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Region 4 Winners and Losers

Region 4 Winners and Losers

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Explanatory Notes
Additions or corrections (Please refer to the Explanatory Notes before emailing an addition or correction to this listing)
Title Best
UnderworldR4
    Underworld is currently only available in standard widescreen and pan-and-scan versions in Region 1, but there is talk of a special "Directors Cut" edition in the works. The following comparison is with the first released (and currently only) version of Underworld in Region 1.

    The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;

  • Longer trailer with 5.1 audio
  • Trailers for The Forsaken, John Carpenter's Vampires, John Carpenter Presents Vampires: Los Muertos, Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse
  • French Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack
  • Pan and Scan transfer
    The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on;
  • Featurette: The Look Of Underworld
  • Trailers for: Hellboy, Spider-man 2, The Medallion and S.W.A.T..
    Why the Region 1 version does not come with the longest and most interesting of the featurettes is a mystery. Possibly it was held back for the future "Directors Cut" edition - only time will tell. For now, the missing featurette gives our version the slight edge, so go local for this one.

Update - 10/05/2004: Thanks to every one who let me know via the comments section that the Region 1 "Extended Cut" was due out very soon. Reviews have now started to appear, and based upon those, I have put together a new comparison chart.

    The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;

  • Approximately thirteen minutes of additional scenes.
  • Audio Commentary with director Len Wiseman and actors Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman.
  • History Channel documentary Fang vs Fiction about the films mythology.
  • Designing The Movie featurette.
  • Booklet and collectors comic
    The Region 1 2-disc version of this disc misses out on;
  • Audio Commentary with Len Wiseman (Director/Writer), Danny McBride (Screenwriter), and Kevin Grevioux (Writer)
  • Audio Commentary with James McQuade (Visual Effects Supervisor/Executive Producer), Patrick Tatopoulous (Creature Designer), and Claude Letessier (Sound Designer)

    It is quite sad how little difference there is between the original release of Underworld and the new "extended" cut in terms of extras - a clear case of getting people to pay twice for what they want. It is a close call as to which is the better version, as the new 2-disc Region 1 edition comes with a new audio commentary, and a couple more featurettes, but it misses out on the original audio commentaries, both of which are quite good. On top of that, the additional scenes reportedly add little to the movie, making them largely superfluous. In the end, this has to go to the Region 1, but you could be very happy with the local version.

    One final thing - the UK Region 2 version of this disc is specced similarly to the original Region 1 release (that is, it misses out on The Look of Underworld featurette), but it does have a half-bitrate DTS track. In my experience, there is no benefit to be gained from a half-bitrate track in comparison to a high-bitrate Dolby Digital track (although a full-bitrate DTS track is a different matter altogether), and as The Look of Underworld is the best of the featurettes, I would stick with the local version if I had decided to forego the "extended" edition.