Double Release local R3 titles

[ranran]

greetings fellow members,

i noticed lately the growing number of multiple releases of a single title.  releases vary according to single-disc or 2-disc versions (i.e. Casablanca, Top Gun, Bad Boys 2, etc.).  unfortunately the trend i noticed lately is that multiple releases now differ in the content and not in the number of discs such as "Hitch", "Tears of the Sun" and who knows what else is out there.

i thought of posting this topic to seek the advice of some of our members who would be able to recommend the actual difference in content of these multiple releases and share some recommendations as to which versions would be more "worth" buying or collecting and why.

thanks in advance. 

[allanmandy]

For Fox and Warner  titles, it's definitely better to buy the double disc versions. Lately, for Fox blockbusters, it's better to wait a few months after a single disc title is released, 'coz that studio has a habit of releasing more definitive, multi-disc versions of the initial releases (E.g. Titanic, Ice Age, X-Men). As for Warner classics, it's definitely not advisable (if you don't want to double dip) to buy single disc titles, because these get re-released as multi-disc titles (Wizard of Oz, Gone With The Wind, Ben-Hur, and possibly a 4-Disc Casablanca in the future). But hey, if you really really can't wait for that re-release, and you've got enough moolah, then by all means, double dip if you must! 

[riverfan]

i agree. Warner is now more competitive than ever... even setting the standards along with Criterion, with its 4-disc edition and 3-disc limited editions with cd soundtrack. 

with the string of titles that are released nowadays, the first release is always the best (usually).

[ranran]

thanks sir riverfan and allanmandy, very informative indeed.  truth is, i'm just waiting for the Mega-sale of Astroplus (hopefully this October) and i'm already preparing my list of titles to watch out for.   
its just a little confusing looking for titles which have multiple releases. 

[av_phile1]

I've notice this also, but most if not all the titles I've seen are watered down lousily packaged versions fit for the 299 category.   Like MIB, Charlie's Angels, etc.,  where you have the earlier 750 version and a 299 version with fewer features. 

[ranran]

I've notice this also, but most if not all the titles I've seen are watered down lousily packaged versions fit for the 299 category.   Like MIB, Charlie's Angels, etc.,  where you have the earlier 750 version and a 299 version with fewer features. 

this is exactly my point! we need to watch out against these CHEAP releases!   

[ranran]

i happened to be at Rockwell today and saw a Spiderman (single disc) selling at P250!  unfortunately as expected the cover art alone was so crappy i felt sick to my stomach!  my congratulations to the local distributors for reaching an all time low in quality!   

i can't imagine as to what market/crowd these distributors are trying to reach.  it can't be the serious 'Original-DVD' collectors who obviously look for quality and packaging.  it also can't be the budget conscious consumers since these releases have even poorer quality than P-DVD's.  if their slogan or motto is that it's better to buy original, i just don't see why (considering their crappy quality that's coming out lately).   

[ranran]

saw the double release of XXX (State of the Union).  so far this has got to be the best double release yet in terms of packaging (so far).  even if the cheaper version is barebones only, the artcover didn't suffer.