Third Window Films Discussion Thread

[darry]

Originally Posted by thirdwindowfilms

To be honest, blu-ray versions of titles which have already been on DVD which are not older classics or cult titles do not sell at all as people are very reluctant to upgrade, and only in cases of titles being incredibly popular such as Love Exposure could a blu-ray release after the DVD release work. Many of out titles such as Kamikaze Girls and Memories of Matsuko which are arguably a huge step up on blu-ray and much more popular titles didn't sell at all when we released the blu-rays as not many people who already had the dvd wanted to upgrade.

A title like Peppermint Candy just wouldn't be possible on blu as the DVD wasn't a bit seller, and the blu-ray would need to sell 6 times as much as a DVD, yet with the DVD a poor seller itself there just is no way in hell it could come anywhere near a breaking even point.

Unfortunate, but that's how it is on many titles such as that.

though if the korean blu-ray has english subtitles then why not buy that? That would take away even more from any release anybody else could do

With this title I bought the third window DVD and the Korean blu-ray this year, which is a massive step-up in PQ. I think people who love these movies and collect them will just go to wherever they are released to buy them. For me personally, I buy most of my blu-rays before Third Window release them, so that means a lost sale for companies that distribute in Australia and the UK. I would think that this would hardly affect the market but that's how it is for a few collectors/fans of asian cinema. On the other hand, a movie like How To Use Guys with Secret Tips, I would think, hasn't and probably will not be released in Korea on blu, so I think that will do well, because there is no other availability. Once again, how small this market is probably makes this irrelevant. I know a lot of the time I'll pull out a blu and my wife will say, 'this is awesome, how come I've never heard of it?'. Fans of Asian cinema have to actively seek this stuff out.

[Mansinthe]

i tought the same about some other releases...

i got the HK bluray release of Villain for something around ~6 GBP (incl. shipping) from wowhd. while thirdwindow could only release a DVD (probably cuz of the high risk / cost or not much demand for a bluray in the UK)

i really loved Woodsman and the rain from thirdwindow, the bluray looked amazing. but adam told me a while ago that he will probably only be able to release a dvd for A Story of yonosuke ,cuz of the running time (160min). so i went ahead and ordered the HK bluray for less then ~13 GBP (incl shipping to germany !)

i would really love to support thirdwindow films with all movies , but still i prefer the Bluray. even if the bluray would be 2 times the price of the DVD..

but gonna buy as much DVDs from thirdwindow films as possible that wont probably get a bluray release ever.

most of the time i wait for reviews of the KR/HK release and compare that to the US release, to decide what release has the better transfer or uses a 50GB disc instead of a 25GB, to get the best out of these movies.
(korean blurays vs well go usa)


probably that all doesnt matter for the market or the labels cuz only a small amount of people are interessted in the best possible encode / bonus features etc.

for example the german release of "A frozen flower" (korean movie) was avaible for ~5,50 GBP (bluray) , but was missing the something like 15 mins longer directors cut. so i ordered the KR release (took 6 weeks to arrive!) and paid 4 times the price of the german release :P

but still happy with my decision since i watched the movie 3 times now, showed it to my girlfriend...
its really nice to show this expensiv "imports" from asia, and having people appreciate these movies that they might have never seen in their life.


so another long post, and i wanted only to do a short comment, since my "long" posts most of the time are messed up in some way i hope its all understandable^^

[Yami]

Adam, have you ever looked into some Shunji Iwai? A couple - Love Letter and April Story - are out on Blu-Ray with English subtitles but I think some of his work has the potential to do well. A great director that needs some more exposure over here.

[SimBelm]

Originally Posted by Yami

Adam, have you ever looked into some Shunji Iwai? A couple - Love Letter and April Story - are out on Blu-Ray with English subtitles but I think some of his work has the potential to do well. A great director that needs some more exposure over here.

I was also thinking about asking this. The Japanese BD of Lily Chou-Chou is beautiful.

[thirdwindowfilms]

Originally Posted by Yami

Adam, have you ever looked into some Shunji Iwai? A couple - Love Letter and April Story - are out on Blu-Ray with English subtitles but I think some of his work has the potential to do well. A great director that needs some more exposure over here.

He used to be very big in the UK, and probably would still do well, though I think he'd work a lot better through a company like Artificial Eye whose audience would be much more up for those titles. For us, even directors like Lee Chang-dong don't do as well as we don't have the 'arthouse' audience like Art Eye of other similar companies do. They have their shops inside all their cinemas and direct access into the BFI, but we don't unfortunately so it would be a lot harder for us to release, especially if they're already available with english subtitles as you say. Plus the rights to a lot of his titles are quite hard to deal with as I recently spoke to a french distributor who had mountains of problems trying to get his titles

[Sinthetic]

Just been looking at your Facebook page and I'm really excited to see what you picked up at Busan!

I really like the alternate art for Tokyo Fist too.

[darry]

Originally Posted by Sinthetic

Just been looking at your Facebook page and I'm really excited to see what you picked up at Busan!

I really like the alternate art for Tokyo Fist too.

What are the titles? It says they have acquired 2 new dark thrillers and one comedy but I can't see the announcement.

[thirdwindowfilms]

Originally Posted by darry

What are the titles? It says they have acquired 2 new dark thrillers and one comedy but I can't see the announcement.

will announce over the next day or two, probably on TWITCH

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Looking forward to hearing what the dark thrillers are. I love all of TWF's dark thrillers so far. The comedies not so much. At all.

[darry]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

Looking forward to hearing what the dark thrillers are. I love all of TWF's dark thrillers so far. The comedies not so much. At all.

Have you seen Vulgaria? It's very good.

[Sinthetic]

No, it really isn't!

[mattyl149]

Originally Posted by Sinthetic

No, it really isn't!

I liked Vulgaria, but it's one of those films that if you're not a fan then it's really hard to see any charm in it

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by darry

Have you seen Vulgaria? It's very good.

Vulgaria has its fans which is cool. I can almost guarantee I wouldn't be one of them though. It looked awful.

[thirdwindowfilms]

Our new acquisitions listed over at Twitch: http://twitchfilm.com/2013/10/third-...es-for-uk.html

[Yami]

All three sound like they're worth a watch. I look forward to them!

[darry]

Originally Posted by thirdwindowfilms

Our new acquisitions listed over at Twitch: http://twitchfilm.com/2013/10/third-...es-for-uk.html

Nice. I've heard some good things about Pluto. Are any of these for Blu-ray?

[thirdwindowfilms]

Originally Posted by darry

Nice. I've heard some good things about Pluto. Are any of these for Blu-ray?

think Pluto will be blu-ray, but the other 2 not. Depends on materials from Korea as the film is very independent and doesn't have many materials oddly enough

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Hope the first two come out on blu-ray the second one appeals to me the most.

[SimBelm]

Definitely sold on Pluto which I'd heard some good things about, I'll have to have a look into the other two.

[Yami]

From Facebook:

We have some MASSIVE news which we will be releasing over the next day or two. News of something we have been working on for a year and been dying to share with you! We're REALLY EXCITED!