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International To My Eyes...SEANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON from Spain (1 Viewer)

Dick

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I didn't research this very carefully...I bought it from Amazon UK, the country where it had been filmed in 1964, and although I saw that the cover text was Spanish (a country from which I have received several terrible discs), I wanted this so badly that I decided to risk it.
I have now saved you other fans of this movie about $20.00 incl. shipping.:dancing-banana-04:

While the PQ has pretty good contrast and shadow detail, it is very, very soft and reminds me of a rather poor DVD transfer that was simply thrown onto a Blu-ray disc. The sound is merely adequate. I did not get through the whole film because I wasn't enjoying the visual quality, but I have to assume it would have been more of the same. There are no special features included at all.

Network put out a much better-looking DVD of this, actually produced in the UK, and although it is PAL and Richard Attenborough sounds a bit cartoonish sped up from the conversion, I'll be keeping a tight grip on it now until there is a legitimate Blu-ray, either from Network or from someone in the States.
 
Last edited:

Dick

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If you buy a bootleg, you takes your chances. Even if you had said the bootleg blu was of pristine quality, some of us fans still wouldn't bite. :)

Yes, Thomas, but not all Blu-rays emanating from Spain are bootlegs. One doesn't know until one bites into it. I was willing to take that chance and was burned, but there just aren't many places one can go to get a reliable review about such releases. I am hoping my posts here will help a bit with that.
 

Brent Reid

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I don't know. We've been playing this same old stuck record for so long I sometimes wonder if it will ever end. It goes something like this: it's common knowledge by now that the overwhelming majority of Spanish BDs and DVDs, especially deep catalogue titles, are pirates/bootlegs/whatever. Nonetheless, despite this forum's oft-stated prohibition of them being publicised, Dick waits for the heat to die down since his last 'review' before posting yet another one.

Let us, for the sake of argument, scrutinise the current example. Firstly, on Amazon Spain the label of this release, Cinecom, is displayed clearly on its rear sleeve. The listing contradicts this by saying its from Sotelysa, but no matter: they're both writ large on the list of pirate labels found here. I'll press on: there is currently just a single one-star review, so it's difficult to miss – and written in English, no less. I quote:

Avoid!
28 de noviembre de 2015
Formato: Blu-ray|Compra verificada [verified purchase]
The image quality of this Blu Ray is terrible! It looks like an old video cassette!
I own the UK DVD and it is much much sharper.
So avoid.​

Not enough? There are a grand total of only four legitimate DVDs of this film in existence: US (Homevision), UK (Carlton and Network) and, coincidentally, Spain (Divisa). All are trusted labels with long track records of quality releases. The latter even gets a special mention in the foregoing link. The BFI archive holds the original vault materials on this title, which are the source of the DVD transfers. Regardless, even they don't currently have an HD master available for viewing on BFIPlayer.

So despite all that evidence to the contrary, some fly-by-night Spanish label, who haven't released a single legit disc in their entire worthless existence, is going to somehow conjure up a quality HD master of a copyrighted 53-year-old British film and transfer it to a region 0 vanilla BD? Whose packaging has no reference whatsoever to the transfer's origin or copyright holder, yet there's a still chance it may be kosher or even decent quality?

Supposedly not researching it very well is no excuse; simply asking about it here would have taken far less time than it took to order it – wasting $20 – watch it and 'review' it for our edification. Of course, wasting good money on bad rubbish is everyone's prerogative, however inadvisable, but most would be too embarrassed to keep admitting it in public. In future I'll try to take a more sanguine view; it's actually highly amusing the way some supposedly intelligent collectors will keep forking out for crappy VHS and DVD downloads copied to BD-R. Long live physical media! :lol:

For anyone that's interested, Séance on a Wet Afternoon really is a fantastic film, and Network's superlative Special Edition DVD is by far the best way to see it. Spec:

Anamorphic widescreen 1.75:1 OAR transfer and DD 2.0 mono audio
Extras:
Audio commentary by director Bryan Forbes and actress Nanette Newman
"Memories on a Wet Afternoon" – interview with Bryan Forbes (33:38)
Image Gallery (2:20)
Theatrical trailer (3:38)
DVD-ROM of Bryan Forbes' "Final Revised Screenplay" shooting script (111 pages, in PDF format)​

I can assure you that if or when a BD does eventually appear, it will be from a recognised and respected label, most likely Network themselves. And I'll be first in line to buy it.
 
