Third Window Films Discussion Thread

[thirdwindowfilms]

Originally Posted by smokebelch

That's interesting to know! Adam certainly mentioned on the recent podcast that Sharkskin Man & Party 7 were a possibility if Funky Forest does well on Blu here. He also said that Survive Style 5+ has some possible music rights issues so that one could prove problematic though...

Survive style 5 just has music rights for US, not UK

Actually, I had initiated the remastering of all 3 films and then got in touch with Spectrum to take the films for France to help split costs with the remastering process (same thing I did for Funky Forest). Though I want to hold up on officially announcing things until all contracts signed and masters done, because who knows what may happen as the remastering hasn't even started yet. Not sure why Spectrum have announced it as the contracts have not even been finalised yet either, but recently Spectrum have been doing these sort of massively ahead of time announcements.

[whedon]

Originally Posted by roguejp

If I'm not mistaken, Adam did mention that he was busy getting Party 7 and Shark Skin Man in the latest podcast.

Happy to hear that, really must listen to the podcast.

Originally Posted by robthebobs

I think they announced a God of Gamblers boxset too - would love to see that getting a UK release also, although I feel it would be more likely to come from Eureka or 88

They have announced a lot of stuff, doing some Milky Way things I want and suddenly very thankful that I have a 4K player that can play external subs.

Originally Posted by smokebelch

That's interesting to know! Adam certainly mentioned on the recent podcast that Sharkskin Man & Party 7 were a possibility if Funky Forest does well on Blu here. He also said that Survive Style 5+ has some possible music rights issues so that one could prove problematic though...

I was surprised to see Survive Style 5+ as I though that it may be with Arrow as it feels like the kind of cult offering that they'd go after and with their buying power be able to get with a few others.

Originally Posted by thirdwindowfilms

Survive style 5 just has music rights for US, not UK

Actually, I had initiated the remastering of all 3 films and then got in touch with Spectrum to take the films for France to help split costs with the remastering process (same thing I did for Funky Forest). Though I want to hold up on officially announcing things until all contracts signed and masters done, because who knows what may happen as the remastering hasn't even started yet. Not sure why Spectrum have announced it as the contracts have not even been finalised yet either, but recently Spectrum have been doing these sort of massively ahead of time announcements.

That's great to hear, is it possible to let us know any other possible upcoming TWF releases that have been announced by other labels? I'd rather support your releases than buy from a label in another country. It also saves the hassle of having to find English subs and then play around with them to make sure they are accurate and timed correctly.

[thirdwindowfilms]

Originally Posted by whedon

Happy to hear that, really must listen to the podcast.



They have announced a lot of stuff, doing some Milky Way things I want and suddenly very thankful that I have a 4K player that can play external subs.



I was surprised to see Survive Style 5+ as I though that it may be with Arrow as it feels like the kind of cult offering that they'd go after and with their buying power be able to get with a few others.



That's great to hear, is it possible to let us know any other possible upcoming TWF releases that have been announced by other labels? I'd rather support your releases than buy from a label in another country. It also saves the hassle of having to find English subs and then play around with them to make sure they are accurate and timed correctly.

Apart from the previously announced Suicide Club, Summer Time Machine Blues and Obayashi set, those three (Party, Survive, Shark) are the only 3 which I can say for sure at the moment. And since I'll be the one making all the bonus features as well, I'm sure the TWF disc will be out there before Spectrum anyways

[whedon]

Originally Posted by thirdwindowfilms

Apart from the previously announced Suicide Club, Summer Time Machine Blues and Obayashi set, those three (Party, Survive, Shark) are the only 3 which I can say for sure at the moment. And since I'll be the one making all the bonus features as well, I'm sure the TWF disc will be out there before Spectrum anyways

Thanks for the response. Always happy to see more TWF releases.

[finishominis]

Oh man, Summer Time Machine Blues is ace!

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by thirdwindowfilms

Apart from the previously announced Suicide Club,

You mentioned this was being remastered by a US company footing the bill. Do you know if that's done yet, and if so, have you been able to view the remaster yet?

[thirdwindowfilms]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

You mentioned this was being remastered by a US company footing the bill. Do you know if that's done yet, and if so, have you been able to view the remaster yet?

Was told it should be delivered soon, but not heard too many specifics about it yet

[nabelnabel]

Wow, incredible news about Shark Skin, Party 7, and Survive Style 5! What an incredible year this has been / will be for TWF. おつかれさまでした！

[Yurakucho]

Some good Blu-ray prices at Rarewaves. Free shipping plus 10% off total order (if order at least £10) if you sign up using this link: https://www.rarewaves.com/account/re...1NvNKu8g7RNj8e ...please let me know if you do use this link, as I'm supposed to get 75 points, but Rarewaves' points system is quite new so probably doesn't work.

...also note that when I clicked someone else's link, it didn't actually work and had to contact Rarewaves to get a 10% off voucher.

Destruction Babies £7.79
Love and Other Cults £7.79
Tsukamoto (Killing/Haze/Denchu-Kozo): £15.27
One Cut of the Dead in Hollywood £15.67
Kotoko £7.79
Lowlife Love £7.99
Tokyo Fist (no slipcase) £7.79
Uzumasa Limelight £7.79
Land of Hope £7.79

[Ivanivich]

Will Hanging Garden from the 2nd Toshiaki Toyoda set be getting a single release, as did 9 Souls and Pornostar from the previous one?
Many thanks Third Window. I have many of the releases since Love Exposure.

[CelestialAgent]

A little off topic but was looking up Rapid Eye’s releases (who Third Window have collaborated with before), and Mr. Long directed by SABU claims to have English subtitles

[Random Ace]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

A little off topic but was looking up Rapid Eye’s releases (who Third Window have collaborated with before), and Mr. Long directed by SABU claims to have English subtitles

true

[thirdwindowfilms]

Originally Posted by Ivanivich

Will Hanging Garden from the 2nd Toshiaki Toyoda set be getting a single release, as did 9 Souls and Pornostar from the previous one?
Many thanks Third Window. I have many of the releases since Love Exposure.

Not until the set sells out I think, but you never know. It could be that the set doesn't sell out for years (like the first one) and in that case I might put it out solely in a couple/few years time.

[thirdwindowfilms]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

A little off topic but was looking up Rapid Eye’s releases (who Third Window have collaborated with before), and Mr. Long directed by SABU claims to have English subtitles

Rapid Eye Movies co-produce the majority of Sabu's recent films, so they'll have most of his titles. Problem is that they don't really release on bluray and all tend to be barebone discs. Saying that, it's still the only way to see those films with English subtitles and I won't be putting them out

[ravenus]

Saw Kids Return last night on the TWF blu.

This is again one of Takeshi Kitano's quieter films. Kids Return focuses on Masaru and Shinji, a pair of delinquents who are fast friends - together they cut class, play pranks, try to get into adult movies, give the finger to their teachers, even shake down their classmates for money. They are linked by their friendship and their apathy towards the rest of the world. When Masaru is beaten up by someone as comeuppance for their shakedowns, he decides to take up boxing to get his revenge and drags a reluctant Shinji along. But Shinji takes to the sport far better, while Masaru drops out, instead enlisting with the local Yakuza boss. A more conventional narrative would show Shinji achieving Rocky-style underdog glory while Masaru goes to a bad end (possibly even juxtaposing one guy winning a big match while the other gets gunned down). But Kitano is not judgmental in that way. While Shinji is raising his stature in the boxing arena, he is still hungry for the companionship he shared with Masaru in which he was happy to 'follow the leader'. In comparison, Masaru's being used to bossing his friend around, leads him to make impulsive decisions not compatible with his stature in the Yakuza world.

Shinji and Masaru are the fulcrum of Kids Return, but the film also periodically looks at their friends, and in doing so captures a spectrum of Japanese youth, who are either consumed by mediocrity and convention, or are punished for arrogance / lack of diligence. The film suggests that whether it's school, career or life, if you are not able to master the machine you become part of, you eventually get discarded / replaced. The tone is not tragic but contemplative, which is a harder path to take because the film runs the risk of appearing distant. But apart from maybe the occasional feeling that it could have tried to be less episodic and less expansive in its comment on an entire generation, this is an intelligent, sturdy observational drama from an obviously gifted storyteller.

Kids Return is not the most glam looking Kitano film, but it's shot well enough (especially love some of the continuous tracking shots when Masaru and Shinji are training), and the transfer on the blu-ray does not disappoint. While "only" stereo (DTS-HDMA), the audio has excellent punch, and presence, both for sound FX and the toe-tapping score by Kitano regular Joe Hisaishi. In terms of extras, the disc includes a 20min making of with lots of BTS footage of the filming and an audio commentary by Japanese film scholar Aaron Gerow. This disc was available for super-cheap (5-6 quid) during the Terracotta sale in Feb, but I'd consider it worth for twice that.

[justwannaboogie]

Another director to add to the cancelled list?

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-e...-b2051008.html

[Magyalmar]

Originally Posted by justwannaboogie

Another director to add to the cancelled list?

Another list to add to my cancel list.

@thirdwindowfilms I'm sure the question has already been asked but is there any chance to see Castaway on the Moon released in the UK?

[Marlew]

And a separate question for anyone who's listened to the podcast, does anyone recall what Adam said about Linda Linda Linda? I swear it came up but I can't find the reference from scrolling through the eps. I'd really love to see it from everything I've heard. Seems there's nothing besides an OOP DVD which didn't get a UK release.

[whedon]

Originally Posted by thirdwindowfilms

Rapid Eye Movies co-produce the majority of Sabu's recent films, so they'll have most of his titles. Problem is that they don't really release on bluray and all tend to be barebone discs. Saying that, it's still the only way to see those films with English subtitles and I won't be putting them out

I asked them about the Sabu films before during a chat with Sabu and Sabu talked about how much he'd love to have his films out there but that was for a label to do. REM said that there were loads of issues with the rights to the older films and even some issues with the more modern ones. I think there are issues with not knowing who owns what which Sabu didn't seem aware of.

I'm really surprised that My Blood & Bones in a Flowing Galaxy has not had a release yet anywhere, it's not what I expected from Sabu but he manages to work in many of the themes that run through his films.

For those looking to get more Sabu, both the German releases of Mr Long and Miss Zombie have English subtitles. That said if TWF do eventually do more Sabu I'd happily double dip

[whedon]

I wonder will the sexual harassment allegations against Sono impact the release of Suicide Club?

For those unaware: https://variety.com/2022/film/news/s...nt-1235224844/