Member Super Ninja Posted February 14, 2024 Member Posted February 14, 2024 So this is really happening, Shinobi no Mono getting a BR release, wow. This is the series that started it all, amazing release! Would love a booklet with Keith Rainville's essay.. still, day one for me. 2 1 Quote
Member ShawAngela Posted February 14, 2024 Member Posted February 14, 2024 1 hour ago, Ronin said: https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=34024 Three Shinobi no Mono films in one two-disc set. If they release all the stories (9 or more?), it would be interesting. I'm not sure to get this if they only release the first three stories. Not on the same subject, but I was also hesitating regarding The Inspector Wears Skirts first releases, because I wasn't sure 88 would release the two others, and I'm glad to have waited before getting them until they announce the release of the other opuses. Quote
Member Drunken Monk Posted February 14, 2024 Member Posted February 14, 2024 I've never seen (or honestly ever heard of) the Shinobi No Mono films. How are they action wise? Are they action heavy or can they be compared to something like a Kurosawa film where they're drama heavy with action beats here and there? Either way, I'm interested. 1 Quote
Member BigDruDogg Posted February 14, 2024 Member Posted February 14, 2024 57 minutes ago, Drunken Monk said: I've never seen (or honestly ever heard of) the Shinobi No Mono films. How are they action wise? Are they action heavy or can they be compared to something like a Kurosawa film where they're drama heavy with action beats here and there? Either way, I'm interested. All 9 are great, I bought the 3 movie boxset on dvd from animeigo years ago. And they're very reminiscence to a lot of the chanbara films of it's time. If your a fan of 60s style b&w samurai films then these will be right up your alley, just a ninja version.. it's the inspiration of anime like ninja scroll and basilisk etc. 3 Quote
Member Super Ninja Posted February 14, 2024 Member Posted February 14, 2024 1 hour ago, ShawAngela said: If they release all the stories (9 or more?), it would be interesting. I'm not sure to get this if they only release the first three stories. Eight movies, Mission: Iron Castle (1970) was marketed as part of the series, but is notably different and what's more, doesn't have Raizo Ishikawa starring. He died from cancer on July 17th 1969. 1 hour ago, Drunken Monk said: I've never seen (or honestly ever heard of) the Shinobi No Mono films. How are they action wise? Are they action heavy or can they be compared to something like a Kurosawa film where they're drama heavy with action beats here and there? Either way, I'm interested. More action than your average Kurosawa film. Shinobi no Mono kickstarted the Japanese cinematic ninja craze of the '60s. The thing about the action is it's quite realistic, as can be in a ninja movie at least. Prior to SNM coming out, ninjas were part of fantasy films and had magic powers - check The Magic Serpent that is part of the Shout tokusatsu boxset to see the difference. With SNM, the emphasis was now on defining the place ninjas held in Japan's history, depicting the personal lives of shadow warriors, their espionage techniques and realism in action, njinjutsu and arsenal. Real ninjutsu masters were expert advisors on the set, dr. Masaaki Hatsumi and his teacher, the late Toshitsugu Takamatsu of Togakure-ryu school. So more serious, historically accurate, darker, B&W, noirish ninja films that redifined the genre. 5 1 Quote
Member Drunken Monk Posted February 14, 2024 Member Posted February 14, 2024 Thank you @BigDruDogg and @Super Ninja ! This was a great help. Pre-ordering ASAP. 4 Quote
Member Yihetuan Posted February 14, 2024 Member Posted February 14, 2024 1 hour ago, BigDruDogg said: All 9 are great, I bought the 3 movie boxset on dvd from animeigo years ago. And they're very reminiscence to a lot of the chanbara films of it's time. If your a fan of 60s style b&w samurai films then these will be right up your alley, just a ninja version.. it's the inspiration of anime like ninja scroll and basilisk etc. I also have the Animeigo Collectors Set Vol 1 & was disappointed that they never finished the series, so I had to go the David Merlin route for the rest of the episodes. I enjoyed it because it was a "realistic" depiction of ninjitsu & not the over the top fantasy stuff that's usually associated with the term "ninja" here in the West (although I enjoy those as well). 4 Quote
Member Yihetuan Posted February 14, 2024 Member Posted February 14, 2024 Have to compliment the artist for sticking to the original poster artwork too. Props to Filippo Di Battista for the if it ain't broke, don't fix it approach. https://www.instagram.com/add.more.noise/ 2 Quote
