Member dwk Posted February 15 Member Share Posted February 15 Ozu's Floating Weeds & A Story of Floating Weeds are getting released on Blu-ray on May 7th. Fortunately they kept the gorgeous cover On the Criterion Channel front, next month they will be streaming Yeun Woo-ping's Dreadnaught; Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive my Car is finally streaming there; A Kinuyo Tanaka Directs series featuring Love Letter (1953), The Moon Has Risen (1955), Forever a Woman (1955), The Wandering Princess (1960), Girls of the Night (1961), & Love Under the Crucifix (1962); and Early Films by Hou Hsiao-hsien, featuring Cute Girl (1980), The Green, Green Grass of Home (1982), & The Boys from Fengkuei (1983). 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Super Ninja Posted February 16 Member Share Posted February 16 10 hours ago, dwk said: ; and Early Films by Hou Hsiao-hsien, featuring Cute Girl (1980), The Green, Green Grass of Home (1982), & The Boys from Fengkuei (1983). I know it's one of his early, commercial films, but I just love The Green, Green Grass of Home, such a wonderful, simple and beautiful film. My fave of his next to A Time to Live and a Time to Die. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Yihetuan Posted February 23 Member Share Posted February 23 A cap comparison between the Criterion 4K and Carlotta 4K HDR of Heroic Trio. Criterion on top; Carlotta on bottom 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member BigDruDogg Posted February 23 Member Share Posted February 23 2 hours ago, Yihetuan said: A cap comparison between the Criterion 4K and Carlotta 4K HDR of Heroic Trio. Criterion on top; Carlotta on bottom Damn looks like Carlotta took this round!! On a personal level I feel like Criterion's level of quality/titles have been extremely lacking over the past few years.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member PandaPawPaw Posted February 24 Member Share Posted February 24 15 hours ago, BigDruDogg said: Damn looks like Carlotta took this round!! On a personal level I feel like Criterion's level of quality/titles have been extremely lacking over the past few years.. Their compression on PS2 was poor too. https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=2&x=408&y=113&d1=13118&d2=12243&s1=130893&s2=121365&l=0&i=1&go=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member nahnahnah Posted March 6 Member Share Posted March 6 Not sure where to post this but I found this interesting tidbit from Sean Gilman in his write-up for the Criterion release of The Heroic Trio/Executioners: Quote Criterion, before this 4K Heroic Trio set, gave us Throw Down a couple of years ago of course, but other than that his work has been underexploited by the boutique labels. Australia’s Chameleon Films released Exiled and the Election movies (with Soi Cheang’s Motorway, produced by Milkyway Image, just announced), and Radiance released A Moment of Romance, but other than that there’s not a lot out here in Region A. I do know for a fact that at least one more pre-Milkyway film is coming soon to North America. But hopefully there will be a whole lot more to come. Would love to know what this upcoming title is. My best guess would be Justice, My Foot!. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member nahnahnah Posted March 18 Member Share Posted March 18 Coming next month to the Criterion Channel: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Gaijin84 Posted March 18 Member Share Posted March 18 On 11/12/2023 at 2:48 AM, Killer Meteor said: Has anyone got the new Jackie Chan box? Curious to know if they fixed the missing day-for-night filter issue on SPIRITUAL KUNG FU. Following up on this question - anyone care to give a quick review of the Jackie Chan: Emergence of a Superstar collection? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member nahnahnah Posted April 1 Member Share Posted April 1 On 3/18/2024 at 2:50 PM, nahnahnah said: Coming next month to the Criterion Channel: An Autumn's Tale and Farewell China both open with the Criterion/Janus logos, which is no surprise since both are with Fortune Star. Interestingly, Comrades doesn't open with either logo despite it also being a Fortune Star/Golden Harvest title (can anyone confirm if this is a WB title?). Anyways, I'm hoping that Criterion releases those 2 titles on Blu. I'm loving all the home video releases that the action/martial arts titles are getting but it would be nice to see more non-genrey HK films get releases as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member nahnahnah Posted April 16 Member Share Posted April 16 Coming in July on 4K 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Yihetuan Posted April 16 Member Share Posted April 16 It's a shame the superior Carlotta 4K UHD release next month will not have English subs. It has proper HDR and more importantly the 2.0 audio. https://laboutique.carlottafilms.com/en/collections/precommandes/products/adieu-ma-concubine-de-chen-kaige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member De Ming Li Posted April 17 Member Share Posted April 17 22 hours ago, Yihetuan said: It's a shame the superior Carlotta 4K UHD release next month will not have English subs. It has proper HDR and more importantly the 2.0 audio. https://laboutique.carlottafilms.com/en/collections/precommandes/products/adieu-ma-concubine-de-chen-kaige What's better about the Carlotta release? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Yihetuan Posted April 17 Member Share Posted April 17 51 minutes ago, De Ming Li said: What's better about the Carlotta release? Proper HDR and the mono 2.0 audio and also who handles the encoding and authoring. I believe Criterion still uses Radius60/Pixelogic which has mixed reviews & some downright poor but their 4K encodes are better than the blu rays. While the best encoding/authoring houses are Fidelity in Motion (American), Engine House & Video Data in the UK and LSP Medien in Germany as they consistently put out the best encodes. it's strange that FiM an American company does most of its work for European labels & not a US based company like Criterion. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member De Ming Li Posted April 17 Member Share Posted April 17 52 minutes ago, Yihetuan said: Proper HDR and the mono 2.0 audio and also who handles the encoding and authoring. I believe Criterion still uses Radius60/Pixelogic which has mixed reviews & some downright poor but their 4K encodes are better than the blu rays. While the best encoding/authoring houses are Fidelity in Motion (American), Engine House & Video Data in the UK and LSP Medien in Germany as they consistently put out the best encodes. it's strange that FiM an American company does most of its work for European labels & not a US based company like Criterion. I will get the Carlotta version then, thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Yihetuan Posted April 17 Member Share Posted April 17 14 minutes ago, De Ming Li said: I will get the Carlotta version then, thanks But it will not have English subs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member De Ming Li Posted April 17 Member Share Posted April 17 26 minutes ago, Yihetuan said: But it will not have English subs. All good, native Chinese speaker, 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Yihetuan Posted April 17 Member Share Posted April 17 12 minutes ago, De Ming Li said: All good, native Chinese speaker, I thought you stopped buying physical media but I guess the temptation is too much eh? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Yihetuan Posted April 19 Member Share Posted April 19 (edited) Anyone else a fan of this film? I really enjoyed it. Haven't seen a Wim Wenders film in years but this film just resonated with me. Definitely picking up the 4K UHD version when it's released in July. https://www.criterion.com/films/34274-perfect-days Quote 4K digital master, approved by director Wim Wenders, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features New interview with Wenders Interview with actor Koji Yakusho Some Body Comes into the Light (2023), a short by Wenders, featuring a new introduction by the director Interview with producer Koji Yanai, founder of the Tokyo Toilet project Trailer PLUS: An essay by film critic Bilge Ebiri Edited April 19 by Yihetuan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Super Ninja Posted April 19 Member Share Posted April 19 15 hours ago, Yihetuan said: Anyone else a fan of this film? I really enjoyed it. Haven't seen a Wim Wenders film in years but this film just resonated with me. Definitely picking up the 4K UHD version when it's released in July. https://www.criterion.com/films/34274-perfect-days Anti-fan here. Sorry. I usually approve your taste man, and more often than not agree with what you have to say about a particular movie, but Perfect Days was madly irritating for me. I hated it. It felt like a movie made by someone who obviously doesn't understand Japanese culture and mentality. If Wenders made it anywhere in the West, it would have felt more sincere. This way, it feels like the equivalent of traveling to Tokyo and then going for a meal to McDonalds. Cleaning toilets and growing bonsai? Is that the best they could come up with? I had a feeling not even Koji understands where Wenders is going with this, didn't like his performance here either. It's all fabricated beauty and fake tranquility. Also, Wenders forcing the shots of Tokyo Skytree, it's irritating. I took a break somewhere in the middle and hated it less later, so this could be a case of really bad timing. Then again, I hated Lost in Translation on second watch so I might have a problem with directors from the West filming in Japan. I did enjoy Samurai Marathon though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Yihetuan Posted April 19 Member Share Posted April 19 18 minutes ago, Super Ninja said: Anti-fan here. Sorry. I usually approve your taste man, and more often than not agree with what you have to say about a particular movie, but Perfect Days was madly irritating for me. I hated it. It felt like a movie made by someone who obviously doesn't understand Japanese culture and mentality. If Wenders made it anywhere in the West, it would have felt more sincere. This way, it feels like the equivalent of traveling to Tokyo and then going for a meal to McDonalds. Cleaning toilets and growing bonsai? Is that the best they could come up with? I had a feeling not even Koji understands where Wenders is going with this, didn't like his performance here either. It's all fabricated beauty and fake tranquility. Also, Wenders forcing the shots of Tokyo Skytree, it's irritating. I took a break somewhere in the middle and hated it less later, so this could be a case of really bad timing. Then again, I hated Lost in Translation on second watch so I might have a problem with directors from the West filming in Japan. I did enjoy Samurai Marathon though. What?! Well that's it. I'm taking you off my Christmas card list. No but seriously I can understand if the film was about the "superficiality