Upcoming English-friendly GERMAN DVDs & Blu-Rays

[thundered mantis]

On 3/8/2021 at 8:37 PM, laagi said:

On 3/9/2021 at 9:53 AM, laagi said:

@TibetanWhiteCrane I won't bother going into the details but I've pretty much exhausted every possible way to find a distributor for those prints. But guess what, nobody gives a f*ck about theses movies. Because everybody knows it's a losing game for a company or individual one way or another. It's the sad truth!

There's so many out there that bitch and moan about classics not being released but when it comes to it, legit labels and releases are hardly supported. 

 

I still have the master tapes which feature the full HD print. A transfer I paid for with my own money and from my own 35mm print; which I sold years ago.

Hi there everyone. Since I've come back to the genre, I've been wanting to bring to the public attention to our community the statements that our fellow member @laagi has perfectly resumed above. Statements that are widely accepted for everyone here.

What I think we have to put the focus on, is, how can we work together, as a fan community, to revert this sad situation?

The fine prints seem to be out there. We all here share a true love for the genre. 88 films and Eureka have gone a long way using fans love and commitment, making thus financially possible releases that we never dreamt of. On this forum, I think at least @Irongod2112 @irongodand @KUNG FU BOB can at least test the waters on those companies. 

Taking Crystal Fist as an example. A well known classic for the fans on Europe (will refer to it, as both Eureka and 88Films are UK based). Don't know how much @laagi had to pay to get those master tapes. But, what if we made a fundraising? I'm a total ignorant, but which amount could make it worthwhile for Eureka or 88?  Counting on paying for the master tapes, dealing with possible rights holders, production costs, whatever... 

Or, in case there's no rights issues, same fundraising to give ourselves a worthy treatment to those films. Better to pay 20 bucks for a sh*t*y boot. Of course it can't be made for all the films of the genre, but come on, with the all time fan favourites like, say, Cristal Fist, Snake on Monkey Shadow, Kung Fu on Seven Steps, Snake Deadly Act, Born Invincible and so on. I'd gladly  pay AS MUCH AS I COULD for seeing those on the best conditions. What's the alternative? Lose them forever and being an smaller fanbase as time goes by? 

Really I can't think that we can't get 200 people to pay 50 bucks for a nice cleaned 1080p print of Crystal Fist. Many maybe can't do the 50, and they may join with other. Many could pay more.

And it will afterwards be bootlegged, well, it's a shame, but at least we will have seen it restored.

What do you guys and gals think? I' really would be in to give it a go... 

Edited March 10, 2021 by thundered mantis

[Graysman]

1 hour ago, thundered mantis said:

Hi there everyone. Since I've come back to the genre, I've been wanting to bring to the public attention to our community the statements that our fellow member @laagi has perfectly resumed above. Statements that are widely accepted for everyone here.

What I think we have to put the focus on, is, how can we work together, as a fan community, to revert this sad situation?

The fine prints seem to be out there. We all here share a true love for the genre. 88 films and Eureka have gone a long way using fans love and commitment, making thus financially possible releases that we never dreamt of. On this forum, I think at least @irongod and @KUNG FU BOB can at least test the waters on those companies. 

Taking Crystal Fist as an example. A well known classic for the fans on Europe (will refer to it, as both Eureka and 88Films are UK based). Don't know how much @laagi had to pay to get those master tapes. But, what if we made a fundraising? I'm a total ignorant, but which amount could make it worthwhile for Eureka or 88?  Counting on paying for the master tapes, dealing with possible rights holders, production costs, whatever... 

Or, in case there's no rights issues, same fundraising to give ourselves a worthy treatment to those films. Better to pay 20 bucks for a sh*t*y boot. Of course it can't be made for all the films of the genre, but come on, with the all time fan favourites like, say, Cristal Fist, Snake on Monkey Shadow, Kung Fu on Seven Steps, Snake Deadly Act, Born Invincible and so on. I'd gladly  pay AS MUCH AS I COULD for seeing those on the best conditions. What's the alternative? Lose them forever and being an smaller fanbase as time goes by? 

Really I can't think that we can't get 200 people to pay 50 bucks for a nice cleaned 1080p print of Crystal Fist. Many maybe can't do the 50, and they may join with other. Many could pay more.

And it will afterwards be bootlegged, well, it's a shame, but at least we will have seen it restored.

What do you guys and gals think? I' really would be in to give it a go... 

I’m all in and totally agree with you

[NoKUNGFUforYU]

6 hours ago, thundered mantis said:

Hi there everyone. Since I've come back to the genre, I've been wanting to bring to the public attention to our community the statements that our fellow member @laagi has perfectly resumed above. Statements that are widely accepted for everyone here.

What I think we have to put the focus on, is, how can we work together, as a fan community, to revert this sad situation?

The fine prints seem to be out there. We all here share a true love for the genre. 88 films and Eureka have gone a long way using fans love and commitment, making thus financially possible releases that we never dreamt of. On this forum, I think at least @Irongod2112 @irongodand @KUNG FU BOB can at least test the waters on those companies. 

