They just keep coming. Another batch of pre-orders also arrived and they focused on various distributors outside of 88 Films and Eureka Entertainment.
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).
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.
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.
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.