Region 4 Winners and Losers

    The Region 1 disc was released mid-February 2003. I picked up a copy on the day of release.

    The Region 4 disc is missing:

• full-frame transfer (pan-and-scan)
• French and Spanish subtitles
• English 2.0 soundtrack
• some chapter stops (has 12 rather than 17)

    The Region 1 disc is missing:

• interviews with Nia Vardalos
• Easter Egg on Special Features menu
• theatrical trailer

    Note that the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is 448kbps on the Region 4 disc, but only 384kbps on the Region 1.

    The front cover artwork for the two versions is almost identical, save for the rating, DVD, and Roadshow logos. The back covers are totally different.

    I suspect the two discs were taken from the same hi-def transfer, because there's a tiny black dot appearing on Toula's face at 7:52 on the R1, and 7:43 on the R4. Yes, I know that doesn't quite work out, but the R1 starts with a PG banner, and the R4 doesn't. It is the same frame in both versions, anyway. The strange thing is that the R1 version looks a tiny bit sharper, but shows a tiny bit more aliasing — I wonder if it has been compressed more than the R4 to get it to fit with the full-screen version.

    The Region 1 disc is rated PG (for sensuality and language), but the Region 4 is rated G. This is not due to any differences in the film, but rather to differences in the rating systems between US and Australia.

    Unless you're desperate for French or Spanish subtitles, or a full-screen transfer, I'd recommend the Region 4 disc.