Nosferatu on Blu

[JohnArmer]

Announced today, Nosferatu is being released by Masters of Cinema theatrically around Halloween and then on Blu-ray in November. Via twitter:

@mastersofcinema: We're thrilled to announce that F. W. Murnau's masterpiece NOSFERATU will see a Halloween 2013 theatrical release, followed by MoC Blu-ray, in a new restoration. The Blu-ray and DVD will follow in November with new special features, and will be available in a SteelBook edition.

[augustinius]

Region B locked or not, I wonder?

[Battra92]

Region B locked or not, I wonder?

Probably, most MOC ones are. Region Free Blu Ray players are out there, though. Many are under a hundred clams.

[WaverBoy]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: DVD and Blu-ray collectors need to go region-free for both. Players are affordable and easy to find online, and it's a snap to order imports from Amazon UK, Amazon Italy and Amazon France. Just get it over with and join us folks who are unfazed by such meaningless trivialities as region-locked releases.

[Danny Burk]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: DVD and Blu-ray collectors need to go region-free for both. Players are affordable and easy to find online, and it's a snap to order imports from Amazon UK, Amazon Italy and Amazon France. Just get it over with and join us folks who are unfazed by such meaningless trivialities as region-locked releases.

Very much agreed. I'd be kicking myself if I wasn't able to view releases (both blu and DVD) from BFI, Eureka/Masters of Cinema, and many other European distributors. For the cost of a few DVDs, there's no further reason to worry about such nonsense as region coding.

[JohnArmer]

... And the same is true for those of us in Europe. A region free player means I can safely order from Kino and Criterion with no worry that a disc won't play.

[Frederica]

... And the same is true for those of us in Europe. A region free player means I can safely order from Kino and Criterion with no worry that a disc won't play.

Hell, even I have a region-free player, and I'm not exactly the Queen of Technology.

[fwtep]

Hell, even I have a region-free player, and I'm not exactly the Queen of Technology.

No, but aren't you second in line?

[azjazzman]

It's worth pointing out, in case anybody doesn't know, that most newer Blu Ray (and DVD players) can be converted to region free via a simple setting change in the set-up mode. Of course, with Blu-Ray discs, you don't have to worry about the PAL / NTSC conversion.

I purchased an LG Blu Ray player on Black Friday last year for under $50 and it easily was converted to a region free machine.

There are many website that list the region free codes for various machines, so before you go out and buy a new player to get region free capability, it would be worth checking to see if your existing player can be converted.

[Frederica]

Hell, even I have a region-free player, and I'm not exactly the Queen of Technology.

No, but aren't you second in line?

Let's go with "Dauphine of Technology."

[WaverBoy]

It's worth pointing out, in case anybody doesn't know, that most newer Blu Ray (and DVD players) can be converted to region free via a simple setting change in the set-up mode. Of course, with Blu-Ray discs, you don't have to worry about the PAL / NTSC conversion.

I purchased an LG Blu Ray player on Black Friday last year for under $50 and it easily was converted to a region free machine.

Off-the-shelf Blu-ray players aren't normally remote hackable for Blu-ray region, only DVD region; were you able to convert to region-free Blu, and if so, how, and what LG model do you have?

[Jim Reid]

I bought a handful of LG blu-rays off ebay for a friend. When they arrived, they all had a region-free sticker on them. They had already been set to region 0 for DVD and there was a sheet of paper inside showing how to set the blu ray to the region code you desire.

I also would not suggest you hack a blu ray player that's connected to the internet.

[David Alp]

I bought a region free Blu-ray player off Ebay.co.uk, however every time I switch from one region to another I have to type in a code. i.e if I put a disc in and it comes up with "This Disc Cannot Be Played In Your Region" then I have to type in 4589 or whatever the code is?? And it then plays. (I hope I've not lost the bit of paper that came with the player, or else I am the creek without a paddle).

[Danny Burk]

AFAIK, every blu player needs a code applied every time you switch regions, whereas DVD can be played without further button-pressing once they've been hacked.

[Christopher Jacobs]

AFAIK, every blu player needs a code applied every time you switch regions, whereas DVD can be played without further button-pressing once they've been hacked.

This seems to be true from what I've read about multi-region Blu-ray players, and my own experience. However, with my Insignia Blu-ray player, every so often at random times (intervals of days, weeks, or months) I also need to re-enter the special code that reactivates and displays the region configuration menu, as for some reason it inexplicably has disappeared without warning after turning on the player. Other times the "configuration" option is right there and I just need to click on that menu and then switch the region for Blu-ray or DVD or both (they never remain set after the power is turned off).

