Raise the Red Lantern comparison (French vs Era)

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 09 Mar 2006, 16:56

Hi guys !

In this thread I will try to make a picture comparison between the french edition of Zhang Yimou's Raise the Red Lantern and the Era disc.

Note: I believe the Region 0 Razor edition is not worth mentioning.
Note: The following screenshots come from a DVD-RIP of the french DVD. That's why these shots should be used for reference only.
Note: The Era screencaps come from DVDBeaver.

First Shot:

French DVD

Era DVD

The french disc is less cropped than the Era DVD.
Also, the french DVD-Rip is sharper than the Era DVD (the actual DVD should be even better).

Next pic coming soon.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 09 Mar 2006, 16:59

So what you're telling us again in this thread is that you can jerk off over the exclusiveness of your Frenchness.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 09 Mar 2006, 17:05

Nah...

After reading the DVD Times review, I just wanted to see whether the french disc was better.
If it is, then all you gotta do is ask HungFist for custom subtitles and voilà !

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 09 Mar 2006, 17:23

R1 Review:

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=60729

DVD Beaver Comparison:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReview/rtrl.htm

Is there a UK R2 DVD? Come on: Eureka, BFI or Tartan.

Tom2681 wrote:After reading the DVD Times review, I just wanted to see whether the french disc was better.

But we already knew that?

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 09 Mar 2006, 17:41

Brad wrote:-I just wanted to see whether the french disc was better.
-But we already knew that ?

Did we ?
There's no review for the french disc.

The only sources of information AFAIK are:
-User comments on french forums.
-The french DVD-RIP.

Anyway I should be able to post a full picture comparison by tomorrow.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 09 Mar 2006, 18:37

Gong Li looks gorgeous in those pics. Anyway I won't bother with it until someone releases a decent anamorphic version with decent English subs.

Brad, maybe you should suggest Yimou's non-wuxia output to Madman for acquisition? They might make nice Directors Suite releases.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 09 Mar 2006, 21:00

EvaUnit02 wrote:Brad, maybe you should suggest Yimou's non-wuxia output to Madman for acquisition? They might make nice Directors Suite releases.

Good idea.

Can't you do the same???

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 10 Mar 2006, 02:00

They might be a little sick of me at the moment, I keep pestering about the status of the Dolls transfer.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 10 Mar 2006, 10:42

Fair enough, will do.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 10 Mar 2006, 15:41

Second pic:

Note: it's not the exact same frame, but it's pretty close.

French DVD-Rip:

Era:

The french DVD-Rip has better skintones and less cropping on the sides.
Also, despite the DivX compression the French DVD-Rip still looks sharper.

More pics coming soon.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 10 Mar 2006, 15:59

French DVD-Rip:

Era DVD:

Ouch. No contest.
The Era picture is stretched, blurry, dirty and has an unnatural red tint.
Time to learn about authoring custom-subbed DVDs, boys.

Findsupersunny · Post by **Findsupersunny** » 14 Mar 2006, 22:05

Is there a clean copy of Raise the Red Lantern on DVD out there that has English Subtitles?

I bought this movie on VHS years ago when it came out and it is awesome. I waited so long for the DVD version to have all that crisp image and clean sound....I just got the DVD in today...what the heck??? the VHS has a cleaner print than the DVD. I'm returning the DVD to AmaGone.com today. What a disappointment.

The French version seems to be the best thus far from what I have read on the web. Is there a beter version out there? If you have additional info of other versions that have English subs, please email me at lookforsunny@hotmail.com.

Thanks!

Sunny

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 14 Mar 2006, 22:08

Is there a clean copy of Raise the Red Lantern on DVD out there that has English Subtitles?

I'm afraid not.
There's a Region 0 Razor edition.
There's a Region 0 Era edition.

Both are appauling, however the Era is better despite its vertical stretching.

Welcome to Bullets BTW.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 18 Mar 2006, 04:04

There's a review of the R4 Ju Dou release, looks like it's a direct port of the craptacular R1 Razor Light disc though.

Knetan · Post by **Knetan** » 18 Mar 2006, 05:45

hey,

I suspected as much as it was using the same "Zhang Yimou Collection" banner.

memetic · Post by **memetic** » 20 Mar 2006, 03:26

Tom2681 wrote:
Is there a clean copy of Raise the Red Lantern on DVD out there that has English Subtitles?
I'm afraid not.
There's a Region 0 Razor edition.
There's a Region 0 Era edition.

Both are appauling, however the Era is better despite its vertical stretching.

Welcome to Bullets BTW.

There's also a new R4 disc of Raise The Red Lantern, but it seems a sloppy port of the R1 according to this review.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 21 Jun 2006, 02:47

There might be finally a decent release of this film:-
http://www.hkflix.com/xq/asp/filmID.538 ... etails.htm

source wrote:First of all, Raise the Red Lantern is an amazing film. Second of all, it's only previously been available on crappy quality DVDs. Well, no longer. This new DVD remaster of Raise the Red Lantern is an amazing first: it's actually a good DVD. The previous Hong Kong and Taiwan versions had crappy transfers, plus burnt-in English and Chinese subtitles. This new Hong Kong version is actually 16x9 anamorphic, with a clean transfer and improved colors. The subtitles are removable too. Basically, this is the best version of Raise the Red Lantern available. If you like the film, then this is the one to get.

Knetan · Post by **Knetan** » 21 Jun 2006, 05:09

hey,

waiting to see comparisons for this too. Have the French disc nowadays.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 21 Jun 2006, 23:36

Knetan wrote:hey,

waiting to see comparisons for this too. Have the French disc nowadays.

Someone please buy it then.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 22 Jun 2006, 01:39

Screen caps from this new release. It looks great.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 22 Jun 2006, 21:21

It even beats the French DVD I like when that happens

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 22 Jun 2006, 22:08

Why? For the English subs I take it.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 23 Jun 2006, 00:47

I'd say the HK remaster is a clear winner.

Sorry Tom.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 18 Jul 2006, 01:30

The ERA remaster has been added to the DVDbeaver comparison, the disc looks phenomenal.

Firstly, this new DVD is both progressive, anamorphic and dual-layered. Colors and detail are superior and the optional subtitles are the least intrusive of the three. The new 'Re-Mastered' edition from ERA appears to have almost no contrast manipulation and few, if any, obviously visible artifacts. It is darker, but that is usually and excellent sign that it is adhering to the source print. It has been transferred at approximately 1.85 aspect ratio.

Lourdes · Post by **Lourdes** » 19 Jul 2006, 23:04

I watched the remastered Era dic today. It's still objectively poor but compared to other releases it's excellent.

Bullets 'n' Babes

Raise the Red Lantern comparison (French vs Era)

Raise the Red Lantern comparison (French vs Era)

Is there a better version out there?