Asian Cinema Thread
- Thread starter msgeek
- Start date
Oh don't worry I know about that, but I was thinking of the possibility of perhaps a 2 for £20 or Buy 1 Get 1 Free on 88's store just in caseThe Master is currently £12.99 on Amazon
Half A Loaf of Kung Fu (一招半式闖江湖) from director Chen Chi-hwa, released in 1978, has been acquired by 88 Films for their Jackie Chan line-up.
The film was announced during 88 Film's Jackie Chan trailer.
Jackie Chan 88 Asia collection thus far:
The film was announced during 88 Film's Jackie Chan trailer.
Jackie Chan 88 Asia collection thus far:
| No. | Localised Name | Original | Audio | Director | Year | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dragon Fist | 龍拳 | Cantonese Mandarin English | Lo Wei | 1979 | 10th Dec 2018 |
2 | To Kill with Intrigue | 劍花煙雨江南 | Cantonese Mandarin English | Lo Wei | 1977 | 10th Dec 2018 |
3 | Battle Creek Brawl | 殺手壕 | Cantonese Mandarin English | Robert Clouse | 1980 | 28th Jan 2019 |
4 | Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin | 蛇鶴八步 | Cantonese Mandarin English | Chen Chi-Hwa | 1978 | 18th Feb 2019 |
5 | Crime Story | 重案組 | Cantonese English | Kirk Wong | 1993 | 28th Oct 2019 |
6 | The Protector | 威龍猛探 | Cantonese English | James Glickenhaus | 1985 | 25th Nov 2019 |
7 | Miracles: The Canton Godfather | 奇蹟 | Cantonese English | Jackie Chan | 1989 | 9th Dec 2019 |
8 | Dragons Forever | 飛龍猛將 | Cantonese English | Sammo Hung Corey Yuen | 1988 | 16th Mar 2020 |
9 | Heart of Dragon | 龍的心 | Cantonese English | Sammo Hung | 1985 | 20th April 2020 |
10 | Armour of God II: Operation Condor | 飛鷹計劃 | Cantonese English | Jackie Chan | 1991 | 15th June 2020 |
11 | Dragon Lord | 龍少爺 | Cantonese English | Jackie Chan | 1982 | 10th Aug 2020 |
12 | The Fearless Hyena | 笑拳怪招 | Cantonese English | Jackie Chan | 1979 | 10th Aug 2020 |
13 | Spiritual Kung Fu | 拳精 | Cantonese Mandarin English | Lo Wei | 1978 | 26th Oct 2020 |
14 | Shaolin Wooden Men | 少林木人巷 | Cantonese Mandarin English | Chen Chi-Hwa | 1976 | 9th Nov 2020 |
15 | New Fist of Fury | 新精武門 | Cantonese Mandarin English | Lo Wei | 1976 | 30th Nov 2020 |
16 | The Young Master | 師弟出馬 | Cantonese English | Jackie Chan | 1980 | 22nd Feb 2021 |
17 | Snake in the Eagle's Shadow | 蛇形刁手 | Cantonese Mandarin English | Yuen Woo-ping | 1978 | 29th Mar 2021 |
| ?? | Armour of God | 龍兄虎弟 | Audio TBC | Jackie Chan Eric Tsang | 1986 | TBC 2021 |
| ?? | Half A Loaf of Kung Fu | 一招半式闖江湖 | Audio TBC | Chen Chi-Hwa | 1978 | TBC 2021 |
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Arrow Video has rescued Battle Royale II: Requiem and will also be releasing Battle Royale on 4K Ultra HD this April.
4K ULTRA HD / BLU-RAY CONTENTS:
4K ULTRA HD / BLU-RAY CONTENTS:
- Brand new 4K restoration of the Original Theatrical Version and Special Edition Directors Cut of Battle Royale from the original camera negative by Arrow Films, approved by Kenta Fukasaku
- 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation of both versions of Battle Royale in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) [UHD set only]
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of both versions of Battle Royale [BD set only]
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the Battle Royale II: Requiem theatrical cut and the Battle Royale II: Revenge extended cut
- Original 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 stereo audio
- Optional English subtitles
- Original soundtrack CD for Battle Royale
- Kinji Fukasaku: Man of Rage, an exclusive 120-page monograph on the director by Japanese cinema expert Tom Mes
- Illustrated collectors booklet featuring new essays by Matt Alt and Anne Billson and archival articles
- Exclusive Battle Royale collectors Trump Card set
- Reversible poster with new artwork
- Brand new audio commentary by critics Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp
- Battle Royale at 20: Back to School, an exclusive new 42-minute documentary about the legacy of Battle Royale
- And much more!