Taking Crystal Fist as an example. A well known classic for the fans on Europe (will refer to it, as both Eureka and 88Films are UK based). Don't know how much @laagi had to pay to get those master tapes. But, what if we made a fundraising? I'm a total ignorant, but which amount could make it worthwhile for Eureka or 88?  Counting on paying for the master tapes, dealing with possible rights holders, production costs, whatever... 

Or, in case there's no rights issues, same fundraising to give ourselves a worthy treatment to those films. Better to pay 20 bucks for a sh*t*y boot. Of course it can't be made for all the films of the genre, but come on, with the all time fan favourites like, say, Cristal Fist, Snake on Monkey Shadow, Kung Fu on Seven Steps, Snake Deadly Act, Born Invincible and so on. I'd gladly  pay AS MUCH AS I COULD for seeing those on the best conditions. What's the alternative? Lose them forever and being an smaller fanbase as time goes by? 

Really I can't think that we can't get 200 people to pay 50 bucks for a nice cleaned 1080p print of Crystal Fist. Many maybe can't do the 50, and they may join with other. Many could pay more.

And it will afterwards be bootlegged, well, it's a shame, but at least we will have seen it restored.

What do you guys and gals think? I' really would be in to give it a go... 

People used to do this before but got burned on a few releases. Put in $100 and then DVD comes out from the same guy for $10. So there's that. I did To Kill A Rover and that took me a year to raise $565 and that included me sending people my customs as part of the deal. But it would be a great way to go. Some of these movies are NOT going to get done, period.

[thundered mantis]

On 3/10/2021 at 7:56 PM, NoKUNGFUforYU said:

People used to do this before but got burned on a few releases. Put in $100 and then DVD comes out from the same guy for $10. 

Yeah I know what you're referring to. My point is, OK, we have two options.

Option 1: we do nothing. We save us those 100 bucks to avoid bootleggers to make easy profit for those. Result: WE NEVER SEE THIS GREAT MOVIES ON GOOD QUALITY. But, hey, we do not feel scammed 'cause some guys made those prints available using our investment. 

Option 2: we make an economical effort to surface them. We watch them as many times as we want. Some guy adds a cover and maybe a dub and sells them on amazon getting easy revenue from our effort.

I say, as a fan and lover of the genre, what I want is to see the movies. That  they get pirated thereafeter, or sold by the same guy who milked the cow to the max, well, is not nice, but give me option 2 every day. Even we can try option 3 (trying to get the backup from a company, to try to prevent the bootlegging).

I think other fan bases organize themselves to promote the films they support. 

[saltysam]

On 3/9/2021 at 1:01 PM, Killer Meteor said:

Any comments on the quality of this release?

 

Edited March 12, 2021 by saltysam

[saltysam]

[Killer Meteor]

Thanks. It looks stretched in your screencaps, does it play as 2.35:1 on a TV? Also, do you have the running time?

[saltysam]

43 minutes ago, Killer Meteor said:

Thanks. It looks stretched in your screencaps, does it play as 2.35:1 on a TV? Also, do you have the running time?

It plays in 2:35:1 on my TV. Run time is just over 85 minutes .There's the german cinema version as a bonus, 77 minutes

[Killer Meteor]

2 hours ago, saltysam said:

It plays in 2:35:1 on my TV. Run time is just over 85 minutes .There's the german cinema version as a bonus, 77 minutes

Cool!

[Yihetuan]

On 2/19/2021 at 12:16 PM, saltysam said:

99 Cycling Swords DVD out today...listed on D&T as having english and mandarin audio, 2:35:1 widescreen

 

I have the custom Hoker version of Lung Wei Village from ADC but ended up picking this up from grooves.

[saltysam]

17 minutes ago, Yihetuan said:

I have the custom Hoker version of Lung Wei Village from ADC but ended up picking this up from grooves.

Is it decent? Might add it to my next Amazon.de order.

[Yihetuan]

9 hours ago, saltysam said:

Is it decent? Might add it to my next Amazon.de order.

I'll let you know when I get it. I only just placed the order and haven't received it yet.

[ShawAngela]

I got it last month and it looked good.

[Yihetuan]

Anyone here buy this version of The Butterfly Murders that was released last year? It says Cantonese audio with English subs in the description. I'm sure it's the same print as SchröderMedia release from 2008 but that DVD is OOP now.

[WaverBoy]

I would love to get a good uncut copy of The Butterfly Murders, but aren’t most versions still missing a letter or note that provides vital context to a plot point?

Edited April 28, 2021 by WaverBoy

[Yihetuan]

On 2/25/2021 at 7:05 AM, spannick said:

did DOUBLE CROSSERS make it here yet? also out in Asia Line, German, English & Mandarin, 2.35, with English Subtitles.

https://www.amazon.de/Kung-Fu-Killer-Asia-Line-Limited/dp/B08TFHQDQJ/

I recently watched this after having my copy of this and Shaolin Handlock laying around forever. I have to say I was most impressed with lead, Sin Il-ryong. He appears to have a TKD background, rugged good looks and had a physicality about him that made him dwarf his two HK compatriots in Chen Sing and Michael Chan-wai. Anyway, it was a decent crime thriller but not enough kung fu action to make it worth re-watching.

