Three / Three...Extremes (2002-2004) Blu-ray (Arrow Video)

[MifuneFan]

Arrow Video will be releasing a double-feature of Asian horror anthology films, Three (2002) and the more popular follow-up film Three...Extremes (2004) on Blu-ray in October! The films come from multiple directors including Takashi Miike, Fruit Chan, Park Chan-wook, and Kim Jee-woon.

https://www.arrowvideo.com/three-thr...chcurrency=USD

Three / Three...Extremes Blu-ray

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• Brand new 2K restorations of both films by Arrow Films
• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of both films
• Original 5.1 DTS-HD MA surround audio and lossless stereo audio on both films
• Optional English subtitles for both films
• Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork for both films by Xinmei Liu
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by Stacie Ponder and David Desser
• Double-sided foldout poster featuring newly commissioned artwork by Xinmei Liu

DISC ONE: THREE

• Cross-Pollination Horror Part 1, a brand new interview with producer and “Going Home” director Peter Ho-Sun Chan
• Recalling Memories, a brand new interview with “Memories” director Kim Jee-woon
• Making Memories, a brand new interview with ""Memories"" cinematographer Hong Kyoung-pyo
• Terror Without Borders, a newly edited interview with Peter Ho-Sun Chan, filmed in 2005 by Frédéric Ambroisine
• Between Life and Death, a newly edited interview with “Going Home” star Eugenia Yuan, filmed in 2004 by Frédéric Ambroisine
• Peter Ho-Sun Chan: Cinema Without Borders, an archival interview
• Kim Jee-woon: Memories from Beyond the Grave, an archival interview
• Making-of featurette
• Original theatrical trailer


DISC TWO: THREE... EXTREMES

• Audio commentary on the segment “Box” by director Takashi Miike
• Cross-Pollination Horror Part 2, a brand new interview with producer Peter Ho-Sun Chan
• Cooking Dumplings, a brand new interview with “Dumplings” director Fruit Chan
• Something a Little More Beautiful, a brand new interview with Takashi Miike
• Taste, Taboo and Truth, a newly edited interview with Fruit Chan, filmed in 2004 by Frédéric Ambroisine
• More Than Skin Deep, a newly edited interview with “Dumplings” star Bai Ling, filmed in 2005 by Frédéric Ambroisine
• Making-of featurettes for each segment
• Trailers for Three... Extremes and the feature-length version of Dumplings

A trio of ghostly tales of terror, each from a different country, form the anthology Three. Initiated by acclaimed Hong Kong producer and director Peter Ho-Sun Chan, the film would prove highly influential in its innovative approach to pan-Asian horror, and lead to the shockingly compelling sequel, Three... Extremes. Dive into the ultimate omnibus of horror with both films lavishly restored and featuring a wealth of new and archival extras.

Korean genre maestro Kim Jee-woon (A Tale of Two Sisters) opens Three with “Memories”, where a husband and wife with no memory of how they fell apart discover the terrifying truth behind their separation. In Thai filmmaker Nonzee Nimibutr’s (Nang Nak) tale of guilt and jealousy, “The Wheel”, a puppeteer fears his marionettes are possessed by the spirits of those he has wronged. Finally, in Peter Ho-Sun Chan’s “Going Home”, a widowed police officer and his young son move into a new apartment and uncover the chilling secret behind their new neighbor and his seemingly comatose wife.

Three... Extremes’ unforgettable first story, “Dumplings”, directed by celebrated filmmaker Fruit Chan (Made in Hong Kong), sees an aging actor discover that the dumplings she’s been eating for their miraculous rejuvenating benefits contain an unsavory secret ingredient. Next, in Korean legend Park Chan-wook’s (Oldboy) segment “Cut”, a wealthy filmmaker is caught in a twisted game when a vindictive actor takes his wife hostage. Finally, Japanese Master of Horror Takashi Miike’s (Audition) segment, “Box”, sees a novelist plagued by nightmares of her past as a child circus performer with her long-lost twin sister, until she receives a mysterious invitation to return to the site of her old circus.

