Post by rewak on Oct 23, 2012 6:20:33 GMT -6
This is going into a nerdy territory, but what the heck? 
I have a few different DVDs of BW2 so i thought i'd put together a comparison of them for anyone interested.
Video
Most of the DVDs use the same transfer of the movie, however i've come across 2 different ones. First is from France who seem to have a completely different transfer with a very different colour correct. Personally i think it also looks a bit sharper. Second is Brazil who opted to use a 4:3 fullscreen transfer (i believe the Australian rental DVD also uses this). Obviously today a 16:9 widescreen transfer is the norm and generally shows the most image but in BW2's case the 4:3 version shows more image on the top and bottom of the screen whilst showing less on the sides. Here are some comparison pictures
-------Standard------------France----------------Brazil-------
Audio
Again most releases use the same Dolby Digital 5.1 track, but the French 2 Disc edition has a DTS 5.1 track which is higher quality. Annoyingly if you select this option French subtitles become forced however with a little know how you can work around this
If you're looking for foreign dubs most regions seem to have one, the only regions i've seen without one so far are Scandinavia and China.
Extras
This is where it gets trickier, i'm going to try and summarise it as simply as i can. Most releases have the Directors Commentary, Trailers, and Godhead performance. The UK and French 2 Disc editions have both the Shadows Of The Blair Witch and Burkittsville 7 documentaries, these are missing on most of the other releases or only one is included (the Japanese edition for example only has Shadows). The US and Japanese editions have a Composer Commentary on 3 select scenes, i haven't seen this on other editions. The US release is also a flipper disc containing the movies score CD. The German and 2 Disc French releases share a strange extra, a brief interview with Magister Peter Gilmore of the Church Of Satan explaining what Devil Worshipping is about. The 2 Disc French release also has The Offering comic (in English) from The Blair Witch Chronicles series on the 2nd Disc as a DVD-Rom extra. The German release has a demo of BW Volume 2: Coffin Rock and a screensaver as DVD-Rom extras. The German release has interviews with the cast and director plus 6 minutes of b-roll footage from the making of the movie including some tiny snips of deleted shots being filmed (note you only see them being filmed) including the group hiking to the Parr foundation making jokes, a brief extension to Jeff filming Kim, and the group arriving at the store for the first time featuring Mary Browns appearance (Kim & Jeff enter, the others stay on the porch outside, Mary approaches and says "I'm warning you...")
Summary
The German release features the standard transfer seen on other releases and has unique extras. The 2 Disc French release has a different transfer plus a DTS audio track and both documentaries. Obviously both releases are PAL and Region 2, but if you can play those discs i'd say between those two you'd have most of whats out there (Composer Commentary is missing from both releases). The Brazil/Australian Rental 4:3 transfer is a curiosity item you could add to your collection if you wanted.
Please note there are a few different pressings of the German edition and two different cuts of the movie there, FSK16 and FSK18. The FSK16 version of the movie is edited slightly for violence (you can check HERE for a summary of what was cut out). There's at least one pressing without any extras. The easiest way to tell the copy without extras apart is it has the DVD logo near the top of the front cover under a stamp that says Ungekürzt Fassung.
I have a few different DVDs of BW2 so i thought i'd put together a comparison of them for anyone interested.Video
Most of the DVDs use the same transfer of the movie, however i've come across 2 different ones. First is from France who seem to have a completely different transfer with a very different colour correct. Personally i think it also looks a bit sharper. Second is Brazil who opted to use a 4:3 fullscreen transfer (i believe the Australian rental DVD also uses this). Obviously today a 16:9 widescreen transfer is the norm and generally shows the most image but in BW2's case the 4:3 version shows more image on the top and bottom of the screen whilst showing less on the sides. Here are some comparison pictures
-------Standard------------France----------------Brazil-------
Audio
Again most releases use the same Dolby Digital 5.1 track, but the French 2 Disc edition has a DTS 5.1 track which is higher quality. Annoyingly if you select this option French subtitles become forced however with a little know how you can work around this
If you're looking for foreign dubs most regions seem to have one, the only regions i've seen without one so far are Scandinavia and China.Extras
This is where it gets trickier, i'm going to try and summarise it as simply as i can. Most releases have the Directors Commentary, Trailers, and Godhead performance. The UK and French 2 Disc editions have both the Shadows Of The Blair Witch and Burkittsville 7 documentaries, these are missing on most of the other releases or only one is included (the Japanese edition for example only has Shadows). The US and Japanese editions have a Composer Commentary on 3 select scenes, i haven't seen this on other editions. The US release is also a flipper disc containing the movies score CD. The German and 2 Disc French releases share a strange extra, a brief interview with Magister Peter Gilmore of the Church Of Satan explaining what Devil Worshipping is about. The 2 Disc French release also has The Offering comic (in English) from The Blair Witch Chronicles series on the 2nd Disc as a DVD-Rom extra. The German release has a demo of BW Volume 2: Coffin Rock and a screensaver as DVD-Rom extras. The German release has interviews with the cast and director plus 6 minutes of b-roll footage from the making of the movie including some tiny snips of deleted shots being filmed (note you only see them being filmed) including the group hiking to the Parr foundation making jokes, a brief extension to Jeff filming Kim, and the group arriving at the store for the first time featuring Mary Browns appearance (Kim & Jeff enter, the others stay on the porch outside, Mary approaches and says "I'm warning you...")
Summary
The German release features the standard transfer seen on other releases and has unique extras. The 2 Disc French release has a different transfer plus a DTS audio track and both documentaries. Obviously both releases are PAL and Region 2, but if you can play those discs i'd say between those two you'd have most of whats out there (Composer Commentary is missing from both releases). The Brazil/Australian Rental 4:3 transfer is a curiosity item you could add to your collection if you wanted.
Please note there are a few different pressings of the German edition and two different cuts of the movie there, FSK16 and FSK18. The FSK16 version of the movie is edited slightly for violence (you can check HERE for a summary of what was cut out). There's at least one pressing without any extras. The easiest way to tell the copy without extras apart is it has the DVD logo near the top of the front cover under a stamp that says Ungekürzt Fassung.
