Inhumans99

My Species box set shipped via Australia Post, and I just ordered the Sony Region Free blu ray player linked to in this very thread. For $160 I get a truly region free blu ray player, and I even had them add wi fi to it so I do not have to use an ethernet cable to download apps like Netflix. Just thought I would update the thread as I went back and forth in this thread over whether or not I would take the plunge and join the region free player crowd.

Brian T

I do recall hearing about the first five LINE OF DUTY getting remastered, probably from you (Dex) earlier in this thread. The issue I suspect I will have is the same one I had even when HK companies released the series in the early years of DVD. The first five were put out by Universe over a relatively short period of time, but FORBIDDEN ARSENAL and SEA WOLVES were VCD-only – can't remember if that was before or after – and only came to DVD as part of the Legendary Collection line in 2011. They're treated like afterthoughts, yet both are basically canon, so to speak, as Cynthia Khan essentially plays the same character throughout. Personally, I think 6 and 7 are superior to Part 5, and others have shared similar opinions over the years. The whole series was admittedly a case of diminishing box-office returns, but there's really little reason not to pony up and include two very solid action pictures in any boxed set because of 30-year old box office stats. And surely the rights to those two are affordable by now to a company like 88, and certainly all of the experts rounded up for supplements would be very familiar with them. There's another film, QUEEN'S HIGH that sometimes gets lumped in with the ITLOD series. It's totally unrelated – presumably some clever producer or marketing person retitled it in one market or another, and it kinda stuck – but its decidedly lesser status might make it a worthwhile bonus feature, at least. My fingers remain crossed that it will be a truly complete set, even better if 88 has a stronger North American presence by then.

dex14

rocket1312

Hopefully going forward any and all US/UK titles will be announced upfront. I have no interest in playing guessing/waiting games. I'm multi region, but I'd prefer US releases wherever possible.

dex14

It could even be from another label.

rocket1312

Good point.

Brian T

Have to agree that these guessing games are getting irritating. Anything to keep stringing along followers and pro bono marketers on social media, I guess. I kinda thought that 88's 4K re-release of DRAGONS FOREVER was a sign they were moving beyond their smattering of Shaw titles being released in North America I have no intention of buying it either way – 4K won't make the movies themselves any better or worse – but I was hoping it was a sign that some of these tricky Golden Harvest (et al) films might finally start getting released over here. I'm also region free, and have virtually all of the non-Shaw titles from 88 and Eureka, but would have instead bought them in Region A if that option existed. It will be interesting to see if 88 Films has the US rights for RIGHTING WRONGS, or if another company will step up.

I did notice some followup comments under that tweet posted above, that seems to suggest the TIGER CAGE set will be available in North America (?):

Just righting wrongs

— DiabolikDVD.com (@diabolikdvd) April 26, 2022

<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

dex14

It sounds like he is saying it (waiting for a US release) will not be the case for Tiger Cage.

dex14

Tiger Cage Trilogy - DELUXE COLLECTOR'S EDITION [Blu-ray]

Pre Order now on AMAZON

EXTRAS & FEATURES ALL TBC

Brand-new artwork by Sean Longmore • 100 page booklet featuring interviews with Vincent Lyn, Stephan Berwick & Michael Woods by Matthew Edwards

TIGER CAGE I // Remastered 2K Transfer from the Original Negative • 2.0 English Mono • 2.0 Cantonese Mono with English Subtitles • Audio commentary with Kenneth Brorsson and Phil Gillon of the Podcast On Fire Network • Audio Commentary with Frank Djeng and Vincent Lyn • Vincent Lyn never before seen ‘Behind-the-scenes’ • Donnie Yen - Interview • Alternate and Extended Shots • Triads - Easter Egg with Vincent Lyn and Frank Djeng • Original Hong Kong Trailer • English Trailer

TIGER CAGE II // Remastered 2K Transfer in original Aspect Ratio from the Original Negative of the Hong Kong Cut & Malaysian Cut • 2.0 English Mono • 2.0 Cantonese Mono with English Subtitles • Original Hong Kong Trailer

