Raining in the Mountain (1979) - December 8, 2020

[MifuneFan]

Film Movement will be releasing King Hu's Raining in the Mountain (1979) on December 8th.

Target Pre-order
Film Movement Pre-order

During the Ming Dynasty, a Buddhist abbot charged with protecting the sacred scroll of Tripitaka prepares to name his successor. An aristocrat and a general arrive at his secluded mountaintop monastery promising to help in his search, but are in fact scheming to secure the scroll for themselves. As they set about recommending corrupt successors, rival bands of martial artists lie in wait to steal the precious artifact. Soon, the monastery is transformed into an epic battleground for the scroll, with each player caught in a web of betrayal. Called a "remarkably photographed caper heist [featuring] intriguing battles of wits and minds" (Far East Film Festival), RAINING IN THE MOUNTAIN is also the peak of legendary director King Hu's (A TOUCH OF ZEN) infusion of Buddhist spiritual principles into the legacy of martial arts cinema.

BONUS FEATURES

• Treasure of the Spirit – a new video essay by Chinese-language film expert and author Stephen Teo
• Audio commentary by critic and Asian cinema expert Tony Rayns
• 20-page booklet with a new essay by New York Asian Film Festival Executive Director Samuel Jamier

[Lasse Reden]

Any chance that they would do something to make the 3 sources used for the remaster more aligned, like adjusting their color timing? I love the film, but the constant switching between different looking sources from scene to scene (or often even from cut to cut) on the Eureka BD really takes me out of it. :/

[dwk]

Doubtful. Film Movement don't seem to do any extra work on the transfers or audio (for example, their release of Heroes Shed no Tears only has the remixed audio track, whereas all the other labels doing HK/Fortune Star titles have gone the extra step to track down and include the original audio tracks.)

[Lasse Reden]

Originally Posted by dwk

Doubtful. Film Movement don't seem to do any extra work on the transfers or audio (for example, their release of Heroes Shed no Tears only has the remixed audio track, whereas all the other labels doing HK/Fortune Star titles have gone the extra step to track down and include the original audio tracks.)

Yeah, i figured that would be the case. Oh, well.

[Blu Titan]

Just received this and I am def hyped to see it. I'll report on the PQ after the viewing .

[Brown Jenkin]

I've read the review on FM's release, but am hoping for at least 1 other opinion as Amazon has a 30% off coupon in my territory.

[fred25_Ca]

Originally Posted by Brown Jenkin

I've read the review on FM's release, but am hoping for at least 1 other opinion as Amazon has a 30% off coupon in my territory.

It's fine. It's the weakest King Hu movie at this point in his career, imo. Still worth checking out but it's not on par with the other mountain movie he released around the same time, Legend of the mountain.
You're better off with Come drink with me, Dragon Inn, Touch of zen, The valiant ones, The fate of lee khan or Legend of the mountain (all masterpieces, imo).

[Brown Jenkin]

So far this is the only of his films yet released I don't own. I figure I might as well grab for $20. Is Film Movement's version decent enough to own or should I wait to see if another company can do a better version of the film?

[fred25_Ca]

Originally Posted by Brown Jenkin

So far this is the only of his films yet released I don't own. I figure I might as well grab for $20. Is Film Movement's version decent enough to own or should I wait to see if another company can do a better version of the film?

Their artwork on the cover is absolutely terrible and looks like a very cheap photoshop job done in 5 minutes but aside from that, it's a nice edition, just like their release of The fate of Lee Khan. It has a little booklet, some nice extra. It's on par with Eureka's release. If i was you (which i was two years ago when I picked this up), i'd go for it, especially if you have already all the rest. I doubt we'll see someone else release this again anytime soon.