Boutique Blu-ray

[Chrispy_G]

Robocop coming in 4K in March from Arrow! So excited to pre-order that one!

[Angilasman]

New label called Deaf Crocodile is putting out Soviet fantasy flicks! Sampo (The Day the Earth Froze) and Ilya Muromets (The Sword and the Dragon) coming this summer!

[Tyrant_Lizard_King]

Full Moon is releasing Dragonworld on bluray. Was one of my favorites in my younger days. A decent semi-remake of Mighty Joe Young. Also one of the last hurrahs of stop motion and just an all around enjoyable family flick.

[canofhumdingers]

New label called Deaf Crocodile is putting out Soviet fantasy flicks! Sampo (The Day the Earth Froze) and Ilya Muromets (The Sword and the Dragon) coming this summer!

That’s cool. I know very little about Soviet sci-fi and fantasy films but every time I see pieces of them I’m intrigued. Especially the space exploration films from the 50’s and 60’s.

[Angilasman]

^ I know! I've seen little but have loved what I've seen. A label specializing in those types of films (apparently they're focusing on fantasy/sci-fi) is a welcome development.

The Blu-ray for Viy has a nice mini-doc on Soviet sci-fi flicks!

[Chrispy_G]

I'd love to get Signs in 4K this year for the 20th anniversary. I don't hold out much hope of Disney doing that. The Blu Ray was from some of the earliest days of the format....so it is far from the best looking presentation these days. Considering the minimal amount of effects work in the film, a brand new 4K scan and HDR on that film could result in an incredible image.

Maybe Blade II might finally be given the 4K treatment to go along with the first film...as Blade II is also on a 20 year anniversary this year.

I will perpetually hope that with Avatar 2 coming this December(unless it is delayed again) that we might be able to get True Lies, Titanic, the original Avatar and MAYBE even The Abyss on 4K.

[Tyrant_Lizard_King]

Next year is The Abyss' 35th anniversary. According to Digital Bits and their sources it's not out of the realm of possibility of The Abyss dropping this year but 2023 seems much more likely. Avatar in 4K this year is much more likely.

[Chrispy_G]

Next year is The Abyss' 35th anniversary. According to Digital Bits and their sources it's not out of the realm of possibility of The Abyss dropping this year but 2023 seems much more likely. Avatar in 4K this year is much more likely.

I could definitely see Titanic and Avatar getting the 4K treatment this year to build to Avatar 2...and then next year when Avatar 2 inevitably hits 4K, that could tie in to further Cameron films getting 4K disc releases....like True Lies and The Abyss.

[Angilasman]

James Flower has confirmed they've got more Shaw Brothers stuff lined up beyond the two sets and assorted single releases they've already got scheduled.

Chor Yuen, actor and director (he's the bad guy in Police Story!), just passed away and Flower kinda apologized for not representing his work in their current releases - saying they're gonna make up for it in subsequent releases.

[Angilasman]

... dang, Arrow's just in the kung fu business now. In addition to all the Shaw Brothers stuff coming up a new title from them has leaked: The One Armed Boxer! This isn't from the Shaw catalog; it's from rival studio Golden Harvest! It's also been released in the UK by boutique label Eureka. Does this mean Arrow's is a US only title? Does this mean we might see some or all of the numerous Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung Golden Harvest titles released in the UK by Eureka released in the US by Arrow?!?


... and in addition Golden Harvest news: WB apparently had the rights to 200 of their titles (maybe into perpetuity?). According to a recent interview, Warner Archive is apparently going to get serious about putting out those titles!

[Tyrant_Lizard_King]

Ah Zeiram 2 is out as well. I knew the first one was getting released didn't realize this was too.

[Angilasman]

James Flower wrote an excellent 5 page article on the English dubbing scene in Hong Kong in the '60s and '70s in the booklet for Shawscope vol. 1. It also mounts a defense of dubbing in general and the recent cry to preserve these alternate versions - though ultimately coming down on the original language being the most authentic viewing experience.

Definitely of interest to tokusatsu fans!

[Chrispy_G]

James Flower wrote an excellent 5 page article on the English dubbing scene in Hong Kong in the '60s and '70s in the booklet for Shawscope vol. 1. It also mounts a defense of dubbing in general and the recent cry to preserve these alternate versions - though ultimately coming down on the original language being the most authentic viewing experience.

Definitely of interest to tokusatsu fans!

I'm super Pro-Dub. I'd actively campaign to get the 'original cuts' all with a straight dub and no other alterations.

The alternate versions I generally go on a case-by-case basis. Having them is cool, but sometimes they are a mixed bag. Streamline the film and remove scenes that are genuinely unnecessary, improve some pacing, etc? I'm all for that. I think Godzilla 2000 is probably the best example of an alternate cut....for me it is outright superior to the original.

It is when the structure, flow and 'vision' get tampered with that it gets annoying. Things like re-naming Mothra "The Thing", or replacing large chunks of Ifukube's score in KKvG or GTTM...it's just like "WHY?!"...drastically changing Monster names and jerking around with the music irks me because it hurts the spirit of the material. Kumonga isn't Spiega, it's Kumonga! That's a far cry from Anguiras/Angilas transliteration.

Godzilla, King of the Monsters! is perhaps the only "drastically" altered cut that, due to the success it found in North America and in various international markets, I feel really deserves a place of its own in the roster as a separate piece from the original, KOTM did its own fair share of work in solidifying Godzilla as an icon outside of just 'being a dubbed release of the original'. "Gigantis, The Fire Monster" is like the polar opposite of that example.

[Angilasman]

Discotek just announced a new sublabel for Japanese live action genre stuff: Nihon Nights.

First blu-ray is the live action Uzumaki from the early '00s.

[eabaker]

First blu-ray is the live action Uzumaki from the early '00s.

For some reason that movie (and the manga) keep coming up in conversation for me...

[Purzel2205]

Discotek just announced a new sublabel for Japanese live action genre stuff: Nihon Nights.

First blu-ray is the live action Uzumaki from the early '00s.

That's actually really exciting to hear, I like the Uzumaki movie a lot but I've always felt that the bad quality of the DVD I had took away a lot of the viewing experience and made it hard to really appreciate the cinematography

[Angilasman]

^ Well, apparently there's a limit to how good it can look: it was one of those movies that was shot on film but finished on (early) digital. Discotek says to expect it to be better than the previous DVD releases but a bit below true 1080p.

[MaxRebo320]

Ads for the Shaw Bros' absolutely insane horror film The Boxer's Omen have been spotted in new Arrow Video releases. A day one purchase, whenever it's released.

[Angilasman]

^ James Flower confirmed it will be one of the fourteen films on Shawscope vol. 2!

[tbeasley]

^ Mondo has licensed Hiruko for release this fall.

Which leaves only Fires on the Plain, Tetsuo 3, and the two Nightmare Detective films before we've got the complete Tsukumoto available here.

Here's the limited edition of Hiruko (with an eventual retail version I assume, like their GEMINI release) -

HIRUKO THE GOBLIN - Limited Red Case Edition

Just an update on this - The retail version of Hiruko is now available.

On a semi-related note - Third Window released Sogo Ishii's Crazy Thunder Road, making me think Arrow will get around to their own release (they previously released Ishii's Burst City).