Boutique Blu-ray

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Angilasman
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Re: Boutique Blu-ray

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Hot on the heels of Arrow's announcement: after speculation about 88 Films breaking into the US market they've announced their first US Shaw Brothers release - The Chinese Boxer.

With two labels putting out these films this is kind of like the Mill Creek Ultraman deal in that we're gonna get a whole lot of stuff quick!

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Re: Boutique Blu-ray

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Terasawa wrote: Fri Jul 09, 2021 1:18 pm Cool that Trek I-IV are getting new transfers but, man, there's so much more of the Trek catalog that needs attention -- e.g., "remastered" versions of DS9 and Voyager or improved transfers of the original series. (And how about the original untouched soundtrack mixes on the latter??)

I know the movies will make bank for Paramount, but would it be such a burden to at least consider the extended edition of TMP from the '80s too? (Wise's director's cut would be great but they foolishly finished that at SD, making an HD release very, very unlikely.) Or how about the original theatrical "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan" title, even as an extra? Unfortunately, I think most Trekkies will just buy anything that's out on the market, whether it's a worthy upgrade or not.
What’s wrong with the original series transfers? I thought those were pretty universally praised (especially considering they allow you to choose - on the fly even - whether to watch the original effects of the “Lucas-ian” cgi “enhanced” versions). I got the BD set last Christmas and have been perfectly happy with the few episodes I’ve watched so far.

Speaking of Paramount, apparently I need to upgrade Indiana Jones to the 4K set too. I was reading a thread on a private film restoration board and the color timing pretty accurately matches what’s known to be “out there” on 35mm. Much more so than the somewhat controversial color timing of the Blu Ray release.

Man, even with the impending “death” of physical media, what a great time to be a movie enthusiast!

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Angilasman
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Re: Boutique Blu-ray

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^ It's not a "death of physical media" so much as a "physical media is now tailored to weirdo obsessives instead of a generic, wide audience."

If only a few other industries could "die" in this way!

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Angilasman
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Re: Boutique Blu-ray

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Angilasman wrote: Fri Jul 09, 2021 2:00 pm Hot on the heels of Arrow's announcement: after speculation about 88 Films breaking into the US market they've announced their first US Shaw Brothers release - The Chinese Boxer.

With two labels putting out these films this is kind of like the Mill Creek Ultraman deal in that we're gonna get a whole lot of stuff quick!
88 has teased 9 more US Shaw Brothers releases in addition to Chinese Boxer. RIP my wallet.

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Mac Daddy MM
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Re: Boutique Blu-ray

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I really have no interest in all the other Showa Brothers films... Just give me a single Peking Man blu-ray release.


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Major sssspielberg!
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Re: Boutique Blu-ray

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Mac Daddy MM wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 2:05 pm I really have no interest in all the other Showa Brothers films... Just give me a single Peking Man blu-ray release.
Have you ever seen any of 'em? I'd highly recommend Executioners from Shaolin if you haven't.
5 Deadly Venoms also.
Last edited by Major sssspielberg! on Tue Jul 13, 2021 3:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Kaltes-Herzeleid wrote: Thu Jan 06, 2022 9:44 am I love Final Wars. I praise Final Wars. Simple as.

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Rando Yaguchi
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Re: Boutique Blu-ray

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Looks like Criterion is finally getting into the 4K business!
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Re: Boutique Blu-ray

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Brotherhood of the Wolf and Daimajin trilogy later this month, then the Sam Katzman set, 6 Tsuburaya shows on Blu-ray and DVD for the rest of 2021, Miyazaki's Future Boy Conan is inbound, two different labels are putting out Shaw Brothers films, it seems Warner Archive will be finishing the Thin Man series soon, who knows what Daiei tokusatsu films Arrow will be putting out, and I haven't even watched the 5 Criterions I got last week at the B&N sale.

I love collecting stuff I love, but I'm feeling overwhelmed!

Also, I just discovered Diabolik DVD, an online store dedicated to boutique labels which lists which foreign releases will play on US players. Help.

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Re: Boutique Blu-ray

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DiabolikDVD is great. I got the Arrow Gamera complete collection from them at a bargain price and before the official street date. And I was late to order. Many people who placed orders at Amazon long before I did got shafted while Diabolik came through. I’ve got the Daimajin set on order with them too. Also their packing was superb unlike most big box stores. You probably could’ve kicked my Gamera package down a two story stair case without harming the contents. They definitely understand their audience.

