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

[tenia]

Originally Posted by Fabs

That sucks. But I'm guessing that the pressing price of another BD would be too much and eat into the profit?

Not only that, but you'd have to make sure everything on it is in proper HD quality, otherwise, why bother ?
If the documentary only is available in SD for the moment, that would have meant producing a new HD master for it, with the costs that go with that.

[toddly6666]

those dvdbeaver screencaps look damn fine, wow!

[rapta]

Originally Posted by Markgway

I tried Base.com but that voucher code comes up as invalid and they don't accept PayPal anyways which is my preferred payment method.

The code is not for Base.com, but for Base's store on Rakuten.co.uk. Try it again on there, it's still working for me. Should come to £18.88 for A Touch of Zen, and if you have any SuperPoints you can use those too.

Originally Posted by nitin

Didnt realise second exclusive disc was a DVD, wasnt it mentioned as 2 blu ray previously? Maybe something changed last minute.

Originally Posted by ravenus

That's what I thought too, that it'd be a BD-25 with the docu and video essay in HD. Hoping it's Gary who's wrong here.

Edit: Whups, the description on this site now says 1BD+2DVD

There was never actually any clarification that it was a Blu-ray, so we were just assuming it was - but there was still a chance it was just a DVD. As we've already discussed on the previous page, it's obvious the documentary was either from an SD source or just not HD-ready, so on top of the costs to license it they would have had to do a complete new scan which would be even more costly. So they could have done that, but it would have made this set significantly more expensive than it already is, and it's a 50-minute documentary that will be informative more than anything.

Is it really the end of the world if extras aren't in HD? Again, isn't the main feature the thing we're all interested in seeing on Blu-ray?

[hansolo]

I was going to complain () because documentary was in SD DVD. I thought it was quite new piece and thus would surely be produced in HD. But wow, movie looks so amazing in those Beaver caps that I have no right to complain. I recently sold the old UK Optimum DVD and checked how did it look. It was B-A-D beyond belief. Ultra crappy and non anamorphic enhancement. Oppo 83 couldn't save that. Great limited edition by Eureka!

edit: Yep, one of the post in the first page has a link. Documentary was produced 2011 and couldn't be SD. I have no proof of that but surely... It was 2011.

edit2: Or on the other hand, documentary may be mostly newly edited old archival footage which was not shot in HD or film.

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by hansolo

edit: Yep, one of the post in the first page has a link. Documentary was produced 2011 and couldn't be SD. I have no proof of that but surely... It was 2011.

I've got no idea about the film in question but I was working as a print manager on the film festival circuit in 2010 and a surprising number of submissions were still made in standard definition at that point.

[nitin]

Originally Posted by rapta

The code is not for Base.com, but for Base's store on Rakuten.co.uk. Try it again on there, it's still working for me. Should come to £18.88 for A Touch of Zen, and if you have any SuperPoints you can use those too.





There was never actually any clarification that it was a Blu-ray, so we were just assuming it was - but there was still a chance it was just a DVD. As we've already discussed on the previous page, it's obvious the documentary was either from an SD source or just not HD-ready, so on top of the costs to license it they would have had to do a complete new scan which would be even more costly. So they could have done that, but it would have made this set significantly more expensive than it already is, and it's a 50-minute documentary that will be informative more than anything.

Is it really the end of the world if extras aren't in HD? Again, isn't the main feature the thing we're all interested in seeing on Blu-ray?

I am not sure anyone said it was the end of the world. We are allowed to comment arent we?

[MifuneFan]

The screenshots of the doc from dvdbeaver give me the impression that it's from an HD source. The video essay Golden Blood is completely new, no? I'd be surprised if it wasn't made in HD.

It's not a dealbreaker, but if it turns out the only reason they're on a DVD is so Eureka could easily drop it from their re-release then I'll lose a little respect for them. It makes financial sense for them as I said earlier, but from a consumer side it's still a little wrong, especially when you're paying premium for the release.

This is all speculation, so hopefully Kevin chimes in with some info about this.

[Nielsb90]

Is the packaging one of those hard slipcases/boxes like The Passion of Joan of Arc or is it a regular flimsy slipcase? Anyone know?

[rapta]

Originally Posted by nitin

I am not sure anyone said it was the end of the world. We are allowed to comment arent we?

I used a common expression to question whether it was genuinely that disappointing. Just to clarify that I wasn't overreacting!

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

The screenshots of the doc from dvdbeaver give me the impression that it's from an HD source. The video essay Golden Blood is completely new, no? I'd be surprised if it wasn't made in HD.

