This week’s DVD of the week on the Cinecast would’ve (should’ve) been a no-brainer choice this week. The complete Metropolis was to make it’s first-time appearance on your home television screens as of today. There is a print traveling the country and I for one am pretty stoked to finally see this thing, but it looks like I’ll have to wait just… wait for it… another whole week. The excruciating seven more days Kino is forcing us to wait is due to some sort of coding:
[Metropolis] was supposed to be locked to region A. However, due to a miscommunication, the first pressing of Kino’s release was not region coded. Kino Video has admitted the error and assured that future pressings will be region-A locked.
Insert discussion on bullshit region coding here if you must. Whatever. I’m so excited to see Metropolis in its (almost) entirety I can hardly stand it. More than 25 minutes of footage has been reintegrated into Metropolis, from single shots to whole sub-plots and action sequences. The result is a film that’s finally as coherent as its images are iconic. And from what I’ve read, the Blu-ray transfer and ensuing extras are immaculate.
Out in the UK next week with a truck load of features, sweet artwork in a steel-case and a 56 page book – booya!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Metropolis-Reconstructed-Restored-Masters-Blu-ray/dp/B0041SMF50/ref=sr_1_3?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1289931094&sr=1-3
They should have just sold the Un-region Locked DVDs silently, like Magnolia did with the ‘bad-subs’ version of Let the Right One In. But in this case, NOT region coding (which is a MPAA voluntary thing) is not actually hurting anyone. Yea, someone like DVD beaver would find out pretty quick, but it is only the first pressing. Seems like a waste (or an excuse hiding something else)…But Kino has never really had a great track-record of producing DVDs even if they have great taste in classic content!
I read “was not region coded” and it took a second for me to realize that they were saying that this was a bad thing. =(
Yeah, “not region-coded” sounds like a feature, not a defect. :p
I want the not region-coded feature in all the movies I buy. That would be so much cooler than getting a digital rental included with my purchase.