Third Window Films Discussion Thread

[Mansinthe]

i only wanted to push this post.

please keep supporting this awesome label. i just talked to adam yesterday , asked about how things are going how sales are. how the newest releases are doing (For Loves Sake , Vulgaria). and its pretty bad. probably best thing would be i quote him here


im a big fan of this label and its awesome what adam keeps doing for such a small company !

dont forget to preorder the upcoming release "Land of Hope" from Sion Sono.

[Yami]

3 copies? That's pretty shocking and sad to see. I confess that I didn't buy it but I - like most consumers - only buy titles I think I'll like and Vulgaria simply didn't look like my cup of tea (the same goes for For Love's Sake and The Woodsman and the Rain). I am tempted to get it now though because TW are a company that have put out some of my favourite releases in the past (Tetsuo, Love Exposure, Confessions) and I'd hate to see them disappear when they have the potential to release more films I'd like to see.

[whiteberry]

That's too bad but not terribly surprising. Those films are virtually unknown and have zero buzz. The days when people would buy any Takashi Miike movie have been over for a long time. Just look at the forum at IMDB for For Love's Sake. There's a single thread and it's from over a year ago. I like Third Window Films but they have to choose movies that aren't completely unknown in the west.

[Mansinthe]

i totally loved Vulgaria. its really funny ! and you dont have to be from Hong Kong to understand the humor. i really loved it, but after the trailer i didnt get the humor at all.

and For Loves sake its a pretty cool musical with fights and funny stuff as well. and if you liked the real life movie of "kenshin" the main actress is the same in both movies !


i preordered all upcoming third window releases bluray & DVD and if adam opens the thirdwindowshop again i will order the other stuff on DVD as well.

[rewak]

Yeah i think the problem has nothing to do with price, it has everything to do with the movies being picked.

[Mansinthe]

Originally Posted by rewak

Yeah i think the problem has nothing to do with price, it has everything to do with the movies being picked.

problem is people dont even give such movies the slighest chance at all.
proably some might even like or love the movies

third window films has such a small release output all few months, so i dont care to just buy every bluray.

probably no other label will ever release such japanese movies like "kotoko"

[Yami]

I'll definitely get the upcoming Tsukamoto releases. I'd like to see some more catalog releases (MoC/Criterion haven't released much Asian cinema from the 80s/90s that isn't from canonical directors). Third Window said on Facebook that they cost more than the contemporary titles, which I was quite surprised at.

[jonboy24]

Yeah the problem here is that Third Window is putting all the eggs in the obscure film basket.

I wouldn't at all blame Adam if he released safer action/horror/martial art films to help offset the risk associated with the films he really wants to release. This seems to be against the company ethos however.

I personally prefer the quirky stuff especially Coin Locker and the Miki Satoshi films but unfortunately you have to follow the figures to an extent

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by whiteberry

That's too bad but not terribly surprising. Those films are virtually unknown and have zero buzz. The days when people would buy any Takashi Miike movie have been over for a long time. Just look at the forum at IMDB for For Love's Sake. There's a single thread and it's from over a year ago. I like Third Window Films but they have to choose movies that aren't completely unknown in the west.

Agree'd. I admire their passion and desire to expose us to these movies they like, but it seems I'm not alone in feeling that a lot of these are more like personal favourites than titles that are likely to sell. There's plenty of Asian titles out there that need a blu-ray release and would sell better. Much better.

The main problem here is that people in the west (myself included) aren't really interested in Asian comedies. Hell, the interest in Hong Kong cinema seems to of dropped a lot too. I rarely see anyone discussing their favourite new HK films.

The general public want darker Asian movies in their collections. Asian horror, even the bad ones will sell better than Vulgaria and For Love's Sake. An easy way to make some money would be to acquire any films not yet released on blu-ray in either the UK specifically or in any English friendly country by Park Chan wook (J.S.A), Kim Jee woon (The Quiet Family, The Foul King, A Bittersweet Life), Bong Joon ho (Barking Dogs Never Bite, Memories of Murder), Chang Dong Lee (Green Fish, Peppermint Candy, Oasis, Secret Sunshine) or Na Hong jin (The Chaser).

That isn't even including the countless Miike Takashi "classics" or other Asian directors with a strong following.

Those Korean directors are ones A LOT of people in the west adore and have a genuine desire to collect their films on home media. It isn't just down to people not being willing to spend more on blu-rays (though sadly that is a true fact as well much of the time). It also comes down to making good money making decisions. Release more modern fan favourites and you'll make more money.

I remember them mentioning that the Tetsuo set didn't sell as well as anticipated. That's a shame and a bit of a surprise but I still stand by my advice. These guys are all being brought into hollywood now. Theyre going to be household names in american homes before you know it and eeryone in the west will be searching out their other titles on imdb.

Take advantage of these talented Korean directors popularity if its financially possible. Nobody is releasing these and there are quite a lot of people willing to spend like $40+ on essentially barebones (no subtitles for the special features) Korean imports just to have them in their collection.

