The Guide| Hong Kong & China| Japan| Korea| Thailand|Anime Anime
Posted on July 28, 2010 at 12:25 by Ulrik. 1 commentTweet this

After the crappy sequel and the recent reports of an impending 3D "upgrade" of the 2000 original we're finally getting some good news for Battle Royale.
According to the Cult Labs Forum, Arrow Films will release Kinji Fukasaku's cult classic on Blu-ray Disc in the UK on October 4th.
No further details regarding remastering measures or bonus materials have been announced yet. Arrow Films has already released several films on Blu-ray Discs, some of these releases (Cinema Paradiso, Who Dares Wins) were region free while others were locked to Region B (like the Oscar-winning Departures).

Posted on July 14, 2010 at 16:19 by Ulrik. 5 commentsTweet this

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind - WDHE


Specifications [BD50]
Region: ABC
Video: MPEG-4 AVC Video 1080p 23,976fps
Audio: Japanese: LPCM / 2304kbps / 2.0 / 48kHz / 24bit
English: Dolby Digital / 256kbps / 2.0 / 48kHz
German: Dolby Digital / 192kbps / 2.0 / 48kHz
French: Dolby Digital / 192kbps / 2.0 / 48kHz
Mandarin: Dolby Digital / 192kbps / 2.0 / 48kHz
Cantonese: Dolby Digital / 192kbps / 2.0 / 48kHz
Korean: Dolby Digital / 192kbps / 2.0 / 48kHz
Subtitles: English, Japanese, French, Korean, Traditional Chinese
BDInfo Report

Screenshots


Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind @ Asian Blu-ray Guide

Posted on July 13, 2010 at 23:33 by Ulrik. 0 commentsTweet this

Here's a quick update on the Japanese Blu-ray Disc release of Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind that will hit Japanese stores on July 14th.
Over at the High-Def Digest Forum, lucky owner and avid Asian Blu-ray Guide contributor Kannisto has confirmed the already announced audio (Japanese, English, French, German, Korean, Cantonese, Mandarin) and subtitle (English, Japanese, French, Korean, Traditional Chinese) tracks. He also confirmed that the disc is region free, so import away!
There are a lot of beautiful looking screen caps and shots from the packaging available in the forum. My copy is already on its way and should arrive tomorrow thanks to DHL Express, so stay tuned for more details.

Posted on July 10, 2010 at 00:08 by Ulrik. 0 commentsTweet this

Asian Blu-ray Guide Contributor AnimeOnBlu just reported that Well Go USA will release Mamoru Oshii's Assault Girls not only on DVD (as mentioned here) but also on Blu-ray Disc on October 19th. So Oshii fans have the chance to get their Girls with Guns kick with English subtitles for cheap if they don't want to import the Japanese release.
My copy of the Japanese limited edition Blu-ray Disc arrived a few days ago and will be the subject of my next Blu-ray Disc Spotlight.
Pre-order Mamoru Oshii's Assault Girls on Blu-ray Disc at Amazon.com

Posted on July 08, 2010 at 08:58 by Ulrik. 2 commentsTweet this

Just a quick update on the highly anticipated Hong Kong Blu-ray Disc release of Evangelion 2.22: You Can (Not) Advance.
The English subtitles are separated from the Chinese ones and are, according to AnimeOnDVD Forum user DiGiKerot, the same as in the international theatrical screenings. However, it looks like Asia Video had to translate the new 2.22 scenes (about three minutes) themselves and the results are supposed to be "pretty Engrishy (and occasionally not very accurate)".
The disc (25GB) is locked to Region A (Asian Blu-ray Guide User Phillip), so it won't play on umodified European (or Australian) Blu-ray Disc players.
After some delays, Universum Anime will release Evangelion 2.22 in Germany on September 17th, but I guess this won't help most of you... ^^
During the Anime Expo, FUNimation stated (see panel transcript) that they haven't acquired the US rights and since Manga Entertainment UK probably depends on FUNimation for such a big release, the choice of English friendly releases will stay slim for some time now.

Posted on July 07, 2010 at 10:39 by Ulrik. 0 commentsTweet this
Posted on June 10, 2010 at 23:00 by Ulrik. 3 commentsTweet this

Donnie Yen Fans rejoice! Universe will release Wilson Yip's Ip Man 2 on Blu-ray Disc (and DVD) with English subtitles on June 25th. There will also be a collection with both parts of the biopic about the life of Bruce Lee's teacher on the same day.

Posted on May 21, 2010 at 09:20 by Ulrik. 16 commentsTweet this

About a week before the Japanese Blu-ray Disc release of Evangelion 2.22: You Can (Not) Advance hits the shelves, Asia Video announces a little present for us Japanese-impaired Evangelion fans. According to YesAsia.com, the Hong Kong based distributor will release the film on Blu-ray Disc with English subtitles in two editions on June 25th. Next to the standard edition which looks a lot like the Japanese release, there will also be a limited Edition with some goodies...an Evangelion shopping bag and something Google just can't translate.

