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Jean-Luc Garbo wrote:The Hanzo set looks tempting, but I've never seen any of the three films. I can't turn down the offer, though. How are the subtitles and PQ?

Comprehensive review at The Digital Fix.

djvaso wrote:Sergio Sollima's Faccia a faccia will be released on 15th of November.

Any truth that this release is a shortened version?

Tribe wrote:

djvaso wrote:Sergio Sollima's Faccia a faccia will be released on 15th of November.

Any truth that this release is a shortened version?

This is quote from Kevin from Eureka Ent. on Blu-ray.com forum:

It's complicated...

There isn't a cut and uncut version as such. There is an English language version, and and Italian version the the latter being "uncut". Were working on it to get both on the disc. Looks like the release date is going to go back though due to delays in getting an acceptable Italian language master. Will keep you all updated.

Thanks for the update, djvaso. I know Faccia a Faccia only by reputation...and being a Spaghetti Western fan, I'm definitely looking forward to it. If it means waiting a tad so a release will be done right, that's fine with me.

Beaver's review of the Shogun Assassin Blu gives a nice foretaste of what the Lone Wolf films proper are going to look like in 1080p. It just makes waiting for the real thing all the harder!

Sad news:

FACCIA A FACCIA to be released on DVD ONLY Cat No: EKA40324
Please note that FACCIA A FACCIA will now be released on DVD ONLY
DVD Catalogue No: EKA40324 – to be released on 24 January 2011
The title was originally due to be released on blu-ray as well as DVD , but due to HD material not being available the blu-ray format has had to be pulled from the release schedule

Bum.

Still going to buy it on DVD though.

I'm not, I'm afraid. Unless it's something I desperately need - the BFI's Tintin films for example - I tend to buy features on BD only these days. I definitely don't blind buy 35mm material in SD.

Winter's Bone, Gainsbourg and two Flipside titles are announced for the same month, so I'll get those instead and hope poor old Eureka's ill luck with all things Blu Ray ends soon.

Me too, I've also stopped buying standard DVD's unless its an absolute must have title and I know for sure there is no chance of a blu.

It feels like buying VHS when DVD first came out, and I've been caught out a few times with titles titles coming out on blu a few months later.

Got around to watching "Shogun Assassin" from the boxset finally, for completist's sakes to cross off watching the entire boxset.

Man, that was terrible! Maybe it's me, and how I absolutely hate dubbed movies, or maybe the terrible editing of the two films and mostly including just the fight scenes, and not much story.

I wasn't paying attention too much, but for me, this film was there for curiosity. I'm definitely not going to get this on BD upgraded....

I'm really amazed by all the hype that seems to be put in the marketing of Shogun Assassin, which is technically nothing more than a commercial US mash-up of the 2 first Lone Wolf, made by a greedy producer, and which is nothing but thousand miles away of these original movies.

In France, I don't think we would have this even simply released on DVD, though we already had 2 marvelous releases of the 6 movies on DVD.

I don't know why it even has been upgraded to HD (except for making us expect the 6 original movies to follow), as it is pretty bad, and pretty wrong on any point of view. And quoting (even for marketing purpose) to Kurosawa's work is only insulting the work of the Emperor (even though it tackles one issue which can explain all this : it is known only because it was available in West years before the releases of the original movies).

I would say that Shogun Assassin is typically a US butcher job.
But marketing it the way Eureka does would be, for me, promoting a redubbed-rescored mash-up of Yojimbo and Sanjuro.

The Digital Fix on The War Lord.

Duncan Hopper wrote:It feels like buying VHS when DVD first came out.

One difference being, of course, that going forward for the foreseeable future at least your new BD hardware will still play the DVDs, so it doesn't force you to keep an extra piece of outdated hardware connected to your TV. Plus there is the concept that DVD vs BD is not as much of a physical storage space change as VHS vs DVD was.

tenia wrote:I'm really amazed by all the hype that seems to be put in the marketing of Shogun Assassin, which is technically nothing more than a commercial US mash-up of the 2 first Lone Wolf, made by a greedy producer, and which is nothing but thousand miles away of these original movies.

All this is absolutely true, but in Britain there's a fairly major nostalgia/notoriety factor in connection with it being one of the more controversial video releases of the early 1980s.

MichaelB wrote:All this is absolutely true, but in Britain there's a fairly major nostalgia/notoriety factor in connection with it being one of the more controversial video releases of the early 1980s.

That's what I found out afterwards, but I was thinking it could be something like this, some "underground" cult or something.

Anyway. I hope nothing but that it means some HD masters of the 6 movies are ready.

Faccia a faccia is still up everywhere on Blu - I'm guessing the decision to cancel the release hasn't been reversed and websites have just been slow to make the change.

I asked about Ieri, oggi e domani on Blu a few months back and Eureka said they'd look into it. Any update perhaps?

TMDaines wrote:Faccia a faccia is still up everywhere on Blu - I'm guessing the decision to cancel the release hasn't been reversed and websites have just been slow to make the change.

Oh, no! I had heard from Amazon UK that the release had been postponed...but not cancelled.

Good news:

FACE TO FACE BD is back on!!!!! It'll be a dual format release, with a 12-ish page booklet with new writing by Spaghetti Western critic Howard Hughes.

When is the new release date?

perkizitore wrote:When is the new release date?

End of March, same date as the Antonionis, so it'll be a dual format triple bill!

Good to hear!

So, is the February DVD release cancelled then?

Yes, there will only be one release - a Dual Format edition - and that will be in March.

I welcome the news that the Blu for Face to Face is back on, though my wallet kind of wishes it wasn't on for March - this will be the tenth new release I plan on getting in that month! (if Criterion's April announcement turns out to be shite, I might actually be a happy camper)