Shout! Factory / Scream Factory

[dwk]

Dylan Cheung posted a lengthy response to Irongod's post

[Mr Sausage]

I don’t know who’s right on this, I just know I roll my eyes whenever someone says they’ve been gaslit because someone else disagreed with them.

[Zot!]

I don’t know who’s right on this, I just know I roll my eyes whenever someone says they’ve been gaslit because someone else disagreed with them.

I think professional translators are just salty right now.

[yoloswegmaster]

Pretty big news as Shout have announced that they located the negatives for Day of the Dead and are working on a 4K restoration.

[Finch]

That is exciting. I'm probably a lone voice in this but I prefer Day to Night and especially Dawn.

[nicolas]

Pretty big news as Shout have announced that they located the negatives for Day of the Dead and are working on a 4K restoration.

They haven’t. They located “original film elements”, which doesn’t translate to original camera negative. The picture they posted shows an interpositive.

[dwk]

So MifuneFan, who is no longer allowed to post Shout leaks at the Blu-ray.com forum, posted this tease in the thread for Shout's lazy Bava boxset

I won't elaborate, but come Monday, this thread will become very heated.

[yoloswegmaster]

October releases:

Catch-22 4K UHD
A Chinese Ghost Story Trilogy
Black Sunday 4K UHD
Savages 4K UHD
Nosferatu: The Vampyre 4K UHD
End of Days 4K UHD
Halloween III 4K Steelbook
Hush 4K Steelbook

[Finch]

Wasn't it supposed to be 14 titles? A bit disappointed that A Chinese Ghost Story Trilogy is Blu-ray only.

[andyli]

I think they always count Steelbook re-releases and Gkids stuff towards these inflated numbers.

[yoloswegmaster]

I really don't understand why they decided to release a Blu-only Bava boxset and make it site-exclusive, only to release Black Sunday on 4K. It's not like they really need the money...

[Maltic]

Some people will buy anything as long as it's in a big box.

No harm done though. While he isn't Argento or even Fulci, Bava is popular enough that we will get these films in non-obsolete versions at some point.

[dwk]

They don't call 'em Scheme Factory for nothing.

[Finch]

Coming September 30th.

ENTER THE HIGH-STAKES WORLD OF HONG KONG'S MOST NOTORIOUS PLAYERS WITH THIS SPECIAL COLLECTION!

Celebrating the popular gambling and crime drama subgenres of Asian cinema, Hong Kong Gamblers & Gangsters presents six films that deal out intrigue and thrills in equal measure. Taking viewers from the glitz and glamor of the casino floors to the seedy underbelly of the city streets, this collection is one you won't want to bet against.

CASINO TYCOON (1080p High-Definition Widescreen (1.85:1) / Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio Mono / 130 min.)
Benny Ho San, a refugee (Andy Lau, Infernal Affairs) with luck, charm, and skills to spare rises to the top of the thrilling world of gambling.

CASINO TYCOON II (1080p High-Definition Widescreen (1.85:1) / Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio Mono / 112 min.)
Andy Lau doubles down in this sequel, reprising his role as Benny Ho San. Now a casino boss, his power is tested by forces from without and within.

CHALLENGE OF THE GAMESTERS (1080p High-Definition Widescreen (2.35:1) / Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio Mono / 104 min.)
The money and the mahjong tiles fly in this precursor to the New Wave of Hong Kong gambling films, from acclaimed director Wong Jing.

DESTINY'S CHAMPION (1080p High-Definition Widescreen (1.85:1) / Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio Mono / 101 min.)
When an aging fighter crosses paths with a streetwise kid, the boxer finds himself reliving his own violent past and the mistakes he made along the way.

GODFATHER FROM CANTON (1080p High-Definition Widescreen (1.85:1) / Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio Mono / 85 min.)
After saving a government official, a man is offered a job as a policeman. Through treachery and corruption, he rises through the ranks of the police, then becomes a brutal gangster.

LOVING YOU (1080p High-Definition Widescreen (1.85:1) / Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio Mono / 83 min.)
Struggling in a loveless marriage, a hard-drinking workaholic cop finds a chance at redemption after a fateful accident leaves him wounded.

Bonus Features for Blu-ray
DISC ONE: CASINO TYCOON (1992)

Audio: Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
NEW Optional English Subtitles Newly Translated For This Release
NEW Audio Commentary With Critic And Author David West
NEW “Money Makes Macau” – An Interview With Academic And Author Dr. Victor Fan
NEW “Lisbon On The South China Seas” – An Interview With Macanese Historian Dr. Helena Lopes
Celestial Trailer
DISC TWO: CASINO TYCOON II (1992)

Audio: Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
NEW Optional English Subtitles Newly Translated For This Release
NEW Audio Commentary With Critic And Author David West
NEW “Fame and Fortune” – Hong Kong Film Critic James Mudge On Actress Chingmy Yau
NEW “Gambling With Success” – An Interview With Film Historian Frank Djeng
Celestial Trailer
DISC THREE: CHALLENGE OF THE GAMESTERS (1981)

