Region 1 DVDs

[Thibault]

Why are some British classic films available on Region 1 DVDs but not on Region 2?



If they are to be found on Region 2, they are not available in the UK.



I have recently had to order three British films from Germany, and from Spain - although there is no difficultly in getting the English soundtrack, I find it irritating to have foreign language jackets on British films.



Even my DVD copies of the Onedin Line I had to get from Holland with all the info in Dutch.



Seems bizarre, to me

[Fellwanderer]

Money, dear boy, money!

[Thibault]

name='Fellwanderer']Money, dear boy, money!

Do I gather from your post that the Americans, Germans, Spanish and the Dutch spend more on DVDs of British films and TV series than the Brits?

[Fellwanderer]

name='Thibault']Do I gather from your post that the Americans, Germans, Spanish and the Dutch spend more on DVDs of British films and TV series than the Brits?

Not especially. Just that money talks - possibly the rights holders don't think they can make much here but that it can be made abroad.



Certainly very frustrating that series that are finanaced and produced here have to be bought abroad if one misses recording them here first

[didi-5]

Especially with classic TV from the BBC - 4entertain's offerings in the UK are pitiful compared to what's released in the US and the Netherlands. Acorn has released some good stuff but I have had to buy loads from the US in Region 1; for example the 1967 Wuthering Heights, which I doubt will ever get a release here; the Ibsen and Chekhov collections, and so on.

[woodsy]

Couldn't believe that the only way to get Smashing Time on dvd was a Region 1 copy from the States.



Even more of a pain than ordering Region 1 discs is having to keep making each dvd player you buy multi-region (especially if it's a Sony like my recent purchase).

[marker]

name='Thibault']Why are some British classic films available on Region 1 DVDs but not on Region 2?



If they are to be found on Region 2, they are not available in the UK.



I have recently had to order three British films from Germany, and from Spain - although there is no difficultly in getting the English soundtrack, I find it irritating to have foreign language jackets on British films.



Even my DVD copies of the Onedin Line I had to get from Holland with all the info in Dutch.



Seems bizarre, to me

I know just how you feel its the same for me and it drives me mad its just plain stupid especially the Onedin Line what could be more British and yet I to have been forced to buy from Holland.

[taffy1967]

name='woodsy']Couldn't believe that the only way to get Smashing Time on dvd was a Region 1 copy from the States.



Even more of a pain than ordering Region 1 discs is having to keep making each dvd player you buy multi-region (especially if it's a Sony like my recent purchase).

I've made do with an NTSC VHS genuine copy of 'Smashing Time'. I did try copying it to DVD, but all I got was a jittery picture or black & white.

[Thibault]

Is there any sort of organisation that people could lobby in an effort to persuade companies to release British films on DVD etc in the UK?

[darrenburnfan]

The trouble with British DVD companies is that they are not very enterprising and won't risk releasing films or programmes that they think may not sell. In that respect, maybe they should do some market research. If you look in any HMV store, you'll see on the shelves a lot of junk releases of films that no one has ever heard of and which they can't seem to even give away as loss leaders in the January sales, while many really high quality British films and television programmes remain unreleased. Why the DVD companies believe that the junk will sell and the much higher quality ones won't sell is a mystery to me. America is a much bigger market and DVD's are liable to sell more copies there than here.

[JOHN JARVIS]

I agree with everything that has been said regarding some of the rubbish HMV have on the shelves sometimes and only being able to get some classics on Region 1. Another example a few years ago was ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL. It has now been released over here but at the time I had to order it on Region 1. This year the SUMMER WINE christmas specials are only available on Region 1.

[cornershop15]

name='didi-5']Especially with classic TV from the BBC - 4entertain's offerings in the UK are pitiful compared to what's released in the US and the Netherlands. Acorn has released some good stuff but I have had to buy loads from the US in Region 1; for example the 1967 Wuthering Heights, which I doubt will ever get a release here; the Ibsen and Chekhov collections, and so on.

Merry Christmas, didi

I didn't know anything about that version - Thank you! Ian McShane and Angela Scoular (Mrs. Leslie Phillips} make an interesting match and I would love to see it. I've just searched at Amazon.com and found that it's part of The Bronte Collection, along with the 1983 adaptation of Jane Eyre (10 years later than the one I want to see) and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall from 1996. Is that the DVD you're referring to, or did you manage to get Wuthering Heights on it's own?



You're right about Region 1 being more advanced in some things. I have The Henry James Collection, which has a few TV adaptations that haven't been released here. Country Matters is another I'm eager to purchase. Holland is where I got my copy of Who Pays the Ferryman? from a couple of years ago.

[Carl V]

It was the same with Monty Python's Flying Circus. For a long time, you had to buy the Region 1 releases if you wanted the entire series. On Region 2, we only had a "best of" compilation DVD, although now the complete set is available. Bearing in mind this was a BBC show, it struck me as odd why you had to buy from overseas.

[cornershop15]

Merry Christmas, Carl

I received an e-mail from Amazon.com a couple of weeks ago notifying me of their "60% off" sale of some of their Boxed Sets. The Complete Monty Python's 16 Ton Megaset: Flying Circus is currently $44.99, which must be a bargain for fans. Even more so for those of Rumpole of the Bailey, who can buy their favourite series COMPLETE for only $32.99. I honestly wish I could share their enthusiasm, particularly for the latter (which I used to love when it started).

[Carl V]

name='cornershop15']



I received an e-mail from Amazon.com a couple of weeks ago notifying me of their "60% off" sale of some of their Boxed Sets. The Complete Monty Python's 16 Ton Megaset: Flying Circus is currently $44.99

Thank you very much Cornershop, and a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you too.



The Amazon price is excellent. I have seen this 16-DVD boxset at HMV for nearly £100, so it certainly pays to shop around. Thanks for letting me know.

[didi-5]

Best wishes to you cornershop!



Wuthering Heights with Ian McShane is available in the Bronte box set or on its own - I got my copy from amazon.com. It hasn't been restored at all but McShane does show some star quality; I think it was around the time he appeared in Sky West and Crooked with Hayley Mills.

[didi-5]

Incidentally the Rumpole boxset in Region 2 is currently fairly cheap at HMV.

[cornershop15]

name='Carl V']



Thank you very much Cornershop, and a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you too.



The Amazon price is excellent. I have seen this 16-DVD boxset at HMV for nearly £100, so it certainly pays to shop around. Thanks for letting me know.

Thanks to Carl and didi for their replies. Goodnight to both.

[judgecerf]

In the case of some UK series, they've been flogged so long and hard on the local US public stations that the fan base is surprisingly large. Call it a thirst for quality :)



The whole DVD regional coding set up is criminal, but I suppose that's a topic/rant for another thread

[Stevie Gee]

Don't get me started on Bronte stuff!....and discontinued R1 DVD's.

Have just got a Region 1 box set and it cost a bloomin' lot of wonga relatively speaking! Not as much as advertised on amazon, but still quite a lot.

I also saw some really heavy prices on "Land of the giants" DVD's recently - couldn't believe how much they are going for.....