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Image releasing SHAW BROS R1s!

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Image releasing SHAW BROS R1s!

Old 11-03-05, 04:44 PM
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Image releasing SHAW BROS R1s!

Image Press release
http://www.image-entertainment.com/aboutUsInvestors.cfm

CHATSWORTH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 3, 2005--Image Entertainment, Inc. (NasdaqISK), a leading independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment programming in North America, and Celestial Pictures have reached a long-term agreement under which Image has licensed the U.S. and Canadian video distribution rights to 30 titles from Celestial's Shaw Brothers library, the world's largest Chinese film Collection. Key titles to be distributed by Image include martial-arts classics such as "The Shadow Boxer," "Heaven and Hell," and "The Magic Blade."

Celestial's Shaw Brothers library encompasses 760 Chinese-language films, including many blockbusters featuring stars such as Ti Lung, Lily Ho, David Chiang, and Alexander Fu Sheng, and directed by the pioneers of the Hong Kong film industry such as Chang Cheh, Chu Yuan, and Li Han-hsiang. Under the agreement, Image will distribute Shaw Brothers classics ranging from martial arts to horror, and period dramas to action movies.

"Celestial's Shaw Brothers library is the most extensive collection of Chinese language films in the world," said Barry Gordon, senior vice president of worldwide programming of Image Entertainment. "There is a high demand for these hard-to-find titles of unsurpassed quality, and we will be working with Celestial to make their incredible movies more accessible to audiences throughout North America."

"Celestial Pictures is delighted to have created a long-term relationship for distribution with Image Entertainment, the leading independent home entertainment distributor in North America," said William Pfeiffer, Chief Executive Officer, Celestial Pictures. "Movies from Celestial's Shaw Brothers library are highly celebrated in North America, especially in the martial arts genre, for which the Shaw Brothers set the quality benchmark. We are excited that our partnership with Image will allow us to share the gems of Hong Kong cinema with our current fans as well as new audiences."
Great news. Finally I can share these movies with my non-region-free family & friends!
Old 11-03-05, 06:08 PM
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I saw one of the Region 3's at a friend's house and it looked incredible. I'm sure these films have never looked that good in the US. I can attest to the fact that the ones we saw at the drive-in when they were "new" were pretty crappy prints and cut all to hell with the reels frequently in the wrong order.
Here's a link to some comparisons.

http://www.teako170.com/shawscope.html
Old 11-03-05, 07:00 PM
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good news indeed, this should be cheaper for me, rather than importing. Can't wait for some release dates
Old 11-03-05, 07:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Quatermass
I saw one of the Region 3's at a friend's house and it looked incredible. I'm sure these films have never looked that good in the US. I can attest to the fact that the ones we saw at the drive-in when they were "new" were pretty crappy prints and cut all to hell with the reels frequently in the wrong order.
Here's a link to some comparisons.

http://www.teako170.com/shawscope.html
Wow and wow to the news with the OP. Can't wait!
Old 11-03-05, 08:37 PM
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Artwork and specs for their first release:
http://www.image-entertainment.com/d...roductID=33124

I'm a little scared that all I see is "english" listed next to language. But 16x9 and audio commentary is a start.
Old 11-03-05, 08:46 PM
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Nope,

Originally Posted by Mondo Kane
Artwork and specs for their first release: I'm a little scared that all I see is "english" listed next to language. But 16x9 and audio commentary is a start.
Fearless Fighters has nothing to do with the Celestial releases. Expect something special for these and NOT ports of the Hong Kong discs.
Old 11-03-05, 10:31 PM
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This is great news, I can finally throw away my cheap ebay bootlegs. As close as I was to importing, I can save some cash buying in R1. Not a big fan of the Fearless Fighters cover though.
Old 11-03-05, 10:46 PM
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Me too...

Originally Posted by neocheddar02
Not a big fan of the Fearless Fighters cover though.
It's the original US poster art. Note to dvd companies: US poster art for kung fu films often sucks because they didn't want to spend any money on it. Except for the stuff done by Neal Adams which ruled.
Old 11-04-05, 02:14 AM
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Originally Posted by Linn1
Except for the stuff done by Neal Adams which ruled.
Got any examples?

