Bullet in the Head: R2 UK vs R0 HK vs R2 FR vs R2 Nordic

Film Reviews and Release Comparisons
EvaUnit02
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Bullet in the Head: R2 UK vs R0 HK vs R2 FR vs R2 Nordic

Post by EvaUnit02 »

R2UK HKL:
Image

R0HK IVL:
Image

R2F HK Video:
Image

R2 Nordic Scanbox:

Image

R2UK HKL:
Image

R0HK IVL:
Image

R2F HK Video:
Image

R2 Nordic Scanbox:

Image

R2UK HKL:
Image

R0HK IVL:
Image

R2F HK Video:
Image

R2 Nordic Scanbox:

Image

R2UK HKL:
Image

R0HK IVL:
Image

R2F HK Video:
Image

R2 Nordic Scanbox:

Image

R2UK HKL:
Image

R0HK IVL:
Image

R2F HK Video:
Image

R2 Nordic Scanbox:

Image
Last edited by EvaUnit02 on 12 Jul 2006, 06:48, edited 1 time in total.
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grim_tales
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Post by grim_tales »

The first shot looks about the same IMO.
The 2nd IVL shot looks awful, look how bright and pink it is.
The 3rd looks more natural (?) on the IVL but HKL colours are more pleasing.

HKL wins IMHO :)
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Markgway
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Post by Markgway »

1 - Draw. (Virtually identical)
2 - HKL. (IVL is awfully pink)
3 - HKL. (Tricky this, because they look so different. IVL's brightness reveals more detail - see Waise's back - but the colour has more depth in the HKL and looks right. You can smell the odorous green water). :D
4 - HKL (IVL's contrast is too high. Bright white threatens to overun the screen)
5 - IVL (HKL is just a bit too dark here)

Verdict: HKL. Marginal win.
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bradavon
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Post by bradavon »

The HKL wins but it does show how inaccurate screen captures can be because here it's a much closer call than the capture comparison Tom posted.
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Post by tom2681 »

I used to be "the man who loves the movies you hate".
Now I'm just "that weird french guy with a cat avatar who comes to BnB once a year for no reason and then disappears again".
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HungFist
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Post by HungFist »

Tom, is the mono track completely clean or does it sound a bit harsh at times?
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Post by tom2681 »

Haven't watched it yet, so I can't tell you.
As soon as I watch it, you'll be the first to know. :)
I used to be "the man who loves the movies you hate".
Now I'm just "that weird french guy with a cat avatar who comes to BnB once a year for no reason and then disappears again".
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Post by EvaUnit02 »

French pics posted. HKL still wins IMO.
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Markgway
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Post by Markgway »

Yeah, still HKL.
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bradavon
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Post by bradavon »

The Frenchie is mostly a mess. What gives?
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Post by tom2681 »

The HKL is cropped, dark, and missing colour filters (see cap N°5).

Why do you guys keep saying it's the best ?
Have I landed in Bizarro-Land by mistake ?
I used to be "the man who loves the movies you hate".
Now I'm just "that weird french guy with a cat avatar who comes to BnB once a year for no reason and then disappears again".
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Post by Markgway »

On average HKL is the best. Even though it is a touch too dark.
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Post by gojensen »

How can you say the HKVideo is a mess? It looks great, apart from the one indoor shot which is to blue. (It's NOT that blue on film... but for whatever reason I find most French DVDs (of Asian movies) to be a bit blueish...)

HKL is too dark, while the IVL is pretty good, it's too bright in a few scenes though... I haven't watched the whole HKVideo to make up my mind properly re. that release though...
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Post by HungFist »

gojensen wrote:but for whatever reason I find most French DVDs (of Asian movies) to be a bit blueish...)
Depends on the company. HKV adds blue tints, Studio Canal removes them...
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Post by Markgway »

HKV looks the weakest of the three overall.
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bradavon
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Post by bradavon »

@ Mark: Agreed it looks shoddy coming from HK Video.

The HKL is by far the sharpest.
Tom2681 wrote:Why do you guys keep saying it's the best ?
Have I landed in Bizarro-Land by mistake ?
Because it is silly. Yes it's to dark but then the others in some ways look to bright.

The HK Video and IVL both look pretty messy to me. It's that simple.
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Post by gojensen »

Explain messy then... because that last shot from HKV looks just sweet :D (my fave image from that flick aswell...)
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bradavon
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Post by bradavon »

I'm really lousy at explaining this kind of thing but I'll try. The HKL has noticeably more vibrant colours, especially here:

Image

The IVL is grain heaven but that last one the IVL looks best. It is too dark but in most shots not to any great extent. Oh and this one looks VHS quality:

Image
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Post by gojensen »

I took comparison shots from the new Nordic Scanbox John Woo collection box sets; It's a bit soft, but there's no digital enhancing nor any restoration for that matter.

Here ya go... (Note on the heli shot there's some glue across that particular frame... not really noticeable in movie mode though...)
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
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HungFist
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Post by HungFist »

Hmm... wow. Those caps sure look colourful... too colourful maybe?
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bradavon
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Post by bradavon »

Still an easy one to the HKL, the Nordic is a mess.
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Post by thelostdragon »

OK, the chopper shot definitely had coffee or so spilled over before it was digitalized. But from the other shots it definitely looks superior to all the other versions.
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Post by chenlung »

I like JC's revamp of 'Thriller' video in the 5th comparison :lol: .
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Post by EvaUnit02 »

HKL still wins by far.
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Post by gojensen »

I don't quite get why people rave so about the HKL? I found it too dark and desaturated (in places)... as for that the Nordic looks good I felt. It's not so soft as the ABT discs - and it's definitely not a mess. I hadn't noticed that there were "dirt" on the frames until I tried to capture that one specific frame.

Personally I can live with a little "film noise" (as opposed to digital noise) as I'm pretty used to that from the cinema. :D Still, I have to watch this on my projector to give a proper "review" of the disc.
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