Confessions (Kokuhaku)

[AnimeOnBlu]

Yesasia Preorder:


CN Entertainment release. March 3 release date (source). Likely Region A locked.

[zombeaner]

Hmm. Well I'll be waiting for Third Window to release this in the UK on April 25th. Likely region-free.

[logboy]

Originally Posted by zombeaner

Hmm. Well I'll be waiting for Third Window to release this in the UK on April 25th. Likely region-free.

doubt it.

but i'd still buy the third window release as the DVDs & BDs in HK and taiwan have been sub-par according to reactions.

[cardiac161]

I think Third Window's BD release of Memories of Matsuko was region-free (according to this:http://twitchfilm.com/news/2011/02/t...ruary-14th.php).

Not sure if Kamikaze Girls was region-free as well but here's hoping Confessions would be. Otherwise, I'll most likely get the HK version.

[zombeaner]

Originally Posted by logboy

doubt it.

but i'd still buy the third window release as the DVDs & BDs in HK and taiwan have been sub-par according to reactions.

Kamikaze Girls and Memories of Matsuko are both Region-free. I don't think Cold Fish will be Region-free, but they might surprise us. I'll get a solid answer and post it here.

[zombeaner]

I stand corrected: Confessions Region B Blu Region 2 DVD, Cold Fish probably the same. I'm still buying those versions, though.

[logboy]

Originally Posted by zombeaner

I stand corrected: Confessions Region B Blu Region 2 DVD, Cold Fish probably the same. I'm still buying those versions, though.

japan either seems to prevent a release on BD at all internationally (unless they've released on BD and it's been some time since then) or expect a zone to be stuck to.

still, my main issue is that the reaction to the HK and other versions of confessions that have made it to DVD & BD has been pretty poor and that thirdwindow's discs have improved an awful lot since a couple of years back, and the matsuko BD disc seems to have been well received.

[zombeaner]

I was mainly basing my assumption on the previous Nakashima's being region free. But Japan is completely backward about their licensing agreements.

[Zen_Amako]

I wish they had released the HK BD at the same time as the DVD because I couldn't wait and bought the DVD. The HK DVD is decent. It's a 2-hour film on a DVD-5, but I didn't notice any issues with the transfer. The English subtitles were very good aside from a couple of typos.

As for the movie itself, I thought it was a bit overhyped on the Internet. It is very good, but some people were putting it at the top of their "best of 2010" lists. The excessive use of slow motion grew tiresome after a while for me. Still, I'll pick up the BD. I'll probably get the HK release since I'd prefer a region A copy if I have a choice.

The Kamikaze Girls BD from Third Window had region B on the case, but it was actually region free. Not sure if that was an oversight. Japanese licensors do usually insist on region locking.

[logboy]

Originally Posted by zombeaner

I was mainly basing my assumption on the previous Nakashima's being region free. But Japan is completely backward about their licensing agreements.

well, they do tend to appear to have a general policy of locking down on easy access. backwards to us, nothing out of the ordinary or calculating to them, necessarily.

i've kind of changed my mind on the issue of ease of access over the years, and instead of thinking it's an inherently bad thing, i think it's part of the culture of a cinema and a country that is historically tending towards self-sufficient. actually lets some mystery remain, which is also helped along by how most attention in the west tends to cause a sense of only so much being worthwhile when there's far more room for those individual experiences that you can see people talking about in drips an drops here and there.

[zombeaner]

I'm not a fan of letting the mystery remain, I'm a fan of seeing the goddamned movie. No offense to you, it is the Japanese industry I'm not a fan of, any more than I am a fan of the French for doing similar things and refusing to put English subs on some of their best releases.

[PGW]

Originally Posted by zombeaner

I'm not a fan of letting the mystery remain, I'm a fan of seeing the goddamned movie.

Ditto!

[cardiac161]

I'm half-Japanese and my family still lives in Kanazawa.

Sadly, this frustration in regards to Japan's hesitation in making their films more accessible to the international market is the same reason for causing the country's more-than-decade long economic stagnation.

Aside from the usual Japanese-known brands, most businesses only cater to the domestic market. For example, their mobile phone technology is strictly only for domestic use. English as an international language and of which must be learned is just becoming a reality; which is why just recently Uniqlo and Rakuten has made it mandatory for all staff to learn and speak English.

Japan still pretty much maintains an "island" economy wherein there is absolute resistance in bringing in immigrants to help the work force. And no time is more important in allowing foreign workers than now since over 20% of Japan's population is over the age of 60.

Some members of my family have actually sought to live elsewhere (like Canada or Australia) since they knew it will take probably a few more decades before Japan's policies change for the better.

Sorry for the rant...it's just that everytime I go back to Japan to visit my mom, I can see the whole society as is from an outside point of view. And it's really not pretty.

[logboy]

Originally Posted by zombeaner

I'm not a fan of letting the mystery remain, I'm a fan of seeing the goddamned movie. No offense to you, it is the Japanese industry I'm not a fan of, any more than I am a fan of the French for doing similar things and refusing to put English subs on some of their best releases.

i think the mystery will always be there. when or if it isn't, there won't be the same challenge or fascination. when you're given complete choice - as with DVDs from Korea - the audience tends to be stumped and they start to restrict what they'll watch to make things easier to decide upon. there needs to be freedom of choice for exploration, but there needs to be personal motivation too, and i'm not sure to the extent to which that's encouraged online.

when freedom of choice isnt there, there should be cause to be creative about finding legitimate ways to understand, tackle, and escape the restrictions without resorting to the brute force for temporary measures on what's most obviously attracting attention from all of the films. this only seems to discourage and limit the choices people are most aware of because it doesn't spread the money and build a spectrum of interests which would likely show more variety to fall inline with the variety in japan's output, for example.

[kono]

Any verdict on the PQ and AQ of this release? =)

[Zen_Amako]

Originally Posted by kono

Any verdict on the PQ and AQ of this release? =)

The HK Blu-ray has excellent PQ. There's a lot more detail than the DVD and the picture has a lot of "pop". I'm happy with it.

It is pretty light on extras, though -- it just has the trailer and an image gallery. If you want extras, you might want to wait for the UK release. Otherwise, there's no reason to hesitate on the HK disc.

[Mobe1969]

I finally saw Memories of Matsuko. Jeez, what a depressing film. Wouldn't have figured from the posters and covers either... After Kamikaze Girls is was a total downer. Confessions sounds a bit like a "what if" around what caused Matsuko's life to go into a spiral.

[kono]

Thank you Zen. I may just pick up this version. As I'm not sure if U.K version will be Regional Free.

Mobe1969, this movie is very different from the other two. It is much much darker. It will give you many punches in the stomach. Be warned. But I actually like this one more than the other two. Just my two cents.

[zombeaner]

The UK edition will be Region B, so if you aren't region free, go for one of the Asian releases.

[kono]

gahh... I was hoping Third Windows would do a region free like the other two. Well, they just lost a customer on this release.

Now onto waiting for "Shaolin" release so I can save on shipping a bit. =)