Labyrinth of Cinema (Nobuhiko Obayashi)

[Yami]

Available for Pre-Order

Filming in his hometown of Onomichi for the first time in 20 years, director Nobuhiko Ôbayashi's new film invites us into an intoxicating cinematic world. Against a backdrop that traces the history of Japan’s wars, Labyrinth of Cinema shapeshifts between styles and genres, drawing influences from silent films, talkies, action flicks, musicals, and more - and creates something triumphantly unique in the process.

Ôbayashi, with a boundless optimism, showcases the raw energy within the medium and the power for cinema to enact real change, as three youths are transported through time into the projected world, fated to cross paths with three heroines through disparate timelines and settings within the silver screen.

"Forget a swan song: Nobuhiko Obayashi’s final film is a shriek, a tirade, a lecture and a rollicking action-adventure stuffed into a three-hour pop-art package."

- Devika Girish, The New York Times

See Ôbayashi's legendary final film early on this 2-disc SteelBook®, limited to only 4,000 copies prior to the official theatrical release (TBA).

Special Features:

HD digital transfer, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack.
Notes from the Labyrinth, a 60-minute documentary featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Ôbayashi and the cast during the making of the film.
Video Interview with wife and long-time producer Kyôko Ôbayashi, moderated by independent film programmer Aiko Masubuchi.
Short Video Introduction by Kyôko and daughter Chigumi Ôbayashi.
"Dreaming Together in a Cinematic Labyrinth," Exclusive Essay by award-winning author Eiko Ikegami.
Eight poems by Chuya Nakahara from the film, with new English translations.
Four newly-designed lobby card inserts.
US & Japanese Trailers.
New Cover Art by Jess Fang.

Nobuhiko Obayashi's final film, Labyrinth of Cinema, will be receiving a Collector's Edition release from new label Crescendo House.

It's currently streaming on Mubi.

[DukeTogo84]

A new label releasing Japanese cinema is great news. Haven't seen this one, but will check it out for sure.

[bergman864]

Loved Hanagatami. Been waiting for a nice release of this. Will definitely pick this up.

[beamish13]

I want to support a new label, and this is a remarkable film, but $50USD and no special features? Really?

[CelestialAgent]

Originally Posted by beamish13

I want to support a new label, and this is a remarkable film, but $50USD and no special features? Really?

Where does it list the price and specs?

Their site description says:

CrH will initiate the life of a film with a limited edition, collector's home video run. Each carefully curated film will feature unique artwork, packaging, and hours of special features, in an effort to match the value each film contains as a unique and different work of art. This initial run will serve as a new form of patronage; as they sell out, we will be proving to exhibitors that there is in fact an audience for different works of art and solidifying wider, more film-specific theatrical and VOD release strategies.

[CrescendoHouse]

Been a long time since I've been active on here but now's a better chance than any, huh! (Though... new account because the old one's oozing with the bad kind of nostalgia!)

Originally Posted by beamish13

I want to support a new label, and this is a remarkable film, but $50USD and no special features? Really?

Worry not! We didn't expect to get noticed so soon -- you guys are truly ahead of the curve here! We're waiting on a few things to happen before our big reveal, but a good amount of special features have been commissioned and completed, alongside new commissioned art, never before translated texts, and other paraphernalia -- all in a Steelbook wrapped in an o-card!

Stay tuned -- we'll be announcing soon enough

Happy to see the support, even if it has caught us off-guard! Thanks for your patience -- site will be more active soon!

[themp3000]

And the store is a demo store, you can’t buy anything from there/have it fulfilled.

[Yami]

Now officially detailed:

[Show spoiler]

[vivafriend5]

[10/10] Labyrinth of Cinema SteelBook Update

Hi customer,

We apologize for the lack of communication as of late and for missing the original release date. That said, we finally received a new update that we feel confident about, and expect the product to be ready to ship in the next 8-12 days.

When we put the product up for pre-order, we had been told by the team handling fulfillment that the final missing piece -- the booklet -- would be ready in 7 days and that it would take less than a week to put it all together. That was almost two months ago! That one-week dragged on for about a month in which there was nothing we felt like we could do but wait and call, before we finally managed to get in touch with the team handling the printing, who... had yet to get started. They cited many valid reasons -- supply chain shortages, Covid employee shortages among other things -- and had everything ready by the end of that week, but unfortunately, that booklet shipment then had the audacity to get lost in shipping for another 2 weeks. Anyhow, it's been found now, and is finally nearing its final destination! Fingers crossed that that last delay will be the last, and that everything will continue smoothly on track now. We're just as upset about this as some of you may be, and hope that you can understand the logistical screw-up.

We've also received a number of emails about the encryption certificate on the website going down and locking people out and wanted to assure you all that nothing was breached or compromised, and that the cause -- Let's Encrypt's root certificate expiring at the end of last month -- was universal. We believe the problem only affected devices that hadn't been updated and have since fixed it, but please shoot us a message if you're still experiencing the security notification!

Thank you all so much for the patience these past few weeks and apologies once more for the delays! We've been working hard on some adjustments to make sure this sort of thing never happens again, and can only hope that it all gets better in the future when things start getting a little bit back to normal.

Sincerely,

The Crescendo House Team

[vivafriend5]

[10/25] Labyrinth of Cinema Updates

Updates to your SteelBook:

We just received word today from the last rung in our manufacturing pipeline that the order is completed and shipping to our fulfillment... garage today! I know there have been a number of delays with shipping so far, but the package is finally in the same state as its destination, so we should hopefully not see any more delays!

Everything on our end is prepped for this delivery, and you can bet we'll try and get all of your orders out as soon as we get the product in hand!

Thank you all for your patience throughout this learning process. We're excited to finally have our edition ready and out by the week's end if we run into no more issues!

[vivafriend5]

Shipping appears to have started around November 2nd. Another member and I received shipping notifications.

[Harlock415]

I totally missed the notice, but mine shipped on the 5th of November and I received it in secure packaging today, the 8th.

A total blind buy for me.