Originally Posted by Quatermass
I saw one of the Region 3's at a friend's house and it looked incredible.
Boy, tell me about it. I got my first Celestial R3 (Vengeance) this past summer and was astounded at the clarity of this thing. And they say them chop-socky flicks never looked good

Last edited by Mondo Kane; 10-23-06 at 02:03 AM.
Old 11-04-05, 06:19 AM
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Why have you guys referred to these R1 releases as being a more economical choice vs. importing the R3 IVL's? The MSRP on these R1's is $19.99, correct? So, what will be the street price - $13.99? I mean I understand these new R1 releases will likely be superior to the R3's, but going only by price, I don't see them as being any less expensive, correct?
Old 11-04-05, 08:17 AM
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msrp of 19.99 means 12.99 for me... after shipping the r3's its was more expensive...for me
Old 11-04-05, 08:31 AM
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Originally Posted by flixtime
Why have you guys referred to these R1 releases as being a more economical choice vs. importing the R3 IVL's? The MSRP on these R1's is $19.99, correct? So, what will be the street price - $13.99? I mean I understand these new R1 releases will likely be superior to the R3's, but going only by price, I don't see them as being any less expensive, correct?
What leads you to believe that the R1 releases will be "superior" to the R3's? The ones I have are all knockouts visually, and some of the best DVDs out there.

Price will be pretty much a wash for some - there are several stores here in NYC's Chinatown selling NON-BOOTLEG Celestial Shaws for $13.50.

I do hope these sell well for Image, and that they can go beyond a mere 30 titles for R1.
Old 11-04-05, 08:48 AM
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Im really excited that these titles will be Region 1. I know there is a market for them and I will be the first in line. My local Chinatown does not sell many Kung Fu flicks, and I am really old fashioned where I dont like ordering everything online. I just hope they release the "A-list" titles as well.
Old 11-04-05, 08:58 AM
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Originally Posted by RonMexico
Im really excited that these titles will be Region 1. I know there is a market for them and I will be the first in line. My local Chinatown does not sell many Kung Fu flicks, and I am really old fashioned where I dont like ordering everything online. I just hope they release the "A-list" titles as well.
Same here! I hope for english audio on these disks , as well as the original language.
Old 11-04-05, 09:19 AM
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Originally Posted by marty888
What leads you to believe that the R1 releases will be "superior" to the R3's? The ones I have are all knockouts visually, and some of the best DVDs out there.
I'm sort of a recent convert to these titles and as such have been feverishly searching for some forums that have more discussion on these titles. I see now - from his posts on other forums - that DVDTalker Linn1 is very involved with these. I seem to read (on other forums) that these R1 releases might be superior in the following:

-English dub (if available) - doesn't really interest me, but others seem to like it
-liner notes - perhaps?
-additional extras perhaps? - subbed commentary tracks, etc.
-original mono audio tracks perhaps? - again as a newbie to these, the audio remix issue that bothers others hasn't really bothered me
-uncut version of the film (in some instances) - Linn1 seems to indicate at least one title will be more complete than either the IVL or UK release. I seem to recall that many of the titles will be horror/exploitation titles (perhaps not yet released by IVL?, not sure about this point).

If he is at liberty to do so, perhaps Linn1 can shed some light on the issue.

marty888, don't get me wrong, I love the IVL releases (heck, I just got a batch of 11 in two days ago) and agree wholeheartedly that the image quality is terrific, and the audio changes haven't bothered me (and I'm not a big extras guy anyway). I doubt I will be upgrading any of the R3s I own but I have held off buying one title because Linn1 has lead me to believe the R1 release will be the one to own. I hope I am not misrepresenting what I seemed to have gathered from Linn1's posts on other forums.

Cameron, I see now where you are coming from - thanks. I've sort of been buying these in batches of 10 (give or take) so - without doublechecking - I'd gather I've been getting the R3's for around $13 tops (and probably less especially through layoyo's new lower prices and/or pre-ordering) - and new releases even much better via CD-WOW (at least until a couple of days ago). So, as with marty888, price is a wash with me.
Old 11-04-05, 10:52 AM
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That's a yes,

I'm involved in the Image releases and damn near every kung fu related dvd release next year it seems. I've been writing on kung fu films for nearly 20 years, so NOW it becomes a burden!!

