UK Version of Sweeney Todd on Blu-Ray May 19th

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sweeney-Todd-Barber-Street-Blu-ray/dp/B0012YG7RS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1205128108&sr=1-3

Saw this up for pre-order from Amazon UK.

It mentions format as PAL, but I didn't think that applied to HDM.

No mention of a Region 2 Lock.

This is the UK Warner distribution release, any idea if it will play on a Region 1 P$3??

I have read that the US release of Sweeney Todd from Dreamworks had been tuned down to be less bloody to keep it rated R instead of NC-17, so the UK release might be a bit closer to the (no pun intended) Directors 'cut'.

If Paramount/Dreamworks does not get their US Blu ray business up and running in the next month or so, does anyone know if the UK version is worth placing on pre-order, and if it will play properly on a Region 1 Blu machine???

Beowulf was also released in the UK on Blu-ray.

This was listed as a Region B (2) release and will NOT play in your US Region A (1) player.

I'm sure that this will be the same.

[Post edited by Henning on Mar 10, 2008]

Oh well, thanks Henning for the Info.

I guess it's back to waiting for some word from Paramount for a Region 1 Blu ray release, if that will ever happen.

An Unrated Directors Cut version would be nice as well..

VC... that's just the UK version. Other countries also release movies on Blu-ray. For example, while the UK Beowulf is indeed 'locked', there are also two other Blu-ray editions available (Australia and Japan), which may not be locked - I don't know just yet (and I have the USA HD-DVD version anyway).

So, SWEENEY TODD might also be released on Blu-ray from other countries and could be 'region-free'. A good resource site to keep checking (as they add the info every week), is http://www.blurayregioncodes.com (and keep tabs on Region B releases, or the latest editions link).

-JIMI (the Voodoo Child)

jimi,

remind me again why blu-ray is better? look at all the bloody hoops that one has to jump through in order to be able to just watch a movie? lol.

blu-ray won, and the studios have lost my voting dollars.

eddie

Well if Beowulf is released in Japan than you can play it on a US PS3 because they are both Region A players.

Eddie... well the majority of Blu-ray discs are problem-free for playback, and the occasional firmware updates help to solve any issues with BD playback - especially with the PS3, as it's is the #1 selling Blu-ray player (and I've yet to have any issues playing BD discs on my 60GB unit).

Tony, thanks for the comment. Yeah, here's the BEOWULF Japanese Blu-ray link for those interested.

I can't find a Blu-ray of Sweeney Todd yet (other than the UK), so I'll keep checking occasionally. And I'm sure Paramount will be producing new North American Blu-ray releases soon.

-JIMI (the Voodoo Child)

This biggest problem about getting Blu-rays from Japan as opposed to getting them from the UK is the substantial premium one must pay for the discs, not to mention shipping which is also usually a lot more as well. If some of the Japanese releases such as, Face/Off, Predator and Commando were about $10 cheaper then I'd actually consider importing them. But paying $40-50 for any one movie is just nuts.

I'm still trying to decide whether I want to get this on Blu-Ray or DVD... Assuming the DVD is released before the Blu-Ray... I could just get both.

Well, I can't find that other recent thread where I made a post about SWEENEY TODD on Blu-ray, so I'll just make a note here... the film (for now) is only going to be released in HD only on a UK Blu-ray from Warner Brothers. Thankfully, Warner very rarely releases 'region-locked' discs (or Region B for the UK), so you can probably think now that STodd will be playable on Region A players. You'll pay a higher price for the UK edition (probably $35 to $40), but for some it may be worth it to get it in HD.

One way to know for sure is by checking with the staff at xploitedcinema.com (USA), as they only carry 'region-free' Blu-ray discs on their site. So, you can email them an inquiry note, or wait and see if the title will show up for sale around the release date (or shortly after). Or search other newsgroups, blogs, etc for discussions of the title. Blurayregioncodes.com at this moment doesn't list the title on their Region B list.

-JIMI (the Voodoo Child)