Has anyone out there seen the UK DVD version of this? I'm just wondering if the quality is even marginally better on that version than the Tai Seng version. I recently managed to pick up the new French version of the DVD, which I feel is of even worse quality than the Tai Seng DVD. I'd be so excited if this were fully restored and re-released.
The Optimum R2 dvd is a bit jerky in places, and blurry in others, as though it had been recorded from a low grade digital master. It takes up over 7 gigabytes of a dual layer dvd, but because it's nearly three hours long, it's only equivalent to 3.7 gig for a 90 minute movie. It certainly doesn't look like it was mastered from an original print of the film. More likely a video or vcd master copy. The sound is fine, and might well have been digitally cleaned up.
I don't really mind, because the old vhs copies that were floating around were either awful bootlegs, or worn out originals with virtually indecipherable subtitles and badly cracked up soundtracks. I'm grateful for small mercies.
The UK version is pretty rubbish, but I'm glad I've managed to get to see it at all. Pixellated in parts and blurry, too dark in bits, badly letterboxed.
It isn't 10 minutes shorter than the US version - the UK version dispenses with the two-part split and the recap. There's nothing in the US version that isn't in the UK version. The Tai Seng one IS the best available though (I've got both) - but that isn't saying a lot.
unfortunately it looks like the french dvd is massively better than both but does not have eng subs damn. wish there was a way i could take eng subs from american release, and put them onto the french release
There's also a german dvd of this "Ein Hauch von Zen". Does anyone know how it compares? It has the original audio and English subtitles.
Plus it is dubbed in German. From what I read on this thread, the picture quality seems to be the same very modest one like on any other DVD. This film is in urgent need of being restored. Looks like the DVD was released only recently, I've never seen it before, but the dubbing doesn't sound like a recent job.
German DVD has English subs. Picture quality is not great. The best version up to last week was the Tai Seng two-parter, but now the film has been remastered under the sponsorship of Ms Hsu Feng and has just come out on Eureka BluRay in the UK. It is sumptuous.