Imagine if they got the rights to some of these movies. Imagine how many people would **** their pants if Third Window Films released Memories of Murder. So many people (myself included) would pre-order at full price.

I don't want to see TWF go bankrupt but it seems that's where they're headed if they don't start releasing more "I need to own that!" Popular titles. Last I heard they're planning on releasing a couple of Korean comedies in the near future... Seriously? Well, good luck with that.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by jonboy24

Yeah the problem here is that Third Window is putting all the eggs in the obscure film basket.

I wouldn't at all blame Adam if he released safer action/horror/martial art films to help offset the risk associated with the films he really wants to release. This seems to be against the company ethos however.

I personally prefer the quirky stuff especially Coin Locker and the Miki Satoshi films but unfortunately you have to follow the figures to an extent

Exactly. Mix those personal favourites in with safe titles. Safe = money. You need that to release what you want. Plus, they'd get new widespread respect and interest if they released safe titles too which would result in more people checking out their obscure stuff. Scream Factory are a company that release almost entirely "safe" stuff. Look at them though. Hardly anyone on here hesitates to spend $20 day 1.

People are willing to spend £15 on a blu-ray, you've just got to release something they feel they need to own or at the very least have an interest in watching.

[Yami]

I have no real knowledge so someone who does can correct me if necessary but I'm guessing that 'popular' titles cost a lot more to obtain the rights to than 'obscure' ones. Memories of Murder was just mentioned but that's already out on DVD via Optimum. So to get the rights to Memories of Murder there would also be competition from rival distributors that would jack the cost up. You would probably need to sell exponentially more copies of a popular title than an obscure title to recoup the costs. Is it doable? Perhaps but internet communities often seem bigger than they actually are. People begged MoC to release some Naruse and when they did it sold terribly and as a result is now OOP.

[jonboy24]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

Agree'd. I admire their passion and desire to expose us to these movies they like, but it seems I'm not alone in feeling that a lot of these are more like personal favourites than titles that are likely to sell. There's plenty of Asian titles out there that need a blu-ray release and would sell better. Much better.

The main problem here is that people in the west (myself included) aren't really interested in Asian comedies. Hell, the interest in Hong Kong cinema seems to of dropped a lot too. I rarely see anyone discussing their favourite new HK films.

The general public want darker Asian movies in their collections. Asian horror, even the bad ones will sell better than Vulgaria and For Love's Sake. An easy way to make some money would be to acquire any films not yet released on blu-ray in either the UK specifically or in any English friendly country by Park Chan wook (J.S.A), Kim Jee woon (The Quiet Family, The Foul King, A Bittersweet Life), Bong Joon ho (Barking Dogs Never Bite, Memories of Murder), Chang Dong Lee (Green Fish, Peppermint Candy, Oasis, Secret Sunshine) or Na Hong jin (The Chaser).

That isn't even including the countless Miike Takashi "classics" or other Asian directors with a strong following.

Those Korean directors are ones A LOT of people in the west adore and have a genuine desire to collect their films on home media. It isn't just down to people not being willing to spend more on blu-rays (though sadly that is a true fact as well much of the time). It also comes down to making good money making decisions. Release more modern fan favourites and you'll make more money.

I remember them mentioning that the Tetsuo set didn't sell as well as anticipated. That's a shame and a bit of a surprise but I still stand by my advice. These guys are all being brought into hollywood now. Theyre going to be household names in american homes before you know it and eeryone in the west will be searching out their other titles on imdb.

Take advantage of these talented Korean directors popularity if its financially possible. Nobody is releasing these and there are quite a lot of people willing to spend like $40+ on essentially barebones (no subtitles for the special features) Korean imports just to have them in their collection.

Imagine if they got the rights to some of these movies. Imagine how many people would **** their pants if Third Window Films released Memories of Murder. So many people (myself included) would pre-order at full price.

I don't want to see TWF go bankrupt but it seems that's where they're headed if they don't start releasing more "I need to own that!" Popular titles. Last I heard they're planning on releasing a couple of Korean comedies in the near future... Seriously? Well, good luck with that.

There is no way Third Window would afford any of the films from the Korean big guns. Especially now that they have made films in hollywood.

Studio Canal are sitting on Memories of Murder. I seriously want a bluray upgrade as well.

You seriously don't like any of the comedies Third Window has released? Personally I thought Vulgaria was average but the Miki Satoshi films Fish Story and woodsman are anything but. They certainly deserve exposure

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by jonboy24

There is no way Third Window would afford any of the films from the Korean big guns. Especially now that they have made films in hollywood.

Studio Canal are sitting on Memories of Murder. I seriously want a bluray upgrade as well.

You seriously don't like any of the comedies Third Window has released? Personally I thought Vulgaria was average but the Miki Satoshi films Fish Story and woodsman are anything but. They certainly deserve exposure

I've bought multiple comedies of theirs and not many have been even "good" to me. It's just rare that an Asian live action comedy is funny in my opinion. For laughs out of Asia, I go to anime. It's often hilarious.