Last edited:

Thomas T

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Joined
Sep 30, 2001
Messages
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I don't know. We've been playing this same old stuck record for so long I sometimes wonder if it will ever end. It goes something like this: it's common knowledge by now that the overwhelming majority of Spanish BDs and DVDs, especially deep catalogue titles, are pirates/bootlegs/whatever. Nonetheless, despite this forum's oft-stated prohibition of them being publicised, Dick waits for the heat to die down since his last 'review' before posting yet another one.

Let us, for the sake of argument, scrutinise the current example. Firstly, on Amazon Spain the label of this release, Cinecom, is displayed clearly on its rear sleeve. The listing contradicts this by saying its from Sotelysa, but no matter: they're both writ large on the list of pirate labels found here. I'll press on: there is currently just a single one-star review, so it's difficult to miss – and written in English, no less. I quote:

Avoid!
28 de noviembre de 2015
Formato: Blu-ray|Compra verificada [verified purchase]
The image quality of this Blu Ray is terrible! It looks like an old video cassette!
I own the UK DVD and it is much much sharper.
So avoid.​

Not enough? There are a grand total of only four legitimate DVDs of this film in existence: US (Homevision), UK (Carlton and Network) and, coincidentally, Spain (Divisa). All are trusted labels with long track records of quality releases. The latter even gets a special mention in the foregoing link. The BFI archive holds the original vault materials on this title, which are the source of the DVD transfers. Regardless, even they don't currently have an HD master available for viewing on BFIPlayer.

So despite all that evidence to the contrary, some fly-by-night Spanish label, who haven't released a single legit disc in their entire worthless existence, is going to somehow conjure up a quality HD master of a copyrighted 53-year-old British film and transfer it to a region 0 vanilla BD? Whose packaging clearly has no reference to the transfer's origin or copyright holder, yet there's a still chance it may be kosher or even decent quality?

Supposedly not researching it very well is no excuse; simply asking about it here would have taken far less time than it took to order it – wasting $20 – watch it and 'review' it for our edification. Of course, wasting good money on bad rubbish is everyone's prerogative, however inadvisable, but most would be too embarrassed to keep admitting it in public. In future I'll try to take a more sanguine view; it's actually highly amusing the way some supposedly intelligent collectors will keep forking out for crappy VHS and DVD downloads copied to BD-R. Long live physical media! :lol:

For anyone that's interested, Séance on a Wet Afternoon really is a fantastic film, and Network's superlative Special Edition DVD is by far the best way to see it. Spec:

Anamorphic widescreen 1.75:1 OAR
Audio commentary by director Bryan Forbes and actress Nanette Newman
Extras:
"Memories on a Wet Afternoon" – interview with Bryan Forbes (33:38)
Image Gallery (2:20)
Theatrical trailer (3:38)
DVD-ROM of Bryan Forbes' "Final Revised Screenplay" shooting script (111 pages, in PDF format)​

I can assure you that if or when a BD does eventually appear, it will be from a recognised and respected label, most likely Network themselves. And I'll be first in line to buy it.

I used to order DVDs from Spain quite awhile ago, most of them legitimate releases licensed by Fox that were unavailable in the U.S. (at that time). But then when I ventured outside the Fox discs, I was shocked by the poor quality and it became evident that these were not legit releases. I have stopped buying discs from Spain altogether. It's not difficult to see they are bootlegs. Why would Warners release a blu ray of Ryan's Daughter in Spain but not the U.S.? The answer is, they didn't. I now assume if it's a classic title from Spain, it's a bootleg unless proved otherwise.
 

Dick

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Joined
May 22, 1999
Messages
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Rick
Blu-rays should have requisite quality. Why not return?

