Getting To the Very Bottom Of Xtro (DVD/ Blu-ray Comparison)

Xtro is a delight.  It's a completely bonkers sci-fi horror outing that just delivers one unexpected wild scene after another.  You never know what will come around the next corner: a shape-shifting monster, a pet snake on the loose, children's toys come to life, a panther in a London apartment, a killer clown and the inspiration for Warlock 2's greatest moment?  You'll find them all here and more.  And what's more impressive: it's all done well.  The production values are high, the acting is good and the human drama is genuinely engaging.  But at the same time, the effects are cool, the set pieces are ambitious.  We're constantly changing locations; this obviously isn't a blockbuster budgeted movie, but nothing was done on the cheap.  We're told in the extras that New Line executive Bob Shay pushed the filmmakers in the direction of Phantasm, and I really think that's what we have to thank for turning what probably would've been an okay but generic little horror film into something special.

For ages, this film has only been available on DVD; though thankfully Image did a better than average job presenting this film, with an anamorphic widescreen picture, and a brief but important selection of special features.  But now there's finally a special edition blu-ray, thanks to Second Sight, and they've really done it up, giving us no less than four versions of the film.  First, we get the original version of the film with the original ending, which is my preferred ending, in case anyone was curious.  It's the ending that takes the story seriously and gives a smarter resolution to our main character, as opposed to just going for one last "gotcha!"  Interestingly, though, it's not the ending that actually played with the film.  It was only included in the DVD special features as a bonus alternate ending.

Anyway, the next version on the blu is the same cut but with the alternate ending.  And perhaps you're thinking, "wait a minute, didn't the DVD have three endings?"  Well remembered; you're not wrong.  The DVD had one ending that played with the film and two alternative endings as extras.  But one of those alternative endings, the one labeled the Alternate Ending on the blu, is the same as the one attached to DVD's main feature, just with a different soundtrack.  Shot-for-shot, it's exactly the same, only the music is different.  So, to clarify, the blu-ray's Alternate Ending is the one with the piano that was one of the DVD extras, not the synthesizer one that was a part of the main DVD feature.

DVD deleted scene.

By the way, since we're talking about the alternate endings from the DVD, you might also remember one more deleted scene from that release, a little over 30 seconds of the kid and his mom in the kitchen, included without sound.  Well happily, that deleted scene has been reinstated into the film on the blu, all versions, and yes, with the sound.  It's not exactly the most thrilling or elucidating scene in the world, but it's still nice to have a more complete version of the film.  And it's also not the only added footage.  The DVD is missing a chunk of dialogue during the dinner scene at the roughly 40 minute mark, jumping right into Analise asking how long Sam plans on staying, but the blu-ray has a bunch of additional conversation about how he looks even younger than his old photo, etc.  And then around the 50 minute mark, there's some missing (just a couple seconds) of the woman opening the door for the soldier before he breaks it in.  Then around the 54 minute mark, there's a whole, short scene with Joe in his apartment that's missing from the DVD but restored on the blu.  I like that one because we see he has a parrot, and after so many nutty things happening in this movie, you don't trust the parrot and feel like it's gonna shoot laser beams at him or something.

Finally, just after the hour mark, when Sam and Rachel return to the cottage, on the DVD there's an awkward jump cut when Rachel calls out for Sam, and than is just seen opening a window.  On the blu, there's more to the scene, where she's calling for Sam because she sees that someone's broken into the cottage, and she looks around suspiciously.  We see that she's opening windows because the gas has been left on, another point dropped from the DVD.  So I don't see anybody really talking about this, but we're not just getting a nice, new HD transfer of Xtro, but a longer, uncut version.

Footage missing from the "Original UK Video Version Edit."

So, that's the first two versions on the blu... still with me?  Next up is a slightly shorter cut that had previously been released on UK home video.  I've seen reviews saying it features dialogue trims or tiny cuts to multiple scenes, but this just tells me most people have no idea what the difference is.  I don't blame them - I was confused, too!  For the majority of the film, all the way up to the 1.13.40 mark in fact, this version is 100% identical to the other versions.  But at that point, the UK cuts from the Range Rover to the sex scene.  In the other versions, it cuts from the Range Rover to Sam walking into the bedroom.  He finds Rachel asleep, walks around the bed, disrobes, gets into bed and kisses her awake.  She says, "darling," and we cut to Tony and Joe in the jeep.  There's an external shot of them driving and then it cuts to the sex scene.  So that's a chunk of one minute and twenty seconds chopped out of the UK version right there.

