The Lucky Stars 3-Film Collection (1983-1985) - March 22, 2021

[Drunken+Master]

Originally Posted by cooey

@Drunken+Master You’re presuming I haven’t got the money for it? I have.

However, I do not necessarily agree with paying for a product months in advance. If there was no other choice then sure, I’d pay it now. If Eureka turn around and say that they will no longer use Amazon as a platform to sell their products and it’s only exclusive through them, then of course I would order it now. This is where 88 do it right IMO and have their pre-orders go up very close to release date where I’m more than happy to pay upfront for it. If I have the option to order it now but pay on release date then for me I would prefer to do that. (Not trying to instigate an argument either, only love here!)

If Eureka said that something along the lines of that the slipcase was exclusive to them then they’d have me by the balls and I would’ve pre-ordered already

I didn’t presume anything, i just don’t like the mentality that pre-orders are a free for all, just like the PS5 or Xbox blocking orders by any 12 year old who can’t afford to pay for it makes way for more scalpers and people selling ‘pre-orders’ on eBay.

I agree pre-orders shouldn’t be so far in advance, Eureka don’t normally go this far, i guess its a once a year timing thing.

But disregarding my thoughts can i ask why, since you want to buy it anyway, why will you not pre-order at Eureka? It just saves getting a mail confirmation later and making sure the money is in the bank next year.

It seems Amazon really do have people by the balls psychologically.

@malcy don’t pre-order then, don’t mentally tie-up your money if it hurts that much!

[thenexus6]

I have Amazon credit, I want to preorder and then forget about it.

[malcy30]

Originally Posted by Drunken+Master

I didn’t presume anything, i just don’t like the mentality that pre-orders are a free for all, just like the PS5 or Xbox blocking orders by any 12 year old who can’t afford to pay for it makes way for more scalpers and people selling ‘pre-orders’ on eBay.

I agree pre-orders shouldn’t be so far in advance, Eureka don’t normally go this far, i guess its a once a year timing thing.

But disregarding my thoughts, can i ask why since you want to buy it anything, why will you not pre-order at Eureka? It just saves getting a mail confirmation later and making sure the money is in the bank next year.

It seems Amazon really do have people by the balls psychologically.

@malcy don’t pre-order then, don’t mentally tie-up your money if it hurts that much!

My point is I don't like tying up money 4 months in advance. Have the money but a couple of reasons.

- You could be dead from Covid !
- My job is precarious, should know more early in 2021, but maybe not until the summer. Advantage of ordering from Amazon or HMV is I can cancel with no issue and no money changed hands if my job seems to be going and I need to make savings.

Agree with the comment that someone like 88Films are more sensible as only take money a month ahead when they know a release date is pretty much fixed. Don't mind placing an order at that point.

It is the 4 months ahead I don't like. It feels as if companies are looking to get money now to fund the production of the discs, so using customers money to run the business.

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by malcy30

Because it’s a LE so we want to lock in our orders now.

Gee, if only there was a way to do that and support these incredible projects directly.

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by malcy30

My point is I don't like tying up money 4 months in advance. Have the money but a couple of reasons.

- You could be dead from Covid !

I can see the post-funeral scene now. Your family trying to work out the financial burden you've put upon them by buying a movie 4 months in advance for £28.99.
"How could malcy30 have done this to us? WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?? They loved Jackie Chan more than us."

[malcy30]

Originally Posted by jkoffman

I can see the post-funeral scene now. Your family trying to work out the financial burden you've put upon them by buying a movie 4 months in advance for £28.99.
"How could malcy30 have done this to us? WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?? They loved Jackie Chan more than us."

That’s was the more frivolous point.
You ignore my 2nd point which is more relevant,

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by malcy30

That’s was the more frivolous point.
You ignore my 2nd point which is more relevant,

2nd point: If your life is that precarious -- Totally understandable in 2020 -- maybe you shouldn't be worrying about blu ray preorders at all.

[Killer Meteor]

Originally Posted by Futurhythm

I think the Lucky Stars movies hold up better than some of the Jackie Chans. But the same appeal's probably not there for a non-Hong Kong audience.

In Hong Kong, nostalgia for the 80s is almost like genetic memory. There's an almost universal fondness for it, even for people born way after the fact. It's the period when the city was at its most prosperous and its pop culture really becomes synonymous with the local identity. A lot how the local popular culture is today was established during this time. Basically, it's when Hong Kong movies really become what Hong Kongers think of as Hong Kong Movies.

In the 80s, you're getting this massive shift away from period pieces and adaptations of Chinese opera and classics to contemporary-set movies that are about absolutely anything. Movies reflect Hong Kong rather than act as almost preservers of traditional Chinese culture. Prior to this, there's still an aspect of Hong Kong movies feeling like they're rooted in an earlier era, and not just the period pieces.

