Wrapping up the month with another batch of new March releases for the Asian Cinema collection from the Terracotta store. This time we have releases from Arrow Video and Radiance Films.
We'll start off with the Blu-ray limited edition release for
Eiichi Kudo’s Samurai Revolution Trilogy from Arrow Video. This release features three classic Japanese films by director Eiichi Kudo.
1963's
13 Assassins (十三人の刺客) starring Chiezo Kataoka
(Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji, Killer's Mission), Kōtarō Satomi
(Miyamoto Musashi V, Red Peony Gambler: Biographies of a Gambling Room), Ryōhei Uchida
(Blind Woman's Curse, The Human Condition), and Tetsuro Tamba
(The Happiness of the Katakuris, Harakiri). This is the film that Takashi Miike eventually remade in 2010 which I have seen, so I'm curious to see how the original plays out.
1964's
The Great Killing (大殺陣) starring Tōru Abe
(The Human Condition, Underworld Beauty), Mikijiro Hira
(The Shape of Night, Three Outlaw Samurai), Yoshio Inaba (Harakiri, Seven Samurai), and Chiezo Kataoka
(Japanese Godfather: Conclusion, Red Peony Gambler: Execution of Duty).
1967's
Eleven Samurai (十一人の侍) starring Isao Natsuyagi
(Like Father, Like Son, Warm Water Under a Red Bridge), Kōtarō Satomi
(Bakeneko: A Vengeful Spirit, A Chorus of Angels), Kōji Nanbara
(Branded to Kill, The Human Condition), and Junko Miyazono
(Ohyaku: The Female Demon, Samurai Wolf).
Arrow's limited edition release includes an o-card sleeve, rigid box, three Amaray cases and a booklet that includes various essays about the films.
Next we have the 4K Ultra HD limited edition release for John Woo's 1992 film
Hard Boiled (辣手神探), the third Golden Princess title to be released in the UK under Arrow Video. The UK is behind compared to Shout! Factory but there's more effort put into the packaging, authoring and translation work. The film stars Chow Yun-Fat
(A Better Tomorrow, God of Gamblers), Tony Leung Chiu-wai
(In the Mood for Love, Shang-Chi), Anthony Wong Chau-Sang
(Infernal Affairs, The Untold Story), and Teresa Mo Shun-Kwan
(All’s Well, End’s Well, Touch and Go).
Arrow's limited edition release includes an o-card sleeve, rigid box, a 4K UHD case, a double-sided fold-out poster and a booklet that includes various essays about the film. There's also a second Blu-ray disc with more extra features.
Then we move over to Radiance Films with their limited edition release
Underworld Chronicles: Three Yakuza Fables from Takashi Miike. This release features three of Takashi Miike's classic films from the late 90s to early 00s now back in the UK on Blu-ray with one of them also included in 4K Ultra HD.
1996's
Fudoh: The New Generation (極道戦国志 不動) starring Shosuke Tanihara
(Memories of Matsuko, The Sky Crawlers), Riki Takeuchi
(Dead or Alive Trilogy, Yakuza 0), Kenji Takano
(Sleepless Town, Spriggan), and Toru Minegishi
(Departures, His Motorbike, Her Island). Media Blasters released the film in 4K Ultra HD with MediaOCD handling the authoring, and the distributor provided Radiance Films with the master which they then did some additional restoration work for this release. This is also uncut compared to before.
2001's
Agitator (荒ぶる魂たち) starring Masaya Katō
(Brother, Kingdom live-action films), Taisaku Akino
(Izo, Tora-san film series), Kenichi Endo
(Nobody Knows, Yakuza 4), and Hakuryu
(Under the Open Sky, Violent Cop). The Radiance Films release includes both the 150 minute theatrical cut and the 200 minute two-part extended cut, the latter presented in standard definition due to the masters not available in HD.
2002's
Deadly Outlaw: Rekka (実録・安藤昇侠道(アウトロー)伝 烈火) starring Riki Takeuchi
(Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage, His Motorbike, Her Island), Sonny Chiba
(The Bullet Train, The Street Fighter), Tetsuro Tamba (The Cat Returns, Gozu), and Ryôsuke Miki (Graveyard of Honor, Izo). Arrow Video previously released the film on DVD but this marks the UK's debut on Blu-ray.
This 6000 unit release includes an obi strip, rigid box, three Scanavo cases and a booklet that includes various essays about the films. A standard edition is expected that would split up the formats for
Fudoh and release them all with the new artwork but without any reversible covers or physical items.