Yoji Yamada on DVD
Yoji Yamada on DVD
Kakushi-ken: Oni No Tsume 2004
Munezo, a warrior in the rapidly changing period at the end of the Edo era, finds himself entangled in a dispute that leads him to confront a former friend. In the process, he falls for Kie -- a gentle love that transcends the barriers of social class.
twitchfilm review
Slant Magazine review
The film made its US debut at the "Shochiku at 110" retrospective in NYC during the NYFF recently, and Tartan has plans to release the dvd stateside.
I'm really excited to see this, especially after Twilight Samurai. The reviews have been mixed so far, with a lot of talk centering on its relationship to Yamada's last movie. Now that Tartan has entered the US market, and has a dedication to emerging Asian cinema, I'm very hopeful of things to come.
Munezo, a warrior in the rapidly changing period at the end of the Edo era, finds himself entangled in a dispute that leads him to confront a former friend. In the process, he falls for Kie -- a gentle love that transcends the barriers of social class.
twitchfilm review
Slant Magazine review
The film made its US debut at the "Shochiku at 110" retrospective in NYC during the NYFF recently, and Tartan has plans to release the dvd stateside.
I'm really excited to see this, especially after Twilight Samurai. The reviews have been mixed so far, with a lot of talk centering on its relationship to Yamada's last movie. Now that Tartan has entered the US market, and has a dedication to emerging Asian cinema, I'm very hopeful of things to come.
Last edited by analoguezombie on Tue Oct 18, 2005 6:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- Harold Gervais
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 2:09 pm
I wish Tartan had released Twilight Samurai here. The version we have looks terrible. Anyone have any recommendations for editions from other regions?
Hopefully we can get our one arthouse back up and running here in New Orleans so I have a chance of seeing Hidden Blade on something close to a big screen.
Hopefully we can get our one arthouse back up and running here in New Orleans so I have a chance of seeing Hidden Blade on something close to a big screen.
- Michael Kerpan
- Spelling Bee Champeen
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:20 pm
- Location: New England
- Contact:
- Michael Kerpan
- Spelling Bee Champeen
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:20 pm
- Location: New England
- Contact:
Yoji Yamada: widescreen vs. pan & scan
Yoji Yamada: widescreen vs. pan & scan
I compare Panorama's pan and scan version of Yoji Yamada's Haruka naru yama no yobigoe (1980) with Shochiku's digitaly-restored 2.35:1 format version:
I compare Panorama's pan and scan version of Yoji Yamada's Haruka naru yama no yobigoe (1980) with Shochiku's digitaly-restored 2.35:1 format version:
- Morandi
- Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 2:24 pm
thanks michael, this comparison almost blew me away. i bought the panorama disk some time ago, and it was a big disappointment in terms of colors, sharpness etc, but i could not imagine how bad it is cropped. it's a shame, cause it's such a good movie. i gave the cropped version 9/10 at imdb!Michael Kerpan wrote:I compare Panorama's pan and scan version of Yoji Yamada's Haruka naru yama no yobigoe (1980) with Shochiku's digitaly-restored 2.35:1 format version:
- Michael Kerpan
- Spelling Bee Champeen
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:20 pm
- Location: New England
- Contact:
Definitely one of Yamada's most wonderful early films -- along with Kokyo (Home From the Sea -- fairly decent Panorama DVD) and Kazoku (Only Japanese DVD -- no subs).Morandi wrote:thanks michael, this comparison almost blew me away. i bought the panorama disk some time ago, and it was a big disappointment in terms of colors, sharpness etc, but i could not imagine how bad it is cropped. it's a shame, cause it's such a good movie. i gave the cropped version 9/10 at imdb!
- Morandi
- Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 2:24 pm
unfortunately i havent seen those ... lets see, probably i'll try one of those sooner or later, its panorama which makes the decision so difficult. and i dont think that in the near future those movies will get a proper dvd-treatment (with subtitles).Michael Kerpan wrote:Definitely one of Yamada's most wonderful early films -- along with Kokyo (Home From the Sea -- fairly decent Panorama DVD) and Kazoku (Only Japanese DVD -- no subs).
i have musuko (aka my sons), thats a good movie as well. but the panorama dvd is bad: very dark, a lot of "mosquito noise" etc at least it doesnt seem to be cropped. its really pity.
- Michael Kerpan
- Spelling Bee Champeen
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:20 pm
- Location: New England
- Contact:
I am grateful for the Panorama series --- and to be fair, Shochiku often only gave them second-rate (or worse) source materials.
Most of these releases are "passable" (given their price) -- even if very far from ideal -- including the "Musuko" DVD --- but the bad ones ARE truly awful. ;~{
I would say there is absolutely ZERO chance of a good quality subbed release of any of these early Yamada films.
Most of these releases are "passable" (given their price) -- even if very far from ideal -- including the "Musuko" DVD --- but the bad ones ARE truly awful. ;~{
I would say there is absolutely ZERO chance of a good quality subbed release of any of these early Yamada films.
