pro-bassoonist

With only two weeks left...perhaps it is a good idea to run one more of these threads just as we did last year. So, if you would like to share your favorite non-R1 discs (or curious finds) with the rest of the DVDTALK community please rank them from 1-10 with your top choice of course being at the very...top!

To be eligible for this list the DVD must be released outside R1 land (that will include both the US and Canada). It is also a good idea if you noted the country of origin as well as the company producer so prospective readers know where to look for your pick. Example: R2-Spain-Manga Films.

1. The Theo Angelopoulos Collection 7DVD (R2-Greece-New Star)

2. Miklos Jancso 3DVD Set (R2-France-Clavis Films)

3. La Double Vie de Veronique (R2-France-MK2)

4. Bellissima (R2-Italy-Medusa)

5. 2 Filhos de Francisco (R4-Brazil-WB)

6. Three Times dir. Hou Hsiao-Hsien (R2-France or UK, discs identical-TF1/AE)

7. The Shadow Army (restored Studio Canal Print R2-Spain or UK-Studio Canal)

8. Gabrielle 2DVD (R2-France-ARTE)

9. Obaba (R2-Spain, MANGA FILMS)

10. General Della Rovere Limited Edition Box (R2-Italy-Minerva Classics)

Feel free to add a few comments as to why you liked the DVD (or film) as well!!

Ciao,
Pro-B

toddly6666

1. Day Watch (Russian PAL DVD)(Russian DVD stores, you may have to ask for the English subtitled, anamorphic, DD 5.1 version because it's supposedly hard to find or prevented from being sold by FOX)
2. The Great Yokai War (Hong Kong NTSC DVD) (any Asian DVD stores)
3. Sophie Scholl (Thai PAL DVD) (ethaicd.com)
4. Kampfansage (Germany PAL DVD) (amazon Germany or xploitedcinema.com/dvddiabolik.com)
5. The White Massai (Thai PAL DVD) (ethaicd.com)
6. Ferpect Crimen (Spain PAL DVD) (dvdgo.com or xploitedcinema.com/dvddiabolik.com)
7. Krrish (Bollywood NTSC DVD) (any bollywood dvd store)
8. Tom Yum Goong (Korea NTSC DVD) (any Asian DVD store)
9. The Host (Korea NTSC DVD) (any Korean DVD store)
10. Asterix and the Vikings (France PAL DVD) (Amazon France)

slop101

This doesn't hit dvd (R3 & R2) until January.

toddly6666

Right now, in Korean DVD shops in nyc, the single-disc DVD of THE HOST is now available. I'll probably post a small dvd review of it later tonight.

Giles

toddly6666 please email me re: 'The Host'

BuddhaWake

So far: I can't remember them all or when I saw them, maybe 2005 or 2006. I know for sure I saw Crimen Ferpecto in 2005 so I won't put it down.

In no particular order

El Aura (Argentina) Spain R2 Pal dvdgo.com
Camaron (Spain) Spain R2 Pal dvdgo.com
Quasi Dois Irmaos (Brazil) Brazil R4 (this movie just came out in Brazil on dvd although is over a year old) dvdworld.com.br
Zozo (Sweden) Sweden Pal R2 cdwow.com
Toss Up [Yazi Tura](Turkey) Turkey Pal tulumba.com
Pusher 2 & 3 (Denmark) UK Pal R2 (now available in R1) cdwow.com
Election 2 (Honk Kong) 2 disc HK release (R0?) cdwow.com


Obaba was excellent but It was already mention so I won't put it on my list. 2 Filhos de Francisco was very good but not as good as I would have like due to the second half not being on par with the first half. It seemed a bit rushed once the kid reached adulthood.

If I think of more I'll add them later.

edited to add stores for samper although these are easily found through the sticky on top of the page.

samper

Would be great if you guys could add where the DVD was purchased from. Would help us novices to purchase and view them.

Thanks for the thread.

Reservoir

Foreign as in non-English or non-USA?

I think the overall winner for releases (if I'm picking a country) has been the UK:

Le Temps qui reste
L'Armée des ombres
Les Amants réguliers
La Grande bouffe
Blissfully Yours
13 Tzameti
Caché
La Double vie de Véronique
L'Enfant
L'Intrus
Koktbel
An Angel on My Shoulder
Milou en Mai
Le Pornographe
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
The Proposition
The Return
Sauve qui peut (la vie)
Somersault
Tales of ordinary Madness
Tony Takitani (not a great DVD but such a joy seeing it anyway)
Ultranova
Uzak

They were all this year weren't they?

I think the UK market has outshone everyone including France. The US has been a complete loss unless you like recycled Criterion releases and all the usual American stuff (lots of great movies there though!).


And the daddy of them all:


A big cheer for Criterion's Lacombe Lucien and Warner Germany's Prince of The City.

pro-bassoonist

No doubt...what happened in the UK recenetly puts the market at the very top...as far as English speakers are concerned. I still think however that France has the best and most colorful DVD market.

Finally, I do believe that this year the UK lucked out big (and so did we)...great new independent companies are churning out top-notch products. Very exciting indeed!