Added in 10 minutes 35 seconds:
While not “boutique” per se, in my quest to remedy my failure to keep up with genre Blu Rays before they go out of print I made a splurge order recently.

After seeing Beast From 20,000 Fathoms seemingly go out of print (it was out of stock EVERYWHERE and the only copies I could find were Japanese imports on eBay) I saw it suddenly showed up again for retail at Amazon. So I managed to order a BD of Beast From 20,000 Fathoms…

…and Them!, Dinosaurus, It Came From Outer Space, One Million Years BC, and The Deadly Mantis. I still have a LONG list of films to either upgrade (including the Sam Katzman set) or buy for the first time, but this puts a decent dent in it at least.

I need to start paying more attention to 4K releases so I don’t accidentally buy a BD when I could or should have grabbed a 4K version instead. I don’t actually have 4K equipment yet, but I’m tantalizingly close to starting a home theater build in the basement, and it will absolutely be 4K capable.

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Re: Boutique Blu-ray

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^ Oh, sweet. I'll have to grab a copy of Beast, myself.
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Re: Boutique Blu-ray

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canofhumdingers wrote: Wed Jul 14, 2021 11:24 am I need to start paying more attention to 4K releases so I don’t accidentally buy a BD when I could or should have grabbed a 4K version instead. I don’t actually have 4K equipment yet, but I’m tantalizingly close to starting a home theater build in the basement, and it will absolutely be 4K capable.
Be sure to look into reviews and discussions about certain 4K releases as a few are actually not that much of an upgrade over the standard blu-ray. Spider-Man Far From Home’s 4K for example has horrible audio compared to its blu-ray release.
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Re: Boutique Blu-ray

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UltramanGoji wrote: Wed Jul 14, 2021 3:07 pm Be sure to look into reviews and discussions about certain 4K releases as a few are actually not that much of an upgrade over the standard blu-ray. Spider-Man Far From Home’s 4K for example has horrible audio compared to its blu-ray release.
Always a good tip. Batman 89 is another example - its 4K transfer is ugly and discolored, so I'm just sticking with the Blu-ray.
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Re: Boutique Blu-ray

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Yeah I know about the Batman ‘89 problems. They re-timed the color grading to look way too modern and blue. And they made a new sound mix with all new sound effects, but failed to include the original sound mix. So irritating.

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Re: Boutique Blu-ray

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Major sssspielberg! wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 3:16 pm
Mac Daddy MM wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 2:05 pm I really have no interest in all the other Showa Brothers films... Just give me a single Peking Man blu-ray release.
Have you ever seen any of 'em? I'd highly recommend Executioners from Shaolin if you haven't.
5 Deadly Venoms also.
I like 5 Deadly Venoms, too. I once saw the dubbed version on a Saturday afternoon and it was very good.

I have a DVD copy from the Dragon Dynasty series (and before you ask, I bought it before the infamous Weinstein incident).

I also bought a DVD copy of Crippled Avengers a.k.a. The Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms from the same series. Have you seen this film, too?

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Re: Boutique Blu-ray

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mikelcho wrote: Thu Jul 15, 2021 7:36 am I like 5 Deadly Venoms, too. I once saw the dubbed version on a Saturday afternoon and it was very good.

I have a DVD copy from the Dragon Dynasty series (and before you ask, I bought it before the infamous Weinstein incident).

I also bought a DVD copy of Crippled Avengers a.k.a. The Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms from the same series. Have you seen this film, too?
Oh yeah, 5 Deadly Venoms is awesome! I haven't seen Crippled Avengers/Return yet. I sought out Deadly Venoms because of Ol' Dirty Bastard's debut album which used a few samples from the introduction to the Deadly Venoms from the dub. I actually have Dragon Dynasty editions of Executioners, Venoms, and John Woo's The Killer (which is a Blu-ray). I didn't know Weinstein was involved in the Dragon Dynasty series, that sucks. Those discs were very affordable and had pretty good quality.
I gotta be honest, I sought a lot of the Shaw Bros. movies out because of the Wu-Tang Clan. Rza really knew how to use those dub samples to great effect, and back when I was trying to make music I kept trying to get my friends who made beast to sample the Godzilla dubs in a similar fashion. 😅
Kaltes-Herzeleid wrote: Thu Jan 06, 2022 9:44 am I love Final Wars. I praise Final Wars. Simple as.

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Re: Boutique Blu-ray

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Major sssspielberg! wrote: Thu Jul 15, 2021 7:46 am
mikelcho wrote: Thu Jul 15, 2021 7:36 am I like 5 Deadly Venoms, too. I once saw the dubbed version on a Saturday afternoon and it was very good.

