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).

[gap]

Cancelled my Amazon order and went with Base.com through Rakuten. Used the HOTJAN code and had 120 super points so £17.68 delivered. Happy with that.

[reason108]

The screen caps from dvdbeaver looked amazing! I am glad that I pre-ordered and can't wait to receive the movie. Though, after blind-buying Dragon Inn and seeing the amazing PQ, I can't say that I am surprised by the caps for ATOZ.

[kuro_sawa]

I thought the reason for all this was because the doc was so costly to license? Would explain why they wouldn't opt for a blu ray considering Michael's post. The film is most important to me anyway, and I don't know how much more entertaining or educational the doc would truly be in HD so I'm fine with it on DVD.

[gap]

Has anyone had a shipping notification from Base.com? I'm still waiting for mine to ship. Tempted to cancel and reorder from Eureka direct.

[Chad Plainview]

Mine has arrived thank god.

[OAXACA4]

Got mine from amazon today, couple of days after release date but I'm not on Prime so can't complain. Interesting to see Eureka going down the slipcover route with this one. Great package.

[Cinematt]

Originally Posted by OAXACA4

Got mine from amazon today, couple of days after release date but I'm not on Prime so can't complain. Interesting to see Eureka going down the slipcover route with this one. Great package.

I am on prime and mine arrived today too!

[nitin]

Kevin has said in the Eureka thread that zavvi does have stock so it's probably just some hiccup at their end and is sorted soon/

[moviegeek1992]

Sorry for the ignorance but aside from the slipcase what else is limited in this limited edition?

[thewerepuppygrr]

Originally Posted by moviegeek1992

Sorry for the ignorance but aside from the slipcase what else is limited in this limited edition?

The entire release.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by moviegeek1992

Sorry for the ignorance but aside from the slipcase what else is limited in this limited edition?

Bonus DVD disc (w/ documentary + video essay). Well worth a few extra quid if you ask me...unless you don't mind having just a commentary, in which case feel free to wait for the non-limited edition.

[thewerepuppygrr]

Originally Posted by rapta

Bonus DVD disc (w/ documentary + video essay). Well worth a few extra quid if you ask me...unless you don't mind having just a commentary, in which case feel free to wait for the non-limited edition.

Will there be a non-limited edition? I thought this was a bit like the Hawks & Sparrows/Pigsty release.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by thewerepuppygrr

Will there be a non-limited edition? I thought this was a bit like the Hawks & Sparrows/Pigsty release.

Nah, basically both A Touch of Zen and Shane will have non-limited reissues once the limited version is OOP. They will have their secondary discs removed (bonus DVD for Zen, second BD for Shane), but presumably will keep the booklet. No slipcover for any subsequent editions of A Touch of Zen either.

Hawks & Sparrows + Pigsty, on the other hand, is a one-off limited edition - Kevin implied it originally was set for a crowd-funding project (e.g. Kickstarter), but he managed to get his way and do a short run of 1500 copies. The reason it won't be reissued after that is because both films are still available on DVD so I imagine they're not particularly strong sellers.

Slightly peeved about that one as I had bought Hawks & Sparrows on DVD a few months ago, despite Kevin hinting that Pasolini would be returning - I thought he meant reissues of the current Dual Format editions (since they were near-OOP) rather than any upgrades of their DVD-only titles. I'm not sure if I want to get it on pre-order - £14 a bit too much for a double-dip - but I hope they keep us updated on stock as I would like to get it before it sells out.