Third Window Films

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Adam X
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:04 am

Re: Third Window Films

#277 Post by Adam X » Tue Jul 07, 2020 2:37 am

Well, that cover has me a little more interested.
Also, TWF have confirmed their edition of Gemini is coming in 2020.

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domino harvey
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Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Third Window Films

#278 Post by domino harvey » Tue Jul 07, 2020 3:05 am

The old R1 one was better, it had really nice metallic pink foil on it. You can kinda see it in this pic

Image

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Adam X
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:04 am

Re: Third Window Films

#279 Post by Adam X » Tue Jul 07, 2020 5:02 am

It’s a better design, for sure, though I was more referring to the imagery used. Giant girls head and a boy with a hole through his head. These things drive curiosity, even after seeing many a film that didn’t live up to the cover art; but as with everything, it’s for the ones that do.

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L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Third Window Films

#280 Post by L.A. » Tue Sep 01, 2020 9:34 am

GEMINI 双生児 directed by Shinya Tsukamoto
Region B bluray release out November 2nd!
-New audio commentary by Tom Mes, author of Iron Man: The Cinema of Shinya Tsukamoto
-Behind the Scenes
-Making of Gemini directed by Takashi Miike
-Venice Film Festival featurette
-Make-up demonstration featurette
-Original Trailer
First 1000 units come w/slipcase featuring artwork illustrated by Ian MacEwan
Order from the Arrow Video online shop at: https://arrowfilms.com/product-detail/g ... y/TWFBD054

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Adam X
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:04 am

Re: Third Window Films

#281 Post by Adam X » Tue Sep 01, 2020 9:50 am

There was a comment made by TWF about the extras for Gemini having subtitles for everything, unlike the Mondo Macabro release, which rung a bell, but I couldn't recall exactly what the issue was, and no reviews I could find make mention of anything. Does anyone know if one of their extras has mssing subs? I mean, I've got the disc, but I don't actually know what I'd be looking for.

nitin
Joined: Sat Nov 08, 2014 6:49 am

Re: Third Window Films

#282 Post by nitin » Tue Sep 01, 2020 10:41 am

According to Mondo Macabro, it’s only the behind the scenes extra.

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Adam X
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:04 am

Re: Third Window Films

#283 Post by Adam X » Wed Sep 02, 2020 5:33 am

Thanks nitin.

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L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Third Window Films

#284 Post by L.A. » Wed Oct 21, 2020 2:12 pm

Apparently Ujicha’s gekimation anime Violence Voyager (2018) upcoming soon.

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colinr0380
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:30 pm
Location: Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, UK

Re: Third Window Films

#285 Post by colinr0380 » Wed Oct 21, 2020 2:30 pm

L.A. wrote:
Wed Oct 21, 2020 2:12 pm
Apparently Ujicha’s gekimation anime Violence Voyager (2018) upcoming soon.
They have uploaded the trailer. Apparently according to this post Third Window are doing the director's earlier film The Burning Buddha Man as well, maybe in a double bill. Though that post was from February and was announcing its release in "June/July" so it looks like it has been pushed back a little.

I also see from the Third Window YouTube channel that they have the trailer up for Tezuka's Barbara for the Japanese cinema release next month, so I guess that should be due out on disc mid-way to the end of next year?

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L.A.
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Re: Third Window Films

#286 Post by L.A. » Tue Oct 27, 2020 1:44 pm

colinr0380 wrote:
Wed Oct 21, 2020 2:30 pm
L.A. wrote:
Wed Oct 21, 2020 2:12 pm
Apparently Ujicha’s gekimation anime Violence Voyager (2018) upcoming soon.
They have uploaded the trailer. Apparently according to this post Third Window are doing the director's earlier film The Burning Buddha Man as well, maybe in a double bill. Though that post was from February and was announcing its release in "June/July" so it looks like it has been pushed back a little.