TIGER CAGE III // Remastered 2K Transfer from the Original Negative • 2.0 English Mono • 2.0 Cantonese Mono with English Subtitles • Audio commentary by Kenneth Brorsson & Phil Gillon of the Podcast On Fire Network • English Titles • Original Hong Kong Trailer

Brian T

Suppose you're right. I guess I read it as "you won't have to 'wait' for a US release of TIGER CAGE because the set will be all-region," something like that. Oh well . . . still ridiculous how long these UK companies (and French, and German, etc.) have been pumping this stuff out, and the option for North American buyers is basically old DVDs and/or the paltry handful of Blu-rays we've seen over the years, usually compromised in some way.

EDIT: Still intriguing that none of the outer packaging in that new pic shows the UK ratings symbols . . . or maybe they don't have to anymore?

LorenzoL

It kind of sucks for us especially with the shipping and exchange being so prohibitive that I much prefer a North American release. For me it has to do with the financial aspect and the reason why I don't import. There are some exceptional HK genre releases that is being done but I'm not able to join in the fun.

dex14

Someone over on the BR forum said they contacted 88 and was told that they have no plans on releasing Tiger Cage films in the US.

You got to think that there is some label out there seeing what is going on and will stake their claim in NA... but they will be playing a lot of catch up.

Brian T

I hear that. I've probably mentioned this before, but I've consistently had luck ordering the 88 Films HK releases in particular from the Amazon.com marketplace, either from sellers like Rarewaves, Oxfordshire. etc. because they'll ship to Canada for $4.00 - $5.00 (and no tax) even when you're ordering from the US site (got lots of 88 and Eureka standard or slipcovered editions this way). I've also purchased from the 'Amazon Global Store' when it occasionally (and seemingly randomly) offers free shipping, including into Canada (got BLACK CAT and YOUNG MASTER boxes this way). Ordering from the 88 Films site doesn't work for me as their shipping is just too high, and yet I buy most of the Eureka releases from their own site because the shipping to Canada is free (!). Not sure why one company can do free shipping, and the other has to charge you through the nose.

Brian T

Exactly. At this point, I'm in too deep with the UK releases, and won't be replacing those with US editions – especially if they're essentially the same versions or just add/subtract a supplement or two. And I suspect a LOT of Hong Kong fans are in the same boat, even though many of us would've preferred Region A or All-Region editions right out of the gate. I mean, so far, the best treatments being bestowed upon HK films in the US right now seem to be by Criterion (veerrrry selectively, and slowly), Arrow (albeit more Shaw stuff that has been fairly accessible throughout the physical media era), and perhaps most promisingly by Unearthed Films and Vinegar Syndrome, with their solid Blu-rays of UNTOLD STORY, DR. LAMB and EBOLA SYNDROME. There's no doubt both of those companies will be mining other Category III goodies, but beyond those and the Shaw library, there's comparatively not as much happening on these shores. Perhaps those legal entanglements are twistier than anyone cares to sort out?

The whole 'catch-up' thing is a big problem. Eureka and 88 are coming out with new HK reissues almost monthly (well, not quite, but still fairly regularly), and Hong Kong distributors are reissuing golden-era films on Blu-ray and DVD constantly (obviously),and yet in North America we're really getting things in shamefully piecemeal fashion, virtually being forced, happily, into parallel importing.

I'm reminded of reports from Warner Archive – again, probably discussed earlier here or in the Asian films thread – that they were planning on transferring more of their Golden Harvest titles to Blu-ray. But when?!? At the rate they move on that content, we'll be lucky if we see one title a year, and invariably without supplements. Great for them as it potentially keeps them in business longer the more they can spread their releases out over time, but what a pain in the ass for collectors. I suppose I should just clam up and stay grateful that I've been able to acquire so many actual Hong Kong discs in the local Chinatowns here over the years. They might not have all the bells and whistles we've grown accustomed to from the likes of 88 Films or Eureka, and too many are non-anamorphic or on VCD to boot, but at least I won't be waiting until I'm living in an old age home to get my hands them! Watching them all, on the other hand . . .