A shot that's simply been reshuffled in the "Original UK Video Version Edit."

But it gets a little more complicated.  Because then, while both versions are the same for the bulk of that scene, when the end comes, the UK version cuts to the jeep when Sam ejaculates, while the other versions continue on with Rachel recoiling and Sam falling off the bed.  He runs around the room and eventually hits Rachel.  The UK version takes the footage of Tony and Joe in the jeep that it had cut out earlier, putting it here (1.14.11) and then returns to Sam hitting Rachel.  So, some of the shots haven't been totally dropped, just re-ordered, and we only wind up losing a little under a minute of footage total.  Everything else is the same.  Curiously, that means the UK video version cuts stuff from the rape scene, which you'd expect, but winds up dropping mostly just the innocuous footage of Sam walking around the bed while leaving in the racy stuff.  Oh, and it features the same alternate ending with the piano that the Alternate Ending version did.

Original Version top; 2018 Director's Version bottom.

So, that's three versions down!  Ha ha  Finally, Second Sight presents a "new 2018 director's version," where the director makes takes the original edit with the alternate ending, and makes a whole bunch of changes to the colors, effects and even the framing.  See how there's a matte at the bottom of the second shot, above, changing the film from 1.78:1 to, briefly, 1.82:1?  Yeah, the tinkering gets really weird and downright destructive, as broad changes to the colors and heavy use of DNR and other effects wind up corrupting bits of the footage.  Look at this next set of shots:

Original Version top; 2018 Director's Version bottom.

See how there's little black chunks being taken out of the wall where I circled in the second shot?  Yeah, that's happening through the whole scene in the director's version, and it's constantly moving.  Admittedly, casual viewers could probably watch the scene and not even notice anything, but once you see it, it's like there's a cloaked Predator lurking behind that actress.  Still, I'd consider this a minimally altered scene.  Let's take a look at some of the more obvious changes they made for the 2018 version.  Particularly look for the tearing in the director's version's shot of the clown, on his sleeve, the toy and the rays shooting out of it.

Original Version top; 2018 Director's Version bottom.

Crazy, right?  It's not quite the disaster that the Rabid Grannies producer's "remastered edition" was, but it's kind of a mess.  I definitely wouldn't suggest starting with this version if you've never seen it before, but since this 2018 version is meant to be an additional creative exercise, I'm not mad at it as a bonus novelty.  Sure, throw it in the pot!  As long as the original version's included as well.  The bummer isn't that Lucas altered Star Wars, it's that he scrapped the original and withholds it from us.  And as you can see, the original Xtro has been offered up to us in spades.  Oh, and for the record, the 2018 director's version also utilizes the alternate ending with the piano.  So I'm not sure it's any great loss, but strictly speaking, one thing that this new special edition blu does not carry over from the DVD is the synth-scored version of the alternate ending.  Every time they use that ending on any cut, it's the piano version.

1) 2005 US Image DVD 2) 2018 UK Second Sight blu Original Ending
3) SS Alternate Ending 4) SS UK Video 5) SS Director's Version

So, the Original Ending, Alternate Ending and UK Video Version on the Second Sight blu are all utilizing the same encode, only with alternate endings via seamless branching.  Still, I screenshotted all five in the first set of shots just to be thorough.  But that second set of shots is from the ending, so you can see the differences there (most obviously the choices in color timing).  I won't say much about the Director's Version because it's not supposed to be an accurate representation of the film; I'll just point out that it's been DNR'd to a crazily waxy degree, and that final panther shot is just ridiculous.

So, the US DVD is anamorphic widescreen with slight matting all around the overscan area, leaving an AR of 1.82:1.  All of the blu-ray transfers (except when the Director's Version randomly occasionally shifts) are 1.78:1, revealing more picture all around.  Generally, grain is pretty clear and nicely resolved, if maybe just a teensy bit light.  Deep shadows look a little crushy, but that could just be how the movie was filmed.  Overall, it's a very filmic, attractive transfer.  The colors are warmer on the DVD and cooler on the blu, with the blu looking overall truer.  The DVD's palette feels a bit flat, with a bit of a hue cast over everything that the blu clears away.  And detail is definitely clearer on the blu, although the DVD was already looking pretty decent.  And of course, all the subtle compression noise of the standard definition DVD has been cleaned away.