I have contacted Amazon UK about a return and should hear back soon.
I don't know. We've been playing this same old stuck record for so long I sometimes wonder if it will ever end. It goes something like this: it's common knowledge by now that the overwhelming majority of Spanish BDs and DVDs, especially deep catalogue titles, are pirates/bootlegs/whatever. Nonetheless, despite this forum's oft-stated prohibition of them being publicised, Dick waits for the heat to die down since his last 'review' before posting yet another one.

Let us, for the sake of argument, scrutinise the current example. Firstly, on Amazon Spain the label of this release, Cinecom, is displayed clearly on its rear sleeve. The listing contradicts this by saying its from Sotelysa, but no matter: they're both writ large on the list of pirate labels found here. I'll press on: there is currently just a single one-star review, so it's difficult to miss – and written in English, no less. I quote:

Avoid!
28 de noviembre de 2015
Formato: Blu-ray|Compra verificada [verified purchase]
The image quality of this Blu Ray is terrible! It looks like an old video cassette!
I own the UK DVD and it is much much sharper.
So avoid.​

Not enough? There are a grand total of only four legitimate DVDs of this film in existence: US (Homevision), UK (Carlton and Network) and, coincidentally, Spain (Divisa). All are trusted labels with long track records of quality releases. The latter even gets a special mention in the foregoing link. The BFI archive holds the original vault materials on this title, which are the source of the DVD transfers. Regardless, even they don't currently have an HD master available for viewing on BFIPlayer.

So despite all that evidence to the contrary, some fly-by-night Spanish label, who haven't released a single legit disc in their entire worthless existence, is going to somehow conjure up a quality HD master of a copyrighted 53-year-old British film and transfer it to a region 0 vanilla BD? Whose packaging has no reference whatsoever to the transfer's origin or copyright holder, yet there's a still chance it may be kosher or even decent quality?

Supposedly not researching it very well is no excuse; simply asking about it here would have taken far less time than it took to order it – wasting $20 – watch it and 'review' it for our edification. Of course, wasting good money on bad rubbish is everyone's prerogative, however inadvisable, but most would be too embarrassed to keep admitting it in public. In future I'll try to take a more sanguine view; it's actually highly amusing the way some supposedly intelligent collectors will keep forking out for crappy VHS and DVD downloads copied to BD-R. Long live physical media! :lol:

For anyone that's interested, Séance on a Wet Afternoon really is a fantastic film, and Network's superlative Special Edition DVD is by far the best way to see it. Spec:

Anamorphic widescreen 1.75:1 OAR
Audio commentary by director Bryan Forbes and actress Nanette Newman
Extras:
"Memories on a Wet Afternoon" – interview with Bryan Forbes (33:38)
Image Gallery (2:20)
Theatrical trailer (3:38)
DVD-ROM of Bryan Forbes' "Final Revised Screenplay" shooting script (111 pages, in PDF format)​

I can assure you that if or when a BD does eventually appear, it will be from a recognised and respected label, most likely Network themselves. And I'll be first in line to buy it.

Pretty confrontational and accusatory post there, Mr. Reid. I'll take the dissing on this because you made your point using numerous examples and because you are correct, I did not go about this effectively. But your tone is very unfriendly and I think you could have made your point, regardless of how sick and tired you are of having to read such posts as mine, by simply being courteous, as most members go out of their way to be. Why not just ignore my posts in the future and save yourself a lot of agony? Good day. :)
 

Thomas T

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Messages
10,284
Oh, and one last peep from me :) Classic catalog titles from Italy are also very suspect and I've stopped buying from Italy too. So far, Germany and France are on the straight and narrow path and the majority of my overseas purchases are from England, France and Germany.
 

