Region 4 Winners and Losers

    This is certainly not a like-for-like comparison at this stage, since the Region 4 disc is a rental and from what I can gather there are two separate versions of this title to be released in Region 1 on April 1, 2003. One is labelled a Collector's Edition and the other a Director's Edition. From the information I can find, the actual films contained on each version are exactly the same, it is merely the inclusion of some additional director-themed content on the second disc that sees it earn the Director's Edition tag. It must also be noted that neither of the Region 1 versions appear to contain a dts soundtrack.

    The Region 1 Collector's Edition contains the following:

• Production notes
• Renowned FBI profiler John Douglas builds Lecter's criminal file
• "Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer," hosted by John Douglas
• A look at Lecter's FBI file and case history
• Anthony Hopkins discusses his most famous character
• "The Making of Red Dragon"
• Deleted scenes, alternate versions of scenes, and extended scenes with optional commentary
• Music score commentary with composer Danny Elfman
• Theatrical trailer

    The Region 1 Two-Disc Director's Edition includes all of the above extras and the following:

• Brett Ratner's video diary
• The Leeds' house crime scene: experts in the field of forensic science help the filmmakers construct a realistic crime scene
• Visual effects featurette
• A behind-the-scenes look at how the burning wheelchair stunt was shot
• Screen and film tests
• Makeup application featurette
• Brett Ratner's untitled student film
• Storyboards to final feature comparisons

    Hopefully, the Region 4 sell-through disc will have at least the same contents as the Collector's Edition, or even better still, both versions will be released here. For now, either of the Region 1 discs is the clear winner. This may change if Region 4 keeps the dts soundtrack and picks up all the extras.