Quote:
Originally Posted by Mavrick
I can't belive I still haven't pked up the first series yet. I've decided to import the 3 disc edition of season 1 because the UK one sucks, with it's censored episodes, it's like they took a meat clever to it! :unimpresed:
Good job I have a region free player...
Shouldn't be a problem with the second season though. But I still might not pick it up straight away incase a double dip comes along again. If there are commentary's on the season 2 disc from the get go then I will pick it up.
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I'm from Australia, so the cuts motivated me to find a Region A player. I bought the 3 Disc SE. To all who read this, definitely get the Region A, Anchor Bay US transfer of the
Walking Dead Season 1, at the very least. The 3 disc edition would be even better, for the hardcore fan.
WARNING: As Mavrick stated Entertainment One (UK, Europe & OZ) ruined their transfers. 40 seconds of gore cut!
Title music playing over the credits, instead of the cool music soundtrack that plays into the credits nicely.
Australia got Season 2 release near the end of June. Region B, E One transfer is UNCUT, thankfully.
However, it is only 2 disc, NO Commentaries, No extras!
"Damn you EOne, damn you all to hell!"
I wonder is the UK getting an Anchor Bay release or EOne? Amazon UK states that UK is getting a 3 Disc Season 2 (with extras). But according to Amazon, the US is a 4 Disc (whether it's the SE case or not) and therefore should contain more extras then UK version. I believe (after reading an earlier post) that the US has webisodes, UK maybe not.
I'm guessing (and hoping) that both SE and Standard versions will be the same. Zombie head doesn't fit in with my decor and will cost extra for shipping to OZ. Definitely want a Season 2 Anchor Bay release for the extras...
Here is a detailed rant of how
Walking Dead fans in Australia have been punished.
PLUS, check out Movie Censorship.com to get pics and details of the cuts to
Walking Dead S1 Region B Blu Ray.
In Australia we didn't get a BD/DVD release of Season 1 until March 2012. In fact it only premiered on TV here at the start of the 2012! While waiting for the broadcast, and due to the censorship issues, I purchased a US R1 DVD and had to watch it in 576p, as I did not have a Region A BD player.
The second viewing of S1, I watched the TV broadcast and found it was completely uncut.
So when they released it on BD in Australia, I thought EOne will have fixed the transfer and it would be uncut... I should have known better. The release was the Entertainment One transfer (from the UK), that had 40 seconds of gore censored.
So, on all Non-US BD versions, only the pilot and Ep 6 were uncensored. The heaviest cuts were at the end of Ep4 - Tell it to the Frogs. Absolutely screwed up the action sequence in the Eps last 5 minutes. (Check out my spoiler free review of the Australian version of The
Walking Dead to hear more about how badly the cuts ruined the ambience of a great horror series).
I have also noted that even the music that plays over the credits has been changed!
In the pilot, the song at the end begins again instead of kicking into the chorus. After the shot pulls out and then fades to black, the credits roll and the song starts again! Why? It is a ridiculous edit. Especially considering the pilot has no censorship of gore. Then, in Eps 2-4 & 6, again the title music plays?!? At the end of Ep2 "Guts", again no thumping rock chorus. Title music.
Totally ruins the sequence. Destroys the feeling of having watched a well produced show from beginning to end. Takes the smile off your face. Ruins Bear McCreary's cool soundtrack and choice of music. Imagine if The Sopranos music changed to the title music mid-song, when the credits roll at the end of each episode. Absolutely ridiculous.
Music choice is an essential component of the modern cable drama. FX distributes
Walking Dead outside US and at the very end of the credits they replace the AMC logo with an FX one, but I don't get why they have to change the soundtrack. The final six Eps of Season 2 play the original music with an FX logo. I just don't get it. Nuff said.
Moving on, I read that the cuts for gore was a transfer mistake and the print they used was a heavily censored version. Different parts of Europe had varying degrees of edits. UK had Eps 2 and 5 edited, while Germany had more. Transferring the wrong print! What a stuff up. E One apologised for the mistake. Thought they would rectify it, maybe they still will and release S1 Uncut. The marketing almost sells itself. Hmmm. Food for thought.
So, I finally found an Aussie BD player (Soniq B100) that I could convert to Region A. So first BD I imported was the US Anchor Bay, Region A, The
Walking Dead, 3 Disc Special Edition.
Looks great, has commentaries and includes heaps of extras on the third disc. More importantly, it is uncut and the soundtrack is intact. Nice.
On June 20, we were the first to get a release of
Walking Dead Season 2.
Marketing stated that it was rushed onto our shelves as an apology of sorts, for being one of the last countries in the developed world to get a broadcast and S1 release.
Season 2 was released by the perpetrators of Season 1's debacle, Hopscotch Films & Entertainment One. This made me skeptical about the content. But alas, I was pleasantly surprised.
The Walking Dead Season 2 IS NOT CENSORED.
Except, I was bitterly disappointed with the fact that there are absolutely no extras. No commentaries. Nothing. Just Episodes 1-6 on the first disc and 7-12 on the second.Only two discs! The first Region B disc also includes a 1080/50i preview of Hell on Wheels, that must have been put there to make it nigh on impossible to play in the US, unless the US BD player can handle PAL.
While I am glad I got to see Season 2 in 1080p/24 two months earlier than the ROTW, I plan to purchase a copy of the 4 Disc from Amazon US as I know it will be packed with extras that the Australian release is missing.
In Season 2, on Aussie broadcast and BD I noted that all of the music that played over the credits for the first 7 Episodes were the title music. Doesn't appear obviously edited (like Non-US S1 transfers). If you can remember or have TIVO'd or DVR'd those eps -
Q. Is this the same as the US broadcast? (Eps 8-13 had music that was not title sequence music).
Q. I read that the UK release might be an Anchor Bay release (not Entertainment One) as UK and US have same release date. Is UK BD an Anchor Bay Release or Entertainment One? I noticed that the UK has a character dossier included and is only 3 disc, while the US is 4 disc.
One final thought about Season 2 AU BD vs. US BD is that while S2 was uncut, compared to broadcast, will the US Anchor Bay release contain scenes that were not broadcast, as the US BD content is unrated... As there is a sequence in S2 Ep1 with Rick, Darryl & a
dead zombie that looks like it is edited for gore (being cryptic to avoid spoilers). For those readers who have seen S2, (has to be the goriest sequence of the one hour opening), and know what I'm talking about, do you think they will have extra shots in the scene? OR any other unrated content? Guess we will know at the end of the month.
All countries
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Chile
China
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Estonia
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Hong Kong
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United Arab Emirates
US releases much better than ROTW
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