Member Ronin Posted March 6, 2024 Author Member Posted March 6, 2024 https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=34137 Sympathy for the Underdog Description: Returning from a ten-year prison sentence, former gang leader Gunji (Koji Tsuruta, Big Time Gambling Boss) finds that his turf has been taken over by his former enemy, now a large crime syndicate with a legal corporate front. Looking for new opportunities, he gathers his old crew and heads for the island of Okinawa, a legal grey zone ripe for the taking. Made just before Kinji (Yakuza Graveyard) Fukasaku's 1970s streak of yakuza movie masterpieces, Sympathy for the Underdog is a key film in the development of this director's unique style and themes. Special Features and Technical Specs: High-Definition digital transfer Uncompressed mono PCM audio Audio commentary by yakuza film expert Nathan Stuart (2024) Interview with Fukasaku biographer Olivier Hadouchi (2024) Visual essay on Okinawa on screen by film historian and author Aaron Gerow (2024) Trailer New and improved English subtitle translation Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Bastian Meiresonne and an archival review of the film Limited Edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings REGION-A/B "LOCKED" U.S. AND CANADA STREET DATE: JUNE 25. UK STREET DATE: JUNE 24. 4 1 Quote
Member Yihetuan Posted April 3, 2024 Member Posted April 3, 2024 More title announcements tomorrow 1 Quote
Member Yihetuan Posted April 3, 2024 Member Posted April 3, 2024 So the Japanese title announced is Tai Kato's EIGHTEEN YEARS IN PRISON. 3 Quote
Member Yihetuan Posted April 29, 2024 Member Posted April 29, 2024 Radiance release pics of the packaging and discs for Shinobi No Mono. 6 1 Quote
Member Yihetuan Posted May 8, 2024 Member Posted May 8, 2024 (edited) Radiance Films latest release is another Tai Kato Yakuza film, Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza. Edited May 8, 2024 by Yihetuan 4 1 Quote
Member Chemical Lemon Posted May 9, 2024 Member Posted May 9, 2024 They also have cruel gun story coming in their world noir vol 2 1 Quote
Member Yihetuan Posted May 25, 2024 Member Posted May 25, 2024 Radiance hinted at multiple Seijun Suzuki titles on the way. Fingers crossed for a blu ray of Underworld Beauty. 3 Quote
Member BigDruDogg Posted May 25, 2024 Member Posted May 25, 2024 1 hour ago, Yihetuan said: Radiance hinted at multiple Seijun Suzuki titles on the way. Fingers crossed for a blu ray of Underworld Beauty. I missed out on Arrow's Early Years boxsets, so that would be great if they acquired the rights!! But realistically most films from Suzuki-san are great, so it's a win-win!! 2 Quote
Member dwk Posted June 1, 2024 Member Posted June 1, 2024 Since they've been releasing UK Blu-rays of titles from Criterion's Nikkatsu Noir DVD set, I would not be shocked if the Suzuki title is Take Aim at the Police Van 1 Quote
Member Ronin Posted June 5, 2024 Author Member Posted June 5, 2024 https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=34627 Tattooed Life Tetsuo (Hideki Takahashi, Fighting Elegy), a low-level yakuza is double-crossed by his boss and attacked. His younger brother Kenji (Kotobuki Hananomoto, This Transient Life), an aspiring artist with no connections to crime, comes to his aid and kills Tetsuo's assailant. Fearing repercussions from the yakuza they flee to Manchuria where they risk coming under suspicion of rival gangs. Seijun Suzuki (Branded to Kill) remains loyal to the conventions of the yakuza film, but Tattooed Life contains flashes of his later creative genius, including a final act of explosive visual excess that has become one of the director's all-time classic scenes. Special Features and Technical Specs: High-Definition digital transfer Uncompressed mono PCM audio Audio commentary by William Carroll, author of Seijun Suzuki and Postwar Cinema (2024) Newly edited archival interview with director Seijun Suzuki Newly edited archival interview with art director Takeo Kimura Trailer Newly improved English subtitle translation Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Tom Vick and a newly translated archival review of the film REGION A/B "LOCKED" U.S. AND CANADA STREET DATE: SEPTEMBER 24. UK STREET DATE: SEPTEMBER 23. 4 Quote
Member Chemical Lemon Posted June 5, 2024 Member Posted June 5, 2024 (edited) Wrong thread Edited June 5, 2024 by Chemical Lemon Its Wednesday not thursday Quote
Member Yihetuan Posted June 8, 2024 Member Posted June 8, 2024 On 6/5/2024 at 6:54 AM, Ronin said: https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=34627 Tattooed Life Tetsuo (Hideki Takahashi, Fighting Elegy), a low-level yakuza is double-crossed by his boss and attacked. His younger brother Kenji (Kotobuki Hananomoto, This Transient Life), an aspiring artist with no connections to crime, comes to his aid and kills Tetsuo's assailant. Fearing repercussions from the yakuza they flee to Manchuria where they risk coming under suspicion of rival gangs. Seijun Suzuki (Branded to Kill) remains loyal to the conventions of the yakuza film, but Tattooed Life contains flashes of his later creative genius, including a final act of explosive visual excess that has become one of the director's all-time classic scenes. Special Features and Technical Specs: High-Definition digital transfer Uncompressed mono PCM audio Audio commentary by William Carroll, author of Seijun Suzuki and Postwar Cinema (2024) Newly edited archival interview with director Seijun Suzuki Newly edited archival interview with art director Takeo Kimura Trailer Newly improved English subtitle translation Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Tom Vick and a newly translated archival review of the film REGION A/B "LOCKED" U.S. AND CANADA STREET DATE: SEPTEMBER 24. UK STREET DATE: SEPTEMBER 23. Definitely picking this up. I really like Hideki Takahashi in the ninkyo eiga Yakuza film series, Crest of Man. I think there are 10 or 11 total but would love to see Radiance release a box set down the line however unrealistic such a boxset will come to fruition. 2 1 Quote