DVD Davenport interview, and that same interview ported over onto the blu.

Now, the DVD just featured a Dolby Digital 2.0 treatment of the original mono track, with no subtitles.  The blu-ray bumps it up to DTS-HD of the mono on the Original and Alternate Ending cuts, and a DTS-HD stereo mix for the UK Video and Director's Versions.  And they all also include optional English subs.

As if this post hasn't been long enough, now let's delve into the special features.  The DVD wasn't exactly packed, but like I said, it had some great, important stuff.  I've already covered the alternate endings and deleted scene to death, so I'll just add here that unlike the feature itself, they were interlaced (as you could clearly see in the screenshot earlier).  Besides that, the main feature the DVD had was an interview with the director, Harry Bromley Davenport.  It's pretty good, rather self-critical, and for a long time, all we had.  Though as you can see, it's non-anamorphic and problematically interlaced.  Besides that, the DVD had the trailer and a stills gallery.

Second Sight brought a lot more to the table, starting with an impressive, hour-long documentary, which is a lot of fun.  It talks to so many key personnel, from Davenport and his producer Mark Forstater to star Bernice Stegers, and even lots of the supporting cast, including yes, Tik and Tok.  That's followed up by a talk with Xtro's "number one fan," which sounds like it would be silly; but he actually gives a rather smart and informed analysis, and he's occasionally intercut with Davenport or Forstater to collaborate or contrast a few of his points.  It's less like one of those looks at a quirky fan and his merchandise and more of a legit critical evaluation.

Then Davenport and Forstater introduce a bunch of footage from a new sequel they're developing, Xtro: The Big One.  It looks pretty rough, but there's an on-screen warning that the effects are still in progress.  Than there's a brief tribute to star Philip Sayer, with the people from the documentary each saying a bit about him, followed by a song.  The DVD interview with Davenport is also carried over here, and cleaned up, but it's disappointingly shorter.  Basically, on the DVD, for the last seven or eight minutes, he talked about his sequels, Xtro 2 & 3.  That section's been cut, and we only get the part where he talks about the first Xtro.  That's a bummer, because he had some funny stuff to say about Xtro 2.  Oh well.  Second Sight's release also includes the trailer, a TV spot, and a video introduction to the 2018 version by Davenport.

Now this version is a limited edition (though nowhere do they seem to specify just how limited), with a basic single disc edition presumably to follow.  Everything I just described is on the one blu-ray.  But this version also includes a soundtrack CD.  The music was all composed and performed by Davenport himself.  I wouldn't exactly put him on par with John Carpenter, but it's effective within the film.  Anyway, the limited edition also includes a stylish, 40-page full-color booklet by Kevin Lyons and comes in an attractive and sturdy slip box.

Second Sight's release is an essential release of a terrific cult film.  If you already have it, it's worth holding onto the US DVD (and/ or the German blu-ray that came out last year, which has even more exclusive special features) for the few tidbits missing from the new blu.  But they're minor and redundant enough that they're not worth tracking down now.  Second Sight really gives you all need... in fact, with the four cuts, it's already more than you need.  And it's region free, so top recommendations for all. 

Let the Rediscovery of Alien Predators Begin! (DVD/ Blu-ray Comparison)

Okay, you guys have probably never seen The Falling (perhaps better known as Alien Predators), right? I saw just about everything in the 80s, and I never saw this. I didn't catch it until a couple years ago, when I was on a jag of tracking down and watching all the 80s horror flicks I missed in my youth. And I don't know what I expected from The Falling... I think some sort of cheap, passionless knock-off, like Carnosaur crossed with Forbidden World, at best maybe a peer of Inseminoid. Can't say I'm a fan of that stuff, zero heart and stock characters boring you for 80 minutes of mindless exposition and keeping you on the hook with the promise of lame kills by a cheesy rubber suited monster. But you know, you gotta sift through a lot of dirt to find the golden nuggets, and like I said, I was determined to burn through every 80s horror flick, bar none, to discover something good. And I did!

