Anyone got the new Nightmare before Christmas S.E ??

[simmo]

Just wondering about opinions of this new S.E .Picture,extras sound etc.Worth getting?

[Arch Stanton]

If it's the same as last years R1 then Yes, buy it NOW!

[Michael Brooke]

I bought the R1, which I thoroughly recommend - is it just me, or is the R2 missing a few features?

(Going purely from the back of the box, I can't see any reference to a DTS soundtrack or Tim Burton's early shorts - and the latter were the main reason I bought the disc in the first place!

[*james*]

It doesn't list Burtons first two short features as extras, unlike the R1 disc. This would condemn it to a non purchase surely?

J

[theblairwitch]

No Frankenweenie (and other short film, name escapes me) and no DTS soundtrack - stick with the R1

[will]

Just checked mine, it includes Vincent and Frankenweenie and is anamorphic (unlike the R1 version). Also the packaging is lovely if you're bothered about that kind of thing.

[theblairwitch]

What a balls-up by Buena Vista then - since there is no mention of the two shorts on the packaging...

(Still no DTS ;))

[WildThing]

I also brought the R2 version of 'The Nightmare Before Christmas: SE'. I was waiting for a R2 version SE since I was put off by the fact that the R1 version was non-anamorphic. Yes I was also confused a bit by the R2 version not listing all the extras on the packaging since the early reports I read did say it contains all the extras from the R1 version. Plus the fact that it only comes on one disc confused matters more since I'm sure the R1 version comes on 2 discs. I trusted my instincts and ignored what it said on the packaging and brought it, guessing that all the extras on the R2 are the same as the R1 version so...let me put all your fears to rest. Firstly the new R2 SE has a lovely anamorphic picture, a plus over the R1 version. Quite nice animated and scored menus, which suite the tone of the movie. Also from what I can see, it has ALL the extras from the R1 version, the commentry, the making of, the storyboard comparisons, ALL the galleries and animation tests, the deleted scenes, the trailers etc and most important to Tim Burton fans, also contains his 2 short films 'Vincent' and 'Frankenweenie'. The only extra missing which I doubt anyone would miss is I read that the R1 version also had a trailer for 'James and the Giant Peach'...no big loss there. As for the audio tracks, the R2 version does have the DD 5.1 track but DOES NOT contain the DTS track. But before anyone gets upset, its no big loss, the DD 5.1 track sounds great. And from what I read from the R1 review on 'DVD Review' U.S. website, the DTS track does'nt add much over the 5.1 track. And for anyone whos interested the DVD also contains DD 5.1 Spanish and Italian audio tracks. The R1 version was probably on 2 discs just to accomodate the DTS track, so don't be put off that the R2 version comes on one disc, actually I'm quite impressed that they managed to squeeze everything onto one disc. So any fans of Tim Burtons work or anyone who likes 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' should go out and buy it now.

[arkham]

I didnt even know it was out, excellent.

Looks like another £19.99 out of the student load

[rezabelady]

Originally posted by WildThing
Plus the fact that it only comes on one disc confused matters more since I'm sure the R1 version comes on 2 discs.

R1 is 1 Disc also

[chaunce]

To ye olde fellowe studente above (arkham) - Don't pay £19.99 out of your precious loan for this magical movie, get ye self to MVC where I'm sure I've seen it for a meer £16.99! (with MVC card) - Only a £1 more than Play247.com - how rare it is for a high street type dvd selling emporium to have a disc so close to the price of a WWW....

I must go and have a lie down with the shock of it all!:D

[HighlanderTM]

Not too sure about the framing of the picture, though... The R1 is correct as the film's original format, of 1.66:1, so that means that the R2 is either cropping the image, or stretching it to the 16:9 ratio...

Any idea which?

[arkham]

Chauce dude, im gonna get it on my HMV store card, if my mum finds out im spending all my loan on dvds when my fees of £1075 have to be paid she will murder me:( :( :( :p

[Cornelius]

Well I was about to go for the R1 after I saw the R2 didn,t list the two shorts films 'Vincent' and 'Frankenweenie'. It's nice to know the R2 got them so I'll go for that instead.

[WildThing]

I don't know why I thought that the R1 version came on 2 discs...I must have got confused with another DVD. Cheers for letting me know rezabelady. So just to let everyone know once more....the R2 version comes on one disc, same as the R1 version.

Something I did'nt mention in my last post. Like everyone I usually prefere amaray cases, but I kind of like the cardboard slip case packaging for 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'...nice artwork. And inside the foldout pocket contains a leaflet which lists 20 chapters, and a 2 page biography of Tim Burton and his past film projects.