Both editions (listed as Region A) will include the original Japanese 2.0 and 6.1 track and the Cantonese dub in 2.0, the used audio codec isn't mentioned. Traditional Chinese subtitles are also listed, let's hope Asia Video won't make the same mistake as Panasia Films with their 20th Century Boys Blu-ray Disc releases.

Posted on May 10, 2010 at 14:32 by Ulrik. 1 commentTweet this

After the item has been listed in the shop for several months, K2DVD.com has now announced the release date for the Korean Blu-ray Disc release of Chan-wook Park's Thirst coming on June 18th. As you can see in the picture below, CJ Entertainment will use the same kind of fold-out digipak as in their recent Blu-ray Disc releases, but thanks to Kang-ho Song and Kim Ok-bin's indecent (at least for Korea) pose, this one will stick out in your shelf.
Although it isn't mentioned in the item description, the runtime of 144 minutes would mean that this release (unlike the Region B release from Palisades-Tartan running for 133 minutes) will include the longer director's cut version of the film that was screened during last year's Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) in October. I just hope K2DVD didn't add the runtime of the extra features to this figure like they sometimes do...


Preorder THIRST on Blu-ray Disc from YesAsia.com

Posted on May 07, 2010 at 13:48 by Ulrik. 0 commentsTweet this

The DVD Times has posted a first picture of the limited UK Blu-ray Disc Deluxe Edition of Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo coming from Optimum Home Entertainment on June 7th. At least package-wise, this edition should please those who don't want to import the expensive limited Japanese Blu-ray Disc but want something more than the simple standard design of Disney's US release. The fold-out digipak looks almost like the one used in the Japanese release but without the premium price. Plus, the extra features listed in the article will have English subtitles.
Maybe Optimum even manages to please audiophiles by beating Disney and including the Original audio in a lossless compressed track. Currently this limited edition is only listed at HMV for 16.99GBP. It's now also available from Amazon.co.uk!

Posted on May 05, 2010 at 17:47 by Ulrik. 2 commentsTweet this

Amazon.com has listed Criterion Collection's Blu-ray Disc of release of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. The retailer doesn't mention a release date, but according to an earlier statement from CC, Kurosawa's 1954 classic will be released later in 2010 because of 'additional restoration processes'. Seven Samurai is already available in Japan, but like most of Toho's releases this doesn't have English subtitles...

Posted on April 28, 2010 at 21:26 by Ulrik. 7 commentsTweet this

Good news for fans of Takashi Miike (or Kyoko Fukada in a tight leather suit) that can't understand Japanese or French! HK based distributor Panorama announced to release Miike's live-action adaptation of Yatterman on Blu-ray Disc on April 30th with English subitles.
Click sweet Doronjo below to see some trailers for the flick...

Posted on April 15, 2010 at 13:45 by Ulrik. 2 commentsTweet this

Good news for fans of Kazuaki Kiriya. German distributor Splendid Film announced to release all films (yes, that's two) from the Japanese director on Blu-ray Disc in Germany on May 28, 2010. While Kiriya's 2004 debut Casshern will only come in a standard amaray, Splendid will release Goemon in a limited edition steelbook (without those ugly rating logo on the front) as well. All releases will include the original Japanese audio track, but as expected from Splendid, Casshern will only include German subtitles while Goemon is supposed to have Dutch subtitle options as well.
So far there are no English subtitled Blu-ray Disc releases of these films available. Casshern has been released in Italy in 2008 and Goemon has already plundered Japan and France.

Posted on April 12, 2010 at 07:20 by Ulrik. 2 commentsTweet this

Walt Disney Home Entertainment Japan has announced the technical specifications for the Blu-ray Disc release of Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind that was announced last month. Fortunately (and just as expected), Studio Ghibli keeps up its English-friendly politic from the good-old DVD age and will include subtitles and audio tracks for several languages on the disc.
Audio: Japanese (LPCM 2.0), English, German, French, Korean, Cantonese, Mandarin (all DD 2.0)
Subtitles: English, Japanese, French, Korean, Traditional Chinese
The first press edition will include a 'Guide Book' bonus booklet.
Pre-order Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind from YesAsia, Amazon.co.jp or CD Japan
[Thanks to mowaw for making my day!]

Posted on April 11, 2010 at 13:39 by Ulrik. 0 commentsTweet this

Yojimbo & Sanjuro – Criterion Collection

Yojimbo

Specifications BDInfo Report
Region: A
Video: MPEG-4 AVC Video 1080p 23,976fps
Audio: Japanese DTS HD MA / 3.0 / 48kHz / 24bit, Japanese LPCM / 1.0 / 48 kHz / 24bit
Subtitles: English
Screenshots

Yojimbo @ Asian Blu-ray Guide

Sanjuro

Specifications BDInfo Report
Region: A
Video: MPEG-4 AVC Video 1080p 23,976fps
Audio: Japanese DTS HD MA / 3.0 / 48kHz / 24bit, Japanese LPCM / 1.0 / 48 kHz / 24bit
Subtitles: English
Screenshots

Sanjuro @ Asian Blu-ray Guide