[RestlessEye]

Very cool. I can upgrade my DVDs.

[Scottie]

Hopefully this means we're one step closer to domestic releases of A Tale of Two Sisters and A Bittersweet Life.

[defile959]

Unless I'm missing something, it appears that the special features don't mention including the full-length version of Dumplings... so I guess the old 2-DVD set will be hanging around on my shelves next to this edition.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by defile959

Unless I'm missing something, it appears that the special features don't mention including the full-length version of Dumplings... so I guess the old 2-DVD set will be hanging around on my shelves next to this edition.

Correct, it does not include that one. Was hoping it did, especially when I initially read that they're including the trailer for it.

[The Phantom Goat]

Bummer that it doesn't include the full length Dumplings, but Im in.

[theosh]

Literally last night, I was scratching my head and wondering why both these films had yet to be released on blu yet, and then I wake to this amazing news.
The fact that the feature length version of DUMPLINGS isn’t included though, is very disappointing. Christopher Doyle’s cinematography is just outstanding in it, and some of the greatest of his entire career.


Regardless of this slight disappointment, I’ll be purchasing this set on day one.

[Aunt Peg]

I'd really like a release of Fruit Chan's Dumplings in it's feature length form too.

Whilst I do like this release it is no buy for me but a release of Dumplings in its feature form would be a day one buy for me.

[DukeTogo84]

Didn't realize that there was a film called Three until today. That will be a first time watch for me!

[MifuneFan]

Pre-order now up at Arrow:

https://www.arrowvideo.com/three-thr...chcurrency=USD

[Gambit1138]

In addition to not including the feature-length version of Dumplings, it's worth pointing out it also doesn't include the extended hour-long version of "Going Home" on Three, which I think was only released in Hong Kong.

[fattyjoe37]

Bummer that the Dumplings feature isn't included, although when I watched it a couple years back I found I enjoyed the way the story went in the anthology much more.

I'm surprised that both versions of Three Extremes are not included. It may not be accurate, but IMDb says that the original release had the order of the segments go Box/Dumplings/Cut and the U.S. version was changed to be Dumplings/Cut/Box. I've been interested in seeing that original layout because my big problem with the film has been that the U.S. cut starts on the highest note and gets weaker as it goes along.

[Piggles]

So, the "feature-length version of Dumplings" is just the trailer, or is the wording just terrible?

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Piggles

So, the "feature-length version of Dumplings" is just the trailer, or is the wording just terrible?

Just the trailer

[Ben_C]

A bit surprised Dumplings isn’t included in the set, would have made it the complete version of this project. You’d have thought that if Arrow was going to release it they would have stuck it in, so who knows if we’re likely to see an individual release of it…

[DomH75]

Hopefully, the feature length Dumplings will be released at some point in the future, if Arrow have included the trailer. Maybe they'll chuck the hour-long Going Home along with it the way Tartan, back in the day, bundled Hideo Nakata's Curse, Death and Spirit video portmanteau film with the thriller Chaos.

Dumplings kind of deserves its own release, although I agree a limited edition including the feature and would have been nice. It'll be a rights issue, as ever.

I remember having a good laugh at a 'critic's' expense many years ago when I read his 'review' of Three. It was released on DVD as 'Three... Extremes 2' in the UK and the 'critic' didn't do his homework. What followed was a diatribe about unnecessary sequels, pale imitations and cheap ripoffs. Of course, Three (... Extremes 2) was actually the first film and wasn't intended to be 'extreme', but when you have a bugbear about sequels you want to get off your chest, why let a bit of research get in the way?!

I admit I had been hoping for another Arrow multi-feature film Asian horror set this October after the last few years gave us the Ring trilogy, the Ju-On series and J-Horror Rising. I live in hope of getting a Whispering Corridors set and maybe J-Horror Theater one day. With those two sets in my collection, I'd feel like I had many of the major players in the early 2000s Western boom period for Asian horror in HD or better. The Doll Master and the Tomies would be nice to have too, of course!

