A Touch of Zen (Eureka - MoC) LIMITED EDITION: 2,000 COPIES

[ravenus]

A little early perhaps, but I just started this thread on A Touch of Zen, the Hong Kong epic from King Hu coming in January 2016 from Eureka. Coming out first in a limited to 2000 copies 3-disc edition (2-BD+1-DVD), this promises to be a special release. As we know thus far these are the specifications:

• Gorgeous 4K restoration, on both Blu-ray and DVD
• New English subtitle translation
• Limited edition third disc with the documentary 'King Hu 1932-1997', a new video essay by critic David Cairns, and more
• Booklet featuring an interview with King Hu, new writing and more!

The film itself clocks in at 200 min and will likely occupy the whole of the first disc. Hopefully, Eureka will not neglect to have a chapter menu for this one at least, as they have in some of their recent releases (Dragon Inn, Naked Prey).

I've pre-ordered this from Amazon (current price 20.99GBP), I'd be happy if the price goes down a little more before release (in comparison I paid 16GBP at pre-order for other 2-BD MoC releases like The Nibelungs and Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler).

[rapta]

It seems to be £20.99 from most places - judging by the pack-shot, it's going to be a deluxe edition much like The Passion of Joan of Arc was (hard outer box, with a thicker booklet separate from the case). The RRP for the JoA steelbook is the same as this (£29.99) and on release that was about £18, but that was 1xBD+2xDVD rather than this which is 2xBD+1xDVD (we think...no actual confirmation the bonus disc is a Blu-ray, but I'd imagine they'd release the documentary and any other extras in as high definition as possible). So this could be the lowest it falls to before release day, in which case I'm happy with that as this is one of my most anticipated titles (if not the most).

I reckon they'll do a similar thing for Man With A Movie Camera, considering they said it'd be a 'deluxe edition'. Wonder if these means they're scrapping steelbooks, or these just happen to be special titles?

PS: is the King Hu documentary produced by themselves? Can't find any solid info on it...

[tenia]

Originally Posted by rapta

PS: is the King Hu documentary produced by themselves? Can't find any solid info on it...

It's a French documentary : http://prep-cncfr.seevia.com/idc/dat...2.asp?idf=4393

[rapta]

Ah right, I remember someone asking if it was that. Was this confirmed then?

[Markgway]

A 48m doc is a cool extra, but I'm still not seeing what justifies the high price.

[CrockettandTubbs]

The third disc does also have the video essay and other unspecifieds. Not sure how long the essay will be for a 200 minute film though!

I ordered when it was £20.23 on Amazon. If it does fall lower, then: ching, ching

[rapta]

Originally Posted by Markgway

A 48m doc is a cool extra, but I'm still not seeing what justifies the high price.

Deluxe packaging? Bigger booklet than usual?

You'll notice there isn't the usual outline of an Amaray on the packshot, so it must be a slipbox (e.g. like The Passion of Joan of Arc). Right?

If this stays at £20.99, that's only £3 more than the steelbook edition of The Passion of Joan of Arc when that was released...and unlike that, this is 2xBD (but admittedly not a steelbook).

[Cinematt]

Never seen this and am very much looking forward to it. I do hope the 'and more' turns into something substantial!

[Superted]

Originally Posted by rapta

Deluxe packaging? Bigger booklet than usual?

You'll notice there isn't the usual outline of an Amaray on the packshot, so it must be a slipbox (e.g. like The Passion of Joan of Arc). Right?

If this stays at £20.99, that's only £3 more than the steelbook edition of The Passion of Joan of Arc when that was released...and unlike that, this is 2xBD (but admittedly not a steelbook).

Lets hope so. The packaging for Joan of Arc is just beautiful and worth an extra few quid if Zen is packaged the same.
I'm guessing (and hoping) this will drop to around the £15 mark closer to release date.

[derek_1999]

Couldn't resist... pre-ordered

[rapta]

Originally Posted by Superted

Lets hope so. The packaging for Joan of Arc is just beautiful and worth an extra few quid if Zen is packaged the same.
I'm guessing (and hoping) this will drop to around the £15 mark closer to release date.

Unless they're thinking of adding anything extra, I reckon it'll drop to about £16-18 at some point. Then again, Amazon price-drops haven't been as frequent as usual, so we can't entirely count on them!

[Markgway]

Originally Posted by rapta

Deluxe packaging? Bigger booklet than usual?

I prefer standard cases so will wait for the standard release. No point paying extra for something I don't want. I don't see why Eureka couldn't release both editions at the same time though. Choice is the key.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by Markgway

I prefer standard cases so will wait for the standard release. No point paying extra for something I don't want. I don't see why Eureka couldn't release both editions at the same time though. Choice is the key.

Clearly they want to sell as many copies of the limited edition as possible first, then release a standard edition afterwards (minus the bonus disc and probably with a reduced booklet). Same thing Arrow did with Videodrome or My Darling Clementine, to give two examples. Makes perfect sense in my opinion! Especially considering Eureka have a smaller team and are probably working with tighter margins.

