Hana-Bi (Fireworks) (1997)

[Akijama]

Coming from Film Movement Classics

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07473FZSK...n%3A2650305011

Product Description
**Beautifully restored in HD, this classic film is now released for the first time in North America on Blu Ray.**

**Winner of 19 awards, including the prestigious Golden Lion for Best Film at the Venice Int'l Film Festival.**

Former police officer Nishi feels responsible for the shattered lives of his loved ones. His partner Horibe has been crippled in a disastrous stakeout, a colleague is shot dead by the same villain, and his own wife has a terminal illness. In debt to a yakuza loanshark, Nishi conceives a bank robbery to provide for his partner, help the dead cop's widow, and take one last holiday throughout Japan with his wife and share a final taste of happiness. A highly original crime drama written, directed and starring Takeshi Kitano.

Bonus Features, include: Commentary by film writer for Rolling Stone magazine, David Fear; Making-of featurette.

Package, includes: Collector's Booklet, featuring essay by film writer, Jasper Sharp; cast and crew credits; chapter breaks; stills.
Review
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Venice Film Festival
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Toronto Int'l Film Festival
OFFICIAL SELECTION - New York Film Festival
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Pusan Int'l Film Festival
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Tokyo Int'l Film Festival
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Fantasporto Film Festival
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Singapore Int'l Film Festival
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Karlovy Vary Int'l Film Festival
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Helsinki Int'l Film Festival
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Locarno Film Festival
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Moscow Film Festival
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Tallinn International Film Festival
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Camerimage Film Festival
---

...meticulously handsome, imaginatively edited...Hana-Bi shows off both [Kitano's] fierce and gentle talents. --Janet Maslin, The New York Times

Hana-Bi announces not only a new kind of 'cop movie' but a template for a new kind of Kitano film. - Jaime N. Christley, Slant Magazine (4 out of 4 Stars)

Glimmers of Kitano s deadpan humor peek through this rich and visually beautiful work that, for all its stylized violence, manages to convey stillness, sweetness, and affecting emotional depth. --Entertainment Weekly

[DukeTogo84]

Awesome news. Can finally get rid of my DVD of this one.

[senseabove]

Awesome! I've been eyeing the UK release, but I'll hold out to see how this one fares, assuming it drops in price some.

[MifuneFan]

I hope the cover art isn't hot garbage, like their previous two Kitano releases

[Talal86]

This will be a blind buy, it looks great

[Heapashifter]

I've had the Korean bluray for over a year and I doubt this will be as nice.

[Fabs]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I hope the cover art isn't hot garbage, like their previous two Kitano releases

Unfortunately, I doubt it will change. They probably want all of their Kitano releases to be similar.

However, this is a cool announcement. Maybe they have the rights to Sonatine as well.

[Talal86]

These covers are a new level of ugliness

[Dan8700]

A Japanese version will come out on the 27th, so we'll see which one has the better encoding.

[John_Drake]

I have no doubt that Bandai will have an excellent encode (and substantially better cover art).

I can do without the Sharp commentary and will likely go with the Japanese BD.

[Akijama]

Art:

[noirjunkie]

Nice. It looks like we dodged a bullet.

[MifuneFan]

Yeah, that's much better.

[Talal86]

will the price decrease before the release? I never bought a movie from this label before

[BenOswald]

Fantastic movie.

[Oscar Rothman]

THIS SEPTEMBER, STRAP IN FOR THE HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED
RELEASE OF TAKESHI KITANO'S NEWLY-RESTORED CINEMATIC MASTERPIECE, AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN NORTH AMERICA

HANA-BI
(FIREWORKS)

Winner of 19 International Awards, Including the Prestigious Golden Lion
for Best Film at the Venice Int'l Film Festival, The Exclusive Collector's Release from Film Movement Classics Includes Commentary from
Rolling Stone Film Critic David Fear, a "Making of Hana-Bi"
Featurette and a Collector's Book
Beautifully Restored in HD, This Highly Original Crime Drama
Will be Available on Blu-ray ($39.95srp) and DVD ($29.95srp)
on September 19, 2017

[DukeTogo84]

Watched my copy last night and the picture quality is fantastic. Finally was able to get rid of my old DVD copy from 1998 or whenever it was released by New Yorker. Great film.

[gdenardo]

Fantastic film. If anyone has even the tiniest interest in seeing it you should really check it out. I can't compare it with the other countries releases but I thought it looked and sounded excellent.

[senseabove]

Has anyone found caps to compare this to the UK Third Window edition yet?

[TheBoss062]

Has anyone seen the blu-ray yet to review the specs?