Title | Best |
Escaflowne: The Movie | R1 |
This film was released in Region 1 in 2002. It was released as a single disc, and in a limited-quantity Ultimate Edition package. I bought the Ultimate Edition, and it's quite a package. It comes in a heavy cardboard box that opens like a jewel-box. Inside the box are three standard DVD cases, and a nicely-produced 20-page booklet. The first case holds the movie DVD, the second the extras DVD, and the third the soundtrack on CD. The artwork on the Region 1 Ultimate Edition package is quite attractive — I wish they'd used the same artwork on the Region 4, because the R4 artwork is dark and gloomy. The single disc Region 1 uses the same dark and gloomy artwork. The Region 1 single disc contains only the movie, and the extras that are part of the movie (the real-time storyboards and isolated score). Here's the interesting bit: the one disc that we get in Region 4 seems to contain a lot, even most of what is on the two DVDs of the Ultimate Edition: the movie and a lot of the extras. Sure, we don't get the booklet, or the soundtrack CD, but the DVD extras are mostly present. That's very good value, considering the disparity in prices. What's missing is:
The two transfers are quite similar, equally good, just one in NTSC, and one in PAL. If you want the the most expensive option, with the most extras, feel free to buy the limited R1 Ultimate Edition (while it is available). Otherwise, the Region 4 is definitely the better choice. |