Space Kaijuu

Yeah, the French release is great if you want solid, watchable copies of the different versions on blu-ray.  I did the research on what was included in each version so I could compile the best tracks from each into my own ultimate versions.

Honestly, the German version could have fit on a two-disc blu-ray set with no problems and they could have even offered the TV version at a slightly higher bitrate without the bad NTSC-PAL conversion issues.  The need to include all the films on DVD seems kind of pointless.  I guess they wanted to have one set that they could sell to everyone instead of a 2-disc set for blu-ray and a separate 4-disc set for DVD.

I did some more technical comparisons of the German and French Blu-Rays.  There are a number of odd differences between the versions.

The director's cut uses the exact same video track and the same DTS English track between the two but the AC3 tracks are different.  The DD2.0 English track uses a higher bitrate on the German release (320kbps vs 192kbps) and the German version also has the running commentary and German dub in 320kbps AC3.  There is no French dub for the director's cut and the French release omits the running commentary.

The international cut uses a much higher bitrate for the video on the German release than the French release.  It's a higher bitrate than even the director's cut on either release, oddly enough, even though the director's cut gets it's own disc while the international cut is paired with the US version. The German release lacks the DTS English audio track and the French dub AC3 track that are on the French version but has the German dub.  The English AC3 track is a higher bitrate on the German release, the same as the directors' cut.

The US version is the strangest one of all.  Besides the fact that the video is from the same transfer used for the HD-DVD rather than the US Blu-Ray transfer used on the French release, it also uses different encoding.  The director's cut and international versions both used AVC, but while the French version also uses AVC for the US version, the German release uses WVC1.  The bitrate is higher than what was on the HD-DVD, though.  The DTS track on the German release is DTS HD-MA while the French version uses standard DTS.  The English AC3 track again uses a higher bitrate and there is a German dub.

The "little ashes" sequence in the windmill was different on a number of releases.  I used to have the Japanese laserdisc and, from what I recall, it had a slightly different cut of the windmill scene from what was on the any of the other versions.  It was similar to the European cut but not quite as edited down in some places.

There's another trailer on the German release that wasn't on the French blu-ray.  It's not all that great but I may have to do an HD remaster just for completion's sake.

The German set is the only time the TV version has been released on video at all, so I'll count my blessings.  The transfer isn't great but it was mastered in SD to begin with and all that exists of the extra footage is that and the videotapes that anchor bay used for the deleted scenes on their DVD release I can't complain too much.  It would be nice to see a better DVD release in NTSC but the likelihood of that ever happening is extremely slim given the way Universal has been handling the release.

I suspect that Koch Media was using a UK broadcast tape for their source.

I just got my German Ultimate edition today and I can confirm that the Directors Cut and European cuts are identical to the French bluray.  The US version is from the same source as the HD-DVD and Optidisc releases with none of the DNR and EE of the US and French BD releases.  I looks like both versions sourced the MGM transfers from the same place but the US version was sourced from the US bluray version for the French release while the Optidisc or original HD-DVD transfer was sourced for the German release.

The TV cut is nice to have and I'm glad they used soft subs instead of burned in subs on that and the other extra features.  The French blu-ray had the trailers, commercials, interviews, etc all hard-subbed in French, which is part of what prompted me to try and do HD remasters of the TV spots in the first place.

Very nice work.  Worth the time it took to rip my bluray copy and mux in the new audio. Thanks!

I have the HD-DVD but I've heard conflicting reports on the German edition.  Those screenshots only show the French, US, and UK version.  Last I heard, the Director's Cut and International Cut on the German version are the same as the French release but the US cut on the German release is the same transfer as the US HD-DVD or UK Optidisc release with a higher bitrate.

What Aluminum Falcon said.  I just ordered the German ultimate edition but it hasn't arrived yet.  Supposedly, it uses the same transfer for the US version as the HD-DVD release, which didn't suffer from the DNR and EE.  I'm curious to see if the US TV cut has burned-in subtitles or soft subtitles.

This is just a small project I decided to do.  I remastered the original theatrical trailer and 5 TV spots for Army Of Darkness in 1080p HD using the R3 DVD and the Director's Cut on the French Blu-Ray.

