If you are spiritually-inclinded, this one's for you:-- a very unique offer I must say...

http://www.excelhomevideos.com/nlimages/banarasnlht.jpg

can we RE-NAME the thread to Banaras - EXCEL HOME VIDEO discussion!

I just bought this DVD tonite.

What a waste of 15$! You know why?

let me tell you the reasons.

1) if you go to setup menu and select an audio track (whether it is DD5.1 or Stereo) and then click on PLAY MOVIE,
it gives you the introduction EXCEL statement about the movie with 2 endings. and THEN to make matters even MORE frustrating, after THAT intro, it comes BACK to the setup menu!!!

2) it would be nice if the movie ACTUALLY HAD 2 AUDIO TRACKS - it does NOT!

3) it would be NICE if the alternate ending was of the same aspect ratio of the original movie portion...it is NOT....NOR is it of the same quality.

4) audio is HORRIBLE...can barely hear anything...did Excel buy the audio from EROS or something? there is NOTHING substantial with this DVD at all.


the ONLY good part that i have seen SO FAR is the main 1hr59min movie (without the endings). the quality and colours are superb. and what WAS THE INTENDED a/r for this source which changes throughout?


you know IF you EVER have a movie with 2 endings...you can CREATE 2 separate PGCs.

one PGC for original ending...this will allow a user from the MAIN MENU to select theatrical version - and plays the movie all the way though.

one PGC for alternate ending...this will allow a user from the MAIN MENU to select "alternate version" - and plays the movie all the way through.

I DO NOT WANT TO HAVE TO SIT THROUGH 2 HOURS OF A VERY GOOD MOVIE AND THEN ASK ME WHICH ENDING I WANT TO SEE.

This is a DISGRACE to my intelligence and the company. I have NEVER EVER seen this happen before...I am throwing this disc away. Sorry, I paid money for this disc and I have EVERY RIGHT to be angry here and vent my frustrations...

we all complain about zEROS and the people who author their DVDs...whoever made Banaras at the company should be SHOT & FIRED...immediately...because he/she does NOT know what he's doing.

If we may request NEWDEEP to comment, as he has seen this version.

FB, "jaldi kaa kaam shaitaan kaa hota hae" -- you should not throw away the disc -- keep it, even if as a reference of "how not to author a two-ending movie"... Remember how you lost the Moserbaer Jab We Met, thinking it was a shorter version when it was actually PAL-sped-up.

That said, yes, and this has been discussed before, Excel started off with not so great Bollywood releases, and I'd advise you to be cautious with older Excel Bollywood releases. However, they were amazingly open to feedback, and have actually been tracking (and implementing) all suggestions made on zulm as well as those they receive on e-mail. And so they moved slowly but steadily to much much better (and feature rich) releases in Parineeta, Dor, Lagaan...
http://www.twitchfilm.net/archives/010514.html
And their Hollywood/international releases are world-class from their very first dvd.

I'll check my copy of Banaras -- I agree with you that it's not without issues

Thanks Deep for replying. Imho, excel should stay away with simpler technique, putting alternate ending in extras like it was done for johny gadar. If we want to compare with hollywood dvd like t2 special edition with seamless branching then it wont stand any comparison. on the other side of the coin, if sound is bad, that is a different issue.

Let me share Excel's reply to my seamless branching query (some days back):

that goes back to my age old comment that indian/bollywood dvds are bad due to incompetence! same for films, when best directors be Farah/Sajid Khans

i know how to do seamless branching...

@ ND - can you please tell me about your release of Khamosh Paani? i saw the Excel disc of that as well...does it have problems?

and thanks for replying above...

Excel Khamosh Pani is not in widescreen AR -- it's pan-and-scan. The audio is not 5.1.

Shemaroo is one of dvd authoring company with MOST ADVANCED machines in MORAN's hands who are running with their scissors, to crop every thing right and left. There is only one machine on auto pilot, i.e dvd copier machine lol. The rest need knowldegble, trained, competent and literate people to run it. But when all these companies are trying to cheat/screw dvd/movie lovers with compromised dvds authored by incompetent people for peanuts, unfortunately. Imho, if they could get all those monkeys from Delhi streets to do the job, they will do so

I personally feel very strongly that expecting hollywood level authored dvds, SD or HD are simply preposterous. Either you buy it for whatever they want for whatever they want? or just simply do not buy them at all. I do not think, there is any third way out in this messy situation.

Dear FB and others,
I just recd the following reply from Excel

no it's okay man. every company needs money to operate.

i don't mind giving money to Excel...it's a good company.
if i didn't have to move to India...i could work here and do it all
there's always FTP servers to send & receive files...

i won't ask for refund...it's NOT my policy.

OK -- personally even I'd not ask for refund from caring companies such as excel...

BTW, I have numerous hollywood dvds that offer extended and normal versions by allowing you to see deleted scenes inserted into the movie or without these -- most of them offer non-anamorphic video on the "extended" version and sometimes the AR is also diferent. Yes, all this does get a little irritating...

It looks like that the extended version scenes are squished on excel banaras.



Here's one regular scene from the dvd: