As far as I know they only sell this through their shop. I checked random other titles and they don’t show as available for me in Germany on Amazon France.
Anyway, I bought a copy today and will let you know how it turns out. 40€ is steep for a film I don’t know but Hou Hsiao-hsien’s name is enough to convince me.
I assume this release will be most interesting for the remuxing crowd since there surely won’t be English subtitles available. Kino Lorber could have given so many more fans something special.
Hopefully their first 4K turns out great and encourages them to do more!
I don't really understand why Spectrum and Carlotta et al don't include English subs. They'd certainly sell a boatload more copies for minimal cost.
It’s all due to licensing and contracts. These stipulate that labels like Spectrum can only add the local subtitles as companies obviously want to sell their licenses to other countries as well by generally taking away the opportunity for a buyer to import.
Sure, there are exceptions to the rule and some (German) labels have silently included English subtitles as of recently. There isn’t much they can do even though they’d probably love to.
As a buyer the only way around for you is to rip the disc and add English subtitles to the video file if the subtitles aren’t hard-coded into the video.
It’s all due to licensing and contracts. These stipulate that labels like Spectrum can only add the local subtitles as companies obviously want to sell their licenses to other countries as well by generally taking away the opportunity for a buyer to import.
Sure, there are exceptions to the rule and some (German) labels have silently included English subtitles as of recently. There isn’t much they can do even though they’d probably love to.
As a buyer the only way around for you is to rip the disc and add English subtitles to the video file if the subtitles aren’t hard-coded into the video.
Nic are you planning to review this one too? Considering how many disappointing French DV encodes there have been, would love to get your impressions before I import
EDIT: Ah I failed to notice you started the thread. Will be awaiting your review then.
Nic are you planning to review this one too? Considering how many disappointing French DV encodes there have been, would love to get your impressions before I import
EDIT: Ah I failed to notice you started the thread. Will be awaiting your review then.
Wonderful timing regarding your post as I’ve just received my shipping notification two hours ago!
So yes, I’ll surely post my thoughts once I get the disc. Can’t wait myself to finally see the new restoration.
Good news regarding Millennium Mambo in UHD. Spectrum‘s disc is a winner and by far the best French (non-FiM) catalogue UHD encode since The Jokers‘ JSA and Memories of Murder
The film looks very, very beautiful in 4K. The disc is a BD-66 with only the film on it. As previously mentioned, HDR10 and Dolby Vision is available and apparently commissioned / made by Spectrum themselves. Both grades are very good. Tasteful, no artificial “pop” and (I assume) to bring out the best in Hou Hou-hsien & Mark Lee Ping Bing’s color palette.
I only took a quick look at the disc (will see the film in HDR10 due to remuxing) but I highly doubt that Kino Lorber / Metrograph’s disc will come close. As of publishing my post, I’ve already canceled my order. It’s a great shame that they decided against an English-friendly UHD when it’s clearly proven that arthouse titles can sell well (Eternal Sunshine and the rapturous early response re. Lost in Translation).
Our infamous bright highlights (for example in lamps, skies, candles etc.) which have been all but clipped in other French 4Ks by bad encodes look really beautiful here. We can actually make out a small layer of grain!
Again, based on my random spot check, I couldn’t see any faults in the encode apart from one shot of an office building (?) near the end. A small portion of the image gets slightly blocky there (on the corners) but it’s really no big deal at all in the grand scheme.
As always, I can’t really comment on the audio due to lack of experience / equipment.
It’s a fantastic release and delivers more than I expected from such a small label. Based on that great of an impression (including a good amount of extras!), I’d highly recommend for anybody remotely interested in this release to buy their copies NOW as there are apparently less than 200 left. My limited edition number is 699 of 1000. Also, I’d recommend Spectrum to release an unnumbered print run as it would be a huge shame if this gem of a disc is prohibited the longevity and exposure it deserves. So many other worse discs stick around for eternity but real quality work dies out way too soon.
I’ll follow-up with screenshots as soon as I can. In the meantime, enjoy your copies!
^^^^^Such a shame no English subtitles on above ^^^^^
Yes, it’s a real shame but I’m grateful we’ve got a release at all.
If you’re equipped to add your own subtitles to the film, please do. You won’t regret it.
By the way, I made Spectrum aware of my post and they immediately responded. I asked about maybe extending the print run but they didn’t answer to that question. The HDR master is indeed theirs and no other company has asked for it.
They also generously shared some of their upcoming 4K UHD titles with me, although I’m not sure if I can disclose it.
If you have the release and are happy with it, let them know and what other titles you’d buy from them. I mentioned more Hou or other "arthouse" directors like Edward Yang. They currently aren’t on the list they’re working on, so maybe the good response to this film will make them consider taking on this niche too.
For example Yang’s longer films would surely be breathtaking in UHD. I’ll take lots of Asian cinema straight away but dramas like this are my favorites.
Yes, it’s a real shame but I’m grateful we’ve got a release at all.
If you’re equipped to add your own subtitles to the film, please do. You won’t regret it.
By the way, I made Spectrum aware of my post and they immediately responded. I asked about maybe extending the print run but they didn’t answer to that question. The HDR master is indeed theirs and no other company has asked for it.
