Third Window Films Discussion Thread

[mattyl149]

Originally Posted by thirdwindowfilms

Actually, it had to do with a deal for I'M FLASH. The sales company needed a minimum spend on a contract so had to partner it with another film from their catalogue, and thought Funuke would work as a good film which still hasn't been seen by many people. Plus the original DVD release wasn't great quality and this would be the world's first bluray (not out in Japan yet)

I was keeping all my original DVDs when I'd upgraded to Blu-ray but I have taken out four that I have upgraded and will sell on so I don't mind replacing another DVD with a Blu-ray

[jackranderson]

Originally Posted by hanz0

Just arrived from Terracotta, and i just noticed this release is in a clear case, hope this is the standard from here on out

[Show spoiler]

Lovely cover too.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by thirdwindowfilms

Are you sure they weren't talking about the Arrow Player??
Because they added the 6 Kitano films of mine to their player.

Hopefully this'll teach them a leason about quoting in FULL instead of only part of it & people intepriting it the wrong way.

[Nage]

Anyone know where I can get, pink films vol 3 and 4

[ravenus]

I got TWF's new release of One Cut of the Dead purely on reputation without knowing what happens in it apart from it being a horror-com with zombies, which you will admit is not the most novel genre premise these days.

The setting is that of a low-budget independent crew shooting a zombie movie in an abandoned industrial plant, who are themselves attacked by zombies...and why does the director still insist on filming? Without spoiling things, OCOTD is a movie which goes in one direction for a third of its length, and then reveals itself to be something else altogether, thereby making for a fresh and charming experience. Apart from the script, the actors are also to be cheered for tackling vastly different characters in the initial and later parts. This is a film with wit, invention and above all, a lot of heart.

The Hollywood Edition is probably the most comprehensive package of OCOTD. First off, you get a good presentation of the film -given its low-budget (~25K USD, apparently) digital video roots, it's obviously not going to look like some HD showcase, and the initial segment seems to have some deliberate flaws of overexposure and blown out contrast. The soundtrack is presented as DTS-HDMA 2.0 which again fits with the rough-hewn aesthetic.

The biggest extra here is the inclusion of a bonus film, One Cut of the Dead in Hollywood (I wonder if the title suggested itself after Tarantino's film). I have mixed feelings about this one. As a sequel, it pretty much rehashes the first movie in a slightly different setting. While there are some funny digs at stereotype (Apparently Hollywood is full of blond folks wearing Hawaiian shirts) there's a "scrambled-together" feeling to it, with many returning cast members present only as fan service. Ah well, it's less than an hour long.

Other extras (which were also present on a previous LE version, I think), include a nice 45 min "making of" which starts at the process of rehearsals and development (the actors were tried out in different combinations of roles before the final casting was done), covers the shooting in some detail and goes up to when the film started screening at festivals. Rather nice, although the actors express a stereotype niceness in their uniform "Let's all work hard and make this a great film". Not that I was expecting to see tantrums and attitude, but there's no display of personality differences here, possibly a stereotype of a culture that encourages blending in over individual egos.

There's an interview with the director Shin'ichirô Ueda, in which he responds to questions that appear as English text, which is nice.

There's footage of the one-take scene (which makes up the first third of the movie) from the perspective of the director's head-mounted go-pro camera.

Apart from this, there are some short outtakes and a funny self-defense promotional video seen in the film.

While TWF's catalog skews mostly towards the edgy and provocative Asian cinema, my preference is for their releases that have a certain sweetness or optimistic warmth (like Scene at the Sea, Taste of Tea) and One Cut of the Dead is another lovely entry in this line.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by ravenus

I got TWF's new release of One Cut of the Dead purely on reputation without knowing what happens in it apart from it being a horror-com with zombies, which you will admit is not the most novel genre premise these days.

The setting is that of a low-budget independent crew shooting a zombie movie in an abandoned industrial plant, who are themselves attacked by zombies...and why does the director still insist on filming? Without spoiling things, OCOTD is a movie which goes in one direction for a third of its length, and then reveals itself to be something else altogether, thereby making for a fresh and charming experience. Apart from the script, the actors are also to be cheered for tackling vastly different characters in the initial and later parts. This is a film with wit, invention and above all, a lot of heart.

The Hollywood Edition is probably the most comprehensive package of OCOTD. First off, you get a good presentation of the film -given its low-budget (~25K USD, apparently) digital video roots, it's obviously not going to look like some HD showcase, and the initial segment seems to have some deliberate flaws of overexposure and blown out contrast. The soundtrack is presented as DTS-HDMA 2.0 which again fits with the rough-hewn aesthetic.

The biggest extra here is the inclusion of a bonus film, One Cut of the Dead in Hollywood (I wonder if the title suggested itself after Tarantino's film). I have mixed feelings about this one. As a sequel, it pretty much rehashes the first movie in a slightly different setting. While there are some funny digs at stereotype (Apparently Hollywood is full of blond folks wearing Hawaiian shirts) there's a "scrambled-together" feeling to it, with many returning cast members present only as fan service. Ah well, it's less than an hour long.