- Shooting the Special Edition, on-location featurette with footage of the cast and crew reuniting for the shoot of the Special Edition
- And much more!
- Bloody Graduation: Kenta Fukasaku on Battle Royale II, an exclusive brand new interview with the director and screenwriter of Battle Royale II
- Behind the Scenes of Battle Royale II, on-location featurette during the films shoot
- Rehearsals footage of the auditions and pre-production rehearsals
- And much more!
- A Tribute to Kinji Fukasaku, featuring scenes of Kinji Fukasaku on the location of Battle Royale II
- Kinji Fukasaku's 73rd Birthday: A Speech by Kenta Fukasaku, paying public tribute to his father
- CD featuring the complete score to Battle Royale by Masamichi Amano and the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra
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The older releases I own are these, the 2011 Arrowdrome DVD which is the theatrical cut and also comes with a booklet, and the 2012 Arrow Blu-ray which has both cuts, a bonus DVD features disc and a booklet. Battle Royale is my first Japanese film and thus is special to me personally, so I may take the rare approach of wanting to acquire this 4K LE if I can.
Third Window Films has announced the release date for their Pink Films Vol. 5 & 6 collection - 29th March 2021.
This collection includes Women Hell Song, 1970 film from director Mamoru Watanabe and was one of the five that were restored a while back by Rapid Eye Movies (the other four were included in Pink Films Vol. 1 & 2 and 3 & 4 released last year). The other film included is Underwater Love, 2011 film from director Shinji Imaoka which returns to the UK on Blu-ray after Third Window Films released the DVD back in 2011, it is the latest film to be given a format upgrade since Fish Story last year. You can see the original DVD artwork below (NSFW).
This collection includes Women Hell Song, 1970 film from director Mamoru Watanabe and was one of the five that were restored a while back by Rapid Eye Movies (the other four were included in Pink Films Vol. 1 & 2 and 3 & 4 released last year). The other film included is Underwater Love, 2011 film from director Shinji Imaoka which returns to the UK on Blu-ray after Third Window Films released the DVD back in 2011, it is the latest film to be given a format upgrade since Fish Story last year. You can see the original DVD artwork below (NSFW).
Yami
Thousand Master
Caught between wanting to support 4K restorations / UHD releases of Japanese cinema and thinking Battle Royale is a not-at-all-good film that ended Fukasaku's career on a bum note...I treasure the other films of his that Arrow have released. Hopefully they get around to Sympathy for the Underdog, Under the Flag of the Rising Sun, and Black Lizard.
Heads up, Third Window Films has provided a new update on which titles are now going out of print.
Here's the status of their whole line-up so far:
27 of 70 DVD titles mentioned above are available (or were available) on Blu-ray. One of the titles above (New Director's From Japan) is a DVD-sized Blu-ray/DVD combo pack.
Here's the status of their whole line-up so far:
| Code | Status | BD? | Film Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| TWF001 | Discontinued | No | No Blood, No Tears |
| TWF002 | Discontinued | No | Green Fish |
| TWF003 | Discontinued | No | Say Yes |
| TWF004 | Discontinued | No | Wild Card |
| TWF005 | Discontinued | No | Guns and Talks |
| TWF006 | Discontinued | No | PTU |
| TWF007 | Discontinued | No | Teenage Hooker Became a Killing Machine |
| TWF008 | Discontinued | No | Friend |
