Pathetic

I recently became a huge Shunji Iwai fan, after having seen "Love Letter (When I Closed My Eyes)" and "All About Lily Chou-Chou." I have not seen Iwai's "Swallowtail Butterfly," but I am aware of a special 2-disc edition in Japan that is long out of print. It includes the regular edition (which you can still get) plus a second disc with a seperate film. Anyone who owns this or has seen it can tell me whether this is worthwhile tracking down?

RichDB10

It is not a separate film as such..although was released in Japan as a theatrical feature i believe....'Yentown'...it is really just a behind the scenes documentary pertaining to the making of 'Swallowtail Butterfly'.
I bought this a while ago from Japan....as to whether it's worth tracking down?....depends upon how much of a 'completist' you are in relation to Shunji Iwai and also on whether you have a strong command of the Japanese language to comprehend all the supplemental material contained in the extra disc.
The actual package itself is fairly standard...two amaray cases in a red cardboard case with a black print of a Swallowtail butterfly on the back...although as it's Japan..really the front

hardtack

I own it but am yet to sit down and watch it... if I do get the chance to sit down and watch it (that is, if my kids give me the chance), then I will be sure to post my thoughts here for your benefit

regards, Tim...

Grimfarrow

The movie is absolutely atrocious. It started interesting enough until it became overlong, badly acted, confusing, and self-indulgent (with a really, really bad MTV-emphasis for this excruciating "band" fronted by a woman who cannot sing). Very nice cinematography and art direction and a great concept. But execution-wise it fails on every level. I'd be nice and give it a 2/10.

And yes, I've seen Love Letter and All About Lily Chou-Chou. Both are far superior.

Hemulen

Is "All About Lily Chou-Chou" available on dvd anywhere.. with english subtitles?

(The Japanese releases of this film don't appear to have english subtitles

Hemulen

MiK

I respectfully but violently disagree. I thought her songs were soulful and terrific. Same goes for the movie. How much is the Japanese Region 2?

Pathetic

Thanks yentown for your thorough review of the set. I recenetly saw 2 used copies on sale for 15,000 yen each, which is almost three times the original sale price. I am not a completist collector per se, but I do appreciate well-made making-of documentaries like the one on the "Breathe" disc of the "Lily" set. I am wondering if "Yentown" and that beautiful red box are worth the 11,000 yen?

"We're all living in 'The Matrix.' ;-)"

indycohiba

I just ordered the Korean release blind for $35. Am I going to regret it?

Fandango

There is a japanese version on yesasia.com for $23, apparently its the same as the other one which costs $40, this is some sort of limited re-release I think.

indycohiba

Thanks, but what about the movie, is it a good blind buy?

Fandango

I haven't seen it but I watched All About Lily Chou-Chou recently and liked it so I ordered it.

moviesnob73

Hemulen, check out DDDhouse.com. They have a nice copy of All About Lily Chou Chou with eng subs for under ten bucks.

indycohiba

I am putting my copy up for trade.

enoque

The Swallowtail Butterfly 2-discs Japanese LE DVD is up on ebay here if anyone is interested.

cine

I think it's a good movie but not to the point that can entice me to pay $29.99 for the Japan LE version which Yesasia was selling.

toddly6666

Swallowtail Butterfly was a painfully long and all-over-the-place movie...

DrGerbil

That pretty much sums up EVERY Iwai movie i've seen... meandering and pretentious. Oh, and his handheld camera moves made me nauseous!