Brent Reid

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813
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Brent
Pretty confrontational and accusatory post there, Mr. Reid. I'll take the dissing on this because you made your point using numerous examples and because you are correct, I did not go about this effectively. But your tone is very unfriendly and I think you could have made your point, regardless of how sick and tired you are of having to read such posts as mine, by simply being courteous, as most members go out of their way to be. Why not just ignore my posts in the future and save yourself a lot of agony? Good day. :)
Or... you could post on a forum that condones bootlegs. Good day to you too. :)
 

Dick

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In response to my request for a refund to the third party seller from whom this came, I received the following response:
Or... you could post on a forum that condones bootlegs. Good day to you too. :)

I personally do not condone bootlegs, as you appear to be suggesting. I can see how this back-and-forth between us could escalate into something really inappropriate, so I will no longer contribute to it.
 

Dick

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Joined
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Rick
I did contact the third party seller through Amazon, from whom I purchased this disc, and received a pretty quick response:

Hello,
We're sorry about that. All our suppliers are trusted and have the right to sell those titles but some of them are small family companies, what sometimes affects some details. Also, when less of 1000 copies of a title are released, usually the format is BDR. Big companies do it too. To return It, please go to "my orders" in your amazon account,there, search for this order and then click on the return button. We'll authorise a total refund as soon as we receive the item.
We really appreciate your patience and apologize about this inconvenience.
Kind regards.
Laura


Make of that what you will.
 

Robin9

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I used to order DVDs from Spain quite awhile ago, most of them legitimate releases licensed by Fox that were unavailable in the U.S. (at that time). But then when I ventured outside the Fox discs, I was shocked by the poor quality and it became evident that these were not legit releases. I have stopped buying discs from Spain altogether. It's not difficult to see they are bootlegs. Why would Warners release a blu ray of Ryan's Daughter in Spain but not the U.S.? The answer is, they didn't. I now assume if it's a classic title from Spain, it's a bootleg unless proved otherwise.

I too used to buy those DVDs from Spain but, like you, I now pretty well boycott Spanish discs.
 

DP 70

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I remember when I got the BD of Ryans Daughter from Spain because I read the review on DVD Beaver
and then found out it was a bootleg and wondered why are they are reviewing bootlegs ?
 
Last edited:

Angelo Colombus

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My first copy of Welles's Chimes at Midnight was the dvd release from Spain by Suevia Films and it was a mediocre print of the film. It was nice to have a copy of the film but glad Criterion released it recently.
 

commander richardson

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I don't know. We've been playing this same old stuck record for so long I sometimes wonder if it will ever end. It goes something like this: it's common knowledge by now that the overwhelming majority of Spanish BDs and DVDs, especially deep catalogue titles, are pirates/bootlegs/whatever. Nonetheless, despite this forum's oft-stated prohibition of them being publicised, Dick waits for the heat to die down since his last 'review' before posting yet another one.

Let us, for the sake of argument, scrutinise the current example. Firstly, on Amazon Spain the label of this release, Cinecom, is displayed clearly on its rear sleeve. The listing contradicts this by saying its from Sotelysa, but no matter: they're both writ large on the list of pirate labels found here. I'll press on: there is currently just a single one-star review, so it's difficult to miss – and written in English, no less. I quote:

Avoid!
28 de noviembre de 2015
Formato: Blu-ray|Compra verificada [verified purchase]
The image quality of this Blu Ray is terrible! It looks like an old video cassette!
I own the UK DVD and it is much much sharper.
So avoid.​

Not enough? There are a grand total of only four legitimate DVDs of this film in existence: US (Homevision), UK (Carlton and Network) and, coincidentally, Spain (Divisa). All are trusted labels with long track records of quality releases. The latter even gets a special mention in the foregoing link. The BFI archive holds the original vault materials on this title, which are the source of the DVD transfers. Regardless, even they don't currently have an HD master available for viewing on BFIPlayer.

So despite all that evidence to the contrary, some fly-by-night Spanish label, who haven't released a single legit disc in their entire worthless existence, is going to somehow conjure up a quality HD master of a copyrighted 53-year-old British film and transfer it to a region 0 vanilla BD? Whose packaging has no reference whatsoever to the transfer's origin or copyright holder, yet there's a still chance it may be kosher or even decent quality?

