Third Window Films Discussion Thread

[Yurakucho]

The new Toyoda set uses the same box style as The Early Years set - didn't Amazon manage to crush some people's Early Years set to pieces? Comparing my Early Years box to the 2005-2021 box, the former has definitely become somewhat lopsided over the years. It looks like Obayashi Anti-War trilogy uses the same box.

[Cinematt]

Originally Posted by Yurakucho

The new Toyoda set uses the same box style as The Early Years set - didn't Amazon manage to crush some people's Early Years set to pieces? Comparing my Early Years box to the 2005-2021 box, the former has definitely become somewhat lopsided over the years. It looks like Obayashi Anti-War trilogy uses the same box.

There’s nothing amazon can’t destroy!
I’m glad it will match, my original set is still looking great but it’s slightly shorter than the slipcase amarays so I’m pleased there will be a few more to sit alongside it soon and stop it being the odd one out.

[thirdwindowfilms]

Originally Posted by Yurakucho

The new Toyoda set uses the same box style as The Early Years set - didn't Amazon manage to crush some people's Early Years set to pieces? Comparing my Early Years box to the 2005-2021 box, the former has definitely become somewhat lopsided over the years. It looks like Obayashi Anti-War trilogy uses the same box.

if amazon does damage any slipcase or so, please let me know and i'll see about sending some over. If people send the release back to amazon it costs us a fortune and we lose sales doubly on the first delivery being null and voided, then having to give another box in exchange, plus all the delivery and restocking fees on top.
Everytime somebody sends a release back for a (sometimes just tiny) issue, it's really really tough for a small distributor

[floor pie]

Originally Posted by thirdwindowfilms

if amazon does damage any slipcase or so, please let me know and i'll see about sending some over. If people send the release back to amazon it costs us a fortune and we lose sales doubly on the first delivery being null and voided, then having to give another box in exchange, plus all the delivery and restocking fees on top.
Everytime somebody sends a release back for a (sometimes just tiny) issue, it's really really tough for a small distributor

Another reason not to use Amazon it seems (and not be insufferably obsessive with damage), not that it's at all surprising that they want to punish the small players for their own cost-cutting in every department possible.

I always aim to order directly (or semi-directly in TWF's case) to give the best support to the boutique labels.

[seamus11]

@thirdwindowfilms, since Toho has been so difficult to deal with, I guess you won't be able to get Shusuke Kaneko's Kurosufaia (Pyrokinesis) from them, right? I know there's a pretty decent DVD from Tokyo Shock, but it seems the movie had recently been remastered because it aired in HD and 4K on WOWOW two months ago...

[thirdwindowfilms]

Originally Posted by seamus11

@thirdwindowfilms, since Toho has been so difficult to deal with, I guess you won't be able to get Shusuke Kaneko's Kurosufaia (Pyrokinesis) from them, right? I know there's a pretty decent DVD from Tokyo Shock, but it seems the movie had recently been remastered because it aired in HD and 4K on WOWOW two months ago...

TOHO are super expensive plus a general pain.

[seamus11]

Originally Posted by thirdwindowfilms

TOHO are super expensive plus a general pain.

Very sad to hear that ... but thank you anyway

[Yami]

Originally Posted by thirdwindowfilms

his films have loads of rights issues, so they're very complicated. Took us years to sort out CRAZY THUNDER ROAD (out in February) and hopefully we can move onto Shuffle/Attack Hakata Gang after. August in the Water and others are very complicated so will take much more time

I'm very happy to hear that (hopefully) Crazy Thunder Road won't be a one-off; August in the Water is probably my most wanted of his films, so hopefully it will come eventually!

Any chance of you rescuing Shinji Aoyama's Eureka for a Blu-Ray release?

[thirdwindowfilms]

Originally Posted by Yami

I'm very happy to hear that (hopefully) Crazy Thunder Road won't be a one-off; August in the Water is probably my most wanted of his films, so hopefully it will come eventually!

Any chance of you rescuing Shinji Aoyama's Eureka for a Blu-Ray release?

No immediate plans, but I'd be very surprised if somebody doesn't do it soon as it has been remastered and is being sold by a well known sales company.

[yoloswegmaster420]

Originally Posted by thirdwindowfilms

No immediate plans, but I'd be very surprised if somebody doesn't do it soon as it has been remastered and is being sold by a well known sales company.

Are there any plans to release films from Naoko Ogigami or Yuji Nakae?

