The Evil Dead: Anchorbay USA DVDs vs. Anchorbay UK DVDs
- captainjoe
- King of Beggars
- Posts: 667
- Joined: 24 Jul 2006, 01:46
- Location: Alberta, Canada
The Evil Dead: Anchorbay USA DVDs vs. Anchorbay UK DVDs
The Evil Dead
First: Original Anchorbay release (approved by Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell, original 1.33:1)
Second: Anchorbay UK boxset bonus disc (original 1.33:1) inferior print
Third: Anchorbay UK boxset (widescreen version) Same as BOTD
Fourth: Anchorbay "Book of The Dead" (widescreen version) Same as UK boxset widescreen
Image Comparisons:
I prefer the original disc in comparison to the Book of the Dead. Although there is slight edge enhancement, I feel
that the colours, and brightness/darkness levels okay but the BoTD looks about right with balanced contrast and
darkness that feels right for the film. In my opinion, the matting
was a bad move and not including the original 1.33:1 version is incorrect. The second last cap shows how the widescreen
framing can become a hazard in regard to framing. It's pretty messy. Obviously this movie was framed for 1.33:1
as there really isn't any "dead space" or goofs left in the top and bottoms of the frame. Anchorbay should have still
offered the 1.33:1 version. Every single shot has the exact same matting with more removed from the bottom.
This shows that not every scene was properly framed. This is scene in the second last cap. The R2 BOTD wins over
the R1 for the additional PAL resolution.
Overall the best disc is the R1 original because of the correct framing even though the BOTD version is the best transfer.
The R2 original open matte is from a much worse print.
Special Thanks to EvaUnit02 for the UK captures
First: Original Anchorbay release (approved by Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell, original 1.33:1)
Second: Anchorbay UK boxset bonus disc (original 1.33:1) inferior print
Third: Anchorbay UK boxset (widescreen version) Same as BOTD
Fourth: Anchorbay "Book of The Dead" (widescreen version) Same as UK boxset widescreen
Image Comparisons:
I prefer the original disc in comparison to the Book of the Dead. Although there is slight edge enhancement, I feel
that the colours, and brightness/darkness levels okay but the BoTD looks about right with balanced contrast and
darkness that feels right for the film. In my opinion, the matting
was a bad move and not including the original 1.33:1 version is incorrect. The second last cap shows how the widescreen
framing can become a hazard in regard to framing. It's pretty messy. Obviously this movie was framed for 1.33:1
as there really isn't any "dead space" or goofs left in the top and bottoms of the frame. Anchorbay should have still
offered the 1.33:1 version. Every single shot has the exact same matting with more removed from the bottom.
This shows that not every scene was properly framed. This is scene in the second last cap. The R2 BOTD wins over
the R1 for the additional PAL resolution.
Overall the best disc is the R1 original because of the correct framing even though the BOTD version is the best transfer.
The R2 original open matte is from a much worse print.
Special Thanks to EvaUnit02 for the UK captures
Last edited by captainjoe on 04 Jan 2008, 00:08, edited 7 times in total.
-
- Bruce Lee's Fist
- Posts: 9101
- Joined: 08 Feb 2005, 14:39
- Location: Wellywood, Kiwiland
- Contact:
- captainjoe
- King of Beggars
- Posts: 667
- Joined: 24 Jul 2006, 01:46
- Location: Alberta, Canada
-
- Bruce Lee's Fist
- Posts: 9101
- Joined: 08 Feb 2005, 14:39
- Location: Wellywood, Kiwiland
- Contact:
LOL, looks like the whole thing about the UK Trilogy boxset bonus disc having being an open-matte version of the BOTD remaster is bollocks. In fact to my eyes it looks worse than the old R1 AB disc, hang onto that and flog getting the UK boxset.captainjoe wrote:Agreed. I'd love to get a copy of that but I still am not region free
R2UK AB Trilogy Boxset Bonus Disc (Open-matte)
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e282/ ... tte-01.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e282/ ... tte-02.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e282/ ... tte-03.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e282/ ... tte-04.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e282/ ... tte-05.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e282/ ... tte-06.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e282/ ... tte-07.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e282/ ... tte-08.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e282/ ... tte-09.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e282/ ... tte-10.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e282/ ... tte-11.jpg
R2UK AB BOTD
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e282/ ... OTD_01.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e282/ ... OTD_02.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e282/ ... OTD_03.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e282/ ... OTD_04.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e282/ ... OTD_05.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e282/ ... OTD_06.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e282/ ... OTD_07.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e282/ ... OTD_08.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e282/ ... OTD_09.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e282/ ... OTD_10.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e282/ ... OTD_11.jpg
-
- Hail the Judge!
