criterionforum.org

Mine too, is your order partially shipped though? They might have even sent it without updating the order at all. Is there anyone with multiple items on his order that shows this set dispatched?

Ordered mine with Videodrome way back when, still only shows as "Partially Shipped" for me as well

I never received a shipping confirmation to my Hellraiser box, nor did it show up on the site as "Shipped" until the day before I received the package (which was yesterday, November 6), and Arrow themselves told me they shipped it on Wednesday the 28th when I inquired to them. I imagine that after the rush to get the Hellraisers out there, Arrow is still reeling from the experience, and both shipment notifications and site updates are taking a back seat to actual shipments. Anyway, I'd recommend people email Arrow themselves to inquire about the status of the Yoshida box.

I myself have not received an email confirming shipment of the Yoshida box, but Arrow's site lists it as having shipped out on Thursday.

I only have received a shipping confirmation e-mail once, but as I mentioned it's not unusual (especially in big orders) for the item to have been shipped without the order status being updated to reflect that.

I usually have multiple pre-orders in one invoice when I order through Arrow (in order to have the free shipping fees to France), and all my past orders show as Partially shipped despite having received all the pre-orders they contained.
I guess this is a bug in Arrow's website which prevent the full update of the order status.

perkizitore wrote:Mine too, is your order partially shipped though? They might have even sent it without updating the order at all. Is there anyone with multiple items on his order that shows this set dispatched?

Nope, The Yoshida is the only thing in the order

Can someone from Arrow Films comment on the image quality of the Director's Cut? It looks overexposed. Is this inherent in the source material, or was it caused by the encoding process, and therefore correctable?

kekid wrote:Can someone from Arrow Films comment on the image quality of the Director's Cut? It looks overexposed. Is this inherent in the source material, or was it caused by the encoding process, and therefore correctable?

See MichaelB and antnield's posts

or was it caused by the encoding process, and therefore correctable?

The encoding process I'm using reproduces the brightness levels, color and gamma of the master exactly, I'm militant about this

David M. wrote:

or was it caused by the encoding process, and therefore correctable?

The encoding process I'm using reproduces the brightness levels, color and gamma of the master exactly, I'm militant about this

Thank you, David. That is reassuring.

Given how outspoken I am about imaging accuracy and the pressure I put on manufacturers to deliver TVs and projectors that keep images unaltered, it'd be fairly ridiculous and hypocritical for it to be any other way

I can vouch for the fact that David queried the brightness levels and that a full investigation was launched - which is why we can be certain that it's as per Yoshida's preference.

So what's the story behind the theatrical version losing that look? Were distributors afraid to release something that looked so atypical?

The theatrical cut was scanned from an old print - with reel change markers, evident splices and so forth - whereas the director's cut was scanned from a source closer to the original negative. The theatrical cut looks nowhere as good, but then it's presence is more for curiosity's sake. I suspect most will start with the director's cut.

I just want to take the time and thank Arrow/everyone involved again for this release.

I hope it sells well enough for us to see other ATG related boxsets from Shuji Terayama and Koji Wakamatsu.

SpiderBaby wrote:I just want to take the time and thank Arrow/everyone involved again for this release.

I hope it sells well enough for us to see other ATG related boxsets from Shuji Terayama and Koji Wakamatsu.

Amen. Not ATG-related, but maybe Ishii Sogo and Iwai Shunji, too

Let's all calm down now and hope first for some more Yoshida.

Do most recommend the director's cut of Eros + Massacre over the theatrical? What led Yoshida to create the cut in the first place (i.e. censorship, distribution? etc.)

criterion10 wrote:What led Yoshida to create the cut in the first place (i.e. censorship, distribution? etc.)

Between the premiere at Cannes and its subsequent release in Japan nine months later, Ichiko Kamichika objected to her portrayal in the film and sued Yoshida thereby forcing him to remove approximately an hour's worth of footage.

antnield wrote:

criterion10 wrote:What led Yoshida to create the cut in the first place (i.e. censorship, distribution? etc.)

Between the premiere at Cannes and its subsequent release in Japan nine months later, Ichiko Kamichika objected to her portrayal in the film and sued Yoshida thereby forcing him to remove approximately an hour's worth of footage.

It's a pretty unique example of censorship, and it makes for a very different film, as the (largely) excised character was the third lead of the film. Even though the truncated version is obviously not ideal, it's the version on which the film's considerable reputation was based, so it's an important inclusion. The fact that it has a more conventional, if unsanctioned, look in this set (which is also how it was originally seen, presumably) makes it even more interesting as a variant.

David M. wrote:

or was it caused by the encoding process, and therefore correctable?

The encoding process I'm using reproduces the brightness levels, color and gamma of the master exactly, I'm militant about this

That's interesting. I get a bit paranoid about these things because Criterion sometimes seems to boost the whites too much - Yojimbo, The Magician etc.

My box arrived today. Looking at the customs declaration label, I had to smile: "No commercial value."

I saw Eros Plus Massacre today. WOW. Its long, confusing but incredibly ambitious and visually gorgeous. Its crammed with many interesting concepts, ideas and symbolism, that will keep me thinking for days. The two timelines intertwining with similar themes and events is masterfully pulled off, particularly when the timelines meet.

Definitely a film for repeated viewings, but one I'd endlessly recommend.

Is there any way to know if this set is sold out? I'm a bit late to the party, but just ordered it from Amazon.co.uk and it said that estimated delivery was 1 to 3 months.

Moridin wrote:Is there any way to know if this set is sold out? I'm a bit late to the party, but just ordered it from Amazon.co.uk and it said that estimated delivery was 1 to 3 months.

I think it was just a mix up with Amazon, I noticed the same. My order shipped out yesterday.