Also, are there any other distributors like Toho who are a general pain to deal with or are they relatively simple (though costly) to make deals with?

[deathshead1987]

thirdwindowfilms, are there any plans to release any of the following movies?

- Ring: Kanzeban (1995) - the first movie adaptation of the Ring novel.

- Ghost Soup (1992) - drama directed by Shunji Iwai.

- Fried Dragon Fish (1993) – mystery thriller directed by Shunji Iwai and starring Tadanobu Asano.

- Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? (1993) - drama directed by Shunji Iwai.

- Undo (1994) - drama directed by Shunji Iwai.

- Love Letter (1995) - drama directed by Shunji Iwai.

- April Story (1998) - drama directed by Shunji Iwai.

- Sada (1998) - drama directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi.

- Futari or Chizuko's Younger Sister (1991) - amazing movie directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi!

- The Drifting Classroom (1987) - directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi.

- The Little Girl Who Conquered Time (1983) - directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi.

- School in the Crosshairs (1981) - directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi.

- Love & Pop (1998) - directed by Hideaki Anno (the problem with this title is that only the end was filmed on 35mm while the remaining footage was captured on DV)

- Tomoko no baai (1996) - hard to find movie with Yukie Nakama (Ring 0).

- Don't Look Up (1996) - horror movie directed by Hideo Nakata

[thirdwindowfilms]

Originally Posted by yoloswegmaster420

Are there any plans to release films from Naoko Ogigami or Yuji Nakae?

Also, are there any other distributors like Toho who are a general pain to deal with or are they relatively simple (though costly) to make deals with?

Neither to be honest.
Had tried to handle Yoshino's Barber Shop years ago, but hadn't been remastered plus the rights holders were a bit of a pain.
The others, just don't think they'll work with the prices they'll I'm sure be quoted.

The majority of my releases, even the more genre titles, take ages to recoup, and some don't even recoup their costs. Plus nowadays with Arrow's incredibly high commission rates and Sony have (again) raised manufacturing costs, releasing a title is even harder than before.

[thirdwindowfilms]

of the below, for Shunji Iwai probably the most probable (but not on your list) would be SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY

Of the Obayashi ones you've listed, The Drifting Classroom/The Little Girl Who Conquered Time/School in the Crosshairs, were 3 of 4 films we had negotiated with Kadokawa but fell through as their demands were quite tough (charging money even to use still photos), so we may go back to the deal dependent on sales of upcoming releases and the Obayashi set itself.

For the other titles, was interested in Love & Pop, but didn't have the correct materials if I remember correctly. Other than that one and the above, no plans

Originally Posted by deathshead1987

thirdwindowfilms, are there any plans to release any of the following movies?

- Ring: Kanzeban (1995) - the first movie adaptation of the Ring novel.

- Ghost Soup (1992) - drama directed by Shunji Iwai.

- Fried Dragon Fish (1993) – mystery thriller directed by Shunji Iwai and starring Tadanobu Asano.

- Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? (1993) - drama directed by Shunji Iwai.

- Undo (1994) - drama directed by Shunji Iwai.

- Love Letter (1995) - drama directed by Shunji Iwai.

- April Story (1998) - drama directed by Shunji Iwai.

- Sada (1998) - drama directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi.

- Futari or Chizuko's Younger Sister (1991) - amazing movie directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi!

- The Drifting Classroom (1987) - directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi.

- The Little Girl Who Conquered Time (1983) - directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi.

- School in the Crosshairs (1981) - directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi.

- Love & Pop (1998) - directed by Hideaki Anno (the problem with this title is that only the end was filmed on 35mm while the remaining footage was captured on DV)

- Tomoko no baai (1996) - hard to find movie with Yukie Nakama (Ring 0).

- Don't Look Up (1996) - horror movie directed by Hideo Nakata

[Yami]

Swallowtail Butterfly would be great. I've only seen it in horrendous quality and the international releases don't have subtitles (unlike Love Letter and April Story, which I'd thoroughly recommend people importing)

[BAKA]

I haven't bought much of anything from anywhere for a while. I'm wondering how Terracotta's shop is for packaging things? Tempted to snap up the second Toyoda set at that price before it ends. I'm hesitant to use Arrow, my last order had a pin in, which they decided to package pointy end facing limited edition, and I've noticed their shop seems to be ran by The Hut group (no idea if that's a new development or was the case when I last ordered). Amazon managed fine with my original set, but they're hit and miss. I assume it's going to be the same style packaging. Not sure my local HMV would be getting any in.