| TWF009 | Discontinued | Yes | Memories of Matsuko |
| TWF010 | Discontinued | Yes | Kamikaze Girls |
| TWF011 | Discontinued | No | The President's Last Bang |
| TWF012 | Discontinued | No | Turtles Are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers |
| TWF013 | In Print | No | Fine, Totally Fine |
| TWF014 | Discontinued | No | Funuke, Show Me Some Love, You Losers! |
| TWF015 | Discontinued | No | Kick the Moon |
| TWF016 | Discontinued | No | Dasepo Naughty Girls |
| TWF017 | Discontinued | No | Oasis |
| TWF018 | Discontinued | No | No. 3 |
| TWF019 | In Print | Yes | Love Exposure |
| TWF020 | Discontinued | No | Lala Pipo: A Lot of People |
| TWF021 | Discontinued | Yes | [Re-release] Kamikaze Girls |
| TWF022 | Discontinued | No | Peppermint Candy |
| TWF023 | Discontinued | No | Instant Swamp |
| TWF024 | In Print | No | Kakera: A Piece of Our Life |
| TWF025 | In Print | Yes | Fish Story |
| TWF026 | Discontinued | No | Confessions of a Dog |
| TWF027 | Discontinued | Yes | Confessions |
| TWF028 | In Print | Yes | Cold Fish |
| TWF029 | Discontinued | No | Sawako Decides |
| TWF030 | In Print | No | Quirky Guys and Gals: Cheer Girls / Boy? Meets Girl / Claim Night / The House Full of Abandoned Businessmen |
| TWF031 | Discontinued | Yes | Underwater Love |
| TWF032 | Discontinued | No | Villain |
| TWF033 | Discontinued | No | Adrift in Tokyo |
| TWF034 | Discontinued | No | Miki Satoshi Collection: Turtles Are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers / Adrift in Tokyo / Instant Swamp |
| TWF035 | Discontinued | No | Crime Or Punishment?!? |
| TWF036 | Discontinued | No | Mitsuko Delivers |
| TWF037 | ------- | -- | ------- |
| TWF038 | Discontinued | Yes | Himizu |
| TWF039 | In Print | Yes | Kotoko |
| TWF040 | In Print | Yes | Tetsuo: The Iron Man / Tetsuo II: Body Hammer |
| TWF041 | In Print | No | Isn't Anyone Alive? |
| TWF042 | Discontinued | No | The Foreign Duck, the Native Duck and God in a Coin Locker |
| TWF043 | Discontinued | Yes | The Woodsman and the Rain |
| TWF044 | Discontinued | Yes | Vulgaria |
| TWF045 | Discontinued | Yes | For Love's Sake |
| TWF046 | In Print | Yes | The Land of Hope |
| TWF047 | In Print | No | Serpent's Path / Eyes of the Spider |
| TWF048 | In Print | No | See You Tomorrow, Everyone |
| TWF049 | In Print | Yes | Tokyo Fist |
| TWF050 | In Print | Yes | Bullet Ballet |
| TWF051 | In Print | No | How to Use Guys With Secret Tips |
| TWF052 | In Print | No | Boomerang Family |
| TWF053 | In Print | No | Shady |
| TWF054 | Discontinued | Yes | The Story of Yonosuke |
| TWF055 | In Print | No | Bleak Night |
| TWF056 | Discontinued | Yes | Pluto |
| TWF057 | In Print | No | Behind the Camera |
| TWF058 | In Print | No | Sake-bomb |
| TWF059 | Discontinued | Yes | Lesson of Evil |
| TWF060 | Discontinued | Yes | New Directors from Japan: And the Mud Ship Sails Away / The Lust of Angels / My Baby / Buy Bling, Get One Free |
| TWF061 | In Print | Yes | Greatful Dead |
| TWF062 | Discontinued | Yes | Han Gong-ju |
| TWF063 | In Print | No | Fukuchan of Fukufuku Flats |
| TWF064 | In Print | No | Be My Baby |
| TWF065 | In Print | No | Makeup Room |
| TWF066 | In Print | Yes | Uzumasa Limelight |
| TWF067 | In Print | Yes | Love and Peace |
| TWF068 | In Print | Yes | Destruction Babies |
| TWF069 | In Print | Yes | Animerama: A Thousand And One Nights & Cleopatra |
| TWF070 | In Print | Yes | One Cut of the Dead |
27 of 70 DVD titles mentioned above are available (or were available) on Blu-ray. One of the titles above (New Director's From Japan) is a DVD-sized Blu-ray/DVD combo pack.
