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Administrator
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Hi all,
I got my copy of the 2nd Japanese UFO DVD set and the new Japanese UFO book
today. The UFO DVD set is pretty similar to the first. and somewhat
disappointing compared the various other versions out there. However, it
DOES have some unique extras:
* the English audio is the pseudo 5.1 surround sound, similar to the
Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet. I prefer the original mono sound to
this, but I'm sure there are people who would prefer this 5.1 version.
You can turn off the Japanese subtitles too.
* one of the extras is the ending sequence from THE SQUARE TRIANGLE
without the end credits. Why this wasn't included on the other
releases is beyond me, because it's kind of cool. The picture
quality is better than what we see in the episode, because there is
no optical effect of overlaying the credits. Also, it sounds like
the original audio is presented, as you can hear birds chirping.
I even see a cow in the distance, which I don't think I ever noticed
in the episode.
* Another extra is Fanderson's 50 minute "UFO Documentary". The picture
quality seems as good or better than the VHS versions released by the
club. This is the edited version, as it doesn't feature any comments
by the fans. Also, the Japanese subtitles cannot be turned off here.
:-(
* There are 2 short TV (?) ads for the first Japanese UFO DVD set, which
are kind of interesting.
* The only other special features are the "day-for-night" Timelash demo,
and the alternate audio for The Long Sleep. There are no photo
galleries, and the menus are rather weak (although not as bad as A&E's)
Along with the DVD set comes a nice little booklet, which is similar in
style and content with the old Japanese laserdisc booklets, although since
it's much smaller it's not as impressive. There is also another extra which
I'm not sure what it is -- it seems to be an inflatable representation of
the underside of a UFO? Hmmm....
As for the book, one thing that surprised me is that it's a smaller format
book, about the same height & width as DVD packaging. Inside, it looks like
a fairly standard Japanese UFO book, except of course it features photos of
more recent items than the ones which came out in the 1980s and 1990s!
Since I cannot read Japanese, it's hard for me to judge the book other than
looking at the artwork and the photos, which are nice but nothing
astounding.
Marc
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