I have a DVD copy from the Dragon Dynasty series (and before you ask, I bought it before the infamous Weinstein incident).

I also bought a DVD copy of Crippled Avengers a.k.a. The Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms from the same series. Have you seen this film, too?
Oh yeah, 5 Deadly Venoms is awesome! I haven't seen Crippled Avengers/Return yet. I sought out Deadly Venoms because of Ol' Dirty Bastard's debut album which used a few samples from the introduction to the Deadly Venoms from the dub. I actually have Dragon Dynasty editions of Executioners, Venoms, and John Woo's The Killer (which is a Blu-ray). I didn't know Weinstein was involved in the Dragon Dynasty series, that sucks. Those discs were very affordable and had pretty good quality.
I gotta be honest, I sought a lot of the Shaw Bros. movies out because of the Wu-Tang Clan. Rza really knew how to use those dub samples to great effect, and back when I was trying to make music I kept trying to get my friends who made beast to sample the Godzilla dubs in a similar fashion. 😅
Yes, The Weinstein Company was connected with the Dragon Company series. Check out the Wikipedia article on the series and you'll see.

However, the list of films in the series the article had in it is gone and so is the series' website. Just thought you should know.

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Major sssspielberg!
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mikelcho wrote: Thu Jul 15, 2021 7:56 am Yes, The Weinstein Company was connected with the Dragon Company series. Check out the Wikipedia article on the series and you'll see.

However, the list of films in the series the article had in it is gone and so is the series' website. Just thought you should know.
Oh man, looking into it, I guess quite a few of their releases were not the optimal cuts. Sounds like Weinstein. It's a shame how involved in foreign releases he and the Weinstein Company were because it sounds like they were always itching to edit things down.
Thankfully the Shaw Bros. movies are at a good home in the west with Arrow. I wish I felt like dropping that much money because this first Shaw collection is absolutely loaded with good stuff.
I will admit though, after the Star Trek TOS Blu ray set, Criterion Godzilla and Arrow Gamera, I'm not really looking for any gigantic box sets to try and find room for.
Kaltes-Herzeleid wrote: Thu Jan 06, 2022 9:44 am I love Final Wars. I praise Final Wars. Simple as.

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Re: Boutique Blu-ray

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^ Arrow and 88 Films seem to be splitting the Shaw Brothers movies between themselves. Two is better than one, baby!

Criterion just announced their terrific October slate, including Onibaba and The Incredible Shrinking Man!

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Re: Boutique Blu-ray

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Major sssspielberg! wrote: Thu Jul 15, 2021 8:10 am
mikelcho wrote: Thu Jul 15, 2021 7:56 am Yes, The Weinstein Company was connected with the Dragon Company series. Check out the Wikipedia article on the series and you'll see.

However, the list of films in the series the article had in it is gone and so is the series' website. Just thought you should know.
Oh man, looking into it, I guess quite a few of their releases were not the optimal cuts. Sounds like Weinstein. It's a shame how involved in foreign releases he and the Weinstein Company were because it sounds like they were always itching to edit things down.
Thankfully the Shaw Bros. movies are at a good home in the west with Arrow. I wish I felt like dropping that much money because this first Shaw collection is absolutely loaded with good stuff.
I will admit though, after the Star Trek TOS Blu ray set, Criterion Godzilla and Arrow Gamera, I'm not really looking for any gigantic box sets to try and find room for.
Happy to help out, I...guess? Now I'm wondering if I should keep the two I have or upgrade them both if I can.

Btw, what films are in this first Shaw Brothers collection you mentioned? Does it include the two I have?

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Angilasman
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Re: Boutique Blu-ray

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The 12 movies on Arrow's "Shawscope Volume 1" :

King Boxer, The Boxer from Shantung, Five Shaolin Masters, Shaolin Temple, Mighty Peking Man, Challenge of the Masters, Executioners from Shaolin, Chinatown Kid, The Five Venoms, Crippled Avengers, Heroes of the East and Dirty Ho

Volume 2, as well as a few standalone releases are heavily rumored.

The first US release from 88 Films:

The Chinese Boxer

... but this announcement also contained covers for other films, not explicitly announcemed:

Shaolin Mantis, Legendary Weapons of China, Martial Club, Human Lanterns, Flying Guillotine 2, Hero, Flag of Iron and Disciples Of Shaolin

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