eyes"...

[billyearle]

I also thought the Japanese Hellraiser 4 & 5 looked noticeably better than the US ones, but not sure if some people would think it's worth the price. To me it was worth it. I didn't think the US ones were so terrible though, just worth upgrading for me. I think Hellraiser 4 especially has a nice cinematic look on the Japanese disc. 1-3 also look better from Japan, but 1 has lots of scratches early in the film, but not during effects shots at least. I think the Austrian Hellraiser 1 is the best looking one without scratches.
Will have to look into that Japanese Dusk til Dawn set from what I read here.

[Prim]

Originally Posted by Torrente

Yes you can

There were a difference to my eyes and mostly on the second episode. It's the one that I carefully compared between all the releases I have. I didn't compare the first movie (as we already know which releases are better)
The japanese disc of the second episode is really close to the french one but with a slightly so slightly better compression.
Again "to my eyes"...

Originally Posted by billyearle

I also thought the Japanese Hellraiser 4 & 5 looked noticeably better than the US ones, but not sure if some people would think it's worth the price. To me it was worth it. I didn't think the US ones were so terrible though, just worth upgrading for me. I think Hellraiser 4 especially has a nice cinematic look on the Japanese disc. 1-3 also look better from Japan, but 1 has lots of scratches early in the film, but not during effects shots at least. I think the Austrian Hellraiser 1 is the best looking one without scratches.
Will have to look into that Japanese Dusk til Dawn set from what I read here.

Thank you both for your help and experiences with these discs. Some of them are very expensive, so it's always good to have some idea beforehand. Will probably be ordering these Hellraiser JP discs next month or in the near future. I've spent too much this month unfortunately.

I don't know if I'm going to hold off on the first three Hellraiser movies for now. It's not that I don't love the films, but I have a feeling that some great releases are bound to happen, given the state of all the current discs. The JP ones are the best in terms of PQ, but even those aren't looking all that hot, imo. Or were these movies originally shot to look very soft?

[Torrente]

No problem Prim

Originally Posted by Prim

I don't know if I'm going to hold off on the first three Hellraiser movies for now. It's not that I don't love the films, but I have a feeling that some great releases are bound to happen, given the state of all the current discs. The JP ones are the best in terms of PQ, but even those aren't looking all that hot, imo. Or were these movies originally shot to look very soft?

I agree with you.
I don't think the investment is worth it for the second and the third episodes.

For the third one, the new austrian disc (same uncut disc as the old mediabook but less expensive) is "enough" to satisfy me.

And for the second episode, no version are really satisfying (I have the australian disc for the extra features and frankly I don't see any difference between this disc and all the others, in motion)

The first one is more tricky... I guess hardcore fans will get the japanese disc... but the old Anchor Bay release is great to me.
http://www.caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergl...ess=#vergleich
The dirt removal is only problematic in the "fire sequence" but in the rest of the movie the video bitrate competes with the japanese disc (and it even looks more detailed in places)

[Prim]

Originally Posted by Torrente

No problem Prim



I agree with you.
I don't think the investment is worth it for the second and the third episodes.

For the third one, the new austrian disc (same uncut disc as the old mediabook but less expensive) is "enough" to satisfy me.

And for the second episode, no version are really satisfying (I have the australian disc for the extra features and frankly I don't see any difference between this disc and all the others, in motion)

The first one is more tricky... I guess hardcore fans will get the japanese disc... but the old Anchor Bay release is great to me.
http://www.caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergl...ess=#vergleich
The dirt removal is only problematic in the "fire sequence" but in the rest of the movie the video bitrate competes with the japanese disc (and it even looks more detailed in places)

If I didn't already own the 2004 R2 Anchor Bay DVD Trilogy, I would probably be all over the Japanese box set, but the upgrade is so marginal I just can't justify spending all that money on them. Especially Hellraiser II and III. I mean, this does show an upgrade, sure, but still. It seems none of the releases are worthy of the film it's trying to represent.

[Torrente]

OK, I finally received Inferno yesterday.
It is stronger than the US release. Same flaws in places with the feeling you're looking at a strong DVD but stronger resolution over Echo Bridge's disc, better grain preservation, and it's clearly better in motion.
Video bitrate is also way higher and the file uses all the disc size.

Now it's up to everyone to decide if a quite stronger encode is worth the expensive price (even if it's available in the 2 for 3.000yens deal, we're not talking about a 5$ bin blu-ray such as Echo Bridge's) until we get a better transfer (of course, I doubt it but who knows...)

[Prim]

Thanks for posting your impressions, Torrente. Sounds good overall, and better than the US releases, which we expected. I'll probably end up with the JP releases of Inferno and Bloodline, I'll just have to wait a bit. September has been a very rough month on my wallet.

[ghidorah]

Can i just ask about the audio of BLOODLINE. Is it at least stereo? I thought the US disc was okay picture wise but was really disappointed with its flat mono soundtrack.

[cash_black]

Inferno is unwatchable, I got it with Bloodlines in a 2 pack but Inferno is such a bad film I couldnt finish it