Member Yihetuan Posted July 6, 2024 Member Posted July 6, 2024 Some Nagisa Oshima on blu ray on the way from Radiance. 4 Quote
Member Ronin Posted July 10, 2024 Author Member Posted July 10, 2024 https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=34816 Daiei Gothic: Japanese Ghost Stories Description: A collection of three of Japan's most famous ghost stories that have haunted people for centuries. Kenji Misumi (Lone Wolf and Cub) directs The Ghost of Yotsuya, in which a woman returns from the grave as a horribly disfigured phantom to torment her husband and his new bride. In The Snow Woman, directed by Tokuzo Tanaka (Zatoichi), a woodcutter must keep his oath to a vengeful female spirit or pay the ultimate price. The Bride from Hades by Satsuo Yamamoto (Shinobi) sees a handsome samurai so enchanted by a courtesan's beauty that he fails to realise she is a ghost. These three film versions from the Daiei studio form a pinnacle of atmospheric Japanese horror. Their elegant visuals and ominous shadows rival the best of Terence Fisher or Mario Bava, while their iconic female ghosts would greatly influence Asian genre cinema, from Hong Kong fantasy spectacles such as A Chinese Ghost Story to J-horror. LIMITED EDITION BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES New 4K restorations of The Bride from Hades and The Snow Woman High-Definition digital transfer of The Ghost of Yotsuya Uncompressed mono PCM audio for each film Optional English subtitles for all films Newly designed box and booklet artwork by Time Tomorrow Six postcards featuring original archive imagery from the films Limited edition 80-page perfect bound book featuring new writing by authors Tom Mes and Zack Davisson, newly translated archival reviews and ghost stories by Lafcadio Hearn THE GHOST OF YOTSUYA New interview with filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa A visual essay on the history and adaptations of the classic Ghost of Yotsuya story by author Kyoko Hirano Trailer Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista THE BRIDE FROM HADES Audio commentary by author Jasper Sharp New interview with filmmaker Hiroshi Takahashi Trailer Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista THE SNOW WOMAN New interview with filmmaker Masayuki Ochiai A visual essay on writer Lafcadio Hearn Trailer Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista STREET DATE: OCTOBER 28. U.S. AND CANADA STREET DATE: OCTOBER 29. UK STREET DATE: OCTOBER 28. Dogra Magra Description: A man wakes in an asylum with no memory. Dr Wakabayashi helps him to recall his past in which he killed his bride on their wedding day. Part of his memory becomes linked to another doctor, Dr Masaki, and a manuscript, Dogra Magra. As the two doctors treat him, reality and fantasy become blurred and the patient becomes unsure of his identity or his doctors' experiments. The final feature film by Toshio Matsumoto (Funeral Parade of Roses) is an adaptation of the celebrated novel by Kyusaku Yumeno, a period set gothic tale with a sense of dreamy dread that recalls Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Cure and the locked room mystery of Shutter Island. A stunningly shot phantasmagoria by Tatsuo Suzuki (Pastoral: To Die in the Country), Dogra Magra is presented on Blu-ray for the first time outside of Japan. Special Features and Technical Specs: High-Definition digital transfer supervised by director of photography Tatsuo Suzuki and producer Shuji Shibata Audio commentary by director Toshio Matsumoto (2003) Interview with Toshio Matsumoto (2003, 21 mins) A visual essay by programmer and curator Julian Ross (2024) Instructions on Ahodara Sutra (a popular Japanese chant delivered by Dr. Masaki in the film) by legendary street performer Hiroshi Sakano (16 mins) Trailer New and improved English subtitles Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Hirofumi Sakamoto, president of the Postwar Japan Moving Image Archive and author Jasper Sharp on screenwriter Atsushi Yamatoya plus an interview with producer Shuji Shibata and Matsumoto's director's statement Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings U.S. AND CANADA STREET DATE: OCTOBER 29. UK STREET DATE: OCTOBER 28. 4 1 Quote
Member Yihetuan Posted July 10, 2024 Member Posted July 10, 2024 On 7/6/2024 at 8:07 AM, Yihetuan said: Some Nagisa Oshima on blu ray on the way from Radiance. 2 Quote
Member Yihetuan Posted August 9, 2024 Member Posted August 9, 2024 Yet even more Oshima? Based on the clues perhaps some Terayama? more Fukasaku? Quote
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