To HighlanderTM - according to the back of the R2 packaging, it lists the ratio as 'Widescreen 1.66:1'. the same ratio as the R1 version. Yes the R2 version anamorphic picture does fill the entire screen of a widescreen TV (16:9). But Would'nt that also mean the R1 version non-anamorphic picture once zoomed up, will also fill the entire screen of a widescreen TV (16:9) ? if they are both the same ratio, would'nt the end result (anamorphic or zoomed to fit screen) be the same regardless whether the picture is anamorphic or not ?

[Ringo]

Regarding the correct ration/ anamorphic question, I had the same doubts when viewing films in widescreen mode on my Philips 28” TV. All the anamorphic pictures filled the whole screen, regardless of the original ratio.

The problem was that Philips set a zoom on the widescreen mode as a default (sorry can’t remember the correct term they use), but turning it off via the onscreen menu, allows to see each movie in the original and correct ratio as stated on the disc case.

Hope this help,

Ringo

[Michael Brooke]

I have the R1, and I'm not at all convinced that I'd prefer an anamorphic transfer - on my large 4:3 set, the 1.66:1 picture looks terrific (and I can't imagine it getting any sharper), whereas an anamorphic version will produce a smaller overall image.

I can see why the R2 might appeal to people with widescreen sets, but if you're using a 4:3 one there's not a great deal of point - even if it has a 16:9 mode.

[Kit_Taylor]

Is there good "making of" stuff on the disc? When I saw it on TV I was agog at Oogie Boogie, as he really moves like a man inside a bag, so I have to know how it was done.

[arkham]

Got it today, nice packaging, nice features, **** menus

[Mr Nice]

It's quite possible the difference between 1.66 and 1.78 is lost is the overscan. About the only way to be sure is to play it on a computer in a window, so you can see if there are thin black bars at the side. As an aside, 1.66 encoded non-anamorphically uses 80% of the available pixels, encoded anamorphically uses 93.95% of the pixels.

[Cornelius]

Originally posted by chaunce
To ye olde fellowe studente above (arkham) - Don't pay £19.99 out of your precious loan for this magical movie, get ye self to MVC where I'm sure I've seen it for a meer £16.99! (with MVC card) - Only a £1 more than Play247.com - how rare it is for a high street type dvd selling emporium to have a disc so close to the price of a WWW....

I must go and have a lie down with the shock of it all!:D


or only 14.99 at U18.

[HighlanderTM]

The point is, kids, that the anamorphic version is presented in a 1.85-1 ratio EVEN THOUGH the box states it is 1.66:1. If it was a true 1.66:1 anamorphic transfer then there would be very thin black bars on the SIDE of the picture. So therefore the R2 is LOSING frame area.

Mr Brooke, perhaps you could comment?

[pmdf]

Originally posted by HighlanderTM
The point is, kids, that the anamorphic version is presented in a 1.85-1 ratio EVEN THOUGH the box states it is 1.66:1. If it was a true 1.66:1 anamorphic transfer then there would be very thin black bars on the SIDE of the picture. So therefore the R2 is LOSING frame area.


Not necessarily - as Mr Nice pointed out above, overscan is often the reason for the vertical black bars not appearing on 1.66:1 anamorphic discs. My Rocky Horror Picture Show & Rear Window R1s are both 1.66:1 anamorphic and both initially filled the entire viewable area of my widescreen TV... a quick adjustment to the level of overscan in my TV's service menu fixed this in my situation. I haven't seen the Nightmare Before Christmas R2 SE yet, so I'm not saying that this *is* the case... but it's a distinct possibility.

[WildThing]

HighlanderTM - your absolutely correct. I admit I'm not up on every ratio out there used in film making, I don't even know what the hell 1.66:1 ratio is anyway. Like you I agree that 'The Nightmare Before Christmas is 1:85.1 ratio. As far as I'm concerned there are only three ratios used on DVD, 1:33.1 (full screen), 1:85.1 (widescreen) and 2:35.1 (widescreen). With the 2 choices of widescreen modes, I find the DVD trend seems to be that most of the time the HUGE blockbuster money makers tend to be released in 2:35.1, whist the not so huge films tend to be released in 1:85.1.

Kit_Taylor - The making of documentary is about 25 mins long and is quite enjoyable. It deals mainly with the technical aspects of the movie, designing and bulding the sets and puppets, animating the puppets etc. It goes a little bit into Danny Elfman's music and songs. But the only thing it does'nt mention at all in the documentary is the voice talents behind the characters voices. It has lots of behind the scenes footage and interviews with Tim Burton, the producers and animators etc. As for your question on the Oogie Boogie character, it is created the same as any other stop motion character, a metal armature placed inside a mould which is then injected with foam rubber.

Michael Brooke - I agree, if you already have the R1 version there is no need to buy the R2 version if you have a 4:3 TV. Only buy the R2 version if you have a widescreen TV.