Feel like I'm losing my passion for cinema :( Now what?

[grim_tales]

upgrading stuff I already have is actually annoying, even its from DVD to BD.

if you feel like that you probably shouldn't have moved to blu in the first place tbh.

I have a bigger screen now so hopefully I'll get more out of BD now, I can appreciate the finer detailed picture more

[Yi-Long]

Downloading is the reason all the indie labels go under. I buy to support future releases

If they bother releasinga proper uncut version, I'll support them. If not, fuck them.

The Grandmaster? Cut. Fuck them. The Raid? No original soundtrack. Fuck them.

There's been a bunch of movies I would have loved to have picked up on BR, but they simply haven't gotten a proper release. Hero doesn't have the director's cut. House of Flying Daggers is supposedly poor quality in terms of video. Most of the time I don't even bother downloading a copy either, and I'll just stick with my existing DVD.

Like you said, I would like to support indie labels, but they do need to sell releases I'm willing to buy. Sadly, that happens very rarely. I'd argue it's now even worse than it was with DVD.

The Raid: US blu has the original soundtrack
Grandmasters: WKWs preferred cut of the film, and only English friendly release of that cut

But I get what you're saying

I know US The Raid is the best version, but it's 4 times as expensive as the Hong Kong and Dutch releases, so no...

And I consider the HK cut of The Grandmasters as the original cut, especially because that's the version I watched when I was in Hong Kong, and it has the original soundtrack. US and European versions have been cut up and I believe also received an alternate soundtrack in places, so fuck that. Reception of the cut versions also hasn't been as positive as the HK cut.

Wong Kar Wai will say anything, he's just trying to sell his movie. He can't go out to western journalists and tell them the western releases are completely fucked up.

He also butchered his perfect Ashes of Time and replaced the gorgeous soundtrack, simply because he wanted to re-release it when there was a short resurgence of wuxia-movies which gained popularity in the west. Terrible terrible terrible. I've got the BR cause it was 2-3 euro or something, and I tried watching it, but hearing the new soundtrack is just heartbreaking to me. It's not the same movie I loved so much. It's stained.

I see it as someone serving you a big glass of cola, and while it will still taste pretty good on it's own, you know there's a huge spitball in there. It's just ruined.

I'm glad I've got the HK uncut version of The Grandmasters though, both on BR as well as download. Fantastic movie. I feel bad for anyone spending money on the incomplete butchered western releases. It's an incomplete product.

[luckystars]

Sorry should have read

Grandmasters: Korean Blu. WKWs preferred cut of the film, and only English friendly release of that cut.


Some other stuff was changed but version has an extra fight at the end not seen in any other version. Unfortunately it *is* one film that if you really care you need to get all the different edits of (which I don't)


Also I care about AV quality. Unless you're downloading an exact copy of a film, the sound/picture quality is compromised in the compression.

The US Blu is the Raid cost me under £10 btw

[HungFist]

upgrading stuff I already have is actually annoying, even its from DVD to BD.

if you feel like that you probably shouldn't have moved to blu in the first place tbh.

I have a bigger screen now so hopefully I'll get more out of BD now, I can appreciate the finer detailed picture more

I was gonna suggest you smaller screen ja VHS So many great films not available on dvd...

It's not the finer detail that's gonna make you re-discover the passion. It's the cool films and genres you never knew existed that can make you re-discover the passion.

[Mo]

Exactly. I've noticed it when Blurays do actually manage to improve the quality, but I just don't care about it. I usually only get the Blu if it has additional special features. As long as the picture doesn't have a noticeable blur effect during the fights, and it's good VHS quality or better, I'm a very happy man.

[Markgway]

The US Blu is the Raid cost me under £10 btw

A few months ago Amazon.com were flogging it for $4.99.

Made me wish I liked it more.

[Yi-Long]

The US Blu is the Raid cost me under £10 btw

A few months ago Amazon.com were flogging it for $4.99.

Made me wish I liked it more.

I still haven't watched it. Haven't even bothered with a downloaded version, cause those were missing the original soundtrack as well, so I don't want to waste my time on that.