of Japanese society viewed through the lens of a Westerner" but I actually came to see it from a different more subversive angle. Wenders actually renders Yakusho's character as pitiful & dare I say pathological. Read the spoiler here: Spoiler Everyone thinks PD is a hymn to simplicity and humility, an invitation to rediscover the value of small things and daily rituals. I disagree, that's not my interpretation. I wonder if they watched the whole movie or just the first part. WARNING: SPOILER! In the last part, we discover that Hirayama lives in a world of his own, an illusory world created by his mind to escape the harsh reality. Hirayama is like the old man who wanders the streets like a mad and has lost touch with reality; that's why Hirayama is so attracted by the old man, he sees himself. He lives his job as if it were an important task for the well-being of society, but the truth is that Hirayama is completely ignored by the people who go to piss in the toilets that he cleans. He's an outcast, a pariah, jJust like the mad old man who is ignored by the people in the street. He can't even make conversation with people. He cannot even relate to his wonderful niece; when she expresses the desire to go to the beach, Hirayama castrates her vitality and hope in favor of the security, banality and monotony of the present. He is an invisible man, a living dead man, a weak man who cannot face life. He loves the woman who serves him food, but does not have the courage to truly experience love; it's something like child-Mama relationship; just another story invented by his mind. When he sees her kissing another man, he behaves like a lover betrayed for a love that he has never actually experienced but only imagined! His illusory charade immediately crumbles as soon as his past resurfaces in the guise of his rich sister. He still tries to take refuge in his false childhood and acts like a baby who enjoy chasing and trampling shadows; not by chance his playmate is a man who is going to die! The truth is, he fled his life, his family, stopped fighting for a better future and isolated himself in his fantasy world. He built a false world in his mind to avoid unhappiness and sorrows. But no one can do this! Life is fight to survive, to build a better future (social and individual). To be enchanted by the vision of the Sun peeking through the leaves of the trees, to smile at the sky, to enjoy the analog vs the digital, etc. they are only the illusory screen for his escape and defeat. When his past comes back, he can smile at the sky no more, the play is over. PD is the very sad and tragic story of a man who gave up living and fighting and trashed his life in WC! I really cannot understand how most film critics cannot see the progression of the movie from the bright to the dark sides. A wonderful movie that dares to face very difficult, tragic and mature topics. EDIT: I noticed another expressive clue! Look carefully: the movie starts at morning (brightness, smile, inner balance) and ends at night ( darkness, tears, sorrow, crisis, re-thinking himself). Another clue: he believes two people make darker shadow; another one of his childish beliefs breaking in pieces in front of hard reality. It reminds me of Pink Floyd: everything is bright under the sun, but the sun is obscured by clouds or eclipsed by the moon! 😉 cr: admin at VideoGamesArt Not that this POV will or should change your mind but just thought I would throw this out there. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Super Ninja Posted April 22 Member Share Posted April 22 On 4/19/2024 at 9:56 PM, Yihetuan said: What?! Well that's it. I'm taking you off my Christmas card list. No but seriously I can understand if the film was about the "superficiality of Japanese society viewed through the lens of a Westerner" but I actually came to see it from a different more subversive angle. Wenders actually renders Yakusho's character as pitiful & dare I say pathological. Read the spoiler here: Reveal hidden contents Everyone thinks PD is a hymn to simplicity and humility, an invitation to rediscover the value of small things and daily rituals. I disagree, that's not my interpretation. I wonder if they watched the whole movie or just the first part. WARNING: SPOILER! In the last part, we discover that Hirayama lives in a world of his own, an illusory world created by his mind to escape the harsh reality. Hirayama is like the old man who wanders the streets like a mad and has lost touch with reality; that's why Hirayama is so attracted by the old man, he sees himself. He lives his job as if it were an important task for the well-being of society, but the truth is that Hirayama is completely ignored by the people who go to piss in the toilets that he cleans. He's an outcast, a pariah, jJust like the mad old man who is ignored by the people in the street. He can't even make conversation with people. He cannot even relate to his wonderful niece; when she expresses the desire to go to the beach, Hirayama castrates her vitality and hope in favor of the security, banality and monotony of the present. He is an invisible man, a living dead man, a weak man who cannot face life. He loves the woman who serves him food, but does not have the courage to truly experience love; it's something like child-Mama relationship; just another story invented by his mind. When he sees her kissing another man, he behaves like a lover betrayed for a love that he has never actually experienced but only imagined! His illusory charade immediately crumbles as soon as his past resurfaces