Just Passing Through
The Wildcard
Got the new Battle Royale Blu-ray today. Comparing the old Blu to the new Blu is like comparing DVD to Blu-rays. It should really kick arse in UHD for those capable.
Asian Cinema Thread
- Thread starter msgeek
- Start date
Jon O Fun
Combat Butler
I got an email from amazon which I assume is about the Erotic Ghost Story delay but for some reason it was listed as 'Story of Ricky' 
potentially an unannounced HKL rescue from 88films that someone's mixed up 
Did I quick check and Mediumrare's version came out in 2015 so license will probably be up by now.
potentially an unannounced HKL rescue from 88films that someone's mixed up Did I quick check and Mediumrare's version came out in 2015 so license will probably be up by now.
Yeah not long after I posted the August line-up on the Blu-ray forum, a new listing called The Story of Ricky showed up for the same price as Erotic Ghost Story and Robotrix, so that's now another Category III film incoming.I got an email from amazon which I assume is about the Erotic Ghost Story delay but for some reason it was listed as 'Story of Ricky'
View attachment 18524
Did I quick check and Mediumrare's version came out in 2015 so license will probably be up by now.
Oh boy if these films keep the Category III logo on the spine, that would look pretty neat on the shelf.
Jon O Fun
Combat Butler
Definitely, and seems they're all deluxe editions going by the £25 price point!
Riki-Oh is easily one of my favourites just for how mental over the top it is, so that'll be an 3asy day one purchase for me.
Indeed. Since 88 Films is planning to expand into the US, if they license the more controversial Category III films (Untold Story would have been a good one but that already has a US release now) then they can take advantage of the US/UK importing scene.
Third Window Films has confirmed they have a number of Japanese films that are coming to the UK that have yet to receive any form of release elsewhere.
In addition, they have also confirmed plans to release a second Toshiaki Toyoda box set.
In addition, they have also confirmed plans to release a second Toshiaki Toyoda box set.
More Shaw Brother films coming this September from 88 Films with Disciples of Shaolin and The Flag of Iron now listed on Amazon.
Yami
Thousand Master
They'll also be releasing Shinji Somai's Sailor Suit and Machine Gun. For my money, Somai was the best Japanese director to emerge after the New Wave and it's pretty shocking that none of his films have received a commercial release in the West up until this point. I discovered him via a retrospective at the Edinburgh Film Festival a full decade ago now - Typhoon Club is one of my favourite films of the 1980s and Moving is seems to be both influenced by the Studio Ghibli films that preceded it and an influence on Miyazaki's subsequent output.
Sailor Suit isn't his very best, but it's his most commercial so I'm not surprised to see Arrow test the waters with that one.
Jon O Fun
Combat Butler
Pretty sure someone just had a brainfart and copied over the EGS listing with the new Story of Ricky listing and now they're backtracking trying to fix it.
It's a shame that it's only covering the first film rather as a trilogy set.
Jon O Fun
Combat Butler
Unfortunate but maybe later as this seems like them testing the waters for Cat III to see how it sells.
Arrow's Asian Cinema release for July 2021 is revealed (early on Amazon as per usual).
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
Daimajin Collection (Limited Edition Blu-ray)
Release Date: 26th July 2021
Release Date: 26th July 2021
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the three Daimajin films
- Lossless original Japanese and dubbed English mono audio for all films
- Optional English subtitles
- Illustrated collectors 100 page book featuring new essays by Jonathan Clements, Keith Aiken, Ed Godziszewski, Raffael Coronelli, Erik Homenick, Robin Gatto and Kevin Derendorf
- Postcards featuring the original Japanese artwork for all three films
- Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Frank
- Brand new audio commentary by Japanese film expert Stuart Galbraith IV
- Newly filmed introduction by critic Kim Newman
- Bringing the Avenging God to Life, a brand new exclusive video essay about the special effects of the Daimajin films by Japanese film historian Ed Godziszewski
- Alternate opening credits for the US release as Majin
- The Monster of Terror
- Trailers for the original Japanese and US releases
- Image gallery
- Brand new audio commentary by Japanese film experts Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp
- My Summer Holidays with Daimajin, a newly filmed interview with Professor Yoneo Ota, director of the Toy Film Museum, Kyoto Film Art Culture Research Institute, about the production of the Daimajin films at Daiei Kyoto
- From Storyboard to Screen: Bringing Return of Daimajin to Life, a comparison of several key scenes in Return of Daimajin with the original storyboards
- Alternate opening credits for the US release as Return of the Giant Majin
- Trailers for the original Japanese and US releases
- Image gallery
- Brand new audio commentary by Asian historian Jonathan Clements
- Interview with cinematographer Fujio Morita discussing his career at Daiei and his work on the Daimajin Trilogy
- Trailers for the original Japanese release
- Image Gallery
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It's the start of May, and that means an update on the Asian Cinema schedule for this forum!
