French DVDs and Blu-Rays of Asian Movies

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 25 Jun 2005, 18:18

The ATGB cover is superb IMO 8)

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 25 Jun 2005, 21:26

It's a pity the film isn't

. Still he made up for it with DOBW.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 18 Jul 2005, 01:18

UPDATE:

In early 2005, HK Vidéo have lost the rights to The Lone Wolf and Cub series (also known as Baby Cart) and it's time for Wild Side Vidéo to provide details on their release:

Front cover:

Back Cover:

Who said Sin City ?!

The whole series will be released THEATRICALLY in August (with brand-new prints) and the dvds should be released around october or november.

All I know is that the prints have been completely restored and the french subtitles completely remade.
This should be a 7 or 8-Disc edition (6 for the movies, 1 or 2 for the bonus features).

Maybe Grim will find out what happened to the cub after all.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 18 Jul 2005, 02:07

OMG that cover art is gorgeous.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 18 Jul 2005, 07:38

Yeah that cover is great 8)
As for LWAC, is the third one worth buying? White Heaven and Hell (No 6?) looked bloody stupid in the trailer on the R1...

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 18 Jul 2005, 16:49

White Heaven and Hell (No 6?) looked bloody stupid in the trailer on the R1...

If I recall correctly, White Heaven is some kind of James Bond parody mixed with evil zombie-ninjas. Pretty stupid but also pretty fun.

The third one is a mix of Chambara and Italian Western. All I remember is the amazing climax (with lots of guns and swords).
Interesting anecdote: Tomisaburo Wakayama himself sings the theme song at the end of the third episode.

memetic · Post by **memetic** » 19 Jul 2005, 01:09

Ok, this is so minor but it's bugging me. I'm no expert in French but shouldn't that say on that box "Le loup et l'enfant".. not "a l'enfant"?

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 19 Jul 2005, 01:48

shouldn't that say on that box "Le loup et l'enfant".. not "a l'enfant"?

You'd think

Le loup et l'enfant = The wolf and the child.

Le loup à l'enfant = The wolf who has/with a child. (which has a very different meaning)

While both are grammatically correct:

->"Le loup et l'enfant" doesn't explain his relationship with the child.

"Baby Cart, le loup solitaire à l'enfant" is the original french title of the Lone Wolf and Cub series.

memetic · Post by **memetic** » 19 Jul 2005, 03:27

Ah cool, makes sense. I was thinking it should be either "et" or "avec"... I learned something new. Thanks for clearing that up.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 19 Jul 2005, 16:47

I was thinking it should be either "et" or "avec"...

Just to clear it up a bit more:

Le loup et l'enfant -> The wolf and the child.

Le loup à l'enfant -> The wolf who has / with a child.

and:

Le loup avec l'enfant -> The wolf with the child.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 20 Jul 2005, 01:57

News:

Some of you may have noticed that the title of the thread has changed a little.

From now on, posts with a News header will be about recent news on Asian Cinema found on French websites while posts with an Update header will strictly be about DVD.

I'm doing this because I've found out that french websites often have infos that UK websites don't (Dragon's Den / DVDTIMES / etc...).

So here it is:

News:

Zhang Ziyi is now part of the cast of The Banquet.

This movie will be directed by Feng Xiaogang (World without thieves).
It will be a coproduction between Media Asia and Huayi Brothers.
Daniel Wu's participation in the film has also been confirmed.

Source: Hkmania.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 20 Jul 2005, 09:27

memetic · Post by **memetic** » 20 Jul 2005, 09:58

Cool idea, Tom.

Monkey Peaches did report this one thankfully.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 23 Jul 2005, 00:54

News:

First french review of Seven Swords is up:

http://www.dvdrama.com/rw_news-12189-0- ... swords.php

I'll try to translate some of it when I have the time.

Right now I'll just translate the most important line of the review:

Le résultat est à la hauteur de toutes ces attentes.
=
The result meets all possible expectations.

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 23 Jul 2005, 00:56

Tom2681 wrote:News:

Some of you may have noticed that the title of the thread has changed a little.

From now on, posts with a News header will be about recent news on Asian Cinema found on French websites while posts with an Update header will strictly be about DVD.

I'm doing this because I've found out that french websites often have infos that UK websites don't (Dragon's Den / DVDTIMES / etc...).

So here it is:

News:

Zhang Ziyi is now part of the cast of The Banquet.

This movie will be directed by Feng Xiaogang (World without thieves).
It will be a coproduction between Media Asia and Huayi Brothers.
Daniel Wu's participation in the film has also been confirmed.

Source: Hkmania.

I like SUPER PUMPED for this new Feng Ziaogang film. 8)

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 23 Jul 2005, 01:12

Me too. I've just seen A World Without Thieves and really liked it.
Can't wait to see what Feng will come up with next. 8)

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 23 Jul 2005, 11:28

Tom2681 wrote:Me too. I've just seen A World Without Thieves and really liked it.

I just watched it as well!! I suspect that this is good teamwork IMO. 8)

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 23 Jul 2005, 23:10

News:

Translated review of Seven Swords is up at Ain't it cool news.
(same as the one I posted above, only in english this time):

http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=20804

Edit: is it me or did they use Babelfish translator for this one ?!

