The Official Sonny Chiba Thread!
- HungFist
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- HungFist
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I don't know how I missed this before but today when I was checking my HK Video Street Fighter dvds through I realized the menus are some of the coolest I have ever seen. I took caps of course
Warm up round: Street Fighter 1-3 (pure coincidence all the caps I selected are from the audio menus)
Gold round: Sister Street Fighter
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Chiba double cover art
Warm up round: Street Fighter 1-3 (pure coincidence all the caps I selected are from the audio menus)
Gold round: Sister Street Fighter
**************
Chiba double cover art
Last edited by HungFist on 15 Jan 2010, 13:06, edited 1 time in total.
- HungFist
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The Germans are also releasing Soul of Chiba. Apparently remastered, but cropped to 1,78:1 and eng&ger dub only.
...that being said I don't expect the US dvd to be original language either but hopefully at least 2.35:1.
http://www.ofdb.de/view.php?page=fassun ... vid=232697
That's one of the best covers I've seen in a long time
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HK flix says Rarescope's Soul of Chiba is in japanese and english with english subs. That's a positive surprise. Now if they can deliver a transfer on par with The Bodyguard and Karate Warriors I'll be very happy.
http://www.hkflix.com/xq/asp/filmID.545 ... etails.htm
...that being said I don't expect the US dvd to be original language either but hopefully at least 2.35:1.
http://www.ofdb.de/view.php?page=fassun ... vid=232697
That's one of the best covers I've seen in a long time
**********
HK flix says Rarescope's Soul of Chiba is in japanese and english with english subs. That's a positive surprise. Now if they can deliver a transfer on par with The Bodyguard and Karate Warriors I'll be very happy.
http://www.hkflix.com/xq/asp/filmID.545 ... etails.htm
Last edited by HungFist on 15 Jan 2010, 13:09, edited 1 time in total.
- HungFist
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Anyone got Soul of Chiba yet? Caps wanted.
EDIT: a few caps: http://www.elitisti.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=6396
It seems the transfer is as bad, if not worse, as the old Chiba bootlegs that were released by Brentwood before the remastered dvds hit the streets.
The cropped and dubbed german dvd might be a better option for this movie...
EDIT: a few caps: http://www.elitisti.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=6396
It seems the transfer is as bad, if not worse, as the old Chiba bootlegs that were released by Brentwood before the remastered dvds hit the streets.
The cropped and dubbed german dvd might be a better option for this movie...
Last edited by HungFist on 08 Apr 2008, 19:50, edited 1 time in total.
- LoBo
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I saw Fighting Fist. I think it was a very poor film. Chiba was only on screen 2-3 min. He did not fight at all. The picture quality was not so good. This film looked like it was a low-budget film. I think it had a terrible plot also.
On the back cover it says: Please note: Every effort has been made to find the best possible source material for this dvd. Unfortunately, these films has been lost for many years and these discovered prints are the only known surviving elements available.
In Soul Of Chiba. When you get to the menu, you can choose between the English Version which was 5 min shorter than the Japanese version which you can also choose.
The picture quality was worse than Fighting Fist :x . Sometimes the colours was bleeding. Throughout the film it had some scratches and hissing if you had the volume high. I liked this film better than FF. But, i don`t think it was the best Chiba film i`ve seen.
Sonny had some good fight scenes with cool slow-motion. I didn`t care much for the plot. This version also was cropped. Which means some of the image is missing. That was evident in some of the fight scenes. It was very annoying. They used too much of close ups during the fights also, which in my opinion ruined it. I don`t think i have anything more to say about it.
On the back cover it says: Please note: Every effort has been made to find the best possible source material for this dvd. Unfortunately, these films has been lost for many years and these discovered prints are the only known surviving elements available.
In Soul Of Chiba. When you get to the menu, you can choose between the English Version which was 5 min shorter than the Japanese version which you can also choose.
The picture quality was worse than Fighting Fist :x . Sometimes the colours was bleeding. Throughout the film it had some scratches and hissing if you had the volume high. I liked this film better than FF. But, i don`t think it was the best Chiba film i`ve seen.
Sonny had some good fight scenes with cool slow-motion. I didn`t care much for the plot. This version also was cropped. Which means some of the image is missing. That was evident in some of the fight scenes. It was very annoying. They used too much of close ups during the fights also, which in my opinion ruined it. I don`t think i have anything more to say about it.
- HungFist
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I have the German dvd on order. Maybe we can work out a comparison after I've received it?
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According to Twitch Cinema Epoch has licenced Chiba's directorial debut, Remains (aka Yellow Fangs aka Rimeinzu: Utsukushiki yuusha-tachi) (1990), starring Hiroyuki Sanada, Isao Natsuagi and Bunta Sugawara. It was Chiba's attempt to create "the ultimate action adventure" but nearly ended up destroying his career (the film was a big flop). Finally it's coming to dvd. Fantastic news.
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According to Twitch Cinema Epoch has licenced Chiba's directorial debut, Remains (aka Yellow Fangs aka Rimeinzu: Utsukushiki yuusha-tachi) (1990), starring Hiroyuki Sanada, Isao Natsuagi and Bunta Sugawara. It was Chiba's attempt to create "the ultimate action adventure" but nearly ended up destroying his career (the film was a big flop). Finally it's coming to dvd. Fantastic news.
Last edited by HungFist on 07 Dec 2008, 18:49, edited 1 time in total.
- HungFist
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I hope you've been keeping the jp cult cinema thread on eye, as Toei has released a big load of Chiba and Sanada films...