I hope bloody someone releases these titles on blu-ray in the US or the UK though. It's driving me nuts.

[Yami]

Another avenue to explore could be collectable packaging - digibooks, steelbooks etc. I'm not personally a fan but they seem to do well for MoC and Arrow at least. People seem to buy them irrespective of the film.

[jonboy24]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

I've bought multiple comedies of theirs and not many have been even "good" to me. It's just rare that an Asian live action comedy is funny in my opinion. For laughs out of Asia, I go to anime. It's often hilarious.

I hope bloody someone releases these titles on blu-ray in the US or the UK though. It's driving me nuts.

I guess the Miki Satoshi stuff is about putting a smile on my face and making me feel good rather than the full belly laugh. Then again I don't properly laugh at anything these days.

I always like the dark comedy stuff as well. Love Exposure brilliant as well!

I really should try anime comedy more. I watch most anime dubbed so the idea of american accents and comedy really puts me off. That's why I concentrate on British comedy so much I guess.

Rambling I am

[Mansinthe]

what have american accends to to with thirdwindowfilm releases?
these movies dont have dub at all.


i dont think such a small label is abel to afford big korean revenge movies.

[SimBelm]

Vulgaria was a bit too broad for me, I much preferred their release of Isn't Anyone Alive? which was probably the funniest new film I saw last year.

I find Hong Sang-soo films quite funny as well as being full of substance, I'd love to see him get more UK exposure.

[rewak]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

problem is people dont even give such movies the slighest chance at all.

Lets take Vulgaria as an example. It's a very niche movie, it's fan base the kind of people who know how to import, and it had already been out on Blu subbed with extras not found on the TW release for months before TW picked it up. So why would they re-buy it? They're not just picking niche movies, for the most part they're picking ones that are already out there subbed and not offering any incentive to double dip.

[Sky_Captain]

What's annoying, is shit labels like Metrodome picking up fairly decent Asian titles and not only not releasing a BD version, but degrading the overall product, by targeting it at supermarkets chains.

The Man From Nowhere and Let The Bullets Fly. That both of those got no UK release, (and fairly mediocre US releases, to add to the disappointment), is a joke.

Perhaps TW could look at possibly sub-licensing certain titles.

Incidentally, I thought Vulgaria was crap and I was actually looking forward to it, as I enjoy Asian humour.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by jonboy24

I guess the Miki Satoshi stuff is about putting a smile on my face and making me feel good rather than the full belly laugh. Then again I don't properly laugh at anything these days.

I always like the dark comedy stuff as well. Love Exposure brilliant as well!

I really should try anime comedy more. I watch most anime dubbed so the idea of american accents and comedy really puts me off. That's why I concentrate on British comedy so much I guess.

Rambling I am

Comedy movies rarely make me laugh out loud whether they're foreign or in English. Some are great movies but just can't bring me to that kind of laughter. I have plenty of funny tv shows in both live action and anime. British comedy tends to get the best laughs out of me. For example, IT Crowd and Peep Show make me cry from laughter and make my ribs hurt from laughing so hard.

In most successful anime shows that aren't horror or trying too hard to be "cool", there's some great laughs to be had. Its probably just something to do with us coming to love these characters through getting to know them. You can't really do that much with movies. That extra character development and screen time makes all the difference.

In anime, it's amazing when you're given characters you love because when the typical over dramatic moments of happiness, sadness or any other extreme emotion happens, the way it's executed cracks me up. It's a great format where you can take characters that are normally in intense situations and occasionally whip them into a dramatic emotional state and it doesn't feel odd.

There are some really funny moments in Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Amazing show, great action, well written and voice acted. Recently I've gotten into Soul Eaters. Really bizarre and beautiful visual style, hectic action scenes, fun characters with a great story and the humorous moments... Oh god, they crack me up.

There's one character in particular I think many members here would appreciate called Kid Death (son of Death who runs a school to train kids with their weapon side kicks to essentially kill evil beings). He's got a serious issue with OCD. Everything has to be symmetrical or he loses it. 8 is his favourite number because its perfectly symmetrical. Just reminds me of how funny a lot of members here are about their collection looking uniform.

Anyway, don't want to turn this into an anime thread lol but suffice to say, anime can be incredibly amusing. I just don't get much out of Asian comedies. A lot of them put a smile on my face too but I never end up rewatching them and they rarely make me laugh out loud but as previously mentioned, I'm the same way with most English language movies too.

Also worth noting, you shouldn't be put off by American accents in anime. I'm not a douchey purist who believes they're all better in their original language but some are. Most anime series' I've seen have had terrific English dubs though and like half the Studio Ghibli movies are better executed by the English language voice cast.

I don't believe English dubs in anime is the same as dubbing a live action movie (which should always be watched in the original language!). Most of the time the original Japanese voice cast and the animation isn't even in sync anyway so there isn't much of a difference in terms of what syncs up better with the image. Sometimes the English voice cast just gives a better performance.