Supposedly not researching it very well is no excuse; simply asking about it here would have taken far less time than it took to order it – wasting $20 – watch it and 'review' it for our edification. Of course, wasting good money on bad rubbish is everyone's prerogative, however inadvisable, but most would be too embarrassed to keep admitting it in public. In future I'll try to take a more sanguine view; it's actually highly amusing the way some supposedly intelligent collectors will keep forking out for crappy VHS and DVD downloads copied to BD-R. Long live physical media! :lol:

For anyone that's interested, Séance on a Wet Afternoon really is a fantastic film, and Network's superlative Special Edition DVD is by far the best way to see it. Spec:

Anamorphic widescreen 1.75:1 OAR transfer and DD 2.0 mono audio
Extras:
Audio commentary by director Bryan Forbes and actress Nanette Newman
"Memories on a Wet Afternoon" – interview with Bryan Forbes (33:38)
Image Gallery (2:20)
Theatrical trailer (3:38)
DVD-ROM of Bryan Forbes' "Final Revised Screenplay" shooting script (111 pages, in PDF format)​

I can assure you that if or when a BD does eventually appear, it will be from a recognised and respected label, most likely Network themselves. And I'll be first in line to buy it.
This excellent release also has : ENGLISH SUB-TITLES...
 

Alberto_D

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I believe bootleg exist due the fact it's easier to get a TV tape, Beta or whatever, and tranfer to DVD or Blu-Ray, for titles that not yet had the light of a HD transfer. Many movies only reach home video this way.
Giorgio Moroder's Metropolis it's a example, only pirate copies was available or perhaps with luck some rare bootleg using Laser Disc as source. Only a few years ago they did a new tranfer.

Sometimes even a not pirate or not bootleg edition on blu ray can look worse than... ...let's say worse than a youtube video :

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film6/blu-..._who_fell_from_grace_with_the_sea_blu-ray.htm



Colors look better in the youtube version.


Worse than a bootleg if the "cable" channels (mini sat antenna system) on Brazil, which claims to be 1080p but mosthave details and tones worse than a prime DVD, all due extreme compression putting 4 channels or more in a space that should be for only one. And technicians are trained to present crap excuses, like saying is that way because it's not 4K, even if you point a giant video compression artefact on his face.
 
Last edited:

Mike Frezon

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Bootleg's exist because people want to steal property/value that's not theirs.

=========================

Alberto...you've been warned before NOT to enter threads on one topic and try to drag it off-topic with your repeated hammering at resolutions issues in your home country.
 

david hare

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I used to order DVDs from Spain quite awhile ago, most of them legitimate releases licensed by Fox that were unavailable in the U.S. (at that time). But then when I ventured outside the Fox discs, I was shocked by the poor quality and it became evident that these were not legit releases. I have stopped buying discs from Spain altogether. It's not difficult to see they are bootlegs. Why would Warners release a blu ray of Ryan's Daughter in Spain but not the U.S.? The answer is, they didn't. I now assume if it's a classic title from Spain, it's a bootleg unless proved otherwise.

I can assure you the Spanish Ryan's Daughter is not only a bootleg but nothing more than a dodgy quality uprez from standard def.

It takes about 12 seconds to do a google check on various parmaterers to satisfy yourself something from Spain (and a lesser extent) Italy is a boot. I am suprised anyone here is still scouring this market. The only licensing outfit still putting out some volume of deep catalogue to small labels outside the States in Europe and indeed Australia through Shock (in that case) is Universal. The Oz Blu of SIodmak's Criss Cross about a year ago is a legit licensed release (and a terrific transfer especially given the modest bitrate. It was obviously taken from the same excellent HD master used for the older DVD. It has since been released in France by Elephant who also sport quite a lot of Uni catalogue titles. Gary Tooze when reviewing the Oz disc kept insisting it was a bootleg. I kept insisting to him it was not but was legit, and even since the Elephant disc from the same master appeared he still refuses to do his homework and correct the mistake.
 

Worth

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I can assure you the Spanish Ryan's Daughter is not only a bootleg but nothing more than a dodgy quality uprez from standard def.

I haven't seen it, but by all accounts it is from an actual HD source - more likely taken from the 1080p iTunes stream or one of the other streaming services.
 

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