MovieChat Forums > Formats > Runtime differences on DVDs?

Runtime differences on DVDs?

posted 9 years ago by AnnetteJS
3 replies | jump to latest

I'm looking to buy an old mini-series on DVD. It was released in the USA a few years ago, but it's now out of print (with used copies being sold for around 100 dollars). Thankfully there's also a Region 4 release, which is much cheaper. However, the runtime of that set is very different! 454 minutes versus the 494 minutes on the American release.

Does anyone know what could cause that? I'm familiar with PAL speed-up, but I don't think that's it -- the DVD set states "NTSC", and the time missing is way over 4%. Should I just assume that it's been cut, or is there some other possible reason for this discrepancy?

Thanks in advance for any input!

[–] Nuclear_Exorcist 9 years ago

PAL speedup would only reduce the runtime from 494 minutes to 474 minutes, so there's obviously another reason. Possibly it's just a typo on the listing or on the back cover of the DVD, that does happen sometimes.

Maybe if you actually state what the series is, there could be some information available but right now all I can do is speculate. Also check www.dvdcompare.net as they may have a comparison between the two versions available.

[–] AnnetteJS 9 years ago

Yeah, that's the numbers I got too. And considering the DVD is marked with "NTSC" there shouldn't be a difference at all, I don't think.

I'm sorry, that was stupid of me, I should've mentioned the name of the series right off the bat. It's "Captains and the Kings", from 1976. I did check that site actually, but it doesn't list either of the versions.

Thanks for replying! :)

[–] Nuclear_Exorcist 9 years ago

I checked some listings for it on Amazon and Ebay, most them actually list a runtime of 540 minutes, and they also list it as being in PAL format. It's also 540 on a couple of other sites, so that's probably the actual runtime. Amazon is notorious for incorrect runtimes on DVD listings. The IMDB entry for the series also lists it as being 540 minutes 