Very much enjoyed the previous set, loved the packaging design too. Have yet to watch Blue Spring yet, despite getting it on release.

[useless watcher]

I know Arrow has Sailor Suit and Machine Gun coming up, but I would love if there’s a chance Third Window could tackle some of Shinji Sōmai’s less genre-friendly work, especially Typhoon Club, one of my favorite films ever, and which if I heard correctly has an HD master recently released on DVD-only in Japan.

[greenrose]

Originally Posted by Yami

I'm very happy to hear that (hopefully) Crazy Thunder Road won't be a one-off; August in the Water is probably my most wanted of his films, so hopefully it will come eventually!

Any chance of you rescuing Shinji Aoyama's Eureka for a Blu-Ray release?

August in the Water is a film that needs to be seen to be believed. Even better is Labyrinth of Dreams. Masterpiece. The guy is such a force of nature it's nuts how few people have heard of him.

To put it into perspective there would be no Shinya Tsukamoto if it was not for Sogo Ishii.

[Pulpcanmovebaby]

Originally Posted by BAKA

I haven't bought much of anything from anywhere for a while. I'm wondering how Terracotta's shop is for packaging things? Tempted to snap up the second Toyoda set at that price before it ends. I'm hesitant to use Arrow, my last order had a pin in, which they decided to package pointy end facing limited edition, and I've noticed their shop seems to be ran by The Hut group (no idea if that's a new development or was the case when I last ordered). Amazon managed fine with my original set, but they're hit and miss. I assume it's going to be the same style packaging. Not sure my local HMV would be getting any in.

Very much enjoyed the previous set, loved the packaging design too. Have yet to watch Blue Spring yet, despite getting it on release.

All my Terracotta packages shipped to the USA have come in a box with padding. The boxes are a bit flimsy, but I haven't had anything come damaged.

Arrow was bought out by The Hut Group/Zavvi. Their shipping before was ok, hopefully it doesn't get worse.

[Richard A]

My Toshiaki Toyoda: 2005-2021 set arrived today via Terracotta - in perfect condition thanks to the wraparound cardboard mailer. Looks great. It probably would have got here earlier but the local post here (south Hampshire) has become very erratic lately with non-letter mail often getting rolled up and delivered in one go on a Sunday.

I'm going to watch Hanging Garden this evening.

[floor pie]

Originally Posted by deathshead1987

thirdwindowfilms, are there any plans to release any of the following movies?

[Show spoiler] - Ring: Kanzeban (1995) - the first movie adaptation of the Ring novel.

- Ghost Soup (1992) - drama directed by Shunji Iwai.

- Fried Dragon Fish (1993) – mystery thriller directed by Shunji Iwai and starring Tadanobu Asano.

- Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? (1993) - drama directed by Shunji Iwai.

- Undo (1994) - drama directed by Shunji Iwai.

- Love Letter (1995) - drama directed by Shunji Iwai.

- April Story (1998) - drama directed by Shunji Iwai.

- Sada (1998) - drama directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi.

- Futari or Chizuko's Younger Sister (1991) - amazing movie directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi!

- The Drifting Classroom (1987) - directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi.

- The Little Girl Who Conquered Time (1983) - directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi.

- School in the Crosshairs (1981) - directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi.

- Love & Pop (1998) - directed by Hideaki Anno (the problem with this title is that only the end was filmed on 35mm while the remaining footage was captured on DV)

- Tomoko no baai (1996) - hard to find movie with Yukie Nakama (Ring 0).

- Don't Look Up (1996) - horror movie directed by Hideo Nakata

I recently saw a popular Twitter post where someone shared a MEGA folder of Obayashi's films, it probably had all of the ones you listed. I don't think there were any of his that had had western (Blu-ray) releases, but it still makes me pretty sad and angry how some young film lovers seem to be openly embracing stealing stuff instead of paying for them, especially when it comes to more niche films. Might be a misconception on my part though.

Originally Posted by greenrose

August in the Water is a film that needs to be seen to be believed. Even better is Labyrinth of Dreams. Masterpiece. The guy is such a force of nature it's nuts how few people have heard of him.

To put it into perspective there would be no Shinya Tsukamoto if it was not for Sogo Ishii.

There's another name added to my list. It's great to find new filmmakers in these forums!