When you get to Lucky Stars, it feels like a proper distillation of the really unique and specific East meets West nature of Hong Kong. Everything is really 'modern' and fresh in its 80sness and yet characters still make very literary references or use archaic-sounding expressions and do kung fu. You also reach the heights of that 'anything goes' mentality that Hong Kong movies have and the energy is absolutely addictive and lovable.

You're also in a time when there was a massive stable of celebrities who were real bona fide stars. Every cameo in these movies is huge so there's this added appeal of seeing all these big names in the one movie. The ending to Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars is especially insane: it's like a clown car of celebrities when they all come walking out of the elevator.

80s HK cinema is indeed very much about Hong Kong. Whilst the late 60s and most of the 70s were dominated by period Mandarin films produced by ex-Shanghai filmmakers that very rarely touched on contempoary issues.

[Markgway]

The nostalgia for the 80s is very understandable as it represents Hong Kong cinema at its creative and finanacial peak, before the handover slowly killed it - a metaphor for its society as a whole.

[HoldenCarver]

1986-1992 (roughly) is the period that covers many of my favourite HK films (being my taste is for Heroic Bloodshed over Wuxia). And I remember the mid '90s being a period when already I was worrying that after '97 I'd never again get to see the same calibre of films out of HK.

Initially it seemed my fears were unfounded, largely due to Johnnie To and Derek Yee (but perhaps mostly To). But seems like the films of the '00s were perhaps a last hurrah and by now there's little new that is uniquely HK, as China exerts greater and greater control.

If there's anything of quality that I've missed from recent years, I'd love to hear about it. But I rather fear it simply isn't there.

[TruBlue]

Originally Posted by thenexus6

Well the Lucky Stars films aren't really Jackie focused so if it's strictly him you're after then probably best to look elsewhere.

For me i'd say:

Police Story 1-5 (1&2 are available in a boxset the others not yet)

Project A 1&2

Armour of God 1&2 (only 2 is available right now to buy it's called Operation Condor Armour of God 2)

If you want blind buy suggestions i'd say, Wheels on Meals and Dragons Forever as two stand alone films. Available from Eureka and 88 Films respectively.

Aren't all those Eureka/88 Flims region locked?

[Mr_Orange]

Originally Posted by TruBlue

Aren't all those Eureka/88 Flims region locked?

Yes, region B.

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by TruBlue

Aren't all those Eureka/88 Flims region locked?

Yes, though it was the main reason why I grabbed a region-free player for these films. It was worth every penny to get these films. If your finances allow it, I would strongly advise grabbing a region free player.

[Ben_C]

Amazon really dragging their ass on getting this up for preorder. I would ideally much prefer to order direct, but if for some reason Amazon stick it up for something like 20 quid (wishful thinking I know), then that would probably be a deal breaker.

[don3663]

This is my first time ordering direct from Eureka. Pretty proud of that, im trying to stay away from amazon. I know its a few months off, but what should I expect in terms of packaging. Zavvi style jiffy bags or do they package properly?

[Ben_C]

Originally Posted by don3663

This is my first time ordering direct from Eureka. Pretty proud of that, im trying to stay away from amazon. I know its a few months off, but what should I expect in terms of packaging. Zavvi style jiffy bags or do they package properly?

Eureka are pretty great in my experience. Thick card packaging, and things arrive mint (assuming you have decent post people delivering the items).
The only problem I ever had was the plastic cellophane had stuck to the spine on the outer card box on my copy of Kwaiden, so had left a horrid sticky mark/line. That was obviously an issue at the manufacturing stage rather than the packaging, but nonetheless, they sent a replacement out fairly quickly.

[Drunksnake]

I'm going to go through my entire Jackie Chan blu ray collection which includes all of EUREKA! and 88 Films' releases among many others (including a few certain bootlegs of yet to see decently released movies). Once I've poured through all the accompanying extras which will include The Young Master by then, I think it'll hopefully be about time for this release. I think it's the only way to pass the time and ease the anticipation for this!

[drush9999]

Amazon have it listed at last, but you can't pre-order right now.

[Killer Meteor]

That's a point - does the 1960s version of A Better Tomorrow, STORY OF A DISCHARGED PRISONER, still exist?

[Killer Meteor]

Originally Posted by Futurhythm

Yeah, it does. The Museum of the Moving Image in New York did a Lung Kong retrospective a few years back and showed it amongst other things. The Hong Kong Film Archive also has a watermarked copy (in shithouse quality) of it that you can watch in-house.

Fun fact, the opening credits are to a Catwoman dance which I'll never understand why they didn't put in the remake.

Well, John Woo often adopted an "What would Cheng Cheh do" attitude...