Hero

[LMFAObros]

I will wait till imprint do a standard release means i can get it for between $25-45

[Brown Jenkin]

Originally Posted by grim_tales

Did you watch the "US theatrical cut" rather than the HK theatrical cut?

Whoops! Should've been more specific. The HK cut.

[grim_tales]

Thanks I watched the HK DVD many years ago but don't remember the opening text that well, I thought it was in Chinese on screen, but subtitled in English.

[vector72]

Originally Posted by n0tredom

Got my set today from Diabolikdvd. Would have preferred a single case with slipcover like my other Imprint releases.

I now have 6 releases of Hero on Blu-ray: USA (Miramax), Spain (Sony), Japan (TC Entertainment), Germany (Constantin Film), South Korea (Nova Media), and Australia (Imprint). When I get the chance, I may try to compare them.

I really hope the next worthwhile release is a 4K UHD...

How are the subs in the Director's Cut? Same as Nova, or did they correct the gaps in the numbers?

Thanks.

[bongozoid]

Originally Posted by vector72

How are the subs in the Director's Cut? Same as Nova, or did they correct the gaps in the numbers?

Thanks.

Exactly the same as Nova's release.

[tomblu]

Never seen this one before but picked it up, which cut would you say is best for a first time watch, theatrical or director's cut?

[Mr. Chaverria]

Well, **** me. Didn't know this set even existed. Was randomly looking around on DiabolikDVD and saw that. Literally spit out my drink cuz I've wanted to see this beyond the Miramax cut that I grew up on. This ****er is mine now.

I'd kill for the original cut of House of Flying Daggers, never seen it but have studied up on it. I LOVED what we got here in the US but that was just a Sony cut. Still, I loved that thing. Gah, I remember seeing it in theaters so well.

[n0tredom]

Originally Posted by tomblu

Never seen this one before but picked it up, which cut would you say is best for a first time watch, theatrical or director's cut?

The director's cut has the best audio and visual quality. I don't really remember what is added to the movie though, but it is 10 minutes longer than the theatrical. It's definitely not like a Cinema Paradiso where one version adds something that completely changes how you would view the other version.

Originally Posted by Mr. Chaverria

Well, **** me. Didn't know this set even existed. Was randomly looking around on DiabolikDVD and saw that. Literally spit out my drink cuz I've wanted to see this beyond the Miramax cut that I grew up on. This ****er is mine now.

I'd kill for the original cut of House of Flying Daggers, never seen it but have studied up on it. I LOVED what we got here in the US but that was just a Sony cut. Still, I loved that thing. Gah, I remember seeing it in theaters so well.

I own the Hong Kong release, which seems to still be available at dddhouse, and HD Goofnut's best international releases thread says it's uncut: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...48&postcount=6

[BNex99]

It's a little odd that the "US cut" only has burned in subs, and it's annoying that the subs for the "original theatrical cut" duplicate the onscreen English text at the beginning and the end. I guess these subs were intended for a version with Chinese intro and outro text?

Still, I really do appreciate Imprint for bringing all these versions together in one release.

[grim_tales]

Wait, so the "original theatrical cut" has the onscreen text in English? Surely it should be in Chinese?

[micpp]

Originally Posted by grim_tales

Wait, so the "original theatrical cut" has the onscreen text in English? Surely it should be in Chinese?

Yes, it's in English but it's a different translation to the text in the US cut. Presumaby it's faithful to the original Chinese text, instead of rewritten like the US release.

[BNex99]

Originally Posted by n0tredom

I fully watched the US cut tonight and scanned the USA Lionsgate/Miramax disc afterwards to compare. A benefit is the Mandarin audio is lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 48kHz on the Imprint vs lossy Dolby Digital on the Lionsgate/Miramax. The colors are definitely more muted on the Imprint and the bitrate stayed around 20 Mbps for calm scenes and around 30 Mbps for action scenes. For the Lionsgate/Miramax disc, the bitrate stays in the upper 30s most of the time and the image detail seems better as a result. However, it really seems like they boosted the colors on the Lionsgate/Miramax. So, I actually enjoyed the overall look of the Imprint version better. It would have definitely benefitted from its own disc for higher bitrates, though.

It looks to me that the US cut on the Imprint is in the wrong color space. That's why the blacks are milky and the other colors so muted. My guess is that it's from a broadcast or streaming master (hence the burned-in subtitles), but that it was encoded or exported with the wrong settings. Happens more often than we would like to think. If you're able to change the color space on your player to "PC Levels" or "0-255," it essentially corrects it, but it's still a goof.

From what I can tell, the "original theatrical cut" on the Imprint is from the same master as the Spanish BD from Sony (along with the same English subs), but with a weaker encode. The Imprint doesn't look bad, but the Sony keeps the bitrate mostly in the 30s, while the Imprint hovers in the low-to-mid 20s most of the time.

The director's cut seems to be from the same master as the South Korean BD (I have way too many copies of this movie ), with the same English subs and a similar encode.

Basically, if you have the Spanish, US, and South Korean BDs, then you have superior video presentations for the two theatrical versions and about the same for the DC. The upsides with the Imprint are lossless Mandarin audio on the theatrical cuts, the new special features, having everything in one set, and Region A/B compatibility for both discs.

[thechewdefense]

if anyone needs to know how bad the subs are on the director's cut. The transfer actually looks better than the south korean blu so idk what they used
https://x.com/TheChewDefense/status/1814804835662696679

[GenPion]

Ouch. Those subtitles look awful. Are the subtitles on the Hong Kong edition any better or the same? I'll hope for an update from Imprint on the subtitle quality. Maybe a disc replacement is in the future.

[thechewdefense]

Originally Posted by GenPion

Ouch. Those subtitles look awful. Are the subtitles on the Hong Kong edition any better or the same? I'll hope for an update from Imprint on the subtitle quality. Maybe a disc replacement is in the future.

the "US version" has burned in subs from the miramax edition" didn't do a full watch but the "international" edition did use the word "Prime Minister" during an early scene.

haven't heard anything about a recall or anything from Imprint

[BNex99]

Originally Posted by thechewdefense

if anyone needs to know how bad the subs are on the director's cut. The transfer actually looks better than the south korean blu so idk what they used
https://x.com/TheChewDefense/status/1814804835662696679

I dunno; to me it looks like it's from the same video master as the South Korean BD. And the subs are certainly the same, weird spacing and all.

[BNex99]

I took another look at the "original" theatrical version on the Imprint and compared a few sections to the Spanish BD from Sony, and I guess I have to amend what I said earlier.

The Sony technically has a higher bitrate, but the two don't really look much different. The compression looks marginally better on the Sony in some shots, and on the Imprint in others.

The US cut got the short end of the stick with the botched color space, but the original theatrical and director's cut look about as good as any other release of those versions with English subtitles.

[The Rider]

Does anyone here know if Miramax had their own restoration studio back then and made the HD masters themselves for Mimic, Pulp Fiction, From Dusk Till Dawn, The Crow and Hero? And if not, who made the masters for them? Disney seems rather unlikely to me, as many titles were distributed by Lionsgate (Studiocanal in Germany).
And who does the restorations for Miramas today, Paramount?

It seems to me that the US Blu-ray from Miramax uses the same master as the director's cut Blu-ray from Nova Media and Imprint. However, the colors and contrast were boosted a little for the Directors Cut.

[MovieBuff647]

Wondering if Criterion could maybe license this out (and even give us both cuts) given the Miramax titles they've been licensing out from Paramount as of late.

[rachaeldeckard]

Does the Directors Cut have the same black crush as the Korean release?