It's not a dealbreaker, but if it turns out the only reason they're on a DVD is so Eureka could easily drop it from their re-release then I'll lose a little respect for them. It makes financial sense for them as I said earlier, but from a consumer side it's still a little wrong, especially when you're paying premium for the release.

This is all speculation, so hopefully Kevin chimes in with some info about this.

'Golden Blood' is definitely brand new, but 'King Hu 1932-1997' is about 5 years old. There's only one clear screen-cap of the latter documentary, and I'm not sure we can judge just on that whether that was shot in HD or not - it could also be the case that the talking head interviews were in HD, but the clips from Hu's films cut into the documentary were from a lesser source.

I don't think it's particularly wrong if this is what they decided to do, as it would've cost a hell of a lot in BBFC fees and new subtitling (it's a 3h20m film), producing slipcovers, and licensing a separate documentary on top of their usual budget of self-produced extras and booklets, so I wouldn't blame them for opting for a DVD disc for the extras. And as I've said before £19.99 is a fair price I reckon, especially considering their recent titles have been about £12.99-£14.99 (e.g. £13.99 for The Friends of Eddie Coyle is currently the cheapest option, unless you get it in HMV's 2 for £25 offer, so Zen is effectively £6 more than that).

Originally Posted by Nielsb90

Is the packaging one of those hard slipcases/boxes like The Passion of Joan of Arc or is it a regular flimsy slipcase? Anyone know?

Just an O-ring/slipcover according to Kevin. They would've only used a hard case/slipbox if there was a separate booklet which would have to be too thick to put inside the Amaray.

EDIT: by the way, you can now order this for only £17.99 from Zavvi using the code 'PRE10'...

[Filmbloke]

If anyone's yet to bite, Zavvi have a 10% off pre-orders code (PRE10) bringing Zen down to £17.99.

[nitin]

Originally Posted by Filmbloke

If anyone's yet to bite, Zavvi have a 10% off pre-orders code (PRE10) bringing Zen down to £17.99.

couldnt resist, 16.20 GBP is ok by me for this one (it's 17.99 for international non-EU customers before the code).

[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.

[Markgway]

Originally Posted by rapta

The code is not for Base.com, but for Base's store on Rakuten.co.uk.

Don't I feel like an ass.

Try it again on there, it's still working for me. Should come to £18.88 for A Touch of Zen, and if you have any SuperPoints you can use those too.

It's £19.99 on Base.com. Why a pound more thru Rakuten? That's not much of a saving, really. My Dad has an account with them, but no points. I'll keep looking...

[rapta]

Originally Posted by Markgway

Don't I feel like an ass.

It's £19.99 on Base.com. Why a pound more thru Rakuten? That's not much of a saving, really. My Dad has an account with them, but no points. I'll keep looking...

Yes it's a pound more on Rakuten, but like I said you can use the 10% off code HOTJAN and it takes £2.10 off that price...so £18.88, like I said!

Another option is Zavvi for £17.99 using the code PRE10 (also 10% off).

[Markgway]

Originally Posted by rapta

Yes it's a pound more on Rakuten, but like I said you can use the 10% off code HOTJAN and it takes £2.10 off that price...so £18.88, like I said!

Oh, yeah. I got that new price. I just felt that £1 off is less persuasive than £2 off and £17.99 was really my line in the sand price, so...........

Another option is Zavvi for £17.99 using the code PRE10 (also 10% off).

ORDERED!!!!

[MifuneFan]

I don't know how accurate this is, but when you try to add 999 of A Touch of Zen to your cart at Amazon, it reduces it to 443.

[Superted]

Very close to cancelling my amazon order (zen plus the upcoming pigsty set) in favor of the zavvi price of €25 including delivery to Ireland (zen only) and ordering pigsty at a later date.

Pros and cons?

Should I be scared of zavvis post and packing?

First time zavvi buyer

[rapta]

Originally Posted by Superted

Very close to cancelling my amazon order (zen plus the upcoming pigsty set) in favor of the zavvi price of €25 including delivery to Ireland (zen only) and ordering pigsty at a later date.

Pros and cons?

Should I be scared of zavvis post and packing?

First time zavvi buyer

Pros: £17.99 (cheapest anywhere)

Cons: risk of damage to the slipcover (they often use just a Jiffy bag), dodgy returns process (can take weeks to sort out)

Amazon should be matching their price with HMV, so it will be £19.99 come Monday (hopefully). Hawks & Sparrows + Pigsty might drop further but £13.99 seems to be the cheapest so far (unless you got it from Zavvi for 50p less).