Any chance of getting a reivew for The Deer Hunter aka "Voyage au bout de l'enfer"

[discking]

"The Deer Hunter" has been available in France on a region free disc for quite a while now (French title: "Voyage au bout de l'enfer"). Any chance of one of the Blu-Ray.Com reviewers giving a look and a review to this great film on Blu-Ray?

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by discking

"The Deer Hunter" has been available in France on a region free disc for quite a while now (French title: "Voyage au bout de l'enfer"). Any chance of one of the Blu-Ray.Com reviewers giving a look and a review to this great film on Blu-Ray?

Hello Discking,

I will request a copy and add a review later this month.

Pro-B

[discking]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

I will request a copy and add a review later this month.

Pro-B

I have the disc, and although there are some faults, and it has a really odd menu interface, it is still a huge upgrade over existing DVD versions on the market...

The menu system requires you to commit to one of a list of thirteen countries before beginning. After you choose, you are stuck with the audio/subtitle options for that country only.

For example, if you choose France, the only audio options are French Mono and English Dolby 5.1 with French subtitles. If you select United Kingdom, the audio options then become English DTS, or English 5.1 with English subtitles. Very odd. There are also two bonus features that consist of 5.1 audio setup test sound and video PLUGE patterns.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by discking

I
For example, if you choose France, the only audio options are French Mono and English Dolby 5.1 with French subtitles. If you select United Kingdom, the audio options then become English DTS, or English 5.1 with English subtitles. Very odd. There are also two bonus features that consist of 5.1 audio setup test sound and video PLUGE patterns.

I know Studio Canal have quite a few Pan-European releases, this is one of them. I simply have not had time to load this disc in the database, but will.

Pro-B

[El_Burro]

ehy pro-bassoonist ! please any info on Bud Spencer and Terence Hill films too?
Tryed to ask you in private but didnt got any replay, thats why im using these thread sorry...

Thanks a lot!

[pro-bassoonist]

Hello,

Are you sure you PM-ed me, and not someone else? I typically check my PMs in the morning - if there are any requests, I leave a note on my PC so I don't forget about them.

I am very sorry I missed your request (I have a note now and will make sure to report back).

Pro-B

[discking]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

I know Studio Canal have quite a few Pan-European releases, this is one of them. I simply have not had time to load this disc in the database, but will.

Pro-B

I think that "The Deer Hunter" has now been re-released with a more normal interface -- both the older version I have and the newer one are on AMAZON. FR. The BD of the film that I have looks much beter than the DVD, but still suffers from lots of sharpening and DNR.

I keep seeing a pending review listed for the French BD of Fellini's Casanova, but it never appears. That was always one of my favorite out of print films, that I hadn't seen since I had a laser disc of it back in the 70s. The R2 and Australian DVDs of the film that have been available the past couple of years have had mediocre transfers. So I have been curious if the fancy case and artwork of the French edition has a BD with better source transfer of the film.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by discking

I keep seeing a pending review listed for the French BD of Fellini's Casanova, but it never appears. That was always one of my favorite out of print films, that I hadn't seen since I had a laser disc of it back in the 70s. The R2 and Australian DVDs of the film that have been available the past couple of years have had mediocre transfers. So I have been curious if the fancy case and artwork of the French edition has a BD with better source transfer of the film.

It will be up this week - I keep putting it away because there are always a few urgent titles to cover first, but it will be done.

Pro-B

[lechero]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Hello Discking,

I will request a copy and add a review later this month.

Pro-B

Any luck with a copy of The Deer Hunter?

[DJANGO]

. . . looking forward to the reviews of both FELLINI'S CASANOVA and THE DEER HUNTER - glad to read HUNTER is region free, hope the same goes for CASANOVA . . .

[discking]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

It will be up this week - I keep putting it away because there are always a few urgent titles to cover first, but it will be done.Pro-B

I was in FNAC Paris the other day and saw this disc again on display. I noticed that Optimum in the UK had released the title also, in a much more handsome package. Any info if the Optimum version is the same source as the FR version? The FR copy I have has a really odd menu system and, as I recall, shows some edge enhancement. Still vastly better than the DVD, but would be interested to know which of the two release is cleaner.

A review of either would be great.

[pro-bassoonist]

Discking,

I requested the French disc for you quite some time ago, but it was never sent to me. In the UK, Optimum Home Entertainment did not send any of their Studio Canal Collection discs for coverage either. However, elsewhere I arranged to get a couple of their titles (Belle de jour, Le mepris, etc), which we already covered.

I am going to buy on my own the rest - including The Deer Hunter - so that we could have reviews on the site.

Look for a review of The Deer Hunter (UK release) in about two weeks.

Pro-B

[discking]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

I am going to buy on my own the rest - including The Deer Hunter - so that we could have reviews on the site.

Look for a review of The Deer Hunter (UK release) in about two weeks.

Pro-B

Considering the huge promo they get from Blu-Ray.Com on cineaste titles like that, it is a little surprising that they would be so tight fisted with comp review discs. I would assume that the SC and Optimum editions are from the same source, and probably look much the same. The SC FR edition does, as I have mentioned, have a kind of bizarro menu layout, and top menu only selectable language and subtitle choices. The Optimum packaging is definitely nicer.

Is there any relationship between Criterion and Optimum, or is Optimum positioning itself to be sort of the UK Criterion?

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by discking

Considering the huge promo they get from Blu-Ray.Com on cineaste titles like that, it is a little surprising that they would be so tight fisted with comp review discs. I would assume that the SC and Optimum editions are from the same source, and probably look much the same. The SC FR edition does, as I have mentioned, have a kind of bizarro menu layout, and top menu only selectable language and subtitle choices. The Optimum packaging is definitely nicer.

English speakers should be incredibly grateful that Optimum Home Entertainment are around. If it was not for them, the fantastic catalog French juggernaut Studio Canal are in charge with would be untouchable (though LionsGate have a relationship with them in the U.S., they most definitely do not release the same amount of product Optimum Home Entertainment do - this goes both for DVD and Blu-ray).

Originally Posted by discking

Is there any relationship between Criterion and Optimum, or is Optimum positioning itself to be sort of the UK Criterion?

To the best of my knowledge, no.

Pro-B

[discking]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

English speakers should be incredibly grateful that Optimum Home Entertainment are around.Pro-B

We are very grateful, and wish they would give you more free review copies...

[Harry Caul]

I have the German Studio Canal release of the Deer Hunter and it`s like the german Belle de Jour the same disc they will use for the French and English releases. It even starts with the Optimum logo if you choose Great Britain in the first option menu on Belle de Jour. The Movie itself looks in my opinion great and i'm happy i bought the Studio Canal version. Because the danger in a Universal release lies in the fact that they could try to DNR the Vietnam sequences. Because it has heavy grain the was intenional according to Vilmos Zsigsmond in a interview on the disc. He states that they used a perfect Negative and afterwards underexposed the Movie and used longer developing times to get the right light, and this was used to get a more Newsreel feeling or documentary style via heavy grain. The scenes in America with exception of some minor night shots which i think had no artificial lighting look stellar in comparsion especially the Church scenes and some of clear daylight scenes. But overall a very good colour scheme, good skintones and the best i've ever seen this Movie. The German release is not code locked by the way and subtitles are free to choose or not.

[Waiterguy]

Thanks for posting this review....I just ordered the Studio Canal version, and now I am REALLY excited.