Writings > DVD Image Comparisons > Death Carries a Cane/Die Nacht der Rollenden Köpfe

Death Carries a Cane/Die Nacht der Rollenden Köpfe

Region 2 (Germany) - X-Rated Kult DVD
vs. Region 2 (Austria) Special Edition - Copernicus Film Distribution

Details

Bit Rate

R2 Germany

R2 Austria

Screen Captures

Example 1

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Germany | Austria

Example 2

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Germany | Austria

Example 3

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Example 4

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Example 5

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Germany | Austria

Example 6

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Example 7

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Example 8

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Germany | Austria

Comments

The situation here is most unusual. The German release, by X-Rated Kult DVD, was released earlier in 2005 and then deleted after only a short period of time. It was a really shoddy release, with an abominable non-anamorphic transfer that seemed to be sourced from a variety of different beat-up prints, with additional VHS-sourced inserts of gore scenes that had clearly been trimmed from the source materials.

Towards the end of the year, an Austrian company called Copernicus Film Distribution released a 2-disc special edition, limited to 666 copies. Disc 1 is a direct port of the German release, while Disc 2 contains a new anamorphic transfer of the film. The results are a mixed bag, and while it is overall a major improvement on the German release, it's still far from perfect. It seems to be rather too dark and murky throughout, and the colour saturation is highly variable. It also has a very harsh look, with the grain at times being unnaturally amplified. Additionally, its 1.85:1 aspect ratio (versus 1.66:1 for the German disc) means that some of the image is cropped at the top and bottom. I suspect, though, that the film was intended to be viewed in either ratio, depending on the capabilities of the theatres in which it was projected.

Please note that Disc 2 of the Austrian release has forced German subtitles whenever English or Italian audio is selected. Depending on your hardware, you may be able to defeat them.

(The difference in running times, by the way, seems to be due to the German version having extended blank space at the end of the film.)

Summary