List of International BDs with Better PQ, AQ, and/or More Extras

[HD Goofnut]

Added Streets of Fire.

[heineken]

Just got the Koch blu of Deep Star Six! Pretty good quality overall. Grain is intact, no digital tinkering that I can see.

Makes a nice double feature with my SF Leviathan BD, as long as I remember to switch regions.

[RockyIII]

Whst about La Ronde and Last Year in Marienbad?

[Hedrox]

Vicky Cristina Barcelona
US - VC-1 25178 kbps, LPCM 3.0 2304 kbps, no extras, English subs (Region free)
FR - AVC 28647 kbps, DTS-HD MA 3.0 1586 kbps 16-bit, no extras, English subs (Region B locked)

I know this was submitted before but it never got added since there were no screencaps available.
Well, I made this comparison. Even though I have the FR disc, I don't have a BD drive, so don't ask me how I "found" these screencaps.
It looks sharper with much better grain management then the US disc, and while you could say it has slightly boosted contrast, you could also argue the US disc has crushed blacks. I'll leave you to decide if it deserves the "Best PQ" label or not, personally I think the FR release looks better.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Hedrox

Vicky Cristina Barcelona
US - VC-1 25178 kbps, LPCM 3.0 2304 kbps, no extras, English subs (Region free)
FR - AVC 28647 kbps, DTS-HD MA 3.0 1586 kbps 16-bit, no extras, English subs (Region B locked)

I know this was submitted before but it never got added since there were no screencaps available.
Well, I made this comparison. Even though I have the FR disc, I don't have a BD drive, so don't ask me how I "found" these screencaps.
It looks sharper with much better grain management then the US disc, and while you could say it has slightly boosted contrast, you could also argue the US disc has crushed blacks. I'll leave you to decide if it deserves the "Best PQ" label or not, personally I think the FR release looks better.

I am not so sure on this one. The FR disc has some blown out contrast, which wipes some detail that is visible on the US disc.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by RockyIII

Whst about La Ronde and Last Year in Marienbad?

La Ronde is on the list because there is a UK release only. With Last Year at Marienbad the Criterion release is the best available so it's not on the list.

[edmoney]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

With Last Year at Marienbad the Criterion release is the best available so it's not on the list.

And this is taking into account the 4K restoration used for the Studio Canal and Kino? I think by most accounts these releases surpass the Criterion in PQ.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by edmoney

And this is taking into account the 4K restoration used for the Studio Canal and Kino? I think by most accounts these releases surpass the Criterion in PQ.

I'd have to see caps comparing them, which I have not.

[RockyIII]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

La Ronde is on the list because there is a UK release only. With Last Year at Marienbad the Criterion release is the best available so it's not on the list.

Criterion's Last Year at Marienbad is NOT the best available. This one is:
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Last-...lu-ray/228263/

*"This new 4K restoration introduces small improvements that I think become very meaningful if you are viewing your films on a larger screen or project. Density levels, for instance, are stronger, and this is something that immediately impacts fluidity, which I consider a key quality. (If you use a 65-inch TV, or a bigger one, the improvement is pretty significant. If you project, the better density produces higher quality visuals that are impossible to ignore). Obviously, the grain is now finer and 'tighter', though on the Criterion release the grain is just as healthy. The new 4K restoration is also very carefully graded, so expect to see better balanced ranges of nuances, especially in darker areas, such as the hallways of the chateau. The overall image stability of the visuals is outstanding. Great restoration. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release."

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by RockyIII

Criterion's Last Year at Marienbad is NOT the best available. This one is:
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Last-...lu-ray/228263/

*"This new 4K restoration introduces small improvements that I think become very meaningful if you are viewing your films on a larger screen or project. Density levels, for instance, are stronger, and this is something that immediately impacts fluidity, which I consider a key quality. (If you use a 65-inch TV, or a bigger one, the improvement is pretty significant. If you project, the better density produces higher quality visuals that are impossible to ignore). Obviously, the grain is now finer and 'tighter', though on the Criterion release the grain is just as healthy. The new 4K restoration is also very carefully graded, so expect to see better balanced ranges of nuances, especially in darker areas, such as the hallways of the chateau. The overall image stability of the visuals is outstanding. Great restoration. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release."

I understand that, but I don't have specs on it.

[edmoney]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

I'd have to see caps comparing them, which I have not.

I know DVD Beaver gets some flak, but for what it's worth:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCom...-marienbad.htm

[RockyIII]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

I understand that, but I don't have specs on it.

That was quoted directly from bluray.com official review. The new version is slighty better than Criterion's

[bigrob]

Originally Posted by heineken

Just got the Koch blu of Deep Star Six! Pretty good quality overall. Grain is intact, no digital tinkering that I can see.

Makes a nice double feature with my SF Leviathan BD, as long as I remember to switch regions.

One think i noticed on capsaholic though with the DE and JPN BD's is that the DE has half the audio bitrate. peaks about about 900kbps

Full Bitrate DTS DVD's managed to get 1536kbps back in the day!

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by RockyIII

That was quoted directly from bluray.com official review. The new version is slighty better than Criterion's

Then I will put it in the US Re-release thread: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=232493

[Ben_R]

Live and Die in LA seems to go to Arrow for PQ - https://caps-a-holic.com/c_list.php?c=3781

Same for dressed to kill - https://caps-a-holic.com/c_list.php?c=4271

What do you think HD?

Also, you seem to have missed the rest of the Psycho box set from the list. Think you said original was marginally better else where but the rest weren't.

[nitin]

I don’t agree re Dressed to Kill, Arrow has better encoding but the new Criterion 4k master is far superior IMHO, having owned both.

[heineken]

Dressed to Kill has better color timing on the Arrow, as well as better compression!

[nitin]

Originally Posted by heineken

Dressed to Kill has better color timing on the Arrow, as well as better compression!

To each their own, but having actually owned and seen both, I don’t agree re colour timing either.

[Ben_R]

Any thoughts on Neverending Story?

https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=3&x...&l=1&i=15&go=1

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Ben_R

Any thoughts on Neverending Story?

https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=3&x...&l=1&i=15&go=1

I've already updated the entry. For the theatrical cut go with the NL disc and the new DE disc for the extended cut.