UPDATE:  I've updated theatrical trailer and UK/Promo trailer to include a better version of the Dino De Laurentiis logo (thanks bendermac) and increased the bitrate on these two files.  I had to split the UK/Promo trailer into two parts due to filesize limitations.

UK/Promo Trailer v1.5:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/cj5riy
http://www.sendspace.com/file/p6wtj7

Theatrical Trailer v2.5:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/4ake9n

TV Spots:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/tf1wn0

I have the uncensored version, including the towel dispenser blot, rendered out to a lossless 1080p video file.  So, what should I do now?  Create a replacement video-only track that could be remuxed into the original blu-ray?  Create a smaller mkv file with the movie plus various extra language and subtitle tracks?

It looks like the auction has already ended.

Were the Army of Darkness TV commercials released anywhere other than the French blu-ray?

I wouldn't be surprised if Universal eventually ended up releasing their own Director's Cut edition by pulling the missing bits from the MGM master and then using DNR, edge enhancement, and re-framing to match them with their transfer at some point.

Does anyone have the audio and subtitle tracks from the three versions on the German Ultimate edition?  I'm trying to put together "complete" versions of the three different movies and I would like to add the German dialog and subtitles if I can.

If you can find the frame with the phone number, I can restore it.  Given all the information that has been presented, the phone number has become an "I'll believe it when I see it" sort of thing, though.

Do any of the Blu-ray releases have the extra line of dialog in the HD-DVD release?  (As Ash rides off into the sunset, before the fade to the S-Mart ending, there is a voice over of Ash saying "and so I left her there" on the HD-DVD release.)

I think I have officially bought too damn many versions of this movie.  I currently have the R3 DVD, the HD-DVD, and the French Blu-Ray releases and I've previously owned the US LD, Japanese LD, and Anchor Bay 2-DVD set.

Sometime soon, I want to reconstruct the trailer and TV spots in HD using the blu-ray footage, just for fun.

It's BD50.  I need to find time to render a lossless version of the uncensored version and then I'll try to figure out how to create a video only track as well as an MKV with some of the other languages and subtitles I have that aren't on the BD release.

I did some minor updates to a few of the decensored frames.  I'm thinking maybe I'll create a video-only track that matches the blu-ray version for people who want to re-do their own bluray version and then do a compressed mkv file with extra audio tracks and stuff.  I could use some help with recommended settings for the BD video track, though.

I was going to release the uncensored version as a high-quality mkv file with the French and German dialog tracks added as a bonus but then people started through around different ideas regarding a blu-ray version.  I recently did some adjustments to some of the decensored frames, as well, and I never got a consensus on whether the "towel stain" image was worth restoring.

LOL

I just wanted to restore the frames as closely to the original theatrical presentation as I could but if you want to do an "extra dirty" version yourself, the files are there for you :)

Yeah, part of his arm that was supposed to be removed obviously wasn't removed.  I left this flaw in the restored BD frame.  I can restore the wierd towel dispenser blotch if any of you feel it's necessary.

You can see it here on the lady's leg.  I actually restored this one on the frames I did because I couldn't decide if it was part of the original film or just part of the original film-to-video transfer.

It's an animation flaw. From the looks of it, it was something that got on the frame after it was composited or on the negative itself.  There's another flaw on the Baby Herman finger scene where part of the cel overlaps the woman's leg which was removed on the later versions.  I can restore the frame if you think it's necessary but it doesn't appear to be an intentional part of the original film.

I think I may have entered the wrong frame numbers for the first two sequences.  I was trying to build an avisynth script to replace the frames but it wasn't working with the original frame numbers so  I think I may have moved the frames up or back to try and get the script to work.  I checked on the video itself and here are the correct frame numbers:

Baby Herman finger scene:

6888-6892
6903-6911

Betty Boop flash:

26226

If you're using the BD video without any color adjustment, the frames shouldn't require any color matching.

Here are the frame numbers I have for the frames that need to be replaced:

Baby Herman Scene:
6896, 6897, 6898, 6898, 6899, 6900, 6911, 6912, 6913, 6914, 6915 ,6916, 6917, 6918

Betty Boop Scene
26235

Jessica Rabbit scene
109674, 109675, 109679, 109680, 109681, 109682, 109704, 109705, 109706, 109707, 109708, 109715, 109716, 109717, 109718, 109719, 109720, 109721