What did you RECEIVE today? PHOTOS EDITION!

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Yesterday I visited the Heroes: Made in Asia convention in Utrecht, The Netherlands. There I picked up a bunch of stuff (mostly imported drinks). Highlight is of course the collector's edition of Metaphor: ReFantazio. Not included in this picture is a poster of Perfect Blue that I also picked up during the convention.
I'd have to draw the line at horseradish flavored Kit Kat bars, they really have a lot of weird varieties of them in Japan.
 
2025 HAUL - MARCH v3.1

A few more packages this week, all focused on Asian Cinema. Most are pre-orders.


March Asian Cinema Haul - 1 - Shaw Brothers.jpg

#6: An Amorous Woman Of Tang Dynasty, Hong Kong Hong Kong, The Lady Assassin & The Lady Is The Boss
At the start of March, distributor 88 Films finally re-opened their website due to a warehouse change and that means their latest releases are also available to order on their store. I made one order first but soon after realised they did tweak their points system which would also expire soon. Eventually I settled on a second order to focus on the recent Shaw Brothers releases.

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This haul is also split across two orders because one of them, Tony Lou Chun-Ku's 1983 film The Lady Assassin (清宮啟示錄), was listed on the store as if the first print edition was already gone. For context, they tell you in bolded writing whether the listing has the first print edition items like a slipcase and booklet, plus the artwork would also reflect that. The film was released back in February and either it had a lower print run or it sold better than expected. Therefore I took a gamble with Amazon and it arrived without issue.

An Amorous Woman of Tang Dynasty 1.jpg
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The Lady is the Boss 1.jpg

The order from 88 Films' store covers their three titles released for March. Here we have Eddie Ling-Ching Fong's 1984 film An Amorous Woman Of Tang Dynasty (唐朝豪放女), Clifford Choi's 1983 film Hong Kong Hong Kong (男與女), and Lau Kar-Leung's 1983 film The Lady Is The Boss (掌門人). Out of these three, I would say Hong Kong Hong Kong is the most interesting of the batch because it's a different genre and setting compared to what Shaw Brothers are known for which is their martial arts historical pieces. Shaw Brothers have delved into different genres before, like spy thrillers as seen with Eureka's recent release a few months back.
 
2025 HAUL - MARCH v3.2

This post covers the items that arrived yesterday, continuing where we left off.


March Asian Cinema Haul - 2 - 88 Films.jpg

#7: Assault! Jack the Ripper, Center Stage, Pinocchio 964 & Yumeno Kyusaku’s Girl Hell
Next we have even more 88 Films titles.

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Once again this is a two-part order due to an incorrect date listed for Masaru Konuma's 1977 film Yumeno Kyusaku’s Girl Hell (夢野久作の少女地獄) which led me to believe it was to be released in April, and given how the system works if the date was true the whole order would have been delayed to April. Turns out the date was incorrect and it was part of March so I had to figure out a way to get it whilst also not spending too much on shipping, so I ordered the film alongside the three Shaw Brothers titles mentioned earlier.

Assault! Jack the Ripper 1.jpg

Also part of the pre-order haul are a bit of everything from 88's line-up. Starting off with Yasuharu Hasebe's 1976 film Assault! Jack The Ripper (暴行切り裂きジャック). Both this film and Yumeno Kyusaku’s Girl Hell are part of the Nikkatsu Corporation Roman Porno series that 88 Films have been releasing over the past few months. This was the batch that convinced me to pick up these films entirely as they stood out. Yasuharu Hasebe is also a well-known Japanese director so that was another factor too.

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Next we have Stanley Kwan's 1991 film Center Stage (阮玲玉), which is an interesting pick for the distributor. This release not only uses the 4K restoration master but is also the 155 minute extended version. It doesn't have the other versions (theatrical & edited) but this one is considered the preferred viewing method by many from what I have read.

Pinocchio 964 1.jpg

And last but not least is the latest release for the Japanarchy line-up with Shozin Fukui's 1991 film Pinocchio 964 (ピノキオ√964). Now for starters the artwork is really nice on this release and I love it. Secondly this is an interesting choice in terms of format and license pick because over in North America it's distributed by Media Blasters who are also releasing the film on 4K Ultra HD. Now it's possible that 88 Films did review the masters and felt it wasn't worth the upgrade but sometimes that happens.


March Asian Cinema Haul - 3 - Terracotta Haul.jpg

#8: The Eel, New Religion/Neu Mirrors, Play It Cool & Yojimbo & Sanjuro
They just keep coming. Another batch of pre-orders also arrived and they focused on various distributors outside of 88 Films and Eureka Entertainment.

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From Arrow Video we have Yasuzō Masumura's 1970 film Play it Cool (でんきくらげ) with a striking cover art design and receiving the limited edition treatment with a slipcase and booklet to go with it. This is my first film from the director and I know Arrow have released a lot from his catalogue over the years so I will look into those whenever possible (sadly I would have missed out on the booklets but it ain't easy trying to get them all though).

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From the British Film Institute we have a double dip and upgrade with Akira Kurosawa's 1961-62 films Yojimbo & Sanjuro (用心棒 & 椿三十郎) on the 4K Ultra HD format. This is the second 4K Kurosawa release by BFI after their Seven Samurai title a few months back but presented in a regular first print package than the sturdy type the former had. On the plus side both films are together considering they feature the same main lead. Unlike Seven Samurai I actually haven't seen the other samurai films in the Blu-ray collection that I picked up back in 2020 so this will be my first time watching them.

The Eel 1.jpg

From Radiance Films we have another highly anticipated release with Shohei Imamura's 1997 film The Eel (うなぎ) starring Kōji Yakusho (Cure). Shohei Imamura is also another iconic and well-known Japanese director that I've not had the chance to watch any of his films over the years and if I manage to track down that Arrow box set I definitely would. The director's catalogue works very well with Radiance's line-up also.

New Religion & Neu Mirrors 1.jpg

And from Third Window Films comes an interesting J-Horror title that was released a few years ago and also includes a short film as well - Keishi Kondo's 2022 film New Religion/Neu Mirrors (ニューレリジョン/ノイミラーズ). New Religion is the main feature here while Neu Mirrors is a companion that helps support the former with the story and context. Hadn't heard of these films prior but they were shown in festivals and Third Window likes to support modern Japanese films whenever possible so this is a cool pick for home video.
 
2025 HAUL - MARCH v3.2

This post covers the items that arrived yesterday, continuing where we left off.

Some great pick ups there, got all of those myself aside from Center Stage.

Just noticed your signature and mentioning your blog is The Nomadic Vault. Your upcoming Asian cinema releases bit is really useful, always keeps me right as to what's coming out in the coming months.
 
Next we have Stanley Kwan's 1991 film Center Stage (阮玲玉), which is an interesting pick for the distributor. This release not only uses the 4K restoration master but is also the 155 minute extended version. It doesn't have the other versions (theatrical & edited) but this one is considered the preferred viewing method by many from what I have read.

oh cool, I didn't know there was a new version of Center Stage coming out.
I got really interested in Ruan Ling-yu after hearing a podcast about her life, picked up the BFI DVD release of The Goddess which is fascinating but the previous version of Center Stage was out of print. will pick up as soon as I can!
 
All these arrived yesterday, I'm really happy with everything, except the trousers are too long, but maybe I can rehem them at the bottoms :) The velvet top is lovely though a bit of a crop-top on me but I don't mind showing off a bit of my tummy! The pink shorts with deeper pink bows are indeed made of denim, so a bit different than the other velvet and polycotton/similar fabrics I usually get, but they are super cute anyway and a comfortable fit, so I have no complaints :)
 

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