in the guise of his rich sister. He still tries to take refuge in his false childhood and acts like a baby who enjoy chasing and trampling shadows; not by chance his playmate is a man who is going to die! The truth is, he fled his life, his family, stopped fighting for a better future and isolated himself in his fantasy world. He built a false world in his mind to avoid unhappiness and sorrows. But no one can do this! Life is fight to survive, to build a better future (social and individual). To be enchanted by the vision of the Sun peeking through the leaves of the trees, to smile at the sky, to enjoy the analog vs the digital, etc. they are only the illusory screen for his escape and defeat. When his past comes back, he can smile at the sky no more, the play is over. PD is the very sad and tragic story of a man who gave up living and fighting and trashed his life in WC! I really cannot understand how most film critics cannot see the progression of the movie from the bright to the dark sides. A wonderful movie that dares to face very difficult, tragic and mature topics. EDIT: I noticed another expressive clue! Look carefully: the movie starts at morning (brightness, smile, inner balance) and ends at night ( darkness, tears, sorrow, crisis, re-thinking himself). Another clue: he believes two people make darker shadow; another one of his childish beliefs breaking in pieces in front of hard reality. It reminds me of Pink Floyd: everything is bright under the sun, but the sun is obscured by clouds or eclipsed by the moon! 😉 cr: admin at VideoGamesArt Not that this POV will or should change your mind but just thought I would throw this out there. You sure gave me something to think about. This perspective is a bit of a stretch but it does offer some valid arguments and throws a whole different light on the movie. If true, PD is potentially a brilliant movie and I might have to give it another chance, even against my will. It's actually more believable that an author like Wenders would create a work that has more depth than I've recognized. Don't take me off the list please, I promise I'll never question your taste again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Yihetuan Posted April 22 Member Share Posted April 22 1 hour ago, Super Ninja said: You sure gave me something to think about. This perspective is a bit of a stretch but it does offer some valid arguments and throws a whole different light on the movie. If true, PD is potentially a brilliant movie and I might have to give it another chance, even against my will. It's actually more believable that an author like Wenders would create a work that has more depth than I've recognized. Don't take me off the list please, I promise I'll never question your taste again. Probably a stretch but I see the film through the lens of that spoiler. I see Yakusho as not someone to be valorized for being able to recognize traditional simple things that most people living in a hectic modern day metropolis like Tokyo overlook or take for granted but rather a deeply pained individual not living a life of minimalism out of his own volition but rather out of necessity to heal & camouflage his deep trauma (only hinted at by Wenders during the meeting with the sister). All joking aside, please feel free to question my interpretation & taste in films. Open dialogue & critique is what makes us accept new perspectives & learn in the process. Yes, you're back on the Christmas card list. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Super Ninja Posted April 24 Member Share Posted April 24 On 4/22/2024 at 9:48 PM, Yihetuan said: Probably a stretch but I see the film through the lens of that spoiler. I see Yakusho as not someone to be valorized for being able to recognize traditional simple things that most people living in a hectic modern day metropolis like Tokyo overlook or take for granted but rather a deeply pained individual not living a life of minimalism out of his own volition but rather out of necessity to heal & camouflage his deep trauma (only hinted at by Wenders during the meeting with the sister). I can actually relate to the character so questioning his way of living goes beyond movie analysis. Gotta give Wenders some credit for making a movie that raised so many questions. On 4/22/2024 at 9:48 PM, Yihetuan said: All joking aside, please feel free to question my interpretation & taste in films. Open dialogue & critique is what makes us accept new perspectives & learn in the process. Likewise. Always interested to hear a different opinion, especially if well argumented. Wait till you hear what I have to say about Hell Dogs On 4/22/2024 at 9:48 PM, Yihetuan said: Yes, you're back on the Christmas card list. OK, so you know that the Bruceploitation collection vol. 2 is scheduled for November? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theendofcinema Posted May 24 Share Posted May 24 On 3/5/2024 at 5:26 PM, nahnahnah said: Not sure where to post this but I found this interesting tidbit from Sean Gilman in his write-up for the Criterion release of The Heroic Trio/Executioners: Would love to know what this upcoming title is. My best guess would be Justice, My Foot!. It was indeed the Vinegar Syndrome release of Lifeline that I was referring to here. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member nahnahnah Posted May 24 Member Share Posted May 24 Criterion and Janus Films Have a New Owner: Indian Paintbrush Founder Steven Rales 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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