BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

[knives]

Luckily I do have Lee Khan, I was referring to the same company's release of(I think)The Valient Ones. It seems they are legitimately OOP though. Really unfortunate since I've never really gotten into this part of cinema before so all of this newness is very exciting. Thanks for the Shaw Brothers suggestion though. I can't imagine how entertaining Hu's contemporaries were.

[Torrente]

Here is a comparison I found.

I was interested in getting the french release... but I had second thoughts...
Optimum's release seemed to be a pill of crap (confirmed by the comparison)
Then I read that the german release was anamorphic... but it doesn't seem to be in the correct aspect ratio...

I really think the Tai Seng is still the best (less cropping, no stretching, more natural colors etc), but I didn't see any screens from the german disc...
Could anyone point some screens to me or provide some screens of their own copy?

It would be so helpful!!!

I found those but in bad quality (it seems stretched too).

[rapta]

Also seems that the hunt for Dragon Inn has been successful. Hope they can clear the upcoming resto of A Touch of Zen as well.

More News! Tickets for the @BFI LFF screening of DRAGON INN have now gone on sale to the public http://bit.ly/Xn9TKp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; #comingsoon

Saw this today and am very excited! Hopefully they will be able to clear A Touch Of Zen too, that's if StudioCanal don't still have the rights (they released the DVD...but that was 11 years ago). It could be okay though - I notice Arrow are releasing Michael Mann's Thief, and StudioCanal handled the UK DVD release of that in the past (about five years ago).

[SpiderBaby]

King Hu on blu-ray and a possible blu-ray of 'Spring in a Small Town' from BFI next year just made my top 2 favorite releases of 2015 so easy. Best home video news I have heard all year.

[Orlac]

Also seems that the hunt for Dragon Inn has been successful. Hope they can clear the upcoming resto of A Touch of Zen as well.

More News! Tickets for the @BFI LFF screening of DRAGON INN have now gone on sale to the public http://bit.ly/Xn9TKp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; #comingsoon

Saw this today and am very excited! Hopefully they will be able to clear A Touch Of Zen too, that's if StudioCanal don't still have the rights (they released the DVD...but that was 11 years ago). It could be okay though - I notice Arrow are releasing Michael Mann's Thief, and StudioCanal handled the UK DVD release of that in the past (about five years ago).

I think it was Optimum alone rather than Studio Canal - ditto Thief.

King Hu on BD is really something - very few old school kung fu films have decent BD or even DVD releases.

[domino harvey]

From MoC's Twitter

Just to confirm: we will be releasing King Hu's mindblowing masterpiece DRAGON INN in 2015. 4K restoration. See it at LFF tomorrow!

Theatrical + Blu-ray/DVD to follow. Also: We will announce a new-new film shortly! Stay tuned in the days ahead.

[Orlac]

I hope this is still on the cards.

How about a joint commentary wih Tony Rayns and Bey Logan?

[jsteffe]

I saw the restoration of DRAGON INN at Bologna last year and thought it looked really nice! The MoC Blu-ray should be great.

[rapta]

I saw the restoration of DRAGON INN at Bologna last year and thought it looked really nice! The MoC Blu-ray should be great.

It's getting a cinematic release in the UK this summer...I just hope they're showing it near me! I won't be too distraught if it doesn't though, as the Blu-ray will probably be one of the highlights of the year anyway (in a year full of highlights so far).

I noticed the recently-restored A Touch of Zen is showing at this year's Cannes, and I hope Eureka can get their hands on it (that's if StudioCanal don't still have distribution rights, as they released it on DVD in the past). Would truly make for a great MoC title to go alongside this one!

[Aunt Peg]

It would be great of MoC could acquire Tsai Ming-liang's Goodbye Dragon Inn as a special feature of the Dragon Inn Blu Ray release.

[StevenJ0001]

It would be great of MoC could acquire Tsai Ming-liang's Goodbye Dragon Inn as a special feature of the Dragon Inn Blu Ray release.

That would indeed make a great double (although I wouldn't demote Tsai's film to special feature status)--I would be ecstatic to get Goodbye Dragon Inn on Blu. Who has the rights, I wonder?

[rapta]

As expected seems the release date for DRAGON INN in a Dual Format Edition is September 28th...

Pre-order: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0105X91RO/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Orlac]

Pre-ordered!

[Jack Shaftoe]

Midlands based folk can see the remaster of Dragon Inn in a cinema at Derby QUAD in August: http://derbyquad.co.uk/film/satori-scre ... -inn-12a-s" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jazzo]

The amazon.co.uk listing for this has NTSC in parentheses following the title, which I find bizarre, and am fairly certain is just an error.

It does make me wonder, however, if this has no region coding, which would be amazing. Anyone hear anything about this, because there's currently nothing there as far as I can see.

[tenia]

The amazon.co.uk listing for this has NTSC in parentheses following the title, which I find bizarre, and am fairly certain is just an error.

It actually wouldn't be the 1st MoC DVD to be NTSC.

[Zot!]

I believe MOC reps have confirmed that their preference is NTSC to guarantee appropriate running time and eliminate the need to conform masters, and that UK technology is typically multistandard and viewers can accomodate either. Region coding is a separate consideration from the video standard being used, though MOC have been critical of region locking in the past, even when their hands are tied.

[jazzo]

Thanks for the info. All sounds it might be very good news!

[David M.]

All recent MOC DVDs are in NTSC.

[MichaelB]

The overwhelming majority of MoC DVDs are NTSC going back something like a decade. Off the top of my head, the last PAL one was Colossal Youth, for the sensible reason that it originated in PAL in the first place.

[Banasa]

New documentary and interview material to be announced soon

Better hurry and announce them as the release is out this month with little to no real fanfare.

[L.A.]

From Facebook:

The Special Features for our forthcoming release of King Hu's DRAGON INN have been announced as follows:

• New 1080p transfer of the film on Blu-ray, with a progressive encode on the DVD
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Archival newsreel footage from the film’s première
• Trailer
• Hostel Forces, a new video essay by critic David Cairns
• 36-PAGE BOOKLET featuring vintage writing on the film by critic Tony Rayns; a testimonial about King Hu by Tsui Hark; an analysis of Hu’s style by Edmond Wong; the eight characteristics of “the inn” in King Hu’s films and archival images.

[Der Spieler]

Also:

"Due to unforeseen circumstances the release date has had to be put back until 26 October 2015. We apologise for this delay."

[What A Disgrace]

That's kind of disappointing.

I don't care when it comes out, as I won't be able to get around to watching it until next year, but the extras seem slack for what should be a major release, which is becoming all too much a characteristic for Masters of Cinema and Criterion alike. Things must be getting very tight.

[tenia]

Same here.

The extras are unfortunately quite disappointing (except if the Cairns feature is a fascinating hour long special feature). Dragon Inn is a marketing high point in MoC recent line up, it’s sad that this time again, the “many more to be announced” turned out 1 week before the original release date into a trailer, a few minutes from the premiere and one piece of analysis.
Not that it’s not enough, but looking at other independent outputs like Arrow’s, Criterion’s or Carlotta’s, it feels slim.

I sincerely hope their “ultimate Dziga Vertov Man with a Movie Camera” release won’t go through the same limitations there.