Which region Twin Peaks?

[#3son]

I looked at the comparisons at dvdcompare.net and bytesandbobs.com and did a search through the forums but I'm still a little confused on this... Which region has the best version of Twin Peaks Season 1?

From what I've read, R1 has a much better transfer than either R2 or R4, however it is missing the pilot episode which is crucial for people who've never seen the show (me). There is an R0 version of the pilot that is the American version but also has crap video and sound quality. R2 has the entire season including the pilot but it is the "European" cut which gives away much of the plot from the later episodes and thus also can't be seen by a TP newbie. And R4 also includes the pilot and is the Amercan version but the entire season has inferior video quality compared to the R1 and R2 releases. There is also a possibility that whoever owns the rights to the pilot will eventually release an R1 version but who knows when that will be.

It all seems like a big mess. Could someone clear this up for me?

[JFelix]

Originally posted by #3son
R2 has the entire season including the pilot but it is the "European" cut which gives away much of the plot from the later episodes and thus also can't be seen by a TP newbie.

Did you look up info on TP/Lynch websites? Because as far as I can recall, all they did was add was...

This really isn't a giant spoiler, but just in case, I'll throw a spoiler tag in there. But the end of the euro-pilot isn't accepted as part of the plot...

Spoiler (Highlight or Triple Click to Read):

As far as I knew, it just inserted the end dream sequence from Episode 2, but then changed to a 'we found the killer' scenario and then that would be the end of that.

If you're capable of all-region playing, I'd go with the Euro pilot cut, it doesn't reveal a LOT of footage from the rest of the episodes (Just one scene, I THINK.) Otherwise just go for the all region Hong Kong NTSC version.

Might not be the best quality, but it IS an official release.

Otherwise, I would say go with the R1 release, it's a fantastic box set with perfect audio and video (GREAT DTS track.) the 'first' episode at least has a 'previously on twin peaks' segment to fill you in on clips from the pilot and the booklette insert has a summary of what happened in the pilot as well.

[TheDarkling]

Let me just say that, depending on how good your HT is, that Region 0 pilot that is available most anywhere isn't too bad. I admittedly don't have a top of the line set-up and I was pretty nervous about what the episode would look/sound like based on a number of things I'd heard. It really wasn't that bad. The sound was kind of low (not low enough that your sound has to be blasting, though), but the picture quality was very passable. I'd say on par with something like that of My So-Called Life or Buffy S1. That little synopsis in the box set and the 'previously' segment on the first regular episode really don't do the pilot justice. You just really have to see it.