-
- Joined: Sun Aug 27, 2006 2:24 pm
I saw the North American premiere of Love and Honor last night at the Asian Film Festival of Dallas, and I thought it was excellent. It builds on the foundation formed by Twilight Samurai and The Hidden Blade. The plot structure is very similar as well and the films fit together very well as a trilogy. As usual, beautifully shot.
- Michael Kerpan
- Spelling Bee Champeen
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:20 pm
- Location: New England
- Contact:
My review of Love and Honor, with some pictures.zombeaner wrote:I saw the North American premiere of Love and Honor last night at the Asian Film Festival of Dallas, and I thought it was excellent. It builds on the foundation formed by Twilight Samurai and The Hidden Blade. The plot structure is very similar as well and the films fit together very well as a trilogy. As usual, beautifully shot.
The structure is a bit similar -- but not unduly so. Each of the three films has a quite distinctive emotional tone.
- malcolm1980
- Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2007 4:37 am
- Location: Manila, Philippines
- Contact:
- manicsounds
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:58 pm
- Location: Tokyo, Japan
Tora-San (Otoko Wa Tsuraiyo) Remastered w/English subs
Tora-San (Otoko Wa Tsuraiyo) Remastered w/English subs
48 Movies, 54 discs, limited edition suitcase with serial number.
48 replica posters (B3 size), replica press sheets, Tora-san lucky charm case
Disc 1-48: The 48 Films
Disc 49: (Bonus Disc with ???)
Disc 50: Tora-San TV Series
Bonus disc 1: A Look back at Otoko Wa Tsuraiyo, 80 min documentary
Bonus disc 2: Tora-San guide DVD, with all 48 theatrical trailers and a guide to the various places Tora-San has gone to.
Bonus Disc 3: a 50 minute documentary from 1971 with Yoji Yamada and Kiyoshi Azumi on maing Tora-San
Bonus Disc 4: "Hey! Tora-San, the 26th year of Tora San" making of 1992 (42 min), "The last making of diary" making of 1997 (46 min)
All with Japanese and English subtitles on the main films
Region Free
Short 4-8 minute making of featurettes on each title.
All for the hefty price of 199,500 Yen, (about $2000 US) out 10/29/2008
48 Movies, 54 discs, limited edition suitcase with serial number.
48 replica posters (B3 size), replica press sheets, Tora-san lucky charm case
Disc 1-48: The 48 Films
Disc 49: (Bonus Disc with ???)
Disc 50: Tora-San TV Series
Bonus disc 1: A Look back at Otoko Wa Tsuraiyo, 80 min documentary
Bonus disc 2: Tora-San guide DVD, with all 48 theatrical trailers and a guide to the various places Tora-San has gone to.
Bonus Disc 3: a 50 minute documentary from 1971 with Yoji Yamada and Kiyoshi Azumi on maing Tora-San
Bonus Disc 4: "Hey! Tora-San, the 26th year of Tora San" making of 1992 (42 min), "The last making of diary" making of 1997 (46 min)
All with Japanese and English subtitles on the main films
Region Free
Short 4-8 minute making of featurettes on each title.
All for the hefty price of 199,500 Yen, (about $2000 US) out 10/29/2008
- sidehacker
- Joined: Sat Mar 17, 2007 2:49 am
- Location: Bowling Green, Ohio
- Contact:
This is actually making me a bit worried. Don't get me wrong, it's great news. But I hope Shochiku isn't placing too much hope in this boxset. I have a hard time believing that people will be willing to buy a 50 disc boxset. On the other hand, I'm glad that Yoji Yamada is getting this kind of attention.
- Sanjuro
- Joined: Fri Nov 03, 2006 1:37 am
- Location: Yokohama, Japan
Once again "Barrier-Free" meaning it has subtitles for the hard of hearing (and non-Japanese) as opposed to to region-free. Unless it's stated as region-free someplace else?
I'm pretty sure Shochiku do very well on Tora-san sales and rentals. If not from the box-set then from the individual discs which are coming out in 4 batches in August, September, October, December. Having said that, it doesn't seem that long ago a Tora-san suitcase came out. Not HD remastered of course. I wonder how die-hard the Tora-san fans are, and how many will just wait a bit for the Blu-Ray?
edit: According to Shochiku's website, they'll be showing all the remastered Tora-san films at "Every cinema in the country" starting in September. Or perhaps it means "Cinemas in every part of the country". All good anyhow.
Also playing in Paris, London, New York, Toronto, Berkeley, Berlin, Koln and Hong Kong from June 2008 - May 2009
I'm pretty sure Shochiku do very well on Tora-san sales and rentals. If not from the box-set then from the individual discs which are coming out in 4 batches in August, September, October, December. Having said that, it doesn't seem that long ago a Tora-san suitcase came out. Not HD remastered of course. I wonder how die-hard the Tora-san fans are, and how many will just wait a bit for the Blu-Ray?
edit: According to Shochiku's website, they'll be showing all the remastered Tora-san films at "Every cinema in the country" starting in September. Or perhaps it means "Cinemas in every part of the country". All good anyhow.