With my Philips DVD-only players, after they were set to Region 0, they've remained region-free without further intervention. I'm not sure if any brand of multi-region Blu-ray player will remain in the region it's been re-set to after it's turned off, and I don't think any can be simultaneously set to regions A, B, and C like the DVD region 0 setting.

[Jim Reid]

I bought an LG blu ray off Ebay. When it arrived, it had a region-free sticker on it. It's set to region 0 for DVD, but you have to change regions as needed for blu ray. I leave it set for the European setting, since I have a second blu ray in the same system that's a region A.

[Michael O'Regan]

I have an LG Blu player. It requires only pointing the remote at the player and pressing either 1 or 2 to switch between Regions A and B - no codes involved. Works just fine.

[sc1957]

Announcement for the U.S. version of Nosferatu, from the Digital Bits website:

First up, our friends at Kino Lorber tell us they’re hard at work on some great new Blu-ray and DVD titles for release through the end of this year, including a deluxe version of F.W. Murnau’s original Nosferatu (1922), as well as Orson Welles’ The Trial (1962) and Alexander Sokurov’s groundbreaking Russian Ark (2002)!

[Battra92]

Announcement for the U.S. version of Nosferatu, from the Digital Bits website:

First up, our friends at Kino Lorber tell us they’re hard at work on some great new Blu-ray and DVD titles for release through the end of this year, including a deluxe version of F.W. Murnau’s original Nosferatu (1922), as well as Orson Welles’ The Trial (1962) and Alexander Sokurov’s groundbreaking Russian Ark (2002)!

Here's hoping the US version is just as good as the UK version. Sometimes we luck out (Die Niebelungen) and sometimes we're shortchanged (e.g. Der Blaue Engel) I'm glad I get a choice by having a region free player!

[silentfilm]

I'm guessing that this is the same version but Kino has announced Nosferatu on BluRay also.

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=12032

[Doug Sulpy]

The Kino disc doesn't seem to have the commentary track from David Kalat. In fact, it doesn't seem to list any commentary at all, where the U.K. MoC disc has two of them.

[s.w.a.c.]

MoC titles frequently have exclusive extras, perhaps because they've cottoned on to the fact that they have a lot of overseas customers who might even buy two copies of a title (MoC, plus a Kino or Criterion), just to have their unique steelbook covers, or what have you. I don't generally bother, although I wound up with a cheap MoC copy of Island of Lost Souls after a friend won two in separate auctions on eBay, and also a Things to Come, under the same circumstances.

[Mitch Farish]

Forgive my ignorance, but do Region B locked blu-rays have PAL speed-up the way Region 2 locked DVDs do?

[ColemanShedman]

Perhaps I am showing my ignorance but I believe most blu-rays are 24P regardless.

[Danny Burk]

There's no PAL vs NTSC on blu-ray; it's a worldwide standard, not counting region codes.

[Mr.Mycroft]

There's no PAL vs NTSC on blu-ray; it's a worldwide standard, not counting region codes.

Well, not to get technically nitpicky, but that's USUALLY the case but not always. There are a few out there (French version of 'Circus World' and the Dutch version of 'Hellfighters' as two examples) that are mastered in a 1080/50i (PAL) format, instead of the usual 1080/24p.

And, conversely, many of the MoC standard dvd's are at 24p, therefore also nullifying the PAL/NTSC problem even in standard def, just a region code issue instead.

[Nosferatu]

BLU
http://www.amazon.com/Nosferatu-Classic ... lu_title_0" target="_blank" target="_blank

DVD
http://www.amazon.com/Nosferatu-Classic ... _sbs_mov_3" target="_blank" target="_blank

The runtime for these is 84 minutes. Is this a mistake? The previous Kino release was 94 minutes.

[Christopher Jacobs]

BLU
http://www.amazon.com/Nosferatu-Classic ... lu_title_0" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

DVD
http://www.amazon.com/Nosferatu-Classic ... _sbs_mov_3" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

The runtime for these is 84 minutes. Is this a mistake? The previous Kino release was 94 minutes.

The listing on Blu-ray.com says 94 minutes. Amazon product info is often full of typos and other errors, especially when there are numerous editions and formats of the same title.

[Daveismyhero]

Thanks for sharing the preorder links! I am surprised they are being released after Halloween.

[Brownie1]

I thought the digital era was a perfect opportunity for the tv powers to unite the world and do away with regions and PAL/Secam/ntsc etc. all that was cold war clutter. But leave it to the bilderbergs or whoever the illuminati are calling themselves to continue on the regions dividing the world. maybe Oceania, Eurasia & Eastasia would be better names for the Orwellian games.