| Code | Status | Film Name |
|---|---|---|
| TWFBD001 | Discontinued | Kamikaze Girls |
| TWFBD002 | Discontinued | Memories of Matsuko |
| TWFBD003 | Discontinued | Confessions |
| TWFBD004 | In Print | Cold Fish |
| TWFBD005 | Discontinued | Himizu |
| TWFBD006 | In Print | Love Exposure |
| TWFBD007 | In Print | Kotoko |
| TWFBD008 | Discontinued | Tetsuo: The Iron Man / Tetsuo II: Body Hammer |
| TWFBD009 | Discontinued | The Woodsman and the Rain |
| TWFBD010 | Discontinued | Vulgaria |
| TWFBD011 | Discontinued | For Love's Sake |
| TWFBD012 | In Print | The Land of Hope |
| TWFBD013 | In Print | Tokyo Fist |
| TWFBD014 | In Print | Bullet Ballet |
| TWFBD015 | Discontinued | The Story of Yonosuke |
| TWFBD016 | Discontinued | Pluto |
| TWFBD017 | Discontinued | Lesson of Evil |
| TWFBD018 | In Print | Greatful Dead |
| TWFBD019 | Discontinued | Han Gong-ju |
| TWFBD020 | In Print | A Snake of June |
| TWFBD021 | Almost Gone | Ruined Heart: Another Lovestory Between a Criminal and a Whore |
| TWFBD022 | In Print | Hana-bi |
| TWFBD023 | In Print | Kikujiro |
| TWFBD024 | In Print | Dolls |
| TWFBD025 | In Print | Uzumasa Limelight |
| TWFBD026 | In Print | Love & Peace |
| TWFBD027 | In Print | A Scene at the Sea |
| TWFBD028 | In Print | Kids Return |
| TWFBD029 | In Print | Lowlife Love |
| TWFBD030 | Almost Gone | Toshiaki Toyoda: The Early Years: Pornostar / Unchain / 9 Souls |
| TWFBD031 | In Print | Destruction Babies |
| TWFBD032 | In Print | Fires on the Plain |
| TWFBD033 | In Print | Getting Any? |
| TWFBD034 | Cancelled | Ken and Kazu |
| TWFBD035 | In Print | Love and Other Cults |
| TWFBD036 | In Print | The Whispering Star / The Sion Sono |
| TWFBD037 | In Print | Antiporno |
| TWFBD038 | In Print | Animerama: A Thousand And One Nights & Cleopatra |
| TWFBD039 | In Print | Suffering of Ninko |
| TWFBD040 | In Print | [Re-release]: Tetsuo: The Iron Man / Tetsuo II: Body Hammer |
| TWFBD041 | In Print | Dangan Runner |
| TWFBD042 | Discontinued | One Cut of the Dead |
| TWFBD043 | In Print | [Re-release]: One Cut of the Dead |
| TWFBD044 | In Print | Top Knot Detective |
| TWFBD045 | In Print | Blue Spring |
| TWFBD046 | In Print | The Legend of the Stardust Brothers |
| TWFBD047 | Discontinued | Pink Films Vol. 1 & 2: Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands / Gushing Prayer |
| TWFBD048 | In Print | Tsukamoto: Killing / Haze / Denchukozo |
| TWFBD049 | Almost Gone | Pink Films Vol. 3 & 4: Abnormal Family / Blue Film Woman |
| TWFBD050 | In Print | Hanagatami |
| TWFBD051 | In Print | Fish Story |
| TWFBD052 | In Print | Melancholic |
| TWFBD053 | In Print | The Taste of Tea |
| TWFBD054 | In Print | Gemini |
| TWFBD055 | In Print | The Weird and Wonderful World of Ujicha: Violence Voyager / Burning Buddha Man |
| TWFBD056 | Coming Soon | Pink Films Vol. 5 & 6: Women Hell Song / Underwater Love |
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According to a response from a BD forum user, the World of Wong Kar Wai release has been pushed back to May 2021 for the UK.
Gareth
Completely Average High School Student
Nice! I’ll probably check this out. Not the biggest fan of horror themes. However, I do remember not knowing anything of Cube and randomly watching it one night on Sky many, many, years ago. It has stuck with me since, haha!
The intrigue of the wider world and mystery of the situation is part of the appeal. I never watched the sequel/prequels though.
Perhaps if this turns into a successful Japanese franchise, they could create a more cohesive narrative around it than the originals.
Stiivun
Pokémon Master
So it seems for us non-UK citizen wanting to order directly from UK shops has big disadvantages as both 88 Films and Eureka just charge you the UK VAT even if you're not an UK citizen 
To ask for some information I've asked both of them about it, and so far I got a prompt reply from 88 Films which is in no satisfying. So basically they're hiding behind the fact that they are a small company (Calimero complex), but they even Anime-on-Line and Anime Ltd. do it correctly so why not 88 Films. I wonder what Eureka has as an excuse.
Below the reply I got back from 88 Films
-------------------
Thank you for getting in touch. We know the current tax situation is frustrating but sadly as a small company selling relatively low value items we are not in a situation to subsidise it. We are looking at all possible options for our overseas customers but right now this is the situation. We do sell our products through Zavvi who are able to offer EU distribution and subsidise those that do come from the UK so you could look at the availability of our films through them. I’m sorry I can’t do more today but there may well be announcements in the future so do keep an eye on our newsletter and social media pages.
Kind regards
Customer Services
88 Films Ltd.
To ask for some information I've asked both of them about it, and so far I got a prompt reply from 88 Films which is in no satisfying. So basically they're hiding behind the fact that they are a small company (Calimero complex), but they even Anime-on-Line and Anime Ltd. do it correctly so why not 88 Films. I wonder what Eureka has as an excuse.
