Its a superb package! picture quality 10 out of 10 sound is perfect! extras include making of, interviews, trailers and publicity stills. if you like this film get this edition its make all the difference when you watch a film like this on a big screen TV oh yes!
shareIs it in English with German subs or German with English subs?
"But it happened at sea! See? C for Catwoman!!"
there is an option to set it with the original english soundtrack without german subs
shareCoolio, I will order it asap!!
"But it happened at sea! See? C for Catwoman!!"
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It might sound a bit mad but I watched this film about 5 times since buying it the other week I have loved this film since I was a kid, saw it in the cinema and I was totally blown away by it! I have had the VHS and DVD editions since and they really didn't do the film justice a film like this with its style and atmosphere should be viewed on Blu-ray on the biggest screen you can get!
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If the original poster thinks this transfer is a ten out of ten, he clearly never saw the film in a theater - this is an old master, clearly, and despite the many effects doesn't look nearly as good as films made decades earlier - sorry, that's not how it works. It's a mediocre transfer, but if one's only comparison is to a VHS, well, yes, I suppose it looks better than that.
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Probably not in most players out of the box. North America is in Blu-Ray region 1, while Germany is in Blu-Ray region 2. Further, in NA we use the NTSC/ATSC video standard while much of Europe uses PAL.
Now, when it comes to DVD players often manufacturers just make one build of a given model. Then, after assembly, the DVD player's firmware is set to whichever region the player was destined for. Because of being built like this many players come with built-in NTSC-PAL/PAL-NTSC converters. Often, there's a sequence of buttons you can enter to access a player's firmware menu and set the player to region free or switch it to another region. These button codes are generally referred to as "DVD Hacks".
I've not checked to see if the same applies to Blu-Ray players - but I wouldn't be surpised if it did. If it's possible the folks at http://www.videohelp.com/ probably have the information available on their website, or can recommend other means.
Alternatively, for computers equipped with Blu-Ray drives you can use a software BR player to view the disc on the computer.
I saw the movie in the theater and was so impressed I bought it on VHS and later on DVD. I don't have a VHS player anymore, so I can't compare. But my DVD is a region 2 widescreen edition. I came across a digital pan and scan edition and guess what. My widescreen edition is 1:42:50 long and the pan and scan edition I found is 1:47:22 long. Four and a half minute longer?!? I also wonder what format it was originally shot in. Because although the widescreen version shows more picture on both sides, it's also cropped on the top and bottom!?!
What's the running time of the BluRay?
Ban pan and scan!
That run-time difference will just be the PAL format speed-up effect :)
Your Region 2 widescreen DVD is in the PAL video format, and your Region 1 "pan & scan" DVD is in the NTSC video format. There's no difference in content, it's just that PAL video material runs slightly faster than the correct speed: 25 frames per second instead of 24 frames per second, giving a speed-up factor of 4%, and 103 minutes plus 4% equals 107 minutes. This is true of all PAL DVDs, not just "The Shadow."
As for the picture ratio ... based on your observation, it seems that "The Shadow" was shot in the "open matte" format. Basically, this means that the film was shot using the full open frame of film (1.33:1) but was intended to be masked (i.e. "matted" or "cropped" at top and bottom) for 1.85:1 cinema presentation.
Your widescreen (matted) version is therefore true to the original cinema presentation, and shows the film framed as the director intended it should be. Your "fullscreen" presentation simply leaves the matte off, making the whole frame of film visible - avoiding the need to pan & scan by revealing additional picture information at the top and bottom which you were never meant to see.
Look up "open matte" on Wikipedia for a picture that illustrates this very neatly.
So, technically, neither presentation of "The Shadow" is "pan & scan" - the widescreen version is matted, and the fullscreen version isn't.
"Probably not in most players out of the box. North America is in Blu-Ray region 1, while Germany is in Blu-Ray region 2. Further, in NA we use the NTSC/ATSC video standard while much of Europe uses PAL."
None of that applies to Blu-Rays. PAL/NTSC are standard definition video formats for DVD. All retail Blu-Rays (with a few exceptions) are 1080p/24 or 1080i/60, worldwide. All HD televisions will display these resolutions exactly the same.
As far as regions go, they're no longer Regions 1-5 like DVDs. There are only:
Region A (North/South America and South-East Asia)
Region B (Europe, Africa, and Australia)
Region C (China and Russia)
But region-coding is not enforced on Blu-Rays like it was on DVDs, and the majority of them from major studios are not locked to any particular region, so they can be played anywhere. Unfortunately, the German Blu-Ray for The Shadow is not from a major studio and it is locked to Region B. So you won't be able to play this disc in America unless you buy a region-free Blu-Ray player, which are far less common than region-free DVD players and tend to cost a lot more.
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What effects have to do with transfer quality? But talking about transfer, yeah, it is not that great, even though I like grain, The Shadow has a little too much of it.
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