I also see from the Third Window YouTube channel that they have the trailer up for Tezuka's Barbara for the Japanese cinema release next month, so I guess that should be due out on disc mid-way to the end of next year?
Ujicha: Violence Voyager / Burning Buddha Man coming in January.
Director(s): Ujicha

Cast: Hitoshi Matsumoto, Saki Fujita, Tomorowo Taguchi, Yuka Iguchi

Producer(s): Reo Anzai

“UJICHA’s concept of ‘geki-mation’ employs variety of hand-drawn cutouts to act like marionettes and further adds music plus diegetic sounds in order to create the artistically curious atmosphere of gruesome fantasy. It’s an artistically delirious product, surfacing straight from the jagged contours of a wildly imaginative mind.” High on Films

2 pieces of Gekimation from the weird and wonderful mind of Japanese director UJICHA

Violence Voyager (2018, 83 min)
Bobby and his friend Akkun set out for the mountains to build a secret hideout. On their way, they stumble upon a mysterious amusement park called Violence Voyager. It doesn’t take long for things to get weird as the boys discover a group of scared children who can’t seem to escape and soon find themselves under attack by robot-like humanoids.

Burning Buddha Man (2013, 81 min)
There is a series of Buddha statue thefts in Kyoto. Beniko, a high school girl, gets the Buddha statue at her family’s temple stolen and has her parents killed at the same time. She needs to know what caused the death of a parents and dreams of revenge. She goes on a fantastical journey to ultimately face the demon.

BLU-RAY
TWFBD055 | Limited Edition | Released: Jan 25 2021
Disc 1: Violence Voyager
Uncut original Japanese language version
Audio commentary from director Ujicha and producer Reo Anzai
Interview with director Ujicha (20min)
Short Film: Tempura (4min)
Storyboards
Teaser of Ujicha’s latest film
Original Trailer

Disc 2: The Burning Buddha Man
Short Film: The Retnepac2 (16min)
Short Film: Space Yokai War (9min)
Original Trailer

Reversible sleeve artwork
Slipcase
Region B

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ochsfan
Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2014 1:10 pm

Re: Third Window Films

#287 Post by ochsfan » Sat Jan 30, 2021 2:26 am

I'm just finding out about this label, and am wondering if they tend to reprint items that go out of stock, or if once a title is sold out it''s gone. I noticed that the Pink Films Vol. 1-2 is not currently available from commercial retailers, and wondered if it will eventually be available again or only available from resellers. Any information from those familiar with the label would be appreciated.

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fdm
Joined: Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:25 pm

Re: Third Window Films

#288 Post by fdm » Sat Jan 30, 2021 6:45 pm

Well I do recall the label owner suggesting that they all may be re-released in a box set, so that's one possibility. But the first two individual Pink Films releases were 500 copies apiece, and are out of print.

I do have an extra unopened copy of v1&2, if anyone in the US is interested, though I paid quite a bit for it ($24).

Correction: v3&4 was 1000 copies, and is nearly out of print, but not yet.

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ex-cowboy
Joined: Fri Nov 01, 2013 9:27 am

Re: Third Window Films

#289 Post by ex-cowboy » Thu Feb 11, 2021 12:06 pm

Pre-order now up for Volumes 5&6 of the Pink Films collection - https://arrowfilms.com/product-detail/p ... y/TWFBD056

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colinr0380
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Re: Third Window Films

#290 Post by colinr0380 » Mon Apr 05, 2021 5:13 am

It was interesting to find out that there is a third full film presented on the Pink Films Volume 5 & 6 set, tucked away as a special feature. Which is probably presented that way because Forbidden Techniques appears in a German-dubbed version, which may be due to its rarity or perhaps more because these Pink Film sets are a project that originates from (or at least is in collaboration with) the German based Rapid Eye Movies label.

Forbidden Techniques is a 1966 black and white (though Scope) film directed by Kan Mukai, whose 1969 colour film Blue Film Woman was one of the featured titles on the Pink Films Vol 3 & 4 release.