To be pointed, these releases will be (if all goes as planned) the best releases of these titles in the world. Well, perhaps outside of France's. And they will be releasing titles that have been released in HK, but also ones IVL has not released yet, as well as some titles that only got (or only will get) VCD releases in HK. As stated, the price should be very close to the HK discs. Largely the ones they got are horror and exploitation titles, with some swordplay and kung fu mixed in. As for the make up of the releases, Flixtime hit the nail on the head. Last I heard, they have Celestial looking for cut scenes and doing interviews with casts and directors. The releases should have English dub, original mono soundtrack, etc. They also should have releases that are correctly 16:9 enhanced, true PAL conversions, etc.
Old 11-04-05, 01:40 PM
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Originally Posted by Linn1
I'm involved in the Image releases and damn near every kung fu related dvd release next year it seems. I've been writing on kung fu films for nearly 20 years, so NOW it becomes a burden!!

To be pointed, these releases will be (if all goes as planned) the best releases of these titles in the world. Well, perhaps outside of France's. And they will be releasing titles that have been released in HK, but also ones IVL has not released yet, as well as some titles that only got (or only will get) VCD releases in HK. As stated, the price should be very close to the HK discs. Largely the ones they got are horror and exploitation titles, with some swordplay and kung fu mixed in. As for the make up of the releases, Flixtime hit the nail on the head. Last I heard, they have Celestial looking for cut scenes and doing interviews with casts and directors. The releases should have English dub, original mono soundtrack, etc. They also should have releases that are correctly 16:9 enhanced, true PAL conversions, etc.

Hey Linn, I really need to pick your brain one day about some things but I have one question for right now. I was wondering if you guys plan to release any of the Venoms or the Lau Kar-Leung flicks. I literally have 6 of those movies in my cart at CDwow. I could hold off on buying those until Feb or March and support you guys. I know its early in the process but what do you put the chances at?
Old 11-04-05, 01:47 PM
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Please note, there's no "you guys," I work as an independent, I'm not really working for anyone. As for titles, I can say that Merryaxe got most of the well known Venom and Lau Kar Leung films. If it was released in the U.S., then they most likely got it. BUT, if it didn't get a release in the US, they didn't.
Old 11-04-05, 03:46 PM
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I hate Miramax. I have a few of their vids only because I got the Jet Li Collection and OUATIC for a total of 10 bucks on Ebay (thats a steal for 7 movies). They really can sap the joy out of a good movie. Its a shame they have some of the best kung-fu Shaws....I didnt know they had the rights and Ive never seen a Miramax Shaw. What titles do they have? I thought all of the Lau and Venom stuff in the states were boots

I REALLY wanted a copy of Legendary Weapons. I guess I will have to get the import
Old 11-04-05, 04:14 PM
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Originally Posted by Linn1
And they will be releasing titles that have been released in HK, but also ones IVL has not released yet, as well as some titles that only got (or only will get) VCD releases in HK
I am speculating "Lost Souls" will be one of the Image's R1 DVD release.
Old 11-04-05, 05:05 PM
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Merryaxe hasn't released their Shaw Brothers films, but they only have dvd release rights to 50 films. As for speculating, I'd keep it down a bit.

Last edited by Linn1; 11-04-05 at 08:55 PM.
Old 11-05-05, 01:19 AM
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I'm excited by this news.
Old 11-06-05, 02:37 PM
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A little extra info. I got the list of titles a day or so ago and found I was told wrong. The majority of them are swordplay or kung fu films. There's a good mix of different genres (and eras) though and I think all the fans will be happy with what's going on so far.
Old 11-06-05, 09:00 PM
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and I am guessing its a big no no to post that list on the internet?
Old 11-07-05, 01:54 AM
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Lol,

Originally Posted by Cameron
and I am guessing its a big no no to post that list on the internet?
That would be a yes.

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