- Posts: 2350
- Joined: 16 Mar 2005, 23:05
On my ABUK boxset, the open matte disc is an NTSC-PAL transfer, making the resolution benefits redundant.
Interestingly, there is documentation that reveals Rami intended for the film to be widescreen but not the 1.85:1 of the DVD but, according to Bill Warren's The Evil Dead Companion, 1.66:1, which is a more open ratio suitable for theatrically projecting 16mm material. Note the empty space at the top of the open matte caps. This is supposed to be viewed in widescreen - I know, no-one ever belives me!
Of course, quite a lot of theatres just plonk a 1.85:1 mask on it, and the early days of DVD saw a reluctance to do 1.66:1 anamorphic.
Interestingly, there is documentation that reveals Rami intended for the film to be widescreen but not the 1.85:1 of the DVD but, according to Bill Warren's The Evil Dead Companion, 1.66:1, which is a more open ratio suitable for theatrically projecting 16mm material. Note the empty space at the top of the open matte caps. This is supposed to be viewed in widescreen - I know, no-one ever belives me!
Of course, quite a lot of theatres just plonk a 1.85:1 mask on it, and the early days of DVD saw a reluctance to do 1.66:1 anamorphic.
bradavon wrote:
but I guess you're more intelligence than me.
but I guess you're more intelligence than me.
-
- King of Beggars
- Posts: 603
- Joined: 01 Nov 2004, 10:44
- Location: Norway
- Contact:
-
- Hail the Judge!
- Posts: 2350
- Joined: 16 Mar 2005, 23:05
- grim_tales
- Bruce Lee's Fist
- Posts: 22071
- Joined: 25 Oct 2004, 18:34
- Location: St. Albans, UK
-
- Bruce Lee's Fist
- Posts: 9101
- Joined: 08 Feb 2005, 14:39
- Location: Wellywood, Kiwiland
- Contact:
-
- Bruce Lee's Fist
- Posts: 8520
- Joined: 26 Oct 2004, 14:12
- Location: CLOSE TO YOUR MAMMA
Its a shitty loking film, no dvd can really do much with it. But hell all the screen caps do make it look really awful looking
I own the Elite version and the Book of the Dead, but hate the cropped BOTD so will never watch that. The jaggies on that image where she is writing is awful, my TV does that with a few dvds latley and it does pop out at me, mainly on subtitles and menues of dvds, but it shoudlnt happen ever I say.
Raimi had nothing at all to do with the cropped Widescreen edition in any way.
I own the Elite version and the Book of the Dead, but hate the cropped BOTD so will never watch that. The jaggies on that image where she is writing is awful, my TV does that with a few dvds latley and it does pop out at me, mainly on subtitles and menues of dvds, but it shoudlnt happen ever I say.
Raimi had nothing at all to do with the cropped Widescreen edition in any way.
- Markgway
- Bruce Lee's Fist
- Posts: 20177
- Joined: 18 Feb 2005, 02:04
New one is too dark, colours too manipulated, it's heavily matted from 1.33 to 1.78 (strangely the zooming-in might have worked had it been handled better).
Original is sharper, has more natural appearence, but is interlaced. Regardless, I'd still take it over the newer release, which in all is pretty darn ugly.
