Region 4 Winners and Losers

    We could have gone for the easy option here and said that because there is a Region 1 version with a proper 1.85:1 16x9 enhanced video transfer that also features a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack and even a bonus trailer, it's an easy win to that release. But that's a bit of a cop out since it contains some rather interesting differences which need to be discussed properly. As a result of these differences making the decision to pick one disc as an outright winner is not quite as easy as first thought.

    As mentioned, one of the great paradoxes of region coding has been the availability of The Castle in Region 1 since late 1999, while fans here in the film's country of origin have had to sit and make do with old VHS copies. I have been sorely tempted on many occasions to hand over the cash and import the Region 1 version but for a couple of small concerns. For those that don't know, when Miramax bought the rights to the film for its North American release, they insisted on a few small tweaks. These tweaks were mostly dialogue based and meant subtle changes to either Americanise or internationalise some of the quaint or more mysterious Australian colloquialisms. Some of the more well known changes include 'rissole' becoming 'meatloaf' and 'Hey Hey It's Saturday' becoming 'Funniest Home Videos'. These new loops of dialogue were recorded by the original cast and inserted over the top of the old ones.

    Other dialogue changes include;

    cladding changed to siding when Darryl is talking about the house to Sal
    never got up changed to never took off when Dale is explaining the history of their street
    tertiary education changed to college education when Dale is talking about Tracey and her hairdressing
    petrol station changed to gas station when Dale is discussing Wayne in prison
    cubby house changed to tree house when Darryl is talking with the council valuer
    granny flat changed to another room (don't they look after their grans in the US?) when Darryl is talking with the council valuer
    Council changed to county when Darryl is talking with the council valuer
    caravan changed to mobile home when Dale is talking about Bonnie Doon
    eskies changed to coolers when Steve is reading from the Trading Post
    trolley changed to baggage cart when the family collects Tracey and Con from the airport
    flash changed to hot when Coco and Steve are seasick at Bonnie Doon
    two stroke changed to diesel when Darryl is standing on the porch at Bonnie Doon
    punnet changed to tub when the family is eating ice cream
    Camira changed to Corolla when Darryl asks Steve to move the cars.

    and there's a few others scattered throughout.

    Unfortunately the quality of these dubbed lines is not great with a subtle difference in the inflection of many words. They stick out like sore thumbs and are instantly recognisable to anyone who is even only slightly intimate with the film. Moreover, and certainly more importantly I felt these changes removed some of the soul of the film. To me, they took away some of the very essence that made it the charming and affectionate look at battling suburban life in Australia. Even after countless screenings of the proper version I still crack up when I hear the line about the only thing dad thinking better than Hey Hey It's Saturday was The Best Of Hey Hey It's Saturday. It just doesn't generate the same laughs when it's substituted with Funny Home Videos.

    But these lines of dialogue are not the only differences between the two discs and there's a couple of other changes in the Region 1 version that should also be noted. Just as off-putting as the changed dialogue is the use of different songs. Different ones have been used in place of some of the originals while many scenes feature completely new songs where originally there were none. When Darryl Kerrigan is walking from the council offices to see his lawyer for the first time, the song originally played is Paul Kelly's pensive Take Your Time. In the Region 1 version it is the far more upbeat Hold Your Head Up by Argent. Moreover some scenes have songs added where none existed before. When Steve is showing Darryl his motorcycle helmet with the tail light built into it, the original film had no music, whereas the Region 1 version features Free's All Right Now playing in the background.

    Another major difference is the shortening of a couple of scenes. Whole chunks of scenes that feature some very funny moments have simply been chopped from the Region 1 version. For some reason the scenes that cop the most change are those when the Kerrigans travel up to Bonnie Doon for the weekend. The Region 1 version loses part of the scene where Daryl shows Dale and Steve how the Shakespeare Ugly Stick fishing rod can bend around on itself. Also chopped is the scene where Tracey is doing Sal's hair. The lines where she is talking about microwave Jenny and fake flowers is missing. A few minutes later the scenes where the family is having dinner and Tracey tells Sal about the satays available in Thailand and when Con tells Steve about the Walkman with presets are both absent.

    Lastly, one of the funnier differences are the awfully inaccurate English subtitles on the Region 1 disc. The Price is Right host Larry Emdur has suddenly become Larry Emdier in a set of subtitles that are truly scary. Errors of grammar, spelling, and accuracy abound on a regular basis. For example 'How's the serenity' has become 'Ours is serenity' and 'Sydney' is spelt 'Sidney'!

     So in summary;

    The Region 4 Poolroom Edition disc misses out on;

• 1.85:1 aspect ratio with 16x9 enhancement
• Theatrical trailer

    The Region 1 disc misses out on;

• The correct artistic version of the film as intended by the director

• 1.33:1 full frame aspect ratio

• Fancy Poolroom Edition packaging

• Slick and well-conceived menus

• Accurately represented English subtitles

• Picture disc

    So who wins? At first glance it's a tough choice. The Region 4 packaging is lovely and really is straight-to-the-poolroom material. The audio is solid and robust and more importantly features the correct film audio recording as originally intended. The big downer is the quality of the video transfer, which is pretty ordinary and a major let down. The Region 1 print is much cleaner, certainly not as grainy, but is also a fair bit darker and softer. The biggest mark against the Region 1 version for Australian consumers though is the altered dialogue, the modified songs, and the edited scenes. It is for these latter reasons that I cannot justify recommending the Region 1 as the version of choice. It is simply not the film that we all know and love.

    The verdict. For now stick with this new Region 4 disc. It might not be quite the right aspect ratio, but the audio is accurate and from an artistic viewpoint the whole film is intact.

    One thing I would recommend is waiting a while and trying to pick it up for less than $25, because at $35, Roadshow really are dreaming!

    Of course maybe that's all part of the vibe as well.