Roaring Fire (Hoero! Tekken) (1981)
Masashi Ishibashi as a karate master. Hiroyuki Sanada learns axe throwing from indians. A monkey steals a girls bra and she chases the poor animal topples. A gigantic black wrestler fights Sanada in a pool. And that’s just the first 15 minutes. Before Shinichi Chiba appears. Before Etsuko Shihomi fights. Before some of the craziest action scenes in contemporary Japanese cinema are seen. It does slow down a few times, and the story and structure are a mess, but it is considered a deformed holy grail for a reason. 1980’s Hong Kong film makers took notes from this film!
Toei delivers a nice transfer and typically good audio. No complaints here. Both the theatrical trailer and the teaser trailer feature deleted clips and behind the scenes footage. Stills gallery is also included as usual. One of the most important dvd releases of 2008!
Sanada and Ishibashi
Abdullah the Butcher
Sonny’s the man
Air attack gone wrong; painful landing on Etsuko’s foot
It's not just the Chinese who are clumsy
Nazi bitch
All good things come from heaven
While in kung fu city, they just had to rip off famous HK films. Oh, wait. Police Story 1 & 2 weren’t until mid 80’s...
Roaring Fire (Hoero! Tekken) (1981)
Masashi Ishibashi as a karate master. Hiroyuki Sanada learns axe throwing from indians. A monkey steals a girls bra and she chases the poor animal topples. A gigantic black wrestler fights Sanada in a pool. And that’s just the first 15 minutes. Before Shinichi Chiba appears. Before Etsuko Shihomi fights. Before some of the craziest action scenes in contemporary Japanese cinema are seen. It does slow down a few times, and the story and structure are a mess, but it is considered a deformed holy grail for a reason. 1980’s Hong Kong film makers took notes from this film!
Toei delivers a nice transfer and typically good audio. No complaints here. Both the theatrical trailer and the teaser trailer feature deleted clips and behind the scenes footage. Stills gallery is also included as usual. One of the most important dvd releases of 2008!
Sanada and Ishibashi
Abdullah the Butcher
Sonny’s the man
Air attack gone wrong; painful landing on Etsuko’s foot
It's not just the Chinese who are clumsy
Nazi bitch
All good things come from heaven
While in kung fu city, they just had to rip off famous HK films. Oh, wait. Police Story 1 & 2 weren’t until mid 80’s...
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Doberman Detective (1977)
"I'm not a clown, I'm a crazy person". A detective from Okinawa arrives Tokyo to inspects the murder of a prostitute in Kinji Fukasaku’s cop film. While not up to his best work, many viewers will no doubt appreciate the solid storyline and lack of overly hectic camerawork here. Shinichi Chiba gives yet another solid acting performance in the lead role. Hideo Murota co-stars as a trigger happy policeman.
The original trailer once again comes with footage not found in the film. No teaser on the disc.
"I'm not a clown, I'm a crazy person". A detective from Okinawa arrives Tokyo to inspects the murder of a prostitute in Kinji Fukasaku’s cop film. While not up to his best work, many viewers will no doubt appreciate the solid storyline and lack of overly hectic camerawork here. Shinichi Chiba gives yet another solid acting performance in the lead role. Hideo Murota co-stars as a trigger happy policeman.
The original trailer once again comes with footage not found in the film. No teaser on the disc.
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The Kamikaze Adventurers (1981)
Shinichi Chiba and Hiroyuki Sanada star in an enjoyable romantic caper adventure. A temptation to rob a money transportation brings Sanada’s guitarist and Chiba’s pilot character together. Kumiko Akiyoshi is the charming lady in between. Action fans may be disappointed as there isn’t all that much action going on, and practically no martial arts. However, Sanada and Chiba’s flawless tag team play is perhaps more enjoyable than ever before. The leads are placed in front of the camera together in most scenes, both scoring 90+ minutes screentime. At times, the film feels almost like Kadokawa Idol pic gone JAC mode.
Technically a fine disc, with extra attention to be put on the extras. The teaser trailer consists entirely of still images of Chiba, Sanada... and the statue of liberty. The excellent original trailer spoils the film’s most impressive action set piece, but is also full of enjoyable material not found in the movie. The usual stills gallery is also included, but it doesn’t offer anything too special.
Film
Teaser Trailer
Original trailer
Shinichi Chiba and Hiroyuki Sanada star in an enjoyable romantic caper adventure. A temptation to rob a money transportation brings Sanada’s guitarist and Chiba’s pilot character together. Kumiko Akiyoshi is the charming lady in between. Action fans may be disappointed as there isn’t all that much action going on, and practically no martial arts. However, Sanada and Chiba’s flawless tag team play is perhaps more enjoyable than ever before. The leads are placed in front of the camera together in most scenes, both scoring 90+ minutes screentime. At times, the film feels almost like Kadokawa Idol pic gone JAC mode.
Technically a fine disc, with extra attention to be put on the extras. The teaser trailer consists entirely of still images of Chiba, Sanada... and the statue of liberty. The excellent original trailer spoils the film’s most impressive action set piece, but is also full of enjoyable material not found in the movie. The usual stills gallery is also included, but it doesn’t offer anything too special.
Film
Teaser Trailer
Original trailer
- grim_tales
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they don't look bad but are nothing special.still at a tenner for double Chiba it's a bargain! have the Sister Streetfighter disc as well but not watched it yet.Shingster wrote:I've just ordered BCI's Blu-ray Killing Machine/Shogun's Ninja, so should be able to do a comparison with the DVD for the latter when it arrives. Extremely tempted by Sister Streetfighter 1+2 for £10 on Blu-ray as well!