Sorry should have read

Grandmasters: Korean Blu. WKWs preferred cut of the film, and only English friendly release of that cut.


Some other stuff was changed but version has an extra fight at the end not seen in any other version. Unfortunately it *is* one film that if you really care you need to get all the different edits of (which I don't)


Also I care about AV quality. Unless you're downloading an exact copy of a film, the sound/picture quality is compromised in the compression.

The US Blu is the Raid cost me under £10 btw

Thanks, I didn't know about the Korean BR. Will check out some info on that. I was in South-Korea last year, but sadly didn't really come across many places that actually BRs or DVDs and such. Very disappointing.

The problem with obtaining The Raid US edition is the ridiculous shipping fees and such. Like I said, the Dutch release costs about 4-5 euro, and the HK release was also around that price, so I'm not willing to spend 3-4 times that much simply because local publishers couldn't be bothered to release it properly.

And Amazon.co.uk now charging shipping for deliveries to Holland hasn't improved matters much either, cause I haven't ordered anything from them since.

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

Sorry should have read

Grandmasters: Korean Blu. WKWs preferred cut of the film, and only English friendly release of that cut.
...

Where and when (please have source) did Wong Kar-wai state he had a preferred cut of the film

[luckystars]

Sorry should have read

Grandmasters: Korean Blu. WKWs preferred cut of the film, and only English friendly release of that cut.
...

Where and when (please have source) did Wong Kar-wai state he had a preferred cut of the film

I can't find the quote but I've seen it written a few times. Maybe someone else knows more?

[Shingster]

Absolutely shameless plug here but why don't you try and discover a regular film podcast that will provide ideas for fresh genres to explore? I'll direct you to the Digital Fix Podcast not because it's a particularly great pod (I'm sure there's a billion better pods out there) but because we've strived to cover a wide range of genres and also I personally take part in them so if you want to try out any of the films in our pods you can always PM me later or start a thread here to discuss the topic further. Give the swashbucklers episode a go, it's a great genre for a fan of Kung Fu films to plunder if they want a break from Asian cinema. Just ignore our first episode, it's awful! Alternatively if you want to stick to asian cinema give Knetan's podcast a go, he's been at it years now!

[Markgway]

I keep meaning to try Shingster's podcasts (are you on them all?) -- I promise I will very soon.

Actually, it might be worth you starting a dedicated thread, as most posts get lost in these anything goes threads...

[Shingster]

All but one or two I'm afraid! I get all self conscious about my work and don't like to draw attention to it at all really beyond the odd post every now and then, they're also reasonably long pods (90-120min on average) coming out every 2-3 weeks so I feel like it's a bit of a commitment to ask of folk if I started a thread on it!

[saltysam]

the only pod i know of featured in a patsy kensit advert and in a movie titled iotbs

[grim_tales]

I'm going to try and make it my resolution for the year to get back into movies again, or failing that, just enjoy things more I just find it hard to relax and find time to watch anything these days

[saltysam]

I just find it hard to relax and find time to watch anything these days

That's not necessarily a bad thing as not having time to sit and watch a movie must mean you are busy in other areas of your life.

[grim_tales]

Possibly, I just find that sad in a way. I moved out but feel drained of joy and energy (if I ever had any)

[Mo]

I've been down many times in life. You just have to pick yourself up. And when that fails, you have to pick yourself up from that. I hate pretty much every person I meet, but I still try to be friendly to everybody. It's very tough to do. Often times I wonder what's the point of having a sucky life? Why should I get up today? But you just do, and try to make the best of it. I'm trying to think of something here to lift your spirits, but the fact is that life has its highs and lows. I do wish you the best.

About movies. Just remember to never sell your collection. Stop watching movies and focus on things that are enjoyable for you. But one day you'll get that urge, and most likely you'll want to watch all your movies again. And there's lots of movies that always cheer me up, like A Man Called Joe Clifford, Top Secret!, Detroit Rock City, If Looks Could Kill and Role Models to name a few.

[Markgway]

Possibly, I just find that sad in a way. I moved out but feel drained of joy and energy (if I ever had any)

You should talk to someone.

Movies are great but they're not a substitute for people.

