RawisJericho

One of my friends recommended this movie to me and I was wondering if it is worth picking up as a blind buy. I was looking at some prices and noticed that there is a 3 disc ultimate edition coming out at the end of this month.

Here is some info on it.

http://www.hkflix.com/xq/asp/filmID....qx/details.htm

Features:
New Scenes
New Edited Version
New Making Of Sakigake! Otoko Versus Jyuku
Original Making Of
Behind Versus Part 1: The Birth Of The Darkhero
Versus Side Story Nervous 2
Making Of Nervous 2
Documentary Tak
Deleted Scenes
Trailers
Stills Gallery

Subgeniusguy

You got time to give Versus a rent before the new edition arrives. I'd rent it first.

Fincher Fan

I agree with Subgeniusguy. It's either a love it or hate it title.

Brent L

This is totally weird. First Oldboy gets the special treatment for R1, and now Versus? What is the world coming to?

I'll be picking this up for sure.

visitor Q

Versus is like no other .......

Better know what you're getting yourself involved with before making a decision .....

If it were up to me, definate .... this a level 1 "no brainer" .. one of the best films of 2000 ... but then again, that's just me ....

RawisJericho

The same friend that recommended Versus also recommended Oldboy and I did a blind buy on that 3 disc tin. After watching Oldboy it is now one of my favorite movies.

I like zombie movies and I heard there are zombies in this movie, so that's a plus. I'm not for sure if any of the movie stores around me carries this movie or not...I've never seen it at any of them. I'll have to take a closer look though.

PotVsKtl

I'm going to 3rd the rent it first suggestion. I personally thought it was destroyed by poor fight choreography. Azumi as well.

visitor Q

It's not a zombie film persay (at all) .. in the sense that you probably recognize. The forest of resurrection .. as you soon will find out if you get a hold of the film .. has a much different meaning. The zombies are used more incidentally (humorish only) if anything else ... the film isn't about that. The zombies are about fodder. But it doesn't necessarily mean that you shouldn't see it. You should. This film is all about style. ... and I wish I could describe it further (as its not a genre film) without ruining it.

The media blasters SE release isn't a bad way to go with this. ... probably set you back $10 online.

TomOpus

"New edited version"?

I have the Media Blasters single disc Director's Cut, so I'm curious which cut this one is.

The Running Man

The cut that is coming out is "Ultimate Versus". What they did was add some new footage that they filmed for the new version, which was mostly action, to the film. It also starts off slightly different as well with an intro that's nice.

The new footage is cool but stands out a bit mostly cause Riki Takeguichi is noticeably heavier than he was before. But in any case, I think it's a better version of the movie although it won't change the minds of people who didn't like it in the first place.

I second the notion that it's a love or hate title.

Josh Z

Rental only. Awful, awful movie. This would be a terrible blind buy.

Joe Molotov

I didn't think it was that good. Just rent it first.

Tenacious D

I didn't think it was that good either and I absolutely love Oldboy. I'd definitely rent first. You should take a look at Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance and Lady Vengeance first, in my opinion, if you like Oldboy.

CinemaNut

Overrated flick - and the director's follow-up "Azumi" is beyond horrible.

dadaluholla

I bought it as a blind buy a few years ago, and I really didn't LOVE it or HATE it. It was just ok. Nothing I would ever want to see again really, so I traded it off.

doraemon10

Yeah, I think the best way, for me that is, to describe Vesus is... The movie sucks but its awesome.

kakihara1

this movie looked so unbelievably cool in the previews that I saw a few years back on my Samurai Fiction DVD that I went ahead and blind bought it. Unfortunately when I actually watched it I realized that it sucks horribly. It drags on and on with no real point, definitely rent this movie before you buy. I agree with other's recommendations to seethe other movies in the "vengeance" trilogy first.

Josh Z

This is kind of like saying that you didn't think House of the Dead was very good even though you love Pulp Fiction.

Completely different class of movie, worlds apart.

brainee

Add me to the "rent it first" group. I blind-bought the Japanese R2 special edition (and Japanese DVDs are freakin' expensive) ages ago because of overenthusiastic praise, and I regretted it. Massively overrated, especially by horror/zombie fans. Not there's not some good stuff in it, but waaay overlong and repetitive.

I liked Azumi, though it also suffered from being overlong with too many false endings.

cultshock

I blind bought VERSUS and regretted it. It sounded like a movie that would be right up my alley (I normally love a good low budget zombie/action film, and Japanese genre films in general) but I've never been able to get through it (tried 3 times). Definitely rent it first.

caiman

Due to all the Versus hate going on, I feel the need to step in and voice a positive opinion. I think it's a great movie. If you like zombies, samurai, and gore, Versus is fantastic. I'll be getting it on release day.

Tenacious D

I agree Josh. I only said that because the OP said this:

Otherwise, I'd never compare any of Park Chan-wook's movies to Versus. I didn't want the OP to think he was going to be seeing a movie even remotely as good as Oldboy if he blind bought Versus.

Jeraden

Its been a while since I saw it, but I really enjoyed Versus. From what I remember, it gave me the same feeling that Equilibrium did. The movie itself isn't anything extraordinary, but its the STYLE of the movie that just grabs you and doesn't let you go. Its just a fun movie to watch and I found it really cool. I need to watch it again now that I read this thread.

PotatoTornado

Have you seen the original cut at all?
Versus seems to have a love it/hate it relationship with people. I haven't seen Ultimate Versus myself, but based on the reviews I have read, the changes made are worth it, especially for us die hard fans.

EDIT: I will also contribute to Versus' positive support. True story: in the middle of the movie, I had a nosebleed.

IamLegend

Am I missing something..I own this movie but it is a low budget film of mostly endless zombie killing and fighting in a forest. It is kinda repetitve after awhile-I enjoyed it for what it was-some stylish moments but an Ultimare 3 disc edition? That would be like the movie-overkill.......Comparing this to Oldboy is like comparing Citzen Cane to Citizen Toxie ...