They also generously shared some of their upcoming 4K UHD titles with me, although I’m not sure if I can disclose it.
If you have the release and are happy with it, let them know and what other titles you’d buy from them. I mentioned more Hou or other "arthouse" directors like Edward Yang. They currently aren’t on the list they’re working on, so maybe the good response to this film will make them consider taking on this niche too.
For example Yang’s longer films would surely be breathtaking in UHD. I’ll take lots of Asian cinema straight away but dramas like this are my favorites.
I'm a fan of Shu Qi and also Gong Li- "Raise The Red Lantern" in particular is a favorite film of mine.
This is a slightly off topic question but why are only Continental boutiques, such as those in France and Germany, often legally obliged to force subtitles on their discs? I've never known a UK or US boutique disc to have forced subtitles. Why the Anglo-American/Continental double standard on this issue?
I get the logic of "force subtitles on a French disc in order to limit its appeal to buyers in Germany or Italy so that the local release of said film doesn't lose business to a potentially superior French release", but surely that same logic could apply with a UK release in mind, as well.
This is a slightly off topic question but why are only Continental boutiques, such as those in France and Germany, often legally obliged to force subtitles on their discs? I've never known a UK or US boutique disc to have forced subtitles. Why the Anglo-American/Continental double standard on this issue?
I get the logic of "force subtitles on a French disc in order to limit its appeal to buyers in Germany or Italy so that the local release of said film doesn't lose business to a potentially superior French release", but surely that same logic could apply with a UK release in mind, as well.
Cohen in the U.S. have used "forced" subtitles several times in the past year or two - to the point that they directly encoded them into the video stream, i.e. "burned" them into the image. Clearly the most idiotic way to do so.
Yes, it’s a real shame but I’m grateful we’ve got a release at all.
If you’re equipped to add your own subtitles to the film, please do. You won’t regret it.
By the way, I made Spectrum aware of my post and they immediately responded. I asked about maybe extending the print run but they didn’t answer to that question. The HDR master is indeed theirs and no other company has asked for it.
They also generously shared some of their upcoming 4K UHD titles with me, although I’m not sure if I can disclose it.
If you have the release and are happy with it, let them know and what other titles you’d buy from them. I mentioned more Hou or other "arthouse" directors like Edward Yang. They currently aren’t on the list they’re working on, so maybe the good response to this film will make them consider taking on this niche too.
For example Yang’s longer films would surely be breathtaking in UHD. I’ll take lots of Asian cinema straight away but dramas like this are my favorites.
Why not disclose? You might save someone money buying a blu-ray if there is a 4k upcoming.
The do have PTU on their catalog. A 4k of that would be a nice surprise.
Glad to see Spectrum getting into the 4k arena too. I have quite a few of their Blu-Rays.
Looks like my French UHD of "Heroic Trio + Executioners: is getting ready to ship, too!
Why not disclose? You might save someone money buying a blu-ray if there is a 4k upcoming.
The do have PTU on their catalog. A 4k of that would be a nice surprise.
Glad to see Spectrum getting into the 4k arena too. I have quite a few of their Blu-Rays.
Looks like my French UHD of "Heroic Trio + Executioners: is getting ready to ship, too!
The titles are Come Drink With Me, Suicide Club, Shin Godzilla and The Valiant Ones. Apparently these have already been public as confirmed by Criterionforum member Tenia. I had no idea about this and their wording was in the vein of "by the way, we might have these coming soon". That’s why I wasn’t entirely sure.
PTU would have been nice but I don’t expect that any time soon. Our best best would be Eureka but I’m afraid this title is too niche for them at the moment.
The titles are Come Drink With Me, Suicide Club, Shin Godzilla and The Valiant Ones. Apparently these have already been public as confirmed by Criterionforum member Tenia. I had no idea about this and their wording was in the vein of "by the way, we might have these coming soon". That’s why I wasn’t entirely sure.
PTU would have been nice but I don’t expect that any time soon. Our best best would be Eureka but I’m afraid this title is too niche for them at the moment.
Oh wow I was about to get the recent Suicide Club blu ray! I have Shin Godzilla (Japanese release).
The Valiant Ones is a King Hu film and one of his few big titles (from the same period as A Touch of Zen and The Fate of Lee Khan) that still hasn't been widely released yet. There is a new Hong Kong Film Archives release but I heard it has burnt in subtitles and is only available from that location.
Note that my player's (IINA) native screenshot ability is still broken for 4K HDR content. Therefore I had to make regular macOS screenshots on my device which are not full 4K due to monitor limitations, only 2845 × 1599. So please take them with a grain of salt regarding colors. It's the best I can do unless I had a better alternative. If anyone knows another player (can also be Windows-only) which can make proper screenshots inside the app like IINA for SDR, please let me know and I'll happily make new ones.
[Show spoiler]
This last shot was the one "problematic" one I noticed on my TV when I checked the disc. There's slight blocking on the left side where the sun reflects off the building. The other shots with somewhat thick looking grain in the end seem to me as if they were taken from a second-gen source. Otherwise, fantastic transfer and presentation.
Last edited by nicwood; 06-23-2023 at 11:20 AM.
Reason: Added screenshots
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Millennium Mambo 4K UHD - Spectrum Films
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