Shadow of the Vampire (La Sombra del Vampiro) new Region Free Blu-Ray

[spooker1]

I was lucky enough to get a brand new copy of the German Blu-Ray release on eBay recently. Because I love this movie I have the Official German version, this newer Spanish version, the original DVD from when it was first released and the bootleg that contains the Theatrical and Extended Cuts, where one is very clearly just a copy of the Amazon stream.

After looking at them all side-by-side, the Amazon copy is clearly the best and produced from a different master. The official German release and the newest version are the same transfers that look slightly better than the DVD with noticeable halo artifacting and sometimes ghosting. The Amazon stream is much more "natural" looking and doesn't appear sharpened or upscaled.

Official German - Extended Cut at 1:35:23
Newer Spanish release - Extended Cut at 1:35:23
Original DVD - Theatrical Cut at 1:32:12
Bootleg - Extended Cut at 1:35:23
Bootleg - Theatrical Cut at 1:32:09

The bootleg's Theatrical Cut is by far the best and most closely matches the Amazon stream.

[Count Orlok]

Originally Posted by spooker1

I was lucky enough to get a brand new copy of the German Blu-Ray release on eBay recently. Because I love this movie I have the Official German version, this newer Spanish version, the original DVD from when it was first released and the bootleg that contains the Theatrical and Extended Cuts, where one is very clearly just a copy of the Amazon stream.

After looking at them all side-by-side, the Amazon copy is clearly the best and produced from a different master. The official German release and the newest version are the same transfers that look slightly better than the DVD with noticeable halo artifacting and sometimes ghosting. The Amazon stream is much more "natural" looking and doesn't appear sharpened or upscaled.

Official German - Extended Cut at 1:35:23
Newer Spanish release - Extended Cut at 1:35:23
Original DVD - Theatrical Cut at 1:32:12
Bootleg - Extended Cut at 1:35:23
Bootleg - Theatrical Cut at 1:32:09

The bootleg's Theatrical Cut is by far the best and most closely matches the Amazon stream.

This really makes me want to get the bootleg. I have the German release, but the PQ definitely looks like an ancient master and the audio is lossy DTS High Resolution while the other has a fully lossless DTS MA track.

The quantity of extras is nice, but it's not very English friendly when it comes to subtitles or its menus. It's also the extended version with the scene of Max talking with Fritz about Plato. I never knew the US DVD was missing it until I imported the German disc. It's a short movie as is, so I wonder why it was cut. Maybe because it ended with a joke?

In the US, it's a Lionsgate movie, but the home video release was done through Universal. I take it Universal no longer has distribution rights. Maybe it'll come from Lionsgate Limited at some point. It would've been nice if it had come out for the Eggers remake or this year for its 25th anniversary.

Hard to believe it's been 25 years since it came out. I ran to Blockbuster on release day to rent the DVD, which I thought was pretty good for its time, especially the inclusion of a DTS track that still holds up.

[spooker1]

Originally Posted by Count Orlok

This really makes me want to get the bootleg. I have the German release, but the PQ definitely looks like an ancient master and the audio is lossy DTS High Resolution while the other has a fully lossless DTS MA track.

The quantity of extras is nice, but it's not very English friendly when it comes to subtitles or its menus. It's also the extended version with the scene of Max talking with Fritz about Plato. I never knew the US DVD was missing it until I imported the German disc. It's a short movie as is, so I wonder why it was cut. Maybe because it ended with a joke?

In the US, it's a Lionsgate movie, but the home video release was done through Universal. I take it Universal no longer has distribution rights. Maybe it'll come from Lionsgate Limited at some point. It would've been nice if it had come out for the Eggers remake or this year for its 25th anniversary.

Hard to believe it's been 25 years since it came out. I ran to Blockbuster on release day to rent the DVD, which I thought was pretty good for its time, especially the inclusion of a DTS track that still holds up.

The bootleg is surprisingly good quality with great packaging. Definitely on par with the official German release. Has menus and everything.