Update 8/27/15 - 6/19/18: I guess I can't call this post, "The Movie Scream Factory Let Slip Through Their Fingers" anymore!  😁  Yes, that was this post's original title, and yes, Scream Factory has finally picked it up and released it on blu!  How's it look?  Are there any good features?  Come see!

The Falling (terrible title, by the way) is a little bit weird, a little bit funny... a little crazy and even a little action-y. I really like it. Far from the kind of film I described above, this is everything you want from an 80s horror. It's like Night Of the Creeps or Fright Night. I mean, those are two major highlights of the genre, and admittedly it's not quite as polished or engaging as those. There's no delightful Roddy McDowall or Tom Atkins level character... although The Falling does take one or two stabs at it, and come up with a couple characters - these two government/scientist guys - that don't reach those heights but are still pretty fun. Dude in the beard definitely makes you want to see more scenes with him, and the three young leads are all pretty good and likeable. The jokier sidekick guy is no Evil Eddie, but he's definitely a more enjoyable character than most generic horror dudes.

And damn it, this film delivers. You want great rubber effects? This film's got 'em. You want genuinely funny gags and moments? They're here. Gore? Yup, some pretty gross stuff. Creepy atmospheric points, including a creepy killer in a clown mask? Uh-huh. Stunts, including car chases, explosions and a menacing truck right out of Duel or Maximum Overdrive? Exotic foreign locales, colorful lighting, high production values, a rocking soundtrack, space aliens, conspiracy and a really ambitious, unpredictable plot? This film has it all, and yet nobody had ever released it on DVD! There wasn't even been a cheap, barebones fullframe DVD on the greyer side of the market, much less any fancy special edition blu-rays like the kind Scream Factory puts out.

And there could have been! In 2012, Scream Factory made a deal with MGM, and if you've noticed, they've been releasing tons of their back catalog titles ever since. And The Falling just so happens to be one of their titles, rotting away in their vaults, waiting to be re-discovered. And they even had a widescreen HD master, I know, because they gave it to Netflix to stream (it may not be there anymore' I quit Netflix last year). All Scream had to do was scoop it up off the floor, and I requested it whenever the question came up; but everybody ignored it, because hardly anybody's seen or remembers this movie. So, okay, they didn't release it in their first couple batches... okay, year two, and still no Alien Predators. Every announcement they made I checked for The Falling and then thought, alright, it'll be in their next one. It's a total freebie, and a great "never before on blu or DVD option." Sure, they want to focus on the big money makers first, but they had to get to it eventually... right? But the door seemed officially closed once MGM themselves finally put it out as a generic MOD DV-R on Amazon.  Though hope never entirely dissipated, because there had been a very similar case where they released a pretty awesome special edition of New Year's Evil in 2015, even after MGM released that as a MOD.

But order it I did, because I absolutely need this film in my collection. And I grabbed that Netflix stream, too; because I wasn't sure I'd ever get a second chance at it. But, in fact, we actually wound up getting multiple chances at it.  Because a few months after this post, filmArt announced a German blu-ray (see the comments).  But I held out, and sure enough, just... today, Scream Factory has finally released it on blu here in the states!  Huzzah!

Netflix stream on top; MGM DV-R middle; Scream Factory blu bottom.

So unsurprisingly, everybody used the same 1.85:1 master.  But it's interesting to see the improvement just from the format shift.  There's more detail on the DVD than the stream, but there's definitely still compression issues. But you have to expect that, because it's not even a proper DVD but a single layer, made on demand DV-R (4 gigs, ladies and gentlemen!).  There's ugly artifacting all over it, and it even looks like maybe they tried to edge enhance it a bit to make up for it.  All of that is happily cleared away on the very crisp blu-ray.  This may not be boasting a fresh 2 or 4k scan for this new blu, but the HD master they used must be new enough, because it looks quite good, with subtle yet naturalistic grain and much cleaner detail.  There's the occasional white fleck, but really, The Falling looks downright pristine here.

The DV-R and the blu both preserve the original mono in 2.0 and it sounds great.  Scream Factory naturally bumped it up to DTS-HD, and included optional subtitles which the DVD lacked.

