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sidehacker wrote:I'm hoping a review will also pop up of Axiom's Wayward Cloud disc. After all, it's my favorite movie.

Here is one.

sidehacker wrote:I'm hoping a review will also pop up of Axiom's Wayward Cloud disc. After all, it's my favorite movie.

Check the Axiom Films thread too.

The Moon In The Gutter blog on Transylvania.

Hana, a film by Hirokazu Kore-Eda, will be released by Funimation on June 24, 2008, according to amazon.com

What happens when those charged with taking life begin to cherish it? From award-winning filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-Eda, Hana is a dark comedy that deconstructs the legend of the samurai with a delicate mix of laughter and emotion.
The year is 1702. Peace has settled over the squalor of Edo and the swords of the once mighty samurai have been sheathed across Japan. In an era when dogs are more esteemed than the colorful peasants that inhabit the slums, Soza, a young warrior better with books than blades, is on a quest to avenge his murdered father and restore honor to his family name. As the blood debt looms, sensitive Soza must decide - To kill or not to kill? Amidst growing love, shattered honor and the simple beauty of the cherry blossom Hana celebrates the joys of even the most difficult of lives.

Lone Wolf & Cub (TV) Volume 1 will be released by Media Blasters on April 29, 2008, according to amazon.com.

Lone Wolf and Cub chronicles the story of Ogami Itto, the Shogun s executioner who uses the Dotanuki battle sword. He was disgraced by false accusations from the Yagyu clan and has been forced to take the path of the assassin. Along with his three-year-old son, Daigoro, they seek revenge on the Yagyu clan and are known as Lone Wolf and Cub.

Lone Wolf & Cub (TV) Volume 2 will be released by Media Blasters on June 17, 2008, according to amazon.com.

Master swordsman Ogami Itto held the honorable position as the Shogun's executioner. When rivals kill his wife and handmaidens, it is initially believed that it was to avenge a clan lord's execution. However, the ghastly deed was designed by the envious Yagyu Retsudo to disgrace and frame Ogami in the eyes of the Shogun, giving him criminal status and forcing him to forfeit his lofty post. With his surviving one-year-old son, Daigoro, Ogami sets off to live as an assassin-for-hire until he can locate and exact revenge upon the Yagyu clan. Based on the manga by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, the Lone Wolf and Cub television series began in 1973 and chronicles the journeys and adventures of the fabled duo on their path to vengeance. Tokyo Shock is proud to bring this classic series to the English-language market for the first time ever.

Shinobi No Mono 2: Vengeance will be released by Animeigo on May 13, 2008, according to amazon.com.

A year has passed since Nobunaga Oda wiped out the ninjas of the Iga sect. His goal to unify Japan is in sight but he must now deal with other powerful warlords and one pesky ninja rebel. The lone survivor of the Iga ninjas Goemon Ishikawa and his wife have settled down in a remote cottage in the forest. All is well until Nobunaga's forces destroy his home and set off a chain of events that will forever change the history of Japan.

Strand is releasing The Wayward Cloud on June 10th.

Yay! One of my favorites by Tsai.

mteller wrote:Strand is releasing The Wayward Cloud on June 10th.

Yay! One of my favorites by Tsai.

Aren't Strand's DVDs pretty terrible?

But isn't the R2 pretty great looking. That was the one with screencaps in the Capture thread, right? Honestly, I wouldn't hold my breath for a good Strand DVD, so that would probably be your best bet.

miless wrote:Aren't Strand's DVDs pretty terrible?

What... you don't love constantly visible combing?

Yeah, I posted some captures in the Axiom Films thread - can't imagine that the Strand release will improve on the R2 in any way.

shadowlab wrote:Lone Wolf & Cub (TV) will be released by Media Blasters

Does anyone the quality of this show? I have always LOVED the films, but I'm guessing this will be an entirely different beast. Even then, is it worthwhile?

Sadly, I don't have all-region capability right now, and won't for the forseeable future. So I have to limit myself to getting excited for R1 (or R0/NTSC) releases.

Tsai has gotten really lousy treatment in this region all around. Those Fox Lorber and Wellspring discs... ugh.

mteller wrote:Sadly, I don't have all-region capability right now, and won't for the forseeable future. So I have to limit myself to getting excited for R1 (or R0/NTSC) releases.

Tsai has gotten really lousy treatment in this region all around. Those Fox Lorber and Wellspring discs... ugh.

You can probably buy a good cheap multiregion dvd player for the price of two dvds now.....or your current player might be hackable to make it region free.

Cold Bishop wrote:

shadowlab wrote:Lone Wolf & Cub (TV) will be released by Media Blasters

Does anyone the quality of this show? I have always LOVED the films, but I'm guessing this will be an entirely different beast. Even then, is it worthwhile?