88 Films:
Arrow Video:
Cine Asia:
Criterion:
Eureka Entertainment:
Third Window Films:
88 Films:
| Date: | Name: | Director, Year, Language: | Format: |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 3rd | Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow | Yuen Woo-ping 1978 - Cantonese | First Print Blu-ray |
| June 21st | Erotic Ghost Story | Lam Ngai Kai 1990 - Cantonese | LE Blu-ray [Category III] |
| June 21st | Forbidden City Cop | Vincent Kok, Stephen Chow 1996 - Cantonese | First Print Blu-ray |
| July 26th | Robotrix | Jamie Luk Kin-ming 1991 - Cantonese | LE Blu-ray [Category III] |
| August 16th | Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky | Lam Nai-choi 1991 - Cantonese | LE Blu-ray [Category III] |
| August 30th | The Chinese Boxer | Jimmy Wang 1970 - Cantonese/Mandarin | Blu-ray [Shaw Bros] |
| September 20th | Disciples of Shaolin | Chang Cheh 1975 - Cantonese/Mandarin | Blu-ray [Shaw Bros] |
| September 20th | The Flag of Iron | Chang Cheh 1980 - Cantonese/Mandarin | Blu-ray [Shaw Bros] |
| TBC | Armour of God | Jackie Chan, Eric Tsang 1986 - Cantonese | -- |
| TBC | Half a Loaf of Kung Fu | Chen Chi-hwa 1978 - Cantonese | -- |
Arrow Video:
| Date: | Name: | Director, Year, Language: | Format: |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 10th | Giants and Toys | Yasuzo Masumura 1958 - Japanese | Blu-ray |
| June 21st | Irezumi | Yasuzo Masumura 1966 - Japanese | Blu-ray |
| July 26th | The Daimajin Trilogy | Kimiyoshi Yasuda, Kenji Misumi, Kazuo Mori 1966 - Japanese | LE Blu-ray |
| TBC | The 36th Chamber of Shaolin | Lau Kar-leung 1978 - Cantonese/Mandarin | -- |
| TBC | Sailor Suit and Machine Gun | Shinji Sōmai 1981 - Japanese | -- |
| TBC | The Yokai Monsters Trilogy | Kimiyoshi Yasuda 1968-1969 - Japanese | -- |
Cine Asia:
| Date: | Name: | Director, Year, Language: | Format: |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 3rd | The Swordsman | Choi Jae-hoon 2020 - Korean | Blu-ray |
| June 7th | Shockwave - Destruction Hong Kong | Herman Yau 2020 - Cantonese | Blu-ray |
Criterion:
| Date: | Name: | Director, Year, Language: | Format: |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 31st | 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 - Cantonese | Blu-ray |
| June 14th | Flowers Of Shanghai | Hou Hsiao-hsien 1998 - Cantonese | Blu-ray |
Eureka Entertainment:
| Date: | Name: | Director, Year, Language: | Format: |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 24th | One Armed Boxer | Jimmy Wang Yu 1971 - Mandarin | First Print Blu-ray |
| May 24th | Time and Tide | Tsui Hark 2000 - Cantonese/Mandarin | First Print Blu-ray |
| June 21st | Encounter of the Spooky Kind | Sammo Hung 1980 - Cantonese | First Print Blu-ray |
| June 21st | PTU | Johnnie To 2003 - Cantonese | First Print Blu-ray [Masters of Cinema] |
| July 19th | Wild Search | Ringo Lam 1989 - Cantonese | First Print Blu-ray |
| July 26th | The Millionaires’ Express | Sammo Hung 1986 - Cantonese | LE Blu-ray |
Third Window Films:
| Date: | Name: | Director, Year, Language: | Format: |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 31st | One Cut of the Dead: Hollywood Edition | Shin’ichirô Ueda 2017-2019 - Japanese | LE Blu-ray |
| June 28th | Tezuka's Barbara | Macoto Tezka 2019 - Japanese | Blu-ray & DVD |
| TBC | Funky Forest: The First Contact & The Warped Forest | Hajime Ishimine, Katsuhito Ishii, Shunichiro Miki 2005-2011 - Japanese | -- |
| TBC | Toshiaki Toyoda Box Set 2 | Toshiaki Toyoda ???-??? - Japanese | -- |
Yeah I was thinking the same. I reckon they might keep it separate to avoid some form of confusion, especially considering from what I have read the Miike film is more referencing/inspired by the second film than the first.
Someone on Blu-ray forum has discovered a postcard for A Tale Of Two Sisters from one of their Arrow Blu-rays.
Got confirmation that One Cut of the Dead in Hollywood will be exclusive to the upcoming Hollywood Edition release, with no plans for a standalone option.
Just Passing Through
The Wildcard
It’s not even an hour long, so a stand-alone release might be hard to justify.