And of course that DV-R was barebones, including a fairly generic menu and no extras. Not even a trailer. The chapters are even at arbitrary 10 minute intervals. Well, Scream Factory hasn't issued this as one of their packed "Collector's Edition"s, but they did come through for this title by creating an all new audio commentary track with the director.  It's not perfect; he tends to lapse into periods of dead air, especially at the very beginning and I started to worry this listen would be a real grind.  but stick with it, folks!  He actually has a lot of great stuff to say, helped enormously by the fact that this movie has never had any special features before, so it's all new and exciting to hear.  It's also got a pretty good story behind it, with the director explaining things like how he got the effects artist from John Carpenter's The Thing to give him an amazing prosthetic for free; or how, far from it being Alien or Predator, his primary inspiration for the film was An American Werewolf In London, which really does come through in the final product.  In addition to the commentary, we finally get the trailer, which bears the on-screen title of The Falling, as does the film itself.  And while this release doesn't exactly have reversible artwork, it certainly has a pretty awesome reverse image for whenever you open the case.

The director's a bit self-effacing and embarrassed by some of the flaws that slipped into his first film, but watching Scream's blu, I find I keep getting more impressed with each rewatch.  Yeah, a few jokey lines fall flat; but for the most part, it all works really well.  In the commentary, he talks about how at the time of filming they felt like they were making the world's greatest horror movie and super excited watching the dailies.  Unfortunately, the world seems to have beat down that enthusiasm since then.  So I really hope some critical rediscovery spawns out of Scream Factory including it in their line-up.  This is a really rewarding release, and it shouldn't get lost under the radar.

Controversial Blus: Is It Time To Update eXistenZ?

David Cronenberg fans, you've got a tough choice in front of you. Do you want the Canadian special edition DVD of eXistanZ from Alliance Atlantic, or the newer US blu-ray from Echo Bridge? If that sounds like a no-brainer to you, I daresay you don't know all the facts, because it's a difficult compromise either way. And it can't even be fully resolved by buying both. Oh, and the only other options are even worse, so until Criterion or Arrow dive in to rescue this film with a fancy new version (don't hold your breath), it's really down to these two.

Update 10/26/15 - 6/12/18: There's a brand new, fancy blu-ray edition on the market, from the UK's 101 Films.  And, well, I'm not sure it makes the choice any less tough.  It really just adds more complications.  So let's see if we can make sense of it all, shall we?

Frankly, I'd be more bothered by our limited selection if eXistenZ was a stronger film. It feels like a halfhearted attempt to re-capture the magic of Videodrome, only updating television with video games. But it's far more conventional, not wild and trippy at all; and all the sci-fi concepts feel like well-worn tropes we've seen and heard many times over, most obviously in The Matrix which came out the same year. There are a couple compelling images that feel like top shelf Cronenberg... a man is given a large plate of fish at a Chinese restaurant. He eats the flesh off of them and then uses their bones to create a makeshift gun that fires teeth and uses it to shoot the waiter. Unfortunately, that and comparable moments add up to maybe 98 seconds of this film's otherwise dull 98 minute running time.

We're introduced to Jennifer Jason Leigh an eccentric genius video game designer who's debuting her latest virtual reality system to a small room full of suburbanites. A teenager tries to assassinate her, but her socially awkward bodyguard, Jude Law, rushes her off the premises. They hide out in a small hotel where Leigh tells him that they have to play her game to unlock secrets or something, and the majority of the film takes place within her video game world, which looks like the same brown warehouse redressed to be every location in the film. There's an amazing supporting cast, including Ian Holme, Willem Dafoe, Don McKellar, Last Night's Callum Keith Rennie, Christopher Eccleston, Sarah Polley and Robert Silverman, who's my favorite recurring supporting cast member of Cronenberg's work. But they're all wasted playing cartoonish video game characters with silly dialogue and incredibly fake accents. The accents are intentional; it's written into the script that our leads point out several times how unconvincing the video game characters are, especially their accents. But it still means nobody winds up giving a dramatically compelling performance. They could've just as well filled these parts with unknowns. Well, except Dafoe - he was nice and creepy.