I've heard they're not bad with the stories having a bit more substance and less blood to them. IMDB has a couple of reviews up. I'm just hoping the quality of the prints are good. The Zatoichi TV series they released was a bit grainy. Also, they only release 4 episodes at a time (2 per disc). A little annoying if you get into the series and have to wait 2 months for the next one to come out.

mteller wrote:Sadly, I don't have all-region capability right now, and won't for the forseeable future. So I have to limit myself to getting excited for R1 (or R0/NTSC) releases.

Tsai has gotten really lousy treatment in this region all around. Those Fox Lorber and Wellspring discs... ugh.

I have to agree with the above... In this day and age, it's not really difficult or expensive anymore to get a Servicable Region-Free Pal-NTSC dvd player. It seems that it's simply a lack of knowledge into the matter (most cheap PAL-NTSC players aren't advertised as such from what I've seen) and intimidation (seeing $150-300 Region-Free players and being convinced that's the only option) that keep most people from them.

It has nothing to do with lack of knowledge or intimidation. If you must know, my primary player is a PS3 (which I also use for Blu-Rays, gaming, and as a secondary web browser), and I just don't want to have an extra player sitting around for the sole purpose of playing foreign DVDs. I'm fussy about clutter.

Film Buffs Alert! My satire "Military Intelligence And You!" combined scenes from the Army's First Motion Picture Unit with new scenes. The FMPU was based in Culver City and used top Hollywood talent of the time including actors like William Holden, Alan Ladd, and Ronald Reagan. My film is coming out on DVD and I'm also including two uncut training films.

The first is Baptism Under fire that dramatizes a soldier "getting his mind ready" before going into battle for the first time. The second the FMPU's biggest production "Resisting Enemy Interrogation." This film featured Arthur Kennedy as part of a group of downed airmen captured and interrogated by tricky Nazi's. The head Nazi is played by Carl Esmond. This film, though entirely dramatized, was nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary in 1944. A real treat.

Alas filmmakers have little say in DVD box design. My film had a terrific art design through it's festival and theatrical run...only to have this dropped and a tarted up design created by the dvd distributor. Their rationale? That a sex DVD cover will sell better. Can't argue with that, I guess.

See their's by searching for "Military Intelligence And You" on Amazon. But buy the DVD from me! I'll print out a much better looking cover and include it for free!

I'm not only including deleted scenes on my DVD...but deleted films! My anti-war satire mashed up WWII Training films with actors like Reagan, Holden, and Ladd. Buyers from my website will get a bonus dvd of two training films in their entirety. It's pretty amazing to see the production values of what were called "training films" in WWII...as good as any hollywood production. Back then documentaries were also "dramatized" using actors and scripted scenes to make their point.

Dale

Two forthcoming releases:

1. Morita's Black House, an amazing masterpiece. Coming 8/26.

2. Lee Kang-sheng's Help Me Eros, the surprisingly assured second feature by Tsai's lead actor guy. Tsai did the production design for the film, and it's much more beautifully garish than anything in Tsai's own work. Coming 7/22.

And of course Strand is putting out Help Me Eros too. Great.

Hopefully Axiom will step up to the plate with that one sooner or later.

Tarsem, The Fall. blu-ray releases 9.9

(also SD)

Does anyone know about this release of what looks to be the first R1 version of Ten Minutes Older: The Cello?

That's been out for a long time. I got that at least a few years ago, along with the other Ten Minutes Older.

L'Arcano incantatore / The Arcane Enchanter (Avati, 1996)

Wonderful, wonderful news, this rarely seen Italian classic is finally getting an Italian dvd release Nov 19th '08.
Sadly no English subtitles, but at least it's 16x9 enhanced, and Italian 5.1.

Obviously, the large fan base for this ghostly horror will result in some one adding the already available English subtitles to it...

Anyone else seen it? I caught this at a one off screening here in London at the Nation Film Theatre in '97, and was blown away by its subtly and atmosphere.

The Blind Woman of Sorrento (Nunzio Malasomma, 1934)

Anyone know anything about this?

Seems like a very obscure title, and I know nothing about the DVD company... thoughts? Is this perhaps some lost Italian classic? I gotta say, the plot sounds damned exciting, and hey, Anna Magnani!

This is so obscure it doesn't even have an imdb rating. People haven't even bothered to lie about seeing it to rate it. That's what I call unseen!

Good find!

Here is the entry for the film at imdb. It does sound very interesting, and coming from a brand new label that looks like it may be focusing on Italian/classic films.

Fred Schepisi's The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith and The Devil's Playground will be released in the US on 18 November. Up for pre-order at Amazon.com.

Not sure if a date has been announced on this forum yet, but the Michael Powell set street on 1/6.