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colinr0380
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Re: Third Window Films

#291 Post by colinr0380 » Sat May 01, 2021 1:57 pm

Third Window Films have just tweeted out that the Toshiaki Toyoda: The Early Years set is nearly OOP, and that there will be a "bluray box PART 2 coming soon!" Which is quite exciting as it will hopefully include the late 2000s Toyoda films that never received a disc release even in the US before this, such as Hanging Garden, The Blood of Rebirth and Monsters Club

(I would also be quite excited to see a Crows boxset with Crows Zero I & II directed by Takashi Miike and Crows Explode by Toyoda)

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Adam X
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:04 am

Re: Third Window Films

#292 Post by Adam X » Sun May 02, 2021 1:41 am

That’s great news. I remember asking them about the possibility, and was told it was pretty much impossible due to rights/expense. Glad that seems to’ve cleared up for something to happen.

I’m not sure I’d be as enthused for a Crows boxset Colin, but I’d still like to see where Toyoda went with his follow-up.
Last edited by Adam X on Wed May 05, 2021 6:43 am, edited 1 time in total.

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colinr0380
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Re: Third Window Films

#293 Post by colinr0380 » Wed May 05, 2021 6:20 am

It is as interesting state of affairs, as I get the impression that the 'early years' Toyoda films up to and including 2003's 9 Souls are probably the best known in the West through their various disc releases, whilst it appears that these films following are actually Toyoda's more successful films in Japan itself. I suppose that may be why the licensors were asking for more money for the rights to release them. Maybe sometimes in that sense critical or commercial success can end up becoming a double edged sword.

I wonder how often that happens where licensors for different territories find certain titles completely unavailable to them and release other titles instead (either by the same director, or foregoing their original plans for something entirely different), and then that itself more than anything goes on to shape and influence the discourse surrounding a filmmaker.

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Adam X
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Re: Third Window Films

#294 Post by Adam X » Wed May 05, 2021 6:57 am

An extension of that, is that films that were once well known (whether an earlier part of a filmography or even a director’s entire output), are almost entirely forgotten outside their native country due to lack of distribution.

Even perenially popular filmmakers like Takashi Miike, Sion Sono & Kiyoshi Kurosawa have had films peppered through their entire careers (or even whole sections of their filmography) that have pretty much escaped notice in a good part of the world due to lack of distribution beyond occasional festival screenings.

This all definitely places an unbalanced discussion surrounding any given filmmaker. It’s not a new issue of course, but it feels like it’s been exacerbated by what is/n’t available on blu-ray & streaming platforms.

Of course, going back to what you said, the benefit of this is that we get exposed to films and filmmakers we may never’ve seen if every film was available for licensing at more reasonable amounts.

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Michael Kerpan
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Re: Third Window Films

#295 Post by Michael Kerpan » Wed May 05, 2021 9:12 am

The spotty availability of subbed releases of important Japanese films (and the expense of even unsubbed Japanese releases) drives me nuts. At one point I tried to keep up with the new (unsubbed) releases of films by my most admired directors, but I eventually gave up. Now I feel very much in the dark about what has gone on in Japanese cinema over the past few years.

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colinr0380
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Re: Third Window Films

#296 Post by colinr0380 » Wed May 05, 2021 4:37 pm

In some ways I like the state of affairs because it means that a filmmaker may get celebrated for different elements of their work in different parts of the world (even if I am just as frustrated as a completist. Yes, the lack of any more Naruse a decade on from those DVD sets is still bothersome!), though I feel that it is quite important to factor in issues surrounding distribution (and especially as Michael says the availability or not of translations) into why certain things became more or less popular. Appreciation (or not!) cannot happen at all without availability. It is why I usually get suspicious whenever sweeping statements are made of the kind that suggest that certain international films only work commercially because they have appealed to a US/UK sensibility - that may be the case in a film festival context when (theoretically, at least) the organisers are cherry picking from a selection of everything vying for a spot in their festival, but when we get into what gets released on disc then it becomes more difficult to make that kind of statement as a lot of it probably comes down to negotiations between licensors and labels, each with their own agendas about what they want to pick up and how much they want to sell the rights for. (Perhaps the most obvious previous instance of this is the "Tartan Asia Extreme" label that ignored many non-horror releases that did not fit its release remit, yet within that relatively narrow range we can at least celebrate that they released titles that maybe would never otherwise would have had a chance outside of that branding)