And the leads aren't much better. Jude Law sure wasn't the actor he is today. And Leigh, well, I think you can blame the writing for her part. The script's really to blame for everything. Cronenberg's created a whole new, virtual reality world that's supposedly run by the human nervous system and re-engineered fish parts, and it's the most boring place in the world. It's basically the inside of a big cardboard box. If "eXistenZ" were an actual video game, it would be a huge flop. And the film only ever asks one question: are we in the game, reality, or a game within the game? You know, like Inception or one of those. But there are never any stakes either way. Who's real, who's fake, who's lying, who's double-crossing who? Everything's so disconnected, it never matters. I think the central issue we're supposed to be invested in is whether Leigh can save her game from mysterious saboteurs (who very well might not even exist), so she can get it into stores by release date? Um, okay.

Still, it's hard to resist all the talent involved. And this film does have its moments... did I mention the fish-bone gun? And it's Cronenberg returning to psychological science-fiction and body horror, which is everything his fans were begging him for back in 1999. It's just unfortunate that a bunch of people who know and care nothing about video games decide to write and film a movie about the subject that probably interests them least in the world (you'll see when you watch the extras... Tarzan knew more about computers than these folk). So it's weak Cronenberg, but it's still Cronenberg. Worth a watch, and depending on your degree of dedication, still worth having in your collection.

So what do we have again? Well, when this was first issued on DVD, it was a new release film, and fans were very let down that all we got in the US was a barebones disc from Buena Vista/ Dimension. But in-the-know fans quickly figured out that the situation was much better in Canada, where it was released with three audio commentaries and a 54-minute documentary! It's pretty rare that Canada will have unique extras apart from their US counterparts, but I guess Cronenberg being a Canadian filmmaker stirred up some local pride.

But, still, 1999 is very old in DVD terms, and as we'll see shortly, this film has been looking very much in need of an update. And what label came to our rescue? Well, uh, Echo Bridge did. They came out with their own little special edition blu in the US, which, as you might suspect given the company, is a little less than perfect. It also went out of print rather quickly, and despite having been issued in 2012, now routinely goes for $40-50 on Amazon and EBay. Is it worth it?  Or maybe you'd prefer one of the newer blu-rays.  There was an equally pricey mediabook released in Germany, and using the same master, last year.  And now 101 Films has just released a UK edition (a blu-ray/ DVD combo-pack, by the way), the second in their new "Black Label" series.

1) 1999 Buena Vista DVD 2) 1999 Alliance DVD 3) 2012 Echo Bridge blu
4) 2018 101 Films DVD 5) 2018 101 Films blu

Where to begin? Well, the framing is 1.78:1 on the blus and slightly pillar-boxed to about 1.74:1 on the older DVDs (the 101 DVD matches the 101 blu, naturally), giving the latter a little extra vertical information and leaving the blu feeling a bit tight and probably not how Cronenberg intended. But the Canadian DVD is chock full of haloing, over-sharpening, high contrast and even crushed blacks. It may've been passable for 1999 - hey, at least it's anamorphic, right? The US DVD doesn't have any of those problems, and it's anamorphic too, but it's pretty soft and compressed. Looking at the US DVD makes you understand the Canadians' temptation to try and artificially sharpen it.

Meanwhile the HD versions look pretty low-fi and compressed; but compared to the DVDs, they do show a readily apparent improvement. I've seen complaints online about the brightening, but I prefer it. I think it's the darker picture that's incorrect. I mean, you just can't look at those two shots of Leigh by the pump and say you prefer the second one. Even there, the blus have some edge enhancement and other imperfections, but compared to the Alliance DVD, it's a revelation.  To cut to the chase, all these discs seem to be using the same master, with just very slight framing adjustments.  The blu-rays are naturally a bit clearer than the DVDs, and the Alliance disc has a few extras flaws.  But basically we're looking at a lot of repetition between transfers, and if anyone was hoping any of the newer editions were going to "save" this picture and give us a real boost in PQ... sorry, folks.