Original is sharper, has more natural appearence, but is interlaced. Regardless, I'd still take it over the newer release, which in all is pretty darn ugly.
-
- Hail the Judge!
- Posts: 2350
- Joined: 16 Mar 2005, 23:05
As I said, it should be 1.66.1Markgway wrote:There's a lot of dead space, they've just not framed the widescreen version properly. That's what I was getting at.Obviously this movie was framed for 1.33:1 as there really isn't any "dead space"
From memory, Rami supervised the Elite DVD and the widescreen version from Anchor Bay was supervised by Bruce Campbell
bradavon wrote:
but I guess you're more intelligence than me.
but I guess you're more intelligence than me.
-
- Bruce Lee's Fist
- Posts: 9101
- Joined: 08 Feb 2005, 14:39
- Location: Wellywood, Kiwiland
- Contact:
- Markgway
- Bruce Lee's Fist
- Posts: 20177
- Joined: 18 Feb 2005, 02:04
Here's what I mean:
Red lines represent what Anchor Bay cropped (top/bottom).
Blue line represents what I would've cropped (top only-all dead space).
**Ignore the white line that's a mistake.
Red lines represent what Anchor Bay cropped (top/bottom).
Blue line represents what I would've cropped (top only-all dead space).
**Ignore the white line that's a mistake.
Last edited by Markgway on 28 Apr 2007, 16:13, edited 1 time in total.
-
- Bruce Lee's Fist
- Posts: 8520
- Joined: 26 Oct 2004, 14:12
- Location: CLOSE TO YOUR MAMMA
-
- Hail the Judge!
- Posts: 2350
- Joined: 16 Mar 2005, 23:05
I think Rami was busy on Spider-man so he left instructions with Campbell
Mind you, sometimes even the director supervising the transfer can be bad. The classic case is when John Badham removed the colour from the DVD of his version of Dracula
Mind you, sometimes even the director supervising the transfer can be bad. The classic case is when John Badham removed the colour from the DVD of his version of Dracula
bradavon wrote:
but I guess you're more intelligence than me.
but I guess you're more intelligence than me.
-
- Hail the Judge!
- Posts: 2350
- Joined: 16 Mar 2005, 23:05
- captainjoe
- King of Beggars
- Posts: 667
- Joined: 24 Jul 2006, 01:46
- Location: Alberta, Canada
Man that looks bad. I'll add the caps in tomorrow.EvaUnit02 wrote:LOL, looks like the whole thing about the UK Trilogy boxset bonus disc having being an open-matte version of the BOTD remaster is bollocks. In fact to my eyes it looks worse than the old R1 AB disc, hang onto that and flog getting the UK boxset.captainjoe wrote:Agreed. I'd love to get a copy of that but I still am not region free
- Knetan
- Hail the Judge!
- Posts: 2009
- Joined: 12 Mar 2006, 12:57
- Location: Sweden
- Contact:
hey,
for those interested in obtaining the 1.33:1 version, there's an Italian 2 disc set that has the 16:9 + extras on one disc and the 1.33 framing on a second with additional extras, basically making it match up in that regard to the Book Of The Dead edition.
Got mine today.
http://www.dvd.it/page/dett/arti/208344 ... vd%29.html
for those interested in obtaining the 1.33:1 version, there's an Italian 2 disc set that has the 16:9 + extras on one disc and the 1.33 framing on a second with additional extras, basically making it match up in that regard to the Book Of The Dead edition.
Got mine today.
http://www.dvd.it/page/dett/arti/208344 ... vd%29.html
-
- Bruce Lee's Fist
- Posts: 9101
- Joined: 08 Feb 2005, 14:39
- Location: Wellywood, Kiwiland
- Contact:
- Knetan
- Hail the Judge!
- Posts: 2009
- Joined: 12 Mar 2006, 12:57
- Location: Sweden
- Contact:
-
- Bruce Lee's Fist
- Posts: 9101
- Joined: 08 Feb 2005, 14:39
- Location: Wellywood, Kiwiland
- Contact: