Title | Best |
High and Low (Tengoku to Jigoku) | R4 |
The Region 1 Criterion release (NTSC, 143:15) has a slightly higher video bitrate of 7.1Mb/s, but is not 16x9 enhanced. Some screen captures suggest that the image is heavily cropped on the left and right. This cropping is not present in the Region 4 transfer. The Region 2 UK disc by BFI has an NTSC transfer and a runtime identical to the Region 1. The only soundtrack on the disc is mono. When comparing with screen captures of other regions, ours looks very similar to the Region 2. Our image is not as sharp as the Criterion, however the contrast and tone of the Region 2 source certainly matches ours. It's likely both transfers are derived from the same source, provided by Toho. Also, note that the Region 4 cover slick incorrectly lists the Region 1 (NTSC) runtime. Region 4 is the way to go for now. |