I had wondered about the Three films after watching the Thai anthology Bangkok Haunted the other week for the first time in about 20 years. I really like portmanteau films and I'm surprised more aren't made. They would seem to be a good way for new, up-and-coming filmmakers to get their work out there. On the negative side, though, a portmanteau film is arguably only as good as its worst film!

Nevertheless, I'm very pleased to see this release is happening and I'll certainly pick it up. I live on the outskirts of ancient, haunted moorland and grew up loving the folktales and legends of the area. Consequently, I found myself very drawn towards Asian supernatural horrors that blend folktales and modernity, and thus to other Asian horrors.

I'll give a shout-out to a favourite website that helped me discover so many Asian horrors back in the day: Snowblood Apple. The site hasn't been updated in many, many years, the forum no longer exists, the screengrabs have gone offline, but the (sometimes spoilerific) text survives and is a great way to dig into Asian cinema up to around the end of the first decade of this century.

[Steedeel]

Looking forward to this! Haven’t even seen ‘Three’, although I understand it’s weaker than Three Extremes.

[DomH75]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Looking forward to this! Haven’t even seen ‘Three’, although I understand it’s weaker than Three Extremes.

It all goes back to the tiresome 'Asia Extreme' marketing of the early 2000s.

In fairness, Three isn't weaker: it's just different from its sequel and not 'extreme'. The problem with the release of the two films was that the sequel, 'Three... Extremes', was released first in the West, then the original was released as 'Three... Extremes 2.'

'Three' set the theme for the series: pan-Asian portmanteau horror films on a specific theme. 'Three... Extremes' was a sequel that happened to tell 'extreme' stories.

A third film might have been something else, so there could have been 'Three... Ghosts', 'Three... Cannibals', 'Three... Demons', Three... Succubi' or whatever, all showing different pan-Asian takes on the subject.

So if you approach Three as the first film that does its own thing and Three... Extremes as a sequel that tells three 'extreme' stories, both are fine. Just don't approach Three as a film spinning off from Three... Extremes. Whether you find one or the other 'stronger' will be down to your preferences for types of stories. For what it's worth, I remember I enjoyed Three, although it's many years since I dug out the DVD. I'll wait for the Blu-ray now!

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by DomH75

It all goes back to the tiresome 'Asia Extreme' marketing of the early 2000s.

In fairness, Three isn't weaker: it's just different from its sequel and not 'extreme'. The problem with the release of the two films was that the sequel, 'Three... Extremes', was released first in the West, then the original was released as 'Three... Extremes 2.'

'Three' set the theme for the series: pan-Asian portmanteau horror films on a specific theme. 'Three... Extremes' was a sequel that happened to tell 'extreme' stories.

A third film might have been something else, so there could have been 'Three... Ghosts', 'Three... Cannibals', 'Three... Demons', Three... Succubi' or whatever, all showing different pan-Asian takes on the subject.

So if you approach Three as the first film that does its own thing and Three... Extremes as a sequel that tells three 'extreme' stories, both are fine. Just don't approach Three as a film spinning off from Three... Extremes. Whether you find one or the other 'stronger' will be down to your preferences for types of stories. For what it's worth, I remember I enjoyed Three, although it's many years since I dug out the DVD. I'll wait for the Blu-ray now!

Thanks for that, I will watch Three first I think. I hear good things about the last story.

[edmonddantes]

I havent seen Three so Im excited about that.

Three extremes to me its a masterpiece of modern horror. just like with masters of horror, Miike leaves the competition behind with his creepo orgy of a tale in Box. Havent been able to stop thinking about that segment, as I'm also obsessed with Imprint, his masterful masters of horror episode, which I hope gets an arrow release in 4k in the not so distant future because its one of the most memorable and brutal accomplishments in horror of the 21th century. Reminds me a lot of another incredible peak horror movie as Martyrs.

Three extremes should be a blind buy for any horror fan with a strong stomach, its so much better than 99.99% of the movies made in the west that I dont understand how so many mediocre horror movies get so much press and excitement while this goes almost unnoticed and has less than 20 comments in its thread.

Arrow is killing it, amazing and diverse releases