It seems that Box 3 and 4 (and maybe a few of the single discs from the other boxes) are the only ones that are English speaker compatable all the way through. So I am going to pick these up, but I was kind of wanting to wait if anyone has anything crummy to say about them.

So I guess the question is....does anyone have any of the single discs or boxes yet? And what would be your professional opinion?

Thanks.

I don't have any of the discs but you might want to check this thread here.

I have box sets 2,3,4 (I'm a big Kinski fan) and am thrilled that the releases all appear to be in the correct aspect ratio. Outstanding video quality. The artwork and extras clearly show that great effort was put into this collection.

My complaint is that about half of the titles have neither English language or English subtitles as an option. I can certainly understand if some of the films were never dubbed into English. But please, at least put English subtitles on those films. And where an English language track was available, why wasn't it used?

Probably the biggest blunder to date was to omit an English language option on "Die Blaue Hand" aka "The Blue Hand". YIKES! What was that all about?

Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that this exquisite set has finally arrived. I'm just heartbroken that a bit more effort and additional resources weren't utilized.

I've picked up three of the single-disc releases so far - ZIMMER 13/ROOM 13, DAS INDISCHE TUCH/THE INDIAN SCARF and DIE TUR MIT 7 SCHLOSSERN/THE DOOR WITH SEVEN LOCKS, and have been very happy with the quality so far (the video image is often remarkably sharp and luminous, to borrow an over-used phrase)...although the English subtitles (or rather dubtitles, as has been pointed out already) are occasionally somewhat garbled, betraying signs of being phonetically transcribed and occasionally substituting nonsense homonyms for the correct words (e.g. "like?" instead of "light?" when offering somebody a cigarette). (The 7 SCHLOSSERN disc also leaves untranslated the final spooky line of dialogue, after Eddi Arent's "Ende" speech: "Hallo...hallo...vorsicht auf dem heimweg!", or, roughly, "Be careful on your way home...") In common with Medusa's BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE disc, the subs occasionally drift out-of-sync with the on-screen dialogue, too, but that's not such a big deal. The packaging on the individual discs is outstanding, wonderful colour reproductions of the original German poster art. The only extra on these single disc releases is a raft of trailers for non-related titles offered by the distributor - with the exception of DER WIXXER, a NAKED GUN-style parody of the Edgar Wallace franchise from last year which will prove to you that the Germans DO have a sense of humour...but not, perhaps, as we'd know it. :P

I'm waiting to see if their upcoming March releases of DER MONCH MIT DER PEITSCH and DER HUND VON BLACKWOOD CASTLE carry English subs...if so, they shall be mine, along with DER HEXER (which I've never seen).

Thanks for the info.

I did indeed order Box 3 & 4 and then the single disc of FELLOWSHIP OF THE FROG.

I will give a heads up once I have watched, if anyone is interested.

Thanks again!

If this is an inappropriate post to the board, please delete and accept my apologies.

Is there a time compression disparity between Region 2 and Region 1 discs? The reason I ask is that it might be possible to load one of the German versions into a window in Final Cut Pro and then digitize and load an English language track from one of the PD releases and tweak the timeline to maintain synchronization. You could then burn this composite version onto DVD for your personal viewing.

I teach film studies and have prepared composite versions of international films for use in my classrooms (Chinese grad students subtitling 30s Shanghai movies, restoring the original movie scores to the Universe DVDs of Michael Hui movies using old VHS releases, etc).

With all the great krimi and giallo movies coming out in gorgeous versions, my fantasy class on sixties and seventies European thrillers and their influence on Hollywood is finally a possibility. What a great time to be a eurocult enthusiast!