The Piano (Jane Campion)

[pro-bassoonist]

The Piano Blu-ray



Jane Campion's The Piano (1993) has received a preliminary release date for the Gallic markets: May 2. Winner of three Oscar awards -- Best Actress in a Leading Role (Holly Hunter), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Anna Paquin), and (Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Jane Campion).


Pro-B

[Arkadin]

if there are no forced subs I will for sure get this.
I still remember watching a certain vampire loving waitress getting her Oscar live for this film.
what a special moment.

[Bruce Morrison]

Any predictions (based on the label) about whether it will have forced French subtitles?

[discking]

Originally Posted by Arkadin

I still remember watching a certain vampire loving waitress getting her Oscar live for this film. what a special moment.

Hard to imagine the feisty little English girl in Piano growing up to be the feisty little vampaholic/fairy waitress in True Blood. I suppose one could watch The Piano trying to see if there was any foreshadowing of the Sookie Stackhouse to be. Most of the main characters on True Blood are acted by British, Australian and New Zealander actors. They have better Louisiana accents than the actual rednecks on the show. Now that's real acting...

[Arkadin]

she's actually Canadian born and grew up in New Zealand I believe.
I'm still trying to figure out what label is releasing this.
anybody know?

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by Arkadin

I'm still trying to figure out what label is releasing this.
anybody know?

TF1

Pro-B

[Bruce Morrison]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

TF1

Pro-B

So do TFI releases usually have forced French subtitles or not?

[marvinski]

Originally Posted by Bruce Morrison

So do TFI releases usually have forced French subtitles or not?

I'm afraid they will be forced, I prefer to wait pro-bassoonist's opinion to be absolutely sure.

[Arkadin]

TFI does have some forced sub titles so I'd say the odds are pretty good that they will be there.

[discking]

Originally Posted by marvinski

I'm afraid they will be forced, I prefer to wait pro-bassoonist's opinion to be absolutely sure.

I recently asked OPPO tech support if they could add the ability to suppress forced subs to future firmware updates, and they said they were considering it... We can hope...

[Arkadin]

if they did that I would probably get an Oppo for sure.
there will continue to be tons of French and German bds with forced subs, which are the true bane of the region free user.
all the pc people get to remove them easily, why not the rest of us?

[Bruce Morrison]

Originally Posted by Arkadin

if they did that I would probably get an Oppo for sure.
there will continue to be tons of French and German bds with forced subs, which are the true bane of the region free user.
all the pc people get to remove them easily, why not the rest of us?

Most German BDs do not have forced subs - it's almost exclusively a French problem.

[marvinski]

Originally Posted by Bruce Morrison

Most German BDs do not have forced subs - it's almost exclusively a French problem.

Somehow it is logical as the French are the only nation in Central Europe to not speak a Foreign Language. If you're not living in Paris you do tend to struggle to watch a Movie at a Movie Theater which is not Dubbed in French.

[Arkadin]

I used to think it there weren't any German bds with forced subs until someone pointed out a few.
but certainly mainly a French issue.
a practice with origins in the state's obsession with preserving the French language I believe.
it's the "forced" part that is of interest.
apparently a French speaking person doesn't have the capacity to make a menu choice if need be.
I didn't realize the government had such little faith in the intelligence of its citizens.

[oslouk]

Well at last this dramatic, unforgettable film is due to receive it's first european HD release later on this week. Fans of this beautifully shot film have been waiting a long time since the german studio canal release was postponed last year, reasons unknown - this is now due in June this year.

I have a good feeling about this TF1 edition - I think subs will not be forced, most of the extra's will be ported over from the DVD SE and transfer and audio options will be decent....not long to find out now !!

[zardoz]

i have it, will check it tonight.

[Rockercub]

But even if the subtitles aren't forced, won't you lose the subtitles on the sign language if you turn it off? And if those are hardcoded, won't they be in French? I really wish someone would put out an English language version with those subtitles included. I'm also curious about the picture quality on this release, as I wasn't impressed with the U.S. release (too grainy for my taste). If it's a huge improvement, I might just get it and add my own subtitles.

[mickeyLD]

This release have forced French subtitles. Region B locked.
I bought it last week (with two other titles)



I think it's a nice improvement in picture and sound quality:
-English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
-Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
-Natural grain, not too grainy
-The movie presents a clear, well-defined picture
-this blu-ray get much more saturated colors and less redish (but more green) than the US release.

Special features:
Featurette (15 min) (SD)
Interview with Jane Campion (75 min) (SD)

[oslouk]

Originally Posted by mickeyLD

This release have forced French subtitles. Region B locked.
I bought it last week (with two other titles)

I think it's a nice improvement in picture and sound quality:
-English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
-Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
-Natural grain, not too grainy
-The movie presents a clear, well-defined picture
-this blu-ray get much more saturated colors and less redish (but more green) than the US release.

Special features:
Featurette (15 min) (SD)
Interview with Jane Campion (75 min) (SD)

Well good news about the transfer, audio quality and extra's as the US region-A locked edition apparently only had the trailer as the only extra. But bad news about the forced subtitles - are you sure the subs can't be switched off via the player remote ?? Only I have french editions of films (Dune, Le Narcisse Noir) where I can do this on my region-B player (Philips), even though there is no subtitle option on the disc main menu. If not, looks like I'll wait for next month's scheduled german release. However, I have doubts whether studio canal will purchase the extra's on license

This film really needs a UK release together with a decent set of extra's. Bottom line is I don't mind forced subs on the extra's (interviews etc) but I won't accept them on the actual film

[mickeyLD]

Originally Posted by oslouk

But bad news about the forced subtitles - are you sure the subs can't be switched off via the player remote ?? Only I have french editions of films (Dune, Le Narcisse Noir) where I can do this on my region-B player (Philips), even though there is no subtitle option on the disc main menu.

Yes I'm 100% sure. Subtitles can't be switched off, even with my OPPO region free player.