Below the reply I got back from 88 Films
-------------------
Thank you for getting in touch. We know the current tax situation is frustrating but sadly as a small company selling relatively low value items we are not in a situation to subsidise it. We are looking at all possible options for our overseas customers but right now this is the situation. We do sell our products through Zavvi who are able to offer EU distribution and subsidise those that do come from the UK so you could look at the availability of our films through them. I’m sorry I can’t do more today but there may well be announcements in the future so do keep an eye on our newsletter and social media pages.
Kind regards
Customer Services
88 Films Ltd.
Yeah it sounds unfortunate, but on the plus side Arrow has confirmed the VAT is removed for EU users so those of you who live in the EU can still get Arrow and Third Window Films titles without having to pay the previous amount.
The latest release schedule for Asian Cinema in the UK.
February 2021:
March 2021:
April 2021:
May 2021:
February 2021:
| Date: | Name: | Director / Year: | Format: | Dist. / Audio: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22nd | Gamera: The Heisei Era Trilogy: Gamera: Guardian of the Universe Gamera 2: Attack of Legion Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris | Shusuke Kaneko 1995-1999 | Blu-ray steelbook | Arrow Video Japanese audio with English dub with English subtitles |
| 22nd | Shogun’s Joy of Torture | Teruo Ishii 1968 | Blu-ray | Arrow Video Japanese audio with English subtitles |
| 22nd | The Young Master | Jackie Chan 1980 | Blu-ray limited edition | 88 Films Cantonese audio with English dub with English subtitles |
March 2021:
| Date: | Name: | Director / Year: | Format: | Dist. / Audio: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8th | Kagemusha | Akira Kurosawa 1980 | Blu-ray | Criterion Japanese audio with English subtitles |
| 15th | The Invisible Man Appears The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly | Nobuo Adachi 1949 Mitsuo Murayama 1957 | Blu-ray | Arrow Video Japanese audio with English subtitles |
| 22nd | The Lucky Stars Collection: Winners and Sinners My Lucky Stars Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars | Sammo Hung 1983-1985 | Blu-ray first print edition | Eureka Classics Cantonese audio with English dub with English subtitles |
| 29th | Pink Films Vol. 5 & 6: Women Hell Song Underwater Love | Watanabe Mamoru 1969 Shinji Imaoka 2011 | Blu-ray | Third Window Films Japanese audio with English subtitles |
| 29th | Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow | Yuen Woo-ping 1978 | Blu-ray first print edition | 88 Films Cantonese audio with English dub with English subtitles |
April 2021:
| Date: | Name: | Director / Year: | Format: | Dist. / Audio: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12th | Meatball Machine | Yudai Yamaguchi Junichi Yamamoto 2005 | Blu-ray first print edition | Terracotta Japanese audio with English subtitles |
| 26th | Battle Royale Battle Royale II: Requiem | Kinji Fukasaku 2000 Kenta Fukasaku 2003 | 4K Ultra HD (BR) Blu-ray (BRII:R) limited edition | Arrow Video Japanese audio with English subtitles |
| 26th | Battle Royale Battle Royale II: Requiem | Kinji Fukasaku 2000 Kenta Fukasaku 2003 | Blu-ray limited edition | Arrow Video Japanese audio with English subtitles |
May 2021:
| Date: | Name: | Director / Year: | Format: | Dist. / Audio: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBD | World of Wong Kar Wai: As Tears Go By Days of Being Wild Chungking Express Fallen Angels Happy Together In the Mood for Love 2046 | Wong Kar Wai 1988-2004 | Blu-ray | Criterion Cantonese audio with English subtitles |
Coming Soon, Licensed & Not Yet Scheduled:
| Name: | Director / Year: | Format: | Dist. / Audio: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Armour of God | Jackie Chan Eric Tsang 1986 | Blu-ray first print edition | 88 Films Cantonese audio with English subtitles |
| Half a Loaf of Kung Fu | Chen Chi-hwa 1978 | Blu-ray first print edition | 88 Films Mandarin audio with English subtitles |
| Tezuka’s Barbara | Macoto Tezka 2019 | Blu-ray | Third Window Films Japanese audio with English subtitles |
Stiivun
Pokémon Master
Haven‘t used them yet this year, but great to see Arrow at least does it correctly.
In fact base.com does also remove the VAT for EU customers, so that’s another option.
But don‘t get me started on Zavvi, who have a so-called EU hub (they probably don‘t even know where it’s located) so they charge their EU customers UK VAT but still packages arrive with a yellow sticker on the package. In my book that’s pure scamming of customers.
Text on that sticker is
Community goods consigned to or from a part of the customs territory of the Community where the provisions of Council Directive 77/388/EEC do not apply.