Also, I assume by 'standard case' you mean Amaray. In which case, this is almost certainly still an Amaray, but inside a thick slipbox and with an extra disc (and presumably a thicker booklet too). These aren't final specs though so this is all conjecture until then.

[saltysam]

Originally Posted by rapta

Clearly they want to sell as many copies of the limited edition as possible first, then release a standard edition afterwards (minus the bonus disc and probably with a reduced booklet). Same thing Arrow did with Videodrome or My Darling Clementine, to give two examples. Makes perfect sense in my opinion! Especially considering Eureka have a smaller team and are probably working with tighter margins.

Also, I assume by 'standard case' you mean Amaray. In which case, this is almost certainly still an Amaray, but inside a thick slipbox and with an extra disc (and presumably a thicker booklet too). These aren't final specs though so this is all conjecture until then.

i'd sooner pay£10.25 ala Naked Prey but £20 is doable for me.You guys have to take into account Markgway's :legendary across many forums" thriftiness.Do a search of his posts here and you'll see a large chunk are ones moaning about price. Sorry Mark but it's true

[reason108]

pre-ordered

[Markgway]

Originally Posted by rapta

Also, I assume by 'standard case' you mean Amaray.

Yes, Amaray. The booklet I can live without, if it doesn't fit inside the case, but it'll suck if they drop the documentary disc. I really am against the idea of second class product or pleb editions. I don't see why Eureka couldn't do with this what they did with Dragon Inn. Sure, I moan a lot about prices, but that's usually because they're unjustified (and unless Eureka have more to announce for Zen I'm sensing that's the case here). I've never complained about an expensive product that was worth the price (mostly it's rip-off merchants like Twilight Time).

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by Markgway

Yes, Amaray. The booklet I can live without, if it doesn't fit inside the case, but it'll suck if they drop the documentary disc. I really am against the idea of second class product or pleb editions. I don't see why Eureka couldn't do with this what they did with Dragon Inn. Sure, I moan a lot about prices, but that's usually because they're unjustified (and unless Eureka have more to announce for Zen I'm sensing that's the case here). I've never complained about an expensive product that was worth the price (mostly it's rip-off merchants like Twilight Time).

So.... Wait for reviews/pics to decide if it's worth the price to you.....

[rapta]

Originally Posted by Markgway

Yes, Amaray. The booklet I can live without, if it doesn't fit inside the case, but it'll suck if they drop the documentary disc. I really am against the idea of second class product or pleb editions. I don't see why Eureka couldn't do with this what they did with Dragon Inn. Sure, I moan a lot about prices, but that's usually because they're unjustified (and unless Eureka have more to announce for Zen I'm sensing that's the case here). I've never complained about an expensive product that was worth the price (mostly it's rip-off merchants like Twilight Time).

The documentary disc is a limited edition exclusive, so yes they will drop it in future editions - that much was clear in the description. Not sure 'pleb editions' is politically correct but I'd argue it makes total financial sense for them to do it this way if they're wanting to license more material for this one and have to meet certain sales targets to recoup the costs. They could have just done it like Dragon Inn, but what I imagine happened is they were saving some stuff for A Touch of Zen and it has built up...and now they've managed to license a documentary as well.

This is fairly price in my opinion. It's a similar price to StudioCanal's collector's edition of The Third Man or Arrow's editions of Videodrome or My Darling Clementine, so think of it like either of those and decide whether this film is worth it or not for you. I'm confused as to why you'd get so upset over this - surely if you really want the extra disc you'd get this one (it won't sell out straight away, by the way), and if you didn't care as much then wait for the standalone edition (minus documentary disc). It's as simple as that. Eureka aren't the first people to do this.

And by the way, you're saying you think these specs are final? I've said already that they're not, and there will be more added at a later date. Not sure how closely you follow Eureka but they always do it like this - announce the specs they have right now, but finalise the specs just before release. You can always cancel a pre-order if you don't think it's worth it once they do release specs.

[Patient-X]

Originally Posted by Markgway

Yes, Amaray. The booklet I can live without, if it doesn't fit inside the case, but it'll suck if they drop the documentary disc. I really am against the idea of second class product or pleb editions. I don't see why Eureka couldn't do with this what they did with Dragon Inn. Sure, I moan a lot about prices, but that's usually because they're unjustified (and unless Eureka have more to announce for Zen I'm sensing that's the case here). I've never complained about an expensive product that was worth the price (mostly it's rip-off merchants like Twilight Time).

So someone who wants the film and isn't interested in extras is a pleb....really?

[kuro_sawa]

I think it also boils down to the person buying it, if they have even seen the film. Sometimes people just collect blus and this title will sit in their house unopened for a year after they've bargain hunter the lowest price for it. For me, I love this film. A MoC multi disc limited release at or under £20 requires no brainwork. I'd rather have all the extras in the package than go to YouTube or something. I guess I am anti-pleb, kneel before me