Shakespeare Films on Ebay

[krislandis]

So I was just searching ebay idly and came across several "Region 0" versions of Macbeth and Chimes. They appear to be South Korean(?) and say they are "region 0" and will play anywhere. Anyone have any info on these? Should I avoid or jump on these. I was burnt by a Public Domain Mr. Arkadin once and dont want to waste my time and money on sub-par or downright fraudulent versions.

Thanks,
Kris

[RayKelly]

I bought a Korean Othello. It was a pretty poor transfer.

[Jay]

I have the Korean region free import of Macbeth, which is restored to its original running time of 108 minutes. This is the version I have: http://www.amazon.com/Macbeth-All-Region-Orson-Welles/dp/B000B65ZGM/ref=sr_1_8?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1330201528&sr=1-8. It's a solid-looking transfer and, as far as I know, the best available option for those of us who have region 1 DVD players (a good R2 release is out there, too). The Korean subtitles are removable, thankfully. The only downside is that the back of the case says it also includes "Road to Glennascaul" with an intro from Peter Bogdanovich, but it's nowhere to be found on the DVD. Anyway, I'd recommend it. On the actual film, this amazon reviewer probably said it best: "Welles' MacBeth is like a crazy 1930s German Expressionist bad acid trip, with Welles in florid ham actor mode, his Irish brogue soaring like a hawk. If you love cinema though, you will love crazy Welles drunken sweaty rampaging through his cheap papier mache caverns with his weird statue of liberty crown way more than you could ever love similar more 'perfect' adaptations like say, Olivier's HAMLET which came out that same year."

[Jay]

I bought a Korean Othello. It was a pretty poor transfer.

What's interesting is that the Korean Othello is the exact same DVD that Image released of the "restored" Othello; it just costs a lot less and actually includes English subtitles (unlike the American release). I'm glad I have my Criterion LD of Othello that wasn't tinkered with by Welles' daughter; it actually looked better than the "restored" version.

[krislandis]

So Macbeth's a Yay and Othello a nay. Got it. Any opinions on the Chimes? This one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/CHIMES-MIDNIGHT ... 3a6c83f996

[RayKelly]

I bought if for about that price, maybe less, from the maker Nostalgia Home Video.
It was pretty decent, but it is a DVD-R/