In Toyoda's case one of the other reasons that I would like to see things move past his 'early years' work is because I would like to learn more about how much the real life run ins with the law may or may not have affected his work, as on a casual glance that appears to have effectively split his career so far up into thirds. After the rush of work in the 'early years', he was arrested for a (seemingly minor, though these cases are punished much harsher in Japan than in the US) drug possession charge just as Hanging Garden was about to be released (which appears to have caused the directing gap between projects between 2005 and 2009) and then in 2019 was arrested on suspicion of the possession of a weapon, though the charges were dropped when it apparently turned out to be an antique one. I am actually even more curious about the most recent Toyoda films that followed this incident, which has seen him do some more documentary work in the form of a massive 166 minute documentary on the people living on the Ogasawara Islands, Planetist.

His most recent films look very interesting as well including The Miracle of Crybaby Shottan about a once potential Shogi (Japanese chess) master now feeling that he is too over the hill to compete. That seems from its description to be in the same territory of his early documentary profile of the boxer Unchain Kagi getting used to the idea of retirement at age 30, and many of Toyoda's films have that element of still relatively young characters feeling that sense of life passing them by in some ways, often by having their supreme moment of existence too early in life, and are trying to come to terms with never having achieving their goals and fulfilling their properly ordained societal role after things go off on a tangent. I have a feeling that this may be as important a theme in his work as the more general ideas of exploration of interactions of male gangs and cult leaders. Toyoda himself apparently was training to go professional in Shogi at a young age before moving away from it.

And last year's The Day of Destruction is apparently a kind of abstracted short horror film about a mysterious plague which features Issey Ogata in the cast!

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konoyaro
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Re: Third Window Films

#297 Post by konoyaro » Sat May 15, 2021 8:55 pm

I see TWF has posted that Funky Forest + Warped Forest are planned for a summer release. I'm pretty excited about this. Primarily, to have Funky Forest available in (hopefully) a hi-def / blu-ray release but also for the chance to see Warped Forest for the first time.

Come on Summer...

http://thirdwindowfilms.com/films/funky ... ped-forest

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ex-cowboy
Joined: Fri Nov 01, 2013 9:27 am

Re: Third Window Films

#298 Post by ex-cowboy » Tue May 18, 2021 8:08 am

That's great news about more Toyoda. I saw his early few features way back when they were on Arts Magic (I think the label was called - can't remember who released Pornostar - or 'Tokyo Rampage' as it was known) and was disappointed his work didn't really get any attention after that. The TW releases have been great and excited to see the later work. I caught Day of Destruction online last year (it was 'screened'/streamed as part of a Japanese film festival, though which one escapes me at present) and found it very interesting - real sense of foreboding. Early Toyoda regular Kiyohiku 'Kee' Shibukawa and Ryuhei Matsuda also star.

beamish14
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Re: Third Window Films

#299 Post by beamish14 » Tue May 18, 2021 11:51 am

konoyaro wrote:
Sat May 15, 2021 8:55 pm
I see TWF has posted that Funky Forest + Warped Forest are planned for a summer release. I'm pretty excited about this. Primarily, to have Funky Forest available in (hopefully) a hi-def / blu-ray release but also for the chance to see Warped Forest for the first time.

Come on Summer...

http://thirdwindowfilms.com/films/funky ... ped-forest

New label ERROR 4444 is also planning to release both of these in North America, so I'm waiting to see which release will be the better purchase. I adore Funky Forest. I saw it with an audience of maybe 5 other people, but it is completely in sync with the Everything is Terrible!/culture jamming aesthetic that I love

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Adam X
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Re: Third Window Films

#300 Post by Adam X » Sat May 22, 2021 12:45 pm

All but one (due to “a little hiccup with right issues”) of the titles in the second Toshiaki Toyoda boxset have been announced: The Hanging Garden, Monsters Club, Day of Destruction & short film Wolf’s Calling. The latter was apparently made in response to his ‘arrest’ for possession of (an antique) gun.
Did not expect so many films to be included, can’t wait.

In more depressing news, apparently of all the Korean films TWF have released, not one has broken even. I guess that explains the continuing focus on Japanese cinema.

Also, a new 2-part interview with Adam Torel.

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