Other extras (which were also present on a previous LE version, I think), include a nice 45 min "making of" which starts at the process of rehearsals and development (the actors were tried out in different combinations of roles before the final casting was done), covers the shooting in some detail and goes up to when the film started screening at festivals. Rather nice, although the actors express a stereotype niceness in their uniform "Let's all work hard and make this a great film". Not that I was expecting to see tantrums and attitude, but there's no display of personality differences here, possibly a stereotype of a culture that encourages blending in over individual egos.

There's an interview with the director Shin'ichirô Ueda, in which he responds to questions that appear as English text, which is nice.

There's footage of the one-take scene (which makes up the first third of the movie) from the perspective of the director's head-mounted go-pro camera.

Apart from this, there are some short outtakes and a funny self-defense promotional video seen in the film.

While TWF's catalog skews mostly towards the edgy and provocative Asian cinema, my preference is for their releases that have a certain sweetness or optimistic warmth (like Scene at the Sea, Taste of Tea) and One Cut of the Dead is another lovely entry in this line.

The ONLY extra this edition of the film is missing is the short film that is on the previous release.

[Eibon]

...which I really liked. Also the older version doesn't cram everything into a single disc.

[Ste7en]

Originally Posted by hanz0

Just arrived from Terracotta, and i just noticed this release is in a clear case, hope this is the standard from here on out

[Show spoiler]

Did this come with a slip or anything? I'm sure I've seen images on social media of it with inserts etc.

[Rutger Lundgren]

Originally Posted by Eibon

...which I really liked. Also the older version doesn't cram everything into a single disc.

And the short dance video that plays in the background of the second disc's menu is one of my favourite "extras". I wonder if it's also available on this new release.

[hanz0]

Originally Posted by Ste7en

Did this come with a slip or anything? I'm sure I've seen images on social media of it with inserts etc.

No slip, i have not seen any images of it having one, all that was inside was a terracotta card.

[Richard A]

Originally Posted by Rutger Lundgren

And the short dance video that plays in the background of the second disc's menu is one of my favourite "extras". I wonder if it's also available on this new release.

No, sadly not. (Unless I overlooked an Easter Egg or similar.)

The original LE edition 'extras' disc menu dancer is the assistant camerawomen, I think.

Regard for the film(s) has moved me to keep both releases.

[Rutger Lundgren]

I'll probably get the new edition as well, but not straight away. I don't really feel like buying it again this soon after the first LE.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by Eibon

...which I really liked. Also the older version doesn't cram everything into a single disc.

I believe the previous LE was two BD-25 discs, presumably because it was easier to just remove one disc for the standard edition. The Hollywood Edition is one BD-50, so space-wise it's not all that different. The main feature itself occupies more than 20GB on the disc, so I would assume it's the same encode as before. I think the sequel occupies some 11GB.

[CelestialAgent]

Looks like some OOP titles have returned on the Arrow site like The Woodsman and the Rain? Himizu is sold out unfortunately which I would have liked to get had I seen it sooner

[DaLe_Insanity]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

Looks like some OOP titles have returned on the Arrow site like The Woodsman and the Rain? Himizu is sold out unfortunately which I would have liked to get had I seen it sooner

Damn, I would have liked to grab this also.

[repulsed]

Originally Posted by hanz0

Just arrived from Terracotta, and i just noticed this release is in a clear case, hope this is the standard from here on out

[Show spoiler]

Wouldn't be upset about the change. Much prefer clear cases. Problem is replacing the back catalog. At least these cases aren't as heard to get as they have been recently so that's good

[thirdwindowfilms]

Sale going on at arrowfilms til July 26
https://arrowfilms.com/shop/?pi=1&b=third%20window

[ravenus]

^Ordered TWF's Dangan Runner off that sale.

[CelestialAgent]

Terracotta reshared this article on their blog and it's even more relevant today (Adam Torel is interviewed)

https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion...istribution-uk

[NormanicGrav]

Third Window Films has revealed a bunch of upcoming films that will be heading their way into the UK under their distribution. Some we had known about prior, but there's more!

Just SOME of the great films we'll be putting out on bluray over the next year...
Watch this space!

Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (ドロステのはてで僕ら)
2020 film directed by Junta Yamaguchi

Crazy Thunder Road (狂い咲きサンダーロード)
1980 film directed by Sōgo Ishii

Funky Forest: The First Contact & The Warped Forest (ナイスの森 THE FIRST CONTACT / あさっての森)
2005 & 2011 films directed by Hajime Ishimine, Katsuhito Ishii, Shunichiro Miki

Funuke Show Some Love, You Losers! (腑抜けども、悲しみの愛を見せろ)
2007 film directed by Daihachi Yoshida

Hiruko the Goblin (妖怪ハンター ヒルコ)
1991 film directed by Shinya Tsukamoto

Nobuhiko Obayashi: Anti-War Trilogy Box featuring:

• Casting Blossoms to the Sky (この空の花 長岡花火物語) [2012]
• Seven Weeks (野のなななのか) [2014]
• Hanagatami (花筐) [2017] - already available standalone

Toshiaki Toyoda: 2005-2020 Box featuring:

• Hanging Garden (空中庭園) [2005]
• Monsters Club (モンスターズクラブ) [2012]
• I'm Flash (アイム・フラッシュ！) [2012]
• Wolf's Calling (狼煙が呼ぶ) [2019]
• Day of Destruction (破壊の日) [2020]

Zokki (ゾッキ)
2021 film directed by Yamada Takayuki, Takenaka Naoto, Saitoh Takumi