Films/DVD Asylum

? Concerning Release in U.S. of "Hero" (w/ Jet Li)

4.15.7.150

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ Thread: Display Email Next ] [ Films/DVD Asylum ]

townsend

Anyone reading this forum in the U.S. buying Hero today, Tuesday?
I was wondering if anyone had already bought the movie from overseas, and how that version compared to the one released in the U.S.
Particularly
1) Below is a link to a review by Bill Hunt at www.digitalbits.com. He didn't care for the video--at the same time, it isn't a disaster.
2) Secondly, I'm not sure about what was released overseas, but at least one version is 10 minutes or so longer.
I'd like to own the movie and was considering buying the overseas version. However, if it doesn't have any English subtitles, I'd better stick to the U.S. domestic release--my Japanese is WAY bad.
Also, what internet source do you use for good prices/good service for overseas movies?
regards, townsend

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/reviews3/hero.html (Open in New Window)

Follow Ups:

wrong language... - Corbu 12:09:31 12/02/04 (0)
Hero's is a Chinese film (Mandarin) not Japanese.
Re: ? Concerning Release in U.S. of "Hero" (w/ Jet Li) - Jack G 04:48:57 12/01/04 (0)
There was a second "director's cut" released overseas. It had an extra 10 minutes or so, and had a picture quality that was supposed to be inferior to the original. I have the original, but not the extended or US version to compare it to.
> > > I'd like to own the movie and was considering buying the overseas version. However, if it doesn't have any English subtitles, I'd better stick to the U.S. domestic release--my Japanese is WAY bad. < < <
The imports have subs, and it *not* a Japanese movie. Most places don't sell the imports now(in the US), since the distribution rights are now owned by a US company.
Jack
Hero - Joe Murphy Jr 20:01:07 11/30/04 (2)
For sound quality, none of the releases of Hero beats the Region 3 (Korean, NTSC) version. It includes a full bitrate (1.5Mb/s) DTS ES 6.1 Discrete soundtrack. Other versions are either DTS 5.1 (half bitrate at 768kb/s) and/or Dolby Digital 5.1 (448kb/s). See the review by Joshua Zyber at dvdfile.com (below) for his take on this disc. Video is not reference quality, but, from what I have read about all of the versions of Hero, none of them are.
For video quality, it has been said that the Region 2 (Japanese, NTSC) version is the best.
I ordered the Region 3 (Korean, NTSC) version from cdwow.com and it was supposedly shipped yesterday from overseas. I'd rather have the superior soundtrack than somewhat better video quality.
Regarding picture quality, one thing you're going to have to realize is that when you read reviews of DVDs is that some reviewers watch the movie on a large screen and others watch the movie on a small screen. You can easily guess which reviewers complain less about video quality.
You might want to check these out:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=471812
http://www.dvdfile.com/software/review/region_3/hero.html
- correction - Joe Murphy Jr 18:47:02 12/02/04 (0)
  It's a DTS ES 6.1 Matrix (not Discrete) soundtrack for this version. Sorry for the mix-up. Nevertheless, it's still the superior soundtrack.
- Thanks for your help, Joe (nt) - townsend 20:20:47 11/30/04 (0)
  .

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Parts Connexion

You can not post to an archived thread.