This version of Total Recall worth getting?

IronMonkey · Post by **IronMonkey** » 17 Sep 2007, 15:43

I've lost track of the number of different releases of Total Recall over the years so I never bothered picking one up.

Whilst I was looking to see how much Blade Runner: Final Cut is on HMV, I spotted what looks like a bargain - Total Recall: Special Edition (2 DVDs) for just £3.99...

http://www.hmv.co.uk/hmvweb/displayProd ... sku=224801

I'm thinking this might be worth going for. I've only ever seen the film on P&S VHS before & would love to see it in widescreen at last.

The only questions are, are there any cuts & are there any extras missing? To be honest, I don't know why I'm that bothered about extras as I barely ever get the time to watch the films themselves, but its always nice to have a 2 disc Special Edition!

Would you guys go for this at £3.99?

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 17 Sep 2007, 15:54

Totally worth the purchase at that price, no other cuts AFAIK.

This is the one that I have:- http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/791240. No player yet though, as I need the cash for Mass Effect.

IronMonkey · Post by **IronMonkey** » 17 Sep 2007, 16:12

"Other cuts"?

Cool. I think for that price I'll go for it...

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 17 Sep 2007, 17:13

I suspect Eva means all DVDs are the R Rated cut, as detailed here:

http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=806

The DVD looks to be as good as all the other SE's too (it even has an additional commentary over the R1 SE).

There is a USA BD and Australian HD-DVD, personally I'd get one of those. They look virtually identical.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 17 Sep 2007, 17:17

bradavon wrote:There is a USA BD and Australian HD-DVD, personally I'd get one of those. They look virtually identical.

Studio Canal HD-DVD (same one released all over Europe) has a DTS Master track (and has 4% speed-up, but I never notice so meh. Video = VC1 encoded), Lionsgate BRD only has a DTS High Res track (and video is MPEG2 encoded).

gasteropod · Post by **gasteropod** » 17 Sep 2007, 18:04

IronMonkey, I own that edition, (in Steelbook form, that one probably isn't anymore) and it is indeed a good one to get. Uncut, great picture quality, extras etc.

IronMonkey · Post by **IronMonkey** » 17 Sep 2007, 18:18

bradavon wrote:I suspect Eva means all DVDs are the R Rated cut, as detailed here:

http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=806

The DVD looks to be as good as all the other SE's too (it even has an additional commentary over the R1 SE).

There is a USA BD and Australian HD-DVD, personally I'd get one of those. They look virtually identical.

Well I would buy either the BD or the HD DVD if I had a player. But at the moment, I don't. I'm not particularly interested in either format until a winner is decided.

Don't get me wrong, I like watching HD stuff, but I'm more than happy to wait for a format to win. Besides, I watch TV shows like 24, Lost & Prison Break in 720p HD as it is, so I get my fix...

IronMonkey · Post by **IronMonkey** » 17 Sep 2007, 18:19

gasteropod wrote:IronMonkey, I own that edition, (in Steelbook form, that one probably isn't anymore) and it is indeed a good one to get. Uncut, great picture quality, extras etc.

Cheers for the input mate. Yeah, I don't see it being the steelbook version at that price either, but you never know, I might get lucky!

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 17 Sep 2007, 18:20

All versions are the same R-rated cut.

I have the R1 SE; It'll do until I go HD.

gasteropod · Post by **gasteropod** » 17 Sep 2007, 19:56

Markgway wrote:All versions are the same R-rated cut.

Yeah, I'm surprised an 'Unrated' version hasn't come out yet, showing the original 'X-rated' version, like with RoboCop.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 17 Sep 2007, 20:01

EvaUnit02 wrote:Studio Canal HD-DVD (same one released all over Europe) has a DTS Master track (and has 4% speed-up, but I never notice so meh. Video = VC1 encoded), Lionsgate BRD only has a DTS High Res track (and video is MPEG2 encoded).

I read that. I suspect the Australian release is the same one as the French release.

I suspect both the DTS-HD HR and MA sound just as great. The MPEG2 aspect shouldn't be cause for concern per say, many BDs have excellent MPEG2, many do not of course too.

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 17 Sep 2007, 20:40

HD-DVD review here,doesn't sound very impressive

http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/totalrecall_fr.html

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 17 Sep 2007, 20:53

The Blu-ray fairs better here, although it is a very early BD review so I'm not sure how much weight it holds:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=23982

gasteropod · Post by **gasteropod** » 18 Sep 2007, 00:46

bradavon wrote:The MPEG2 aspect shouldn't be cause for concern per say, many BDs have excellent MPEG2, many do not of course too.

I've just finished watching The Fountain BD for the second time, which is MPEG, yet the bitrate is really high throughout, we're talking about 35mbps, so the type of codec in this case doesn't matter one bit. So yup, there's one example of a good 'un

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 18 Sep 2007, 01:53

MPEG2 on HD got a bad rap when it was first used at it was put on single layer BDs with PCM. Now DL BD is out it's not an issue so much any more.

Dreamgirls BD (MPEG2) is supposed to look equally as gorgeous as the HD-DVD (MPEG4).

gasteropod · Post by **gasteropod** » 18 Sep 2007, 15:09

That's right, as long as they use dual-layer discs, there's pretty much no problem

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 18 Sep 2007, 16:34

Maybe Total Recall Unrated doesnt exist anymore?