1) 1999 Buena Vista DVD 2) 1999 Alliance DVD 3) 2012 Echo Bridge blu
4) 2018 101 Films DVD 5) 2018 101 Films blu

Except for one thing.  Look at the above set of shots... The Echo Bridge blu-ray is interlaced! Yuck, even the old DVDs didn't have that problem, and it's really hard to ignore on Echo Bridge's disc. I guess here is where I should mention that Echo Bridge also released Existenz on blu as part of a combo-pack with some other movies. They're the kind of budget releases EB is known for; but they announced that even those those earlier discs were 1080i; this 2012 solo blu-ray was supposed to be 1080p. Sounded great, but nope! Jokes on us, it's "i," too.  But thankfully, the 101 release (and reportedly the German release as well) corrects this issue and isn't interlaced at all.

At least their claim to have added a new 5.1 audio mix is true, which tops the 2.0 stereo track of their past packs, and the lossy 5.1 mixes on the DVDs.  101 Also gives us both the 5.1 and 2.0 mixes, both in lossless LPCM on the blu.  All versions also feature optional English subtitles except the Echo Bridge disc.

Extras-wise, as I say, Alliance killed it. That documentary is specifically about Carol Spier, the film's production designer. So if you're hoping for an eXistenZ making-of, it's a little disappointing; but it's a pretty interesting feature in its own right, and with the three commentaries - including one by Cronenberg himself, one by effects supervisor Jim Isaac, and one by DoP Peter Suschitzky - it adds up to a pretty great special edition. It's also got the trailer, which the EB blu is missing.

Echo Bridge of course didn't port over any of Alliance's features. But they stepped things up from their previous, barebones combo-packs by including three vintage interviews exclusive to their new blu. The best is an almost 30-minute piece with Isaac, who's got a ton of props and creations to show off. Then there are interviews with Jude Law and Willem Dafoe. Law's fun because it's a big get, but Dafoe's a little more interesting when he talks about his craft. Unfortunately a lot of time is wasted in both of their interviews asking them if they like video games or using the computer, which they don't but still stumble their way through long, rambling answers. The parts where they talk about the film itself are interesting, though.

Oh, and the US DVD has nothing but the trailer and an insert.

But here's where things get interesting.  The new 101 release drops and adds a whole bunch of features to make another very distinct set.  They carry over the David Cronenberg commentary and the Spiers documentary from the Alliance disc.  Oh, and the trailer.  But they drop the other two commentaries.  However, they do carry over the three interviews from the Echo Bridge blu.  And, most interestingly of all, they've created some cool, new special features.

First of all, they add two, new audio commentaries with film critics/ scholars.  One with Kim Newman and Ryan Lambie, the other with Nathaniel Thompson and Edwin Samuelson.  I found myself drawn in more by the latter, but both are pretty good.  And there's a brand new, on camera interview with Christopher Eccleston, which is great, talking about his experiences filming and his take on Cronenberg in general.  Then, they've also dug up a vintage 'making of' featurette, which is cool because it gives us some behind-the-scenes footage and interview clips with a few actors we don't otherwise hear from, like Don McKellar, Ian Holme and Jennifer Jason Leigh.  And they also pull out a few interview clips from the featurette (and the Jim Isaac talk) as separate clips.  They're the same, redundant video clips, but I guess it's for convenience if you just want to hear Cronenberg or Leigh's takes without watching the whole thing.

101's set also comes in an attractive slip box with an impressive booklet.  The book features a note from the president of 101 films, a glossary of eXistenZ terminology, notes by Alex Morris and most interestingly, an interview with Denise Cronenberg.  It has the look and feel of a fancy Criterion release, where the full color booklet has a proper spine and is housed outside the amary case.  And unlike the German mediabook, of course, all the text is in English, which is always a plus.

So, what does one do?  Just about every release has unique extras.  The blu-rays look better than the DVDs, but they're all fairly underwhelming.  And Echo Bridge has that distracting interlacing problem.  What I'd say is this: if you've already sprung for the German media book, then leave it at that, unless you're a die-hard fan and need all the special features.  If you've got the old Alliance DVD, the 101 release is the best way to upgrade because you'll get the HD and the total set of extras.  But if you haven't got this movie at all yet, it's a bit of a tie between the German and UK blus, basically depending which set of extras is more exciting to you (and maybe whichever is easier and cheaper to get your hands on).  Really, what this film needs is a new friggen' scan, and you might still want to hold off on getting any of these blus in the hopes of a Criterion or Arrow finally doing it justice.  But that could be a very long wait.