Also playing in Paris, London, New York, Toronto, Berkeley, Berlin, Koln and Hong Kong from June 2008 - May 2009
- manicsounds
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:58 pm
- Location: Tokyo, Japan
Barrier Free, on the site, so I guess it's region 2 NTSC, but I'm pretty sure no one has a problem with region coding these days.
Shochiku knows that there are die-hard Tora fans who are willing to put up a morgage just to have all the films. But then again, Tora-san's target audience is 60, 70 plus years old men, who don't have DVD players and are probably just happy having their VHS copies.
$2000 is too steep for any boxset. But then again, it's Japan. They're 5 times overpriced. $500 for that Tora-San boxset would be the limit for me.
Shochiku knows that there are die-hard Tora fans who are willing to put up a morgage just to have all the films. But then again, Tora-san's target audience is 60, 70 plus years old men, who don't have DVD players and are probably just happy having their VHS copies.
$2000 is too steep for any boxset. But then again, it's Japan. They're 5 times overpriced. $500 for that Tora-San boxset would be the limit for me.
- Sanjuro
- Joined: Fri Nov 03, 2006 1:37 am
- Location: Yokohama, Japan
There's another suitcase which also has all 48 movies which is slightly cheaper at a "reasonable" $1500. And of course Amazon has the limited set at $1500 and the cheaper set at about $1000.
Individual DVDs are $40 each (full price) and there's 54 discs in the set.
"Overpriced" is kind of relative though, isn't it? They're no more expensive than any other DVD in Japan. And pretty much every box set in Japan sells at cost per disc with very little, if any, discount. Yes, a different system would be much better but you'd have to look at the DVD market as a whole. Shochiku's simply following the usual plan.
I'd like to see some business models from Japanese distribution companies to show how they arrive at the rrp. I don't imagine that they're really making 5 times the profits of DVD companies overseas, are they?
Individual DVDs are $40 each (full price) and there's 54 discs in the set.
"Overpriced" is kind of relative though, isn't it? They're no more expensive than any other DVD in Japan. And pretty much every box set in Japan sells at cost per disc with very little, if any, discount. Yes, a different system would be much better but you'd have to look at the DVD market as a whole. Shochiku's simply following the usual plan.
I'd like to see some business models from Japanese distribution companies to show how they arrive at the rrp. I don't imagine that they're really making 5 times the profits of DVD companies overseas, are they?
Re: Yoji Yamada on DVD
Is there there any review about this set?
I am not 60 plus man but actually temp to get it...
(hopefully Yen vs US$ exchange rate will will come down soon. It would definitely help as I try to import to US...)
I am not 60 plus man but actually temp to get it...
(hopefully Yen vs US$ exchange rate will will come down soon. It would definitely help as I try to import to US...)
- Sanjuro
- Joined: Fri Nov 03, 2006 1:37 am
- Location: Yokohama, Japan
Re: Yoji Yamada on DVD
I rented the first few of the remasters. They all look very nice with good readable subtitles.
Actually the translation comes across a bit 'simple' at times, but I guess that's the same for any subtitled film.
Of course, the plot starts to get VERY familiar after the first couple (although, that's a selling point rather than a dissapointment over here), so I'm not sure I'd recommend the whole $1500 suitcase to anyone. I might work my way through the lot (the first several are in my rental queue) in the hope that there's a hidden gem somewhere around number 25 or so.
Actually the translation comes across a bit 'simple' at times, but I guess that's the same for any subtitled film.
Of course, the plot starts to get VERY familiar after the first couple (although, that's a selling point rather than a dissapointment over here), so I'm not sure I'd recommend the whole $1500 suitcase to anyone. I might work my way through the lot (the first several are in my rental queue) in the hope that there's a hidden gem somewhere around number 25 or so.
-
- Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2007 4:58 pm
- Location: Monster Island
Re: Yoji Yamada on DVD
Man, I love Tora-san...although around the late 1970's the quality of the series starts to get pretty damn thin. I'm thinking about buying the second film since it's probably my personal fave.
Does anyone know if the subtitles are significantly better than the Panorama discs? Has anyone compared them? I have all the Panorama dvds and their subs range from mostly serviceable to incomprehensible.
Sanjuro, when you say the subs are "simple", you mean they leave out the local flavor/slang/culture of the spoken dialog. right?
Does anyone know if the subtitles are significantly better than the Panorama discs? Has anyone compared them? I have all the Panorama dvds and their subs range from mostly serviceable to incomprehensible.
Sanjuro, when you say the subs are "simple", you mean they leave out the local flavor/slang/culture of the spoken dialog. right?