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

I've been down many times in life. You just have to pick yourself up. And when that fails, you have to pick yourself up from that. I hate pretty much every person I meet, but I still try to be friendly to everybody. It's very tough to do. Often times I wonder what's the point of having a sucky life? Why should I get up today? ...

I hope we are some of the exceptions Mo . I tend to take the view that most people are OK (given statistics I think this is probable.) But I will go the "extra mile" for friends and family (I can be aloof to non-friends though, I have a partial shy nature and partial aloof which is not always the greatest combination). I think it is important to try to improve your life via studying, school, exercise, martial arts (if you are into them) etc... to get above the said suckyness (that word is getting flag as a misspelling).

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

Possibly, I just find that sad in a way. I moved out but feel drained of joy and energy (if I ever had any)

You should talk to someone.

Movies are great but they're not a substitute for people.

I'll ditto this and add the Internet is great but also not a substitute for people.

[Mo]

I have to disagree with that last post. Internet people are a great substitute. I don't know people in real life who are knowledgable about kung fu movies. I probably would have lost interest in the genre if I had nobody to talk kung fu with. I would be one depressed evil mofo if I couldn't talk kung fu. I still ask most everyone I meet if they watch kung fu. I won't give up!

[HungFist]

I have to disagree with that last post. Internet people are a great substitute. I don't know people in real life who are knowledgable about kung fu movies. I probably would have lost interest in the genre if I had nobody to talk kung fu with. I would be one depressed evil mofo if I couldn't talk kung fu. I still ask most everyone I meet if they watch kung fu. I won't give up!

Hah, I can imagine you're the guy who would ask a girl The Street Fighter, Return of the Street Fighter and Sister Street Sighter triple feature on first date. Or maybe The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Return to the 36th Chamber and Disciples of the 36th Chamber

Note: I took my girlfriend to see Titanic 3D on first date*. I still haven't shown her any Sonny Chiba films

Actually the first film we saw together was Shutter Island, but as a result (?) I didn't see her for two years. Next time I chose more wisely

[Mo]

That's one of my favorite Tarantino movies. Even better than the ones he directed. The first time I showed a girl a kung fu movie I was about 18, and I wanted to show something unique and classy, not cheesy. Something really special. I chose Dirty Ho. I thought I'd say the name of the movie, don't dwell on it, and then show the movie and hopefully she will like it. I said the name of the movie, and then I tried to explain it. Ive never stuttered in my life but there I was stuttering, badly. Finally I shut up and played the movie. She kinda liked the Kara Hui fight at the beginning. I don't think she liked the movie because all I remember is that she opened herself up for business at some point and the movie was forgotten.

[grim_tales]

I'd love to find a girl who likes Asian films, I did know a girl once who was into Asian/Korean cinema I think (some well known darker stuff)

[HungFist]

Well, after almost three years of dating I finally showed my girlfriend some pinky violence movies during the Christmas vacation. She's a typical Japanese girl born in the 1990s in the sense that she grew up watching sterile television dramas and never saw boobs in a Japanese movie before.

I wanted to start off easy, so I chose Delinquent Girl Boss: Worthess to Confess (1971) which puts a lot of emphasis on comedy and melodrama and is quite restrained with sex and violence. She liked it and thought Reiko Oshida was cute!



The next day I showed her Criminal Woman: Killing Melody (1973), which packs more sex and violence (and a chainsaw scene) but is quite a well made girl gang / revenge movie. She actually liked it even more. She said she's never seen such badass girls in Japanese cinema before. To be honest though, Criminal Woman is quite a bit less sexist than some other films in the genre despite the copious amounts of sex and nudity.



My plan was to go all the way next with Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom (1973) but we ended up not having enough time for it. Oh well, maybe next time. And should probably show her some films in the Sukeban series.

I don't think I'm gonna try some of the sleaziest or more experimental stuff, though. I'm just so happy she doesn't object to my odd films. A Chinese girl I once dated freaked out when she saw (a photo of) my Japanese exploitation film collection Because of that I even hired a friend to hide a few of the more risque titles from my collection before I took my current girlfriend to Finland for the first time Turned out it wasn't necessary