Norm de Plume

Lots of good, overlooked HK action fare. Righting Wrongs, On the Run, Tiger Cage series.

dex14

dex14

I guess 88 is doing a Supercop UHD and Blu-ray release for the US. Ugh. I mean that’s great… but I wish they had made this announcement when Eureka did.

Brian T

Great, another teaser for a trailer. Guess we wait and see how this differs from Eureka's version, if at all. At least the Eureka and Arrow editions of the RUNNING OUT OF TIME films appear to share identical content, which makes selecting your preferred region the only necessity, but is it really so hard for one company to get both the European and North American rights to these films? It's starting to smell like there's some collusion here to ensure that multiple companies can have access to key titles in order to share the wealth, so to speak. Hopefully 88 just duplicates Eureka's content so we're not forced to consider buying both to get anything exclusive.

rocket1312

While I understand the concern, I think you're being a little too cynical here. Eureka doesn't release titles in North America, so they would have no need for the North American rights. They also wouldn't have been able to release the trilogy box in NA anyway because of Criterion and therefore would have had to create a separate package for a PS3 UHD single release.

And it would be silly for 88 to not acquire the NA rights just because Eureka already got the UK. Especially for a high profile (relatively speaking) title like Supercop.

All that said, I would presume that the content will be fairly similar (if not identical) between the two given that the people who work with 88 to produce these are the same people that also work with Eureka.

Brian T

As mentioned, I'm hopeful that the content will be similar, and I do understand that Eureka doesn't release in NA. They probably should, but they don't. Whatever. Considering how many titles Eureka has released in the UK so far which likely don't – or shouldn't – have NA rights issues, you have to wonder why they don't want to introduce their own products into that market under their own banner. It's hardly like they'd be building promotion and distribution networks from scratch. Might not even need an office. 88 Films seems to have figured it out, as did Arrow ages ago – and I'm pretty sure both likewise have editions in their UK catalogs that can't be sold in North America due to rights – but if Eureka wants to see revenue go to (or be split with?) 88 and Arrow instead of lining their own pockets, more power to them. If the content is the same, as it should be, great. Guess we'll see.

dex14

According to Brandon Bentley, they are completely separate releases.

rocket1312

I forgot the Eureka did their own transfer of PS3. Doesn't sound like 88 will have access to it. Instead they'll be color correcting the fortune star master.

I also wonder if 88 will be able to get the US Suppercop cut. If they are, I don't imagine there will be much difference between it and the Eureka other than the transfer.

Brian T

So in other words, these will likely differ in some way, meaning some folks – Blu-ray buyers in particular – will need to wait for reviews to see which version (new transfer or color corrected older master) is worth owning, or be stuck double-dipping on both because hey collectors! If the supplements are identical, that will probably make the decision easier to just pick their region if they don't have region-free players. If they're different, however . . .

Based on 88's social media, plus comments in threads at that other site (including Bentley's), everything's "wait-and-see" – and 88's undoubtedly milking the suspense – although the different scans do seem to be a certainty.

Frankly, it's a bummer that Criterion couldn't/didn't get the rights to both cuts of PS3. The HK cut was basically MIA in North America for most of the Home Video era, with the missing footage only available as deleted scenes on the 1997 Criterion laserdisc. I'm sure they had their reasons for not doing so, though.

Master O

Since 88 Films is gonna do a Region A release for Police Story 3, are the Project A movies also going to get Blu Ray releases for Region A?

rocket1312

Dragons Forever and Police Story 3 are both Miramax titles and are getting released by 88 in the US. Project A 1 & 2 are also both Miramax, so it would stand to reason that they would be up for grabs as well. The one difference is that I don't believe the Project A movies have 4k masters, so 88 wouldn't be able to release UHDs. Who knows if the economics make sense for them if that format isn't an option. You'd think somebody would release them at some point though.

Thunderbolt is the Miramax Chan title I'm really hoping comes out sometime soon.