Audio: Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
NEW Optional English Subtitles Newly Translated For This Release
NEW Audio Commentary With James Mudge, Hong Kong Film Critic At easternKicks
Gangsters & Gamblers Poster Gallery
Celestial Trailer
DISC FOUR: DESTINY’S CHAMPION (1984)

Audio: Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
NEW Optional English Subtitles Newly Translated For This Release
NEW Audio Commentary With James Mudge, Hong Kong Film Critic At easternKicks
NEW “Champion of the Silver Screen” – An Interview With Academic And Author Dr. Wayne Wong On Actor Ti Lung
Celestial Trailer
DISC FIVE: GODFATHER FROM CANTON (1982)

Audio: Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
NEW Optional English Subtitles Newly Translated For This Release
NEW Audio Commentary With James Mudge, Hong Kong Film Critic At easternKicks
Celestial Trailer
DISC SIX: LOVING YOU (1995)

Audio: Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
NEW Optional English Subtitles Newly Translated For This Release
NEW Audio Commentary With James Mudge, Hong Kong Film Critic At easternKicks
NEW – “Romantic Reflections” – An Interview With Screenwriter Nai-Hoi Yau
NEW – “For the Love of To” – An Interview With Author And Critic David West On The Films Of Johnnie To
Celestial Trailer

[Finch]

And one more October title that I believe we already knew about: The Place Beyond The Pines 4K

DISC ONE (4K UHD):

NEW 4K Restoration Approved By Director/Co-Writer Derek Cianfrance
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 & 2.0
Audio Commentary With Director/Co-Writer Derek Cianfrance
DISC TWO (BLU-RAY):

NEW 4K Restoration Approved By Director/Co-Writer Derek Cianfrance
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 & 2.0
Audio Commentary With Director/Co-Writer Derek Cianfrance
Deleted And Extended Scenes
Going To The Place Beyond The Pines

[yoloswegmaster]

I get that the titles in the Gamblers are all being licensed from Shaw Bros/Celestial, but I am confused by the inclusion of Loving You since that doesn't have much (if anything) to do with gambling. In fact, i'm surprised that the actual gambling film that Johnnie To made still hasn't been released by anyone.

[Matt]

Cross-posting this news here:

Hard Boiled (as well as City on Fire and A Better Tomorrow I and II) are on Tubi with Shout! Factory "Hong Kong Cinema Classics" logos. Dubbed and original versions. Impossible to tell with Tubi's streaming quality if these are the 4K restorations—and I have not seen the films in decades—but they look very good.

EDIT: Just noticed that they're also on VOD services to rent/buy in 4K.

And both Better Tomorrows have the original sound effects/mix, making these the best current versions to watch.

[Finch]

I just received my copy of Shout's City of Fire 4K, looked for the scene Dylan Cheung listed as an example of bad subs, and can confirm, they did not change/improve them for the disc. I'll watch the film in full tomorrow to see if anything else sticks out as much.

[Finch]

The subs were okay for the most part. There were two or three instances where the translation felt a bit clumsy but none of it is anything like the Chinglish we used to have to put up with. Do I like Dylan's translation of the Lee-Yun Fat pre-raid conversation better? Absolutely. The funny thing though is that the translator of the CoF subs has identified himself as another native speaker, so take that for what you will. We also know that different titles will be handled by different people because of the sheer volume of films that need to be covered. I'm reluctant to off-load my Shout copy until we know whether Arrow have gotten someone else to do their subs for City of Fire, and if so, whether they are doing an appreciably better job than the person that did the Shout subs. I would want to see a transcription of the Arrow subs of the same scene. Since some of the translators have done work for UK labels before, I am making the assumption right now that Arrow will use the same subs as Shout until JamesF or someone else at Arrow says otherwise.

[Finch]

Maybe someone who's watched the new Shout restorations on streaming can comment on the subs for The Killer etc. As I said yesterday, they carried the City of Fire subs over for the disc.

[Finch]

nicholas qouted my thoughts on the CoF subs on BR's thread for the movie, and StLouisRibs said:

Having watched several of these theatrically in the past two weeks, my personal feeling is the subtitles for City on Fire are appreciably worse than those for the other titles. They have a weird brevity to them, many of the words monosyllabic and little in the way of any conversational quality about them. The other titles seemed to me totally normal as far as subtitles go, but this one just struck me as being plainly off.

[dwk]

Word is that Neil Marshall said that Scream is releasing The Descent on UHD. Thank god it isnt going to an overpriced Lionsgate Limited release.

[Finch]

Agree Scream would be better than LL.

[nicolas]

Cliff (release producer from Lionsgate) posted on the other forum that they’re are putting out The Descent and not Shout.

[dwk]

That sucks. I wonder how Marshall got that wrong.