Region 4 Winners and Losers

    The Region 1 disc was released some time back. Superficially it seems very similar to this one (far fewer languages, but the same extras, and almost the same menus), but a direct comparison of the discs reveals the big difference.

    Both versions use the restored print, and the same aspect ratio, but the video transfer on the R1 is greatly inferior. The bright parts of the transfer are adequate, but the darker scenes are far too dark. The climax of the film looks like a scene from an early Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode, with half the screen covered in unrelieved black. Shadow detail is noticeably worse than this disc (and this disc won't win prizes in that category).

    This is an easy win to the Region 4, purely on the basis of a markedly better video transfer.