Spoiler

The typical crime doesn't pay ending in the uncut FS HK print is lame but the cut German VHS print with the two getting away with it is included as a bonus feature.

I've seen Shaolin Handlock before but picked up the Asia Line dvd for completist sake. Really daft German title as Shaolin Handlock is universally known as the Shaw Brothers film with David Chiang. The cover of the German dvd even mistakenly lists Lo Lieh as one of the stars even though he appears in the Shaw movie of the same name and not this one which is widely known as Bruce and the Iron Finger in the West. Despite the stupid title, a lot to like about this Bruceploitation flick especially the fight scenes where Ho Chung-tao and Bruce Leung team up to take on Ku Feng and his minions. This has one includes reconstructed scenes taken from a Dutch VHS source that were missing from the German theatrical print but they are so insignificant to the story that it's not even worth paying attention to them.

 

 

Edited May 25, 2021 by KUNG FU BOB
Both endings are revealed, so it was put in "Spoiler Mode"

[ShawAngela]

On 4/28/2021 at 5:16 PM, WaverBoy said:

I would love to get a good uncut copy of The Butterfly Murders, but aren’t most versions still missing a letter or note that provides vital context to a plot point?

I have a German DVD of this where the letter scene is shown, if I remember well.

[Yihetuan]

As previously mentioned, TVP will be releasing an English friendly blu ray of Men of the Hour aka Black Hercules vs Yellow Tiger later this year. Here's a short clip of the restoration.

 

[Django]

On 5/23/2021 at 5:29 AM, Yihetuan said:

The cover of the German dvd even mistakenly lists Lo Lieh as one of the stars even though he appears in the Shaw movie of the same name and not this one which is widely known as Bruce and the Iron Finger in the West.

It's not the first time they do this kind of mistake. The Big Boss 2 also had Lo Liehs name on the front cover... 

[Yihetuan]

On 5/25/2021 at 9:55 PM, Django said:

It's not the first time they do this kind of mistake. The Big Boss 2 also had Lo Liehs name on the front cover... 

Speaking of which, has there been any update on the "rare" The Big Boss Part 2? I remember reading on COF that it's supposed to get a blu ray release but I haven't heard a peep since?

FYI, FilmArt mentioned their next SB blu ray release, The Convict Killer will be out within the next month or so.

 

Edited May 28, 2021 by Yihetuan
added screenshot attachment

[saltysam]

I asked elsewhere, but has anyone come across the new Asia Line Dvd of Slaughter In San Francisco? It's disappeared from the Schroeder media site, I'm thinking it's been cancelled.

[Kwok Choi]

On 3/10/2021 at 6:14 AM, NoKUNGFUforYU said:

What is a legit label? While someone can lay claim to stuff, there a shit ton of a difference between MGM and some guy who has a lawyer who filed papers so that he can lay claim to something that would and should be in the public domain. As far as the legal defense of the rich and connected system goes Wu Tang Collection is legit. I mean it doesn't matter if the people that made the movie are dead, destitute or disinterested, somebody HAS A RIGHT to the film. Certainly this could discourage people from creating a nice clean release, but plenty of companies with "legit" claims have done shitty releases. And they aren't all small companies. Just so you know, most "legit" companies don't want you to own anything, digital or hard copy, they want recurring revenue. "legit" Disney wanted to sell VHS with a spring in it that would destroy the tape after 25 viewings. And how many times should you pay for the experience of seeing Fist of Fury, etc? Now if a company has access and goes out of there way to get a 35 mm and remaster it, and most people that were part of the production were alive and still running a company, like Shaw brothers was or Golden Harvest, I can see them making a fuss. But let's not forget that most of these actors  were  treated fairly badly and many have bad memories of making these films, being injured, sexually assault, blackmail and triad threats. I am all for clean, legit releases, but don't try and make me feel like the money is going to Chen Kuan Tai or Lo Lieh's widow. It's going to some guy who filed papers.  

 

Good points!....and strangely enough I have an acceptable 35mm print of *The Corporation" which I rescued from MPC. Shocking stuff! Ran it privately at LFS to teach my daughter about "the system" helping her how to combat and beat "the system" (there are always loop holes,humans are not perfect) any takers?

[Chu Liu Hsiang]

12 hours ago, Yihetuan said:

FYI, FilmArt mentioned their next SB blu ray release, The Convict Killer will be out within the next month or so.

 

[Kwok Choi]

.............in this day and age when access to almost everything is via streaming, (mostly terrible prints, generally, with no extras etc) and if I had access to fantastic 35mm copies of the majority of the classic Goldig Films, Eternal Films,First Films titles etc with the financial capacity to give them the equivalent of a Eureka, Shout Factory or 88 Films etc treatment, I will put them out then make settlements with the profits if any.........  

[saltysam]

Black Dragon's Revenge coming to germany. likely the same print as the USA disc,but that was on a BD-R.