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 24 Jul 2005, 00:03

First French review of Seven Swords 1/3:
(translated by me)

Since the early 80s, Tsui Hark has had a heavy influence on HK cinema, through the Chinese Ghost Story trilogy, the Better Tomorrow saga and, of course: Once Upon A Time In China.
He has produced and directed many classics (Peking Opera Blues, Green Snake, The Lovers), but after his last masterpiece The Blade in 95, the master kinda lost his magic.
After a few Van Damme movies and unsuccessful sequels (Legend of Zu, Black Mask 2) and Time and Tide, Tsui Hark is coming back to the international scene with his most ambitious project to date:
A swordplay film like they used to make them, but shot for an international audience.
Seven Swords was born from two hopes:
-A desire to become the best filmmaker as he used to be in the past.
-Pay respects to Tsui's favorite director, Akira Kurosawa.

The result meets all possible expectations.

Synopsis:
During the seventeenth century, the mandchus give birth to the Ching Dynasty and ban all martial arts.
Troops of mercenaries are hired to invade China and eliminate all rebels.
Within their ranks, Fire-Wind is a general and leads a troop of blood-thirsty barbarians who kill men, women, the aged and the young and sell their heads to get rich.
Fu, an old rebel played by SB veteran Lau Kar-Leung has fled the army to protect the peasants. He's trying to warn a village of the imminent attack by Fire-Wind's army.
With 2 villagers, Fu climbs Mount Tian to look for retired warriors.
Five brave men will decide to help them. The master gives a specific sword to each of them.

The seven swordsmen will then go to the village to fend off the army.

While the synopsis might remind you of the Seven Samurai, Tsui has shot a very personal and rich epic.
You'll find in it all his favorite subjects (Courage, Treachery, Strength and Weakness of men who are confronted to extraordinary events).
By adapting a Liang Yu Sheng (Bride with white hair) novel, Tsui has decided to go for the masterpiece.
Obviously bothered by Zhang Yimou's latest work (Hero, HOFD), Tsui has gone back to what he knows best:
Good story-telling, good characters and a visual inspiration that was thought to be lost for some time.

-----------------

I'll translate the rest later.

(sorry for the minor spelling errors and other mistakes. There's a lot of stuff to translate).

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 24 Jul 2005, 00:05

Tom2681 wrote:http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=20804

Edit: is it me or did they use Babelfish translator for this one ?!

Nope hence I can't be bothered to read it. The guys who write 'Aint it Cool' can't write in English as it is without the added help of Babelfish.

If I wanted to read it through a computer's interpretation of a language I could paste it into Bablefish thank you. Thanks though.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 24 Jul 2005, 00:09

If I wanted to read it through a computer's interpretation of a language I could paste it into Bablefish.

Well... if you want to read it through my interpretation, I'm translating the french review right now for all english readers.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 24 Jul 2005, 01:33

A swordplay film like they used to make them, but shot for an international audience.

This always makes me chuckle. If it were really true they'd film in English!

It maybe shot with an international audience in mind but I doubt they're only thinking of the international audience.

Tom2681 wrote:Well... if you want to read it through my interpretation

It will have to do I suppose

. Seriously great work there Tom.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 24 Jul 2005, 02:16

Seriously great work there Tom.

Thanks.

First French review of Seven Swords 2/3:
(translated by me)

Among the strong points of the film, we'll notice a group of magnificent bad guys driven by their testosterone and their greed.
The actors have never been THIS good. Leon Lai is a very charismatic leader while Donnie Yen truly shows his physical prowess for the first time in his career (OUATIC 2 and Hero were just child's play compared to this).
Playing a Korean warrior, he's one of the best things in Seven Swords.

But Seven Swords is not only a captivating film, it's also an amazing spectacle. Shot in some beautiful landscapes on Chinese mountains and full villages built on hillsides, Seven Swords amazes with its visual power.
The cinematography is a little too classic at the beginning, but then reaches amazing levels (especially during the last third of the film).
You can tell that the filmmaker is progressively getting back into it, and slowly beginning to trust his talent again.
This is a very good thing, considering that for many fans this movie could have been Tsui's last chance.

We can regret the short duration of the film. Even though it's 150-min long, it just feels like a movie trailer.
Everything is going very fast, and the characters are only developped during the action scenes.
It's too bad that many of them are just shadows.
We can also regret some editing mistakes and shortcuts (for example: Leon Lai's reason for joining the swordsmen is explained too late).

It is well-known that Tsui had a 4-hour version in mind (which will NOT come out on DVD) and it's just sad that he didn't dare release his director's cut.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 24 Jul 2005, 02:26

First French review of Seven Swords 3/3:
(translated by me)

Other drawback: The music by Kenji Kawai (Ghost in The Shell) is a complete disaster, handicapping the movie in its most emotional scenes.
This synthetic music doesn't give any texture to the pictures, and just underlines the emotions that you can already feel without the music.
Another reason to mourn James Wong, who scored most of Tsui's earlier works.

But all that isn't enough to diminish the impact of Seven Swords, and Tsui Hark has won all the bets.
Surpassing the plastic beauty of House of Flying Daggers with ease, he manages to bring back the brutal sensuality of The Blade as if he had shot it last year.

It will probably take more than one viewing to get all the subtleties and appreciate all the action sequences (the climax alone is worth all the Shaw Brothers classics and will make you shed tears of joy).

Even though it lacks the spontaneity that could be found ten years ago, Seven Swords is one of the major movies of this year.
Tsui Hark is now back where he belongs (at the top of the HK movie industry).

Less fun than usual, but definately more mature. Can't wait for his next movie !

-------------------------

Finished.

Hope you liked it.

Limited Edition Slag · Post by **Limited Edition Slag** » 25 Jul 2005, 21:05

Nice Thread, keep up the good work fella!