Ciao,
Pro-B

ps
I am not sure how many of you keep an eye on Spain but there is an astonishing amount of quality releases coming out.

splattii

My "top 10" international DVD list for 2006 and my top 10 international films from 2006 is pretty different. Here's my dvd list, and I'm sure I'm missing something big on here. These are in no particular order;

TIME (R3) - Kim KiDuk (S. Korea)
My Favorite S. Korean film this year. I know there are varied opinions on this one, but for me it was simply fantastic.

13 TAZMETI (R2) - Géla Babluani (France/UK Pressing)
I'm hearing the remake is now official. I'm not sure when, but it's coming. It was such a nice ride, and once it ended I knew I had seen something special. This one hasn't finished it's run yet.

ILS / THEM (R3) - David Moreau (France/Korea Pressing)
I'm pretty amazed this hasn't gained a much larger buzz. It's French, and it bests most of the Horror films I've seen in a long time. Based on a True story I have to imagine someone could clean up in North America if they could duplicate this film in English. The atmosphere in this film was superb.

SAINTS-MARTYRS DES-DAMNES - Robin Aubert (French Canada/Canadian Only Release)
I'll probably be the only person on this earth with this on their list, and one of the few that actually owns this. I saw this at the 2005 TIFF, and had to work to find the DVD even though I live in Canada. I turned out to be a 3 week special order. Fan's of Lynch will be all over this one.

STRANGE CIRCUS (R3) - Sion Sono (Japan/HK Pressing)
While the story is a bit predictable, I just loved the way this film looked. Not only was it beautiful to look at, it was strange as hell. It was bizare, and had enough violence, twisted sex and messed up scenario's to make MIIKE fans happy, yet it felt arthouse. It was either this or Blood and Bones for a Japanese pick, and I don't recall if Blood and Bones was 05 or 06 on DVD.

DAYWATCH (R5) - Timur Bekmambetov (Russia)
Even if you haven't seen Nightwatch, it's still a great film. Really looking forward to the third.

PUSHER TRILOGY (R2) - Nicolas Winding Refn (Denmark/UK Pressing)
I watched all three in a row, and have seen them since. Very strong and believable.

THE PROPOSITION (R2) - John Hillcoat (Australia/UK Pressing)
Fantastic film that was also a surprise for me. I've never really been into westerns or cowboy scenario's, but that all went out the window with this one.

RENAISSANCE (R2) - Christian Volckman (France/UK Pressing)
Decent story, but jaw dropping visuals. It's was probably the best visual treat I had in 2006 along with Pan's.

SATANTANGO (R2) - Bela Tarr (Hungary/UK Pressing)
It's 7+ hours of Bela Tarr. I'm not sure what else needs to be said about this one.

logboy

my absolute favourite dvd presentation, and one of (more importantly) my favourites of the year goes to toshiaki toyoda's 'hanging gardens' - again, as i often think, it's not necessarily initially obvious where the pleasure lies in the film, but as it proceeds and after it's over, it's an astonishingly solid progression for toyoda's film work. such a spotless mastering, beautifully solid film, some breathtaking originality hidden within it.

flixtime

My comfort zone is more film discussion as opposed to technical A/V DVD discussion (especially when having to follow-up Pro-B) but, in appreciation of the other fellows who have contributed to this thread so far, I’ll give this a shot, though perhaps with a bit of a different spin on my list than others. There are so many things to consider for a list such as this: English-friendly extras or not, A/V presentation, packaging, film quality, availability in other regions, etc. I guess my list isn’t so much based on technical presentation but a mix of other factors and I did strive for variety to recognize my appreciation of efforts throughout the world in bringing these films to me (besides, the lack of participants in this thread so far pretty much negates any sort of worthwhile tallying of the lists…come on lurkers step up and, if not a detailed Top 10, just sort of share what you might have appreciated about International DVDs in 2006).

Here’s my list (and just to clarify, this isn't my Top Films list, plus I have deliberately avoided listing titles already mentioned by others):

1. Kurtlar Vadisi Irak (aka “Valley of the Wolves Iraq”) - R2 Turkey
A film condemned without trial here in the “land of the free”. I’m putting this number one because it sort of celebrates a lot of what this forum is about….DVD, international e-commerce, and freedom of choice & selection. We’re all here to get movies either quicker than we can get them in our own country, in better uncut/uncensored/technically-superior/etc. versions, or in this particular case…a film which might never see the light of day in a particular country. For these reasons, and not necessarily technical or artistic quality (though I did like the film), it is a clear cut winner and easily my number one selection.

2. Kwaidan (Masters of Cinema line) – R2 UK
A 72-page book as an extra and an uncut version that outshines the R1 cut Criterion release. This selection could easily have been any of a number of Masters of Cinema releases, notably the upcoming Naruse box and lengthy book. Hard to argue with DVDTalker Reservoir when he singles out UK releases for praise and their releases are certainly impressive

3. Re-Cycle (2-disc Special Edition) – R3 Hong Kong
DVDTalkers toddly6666 and BuddhaWake included Hong Kong releases on their lists and I too choose this one (enjoyed the film enough but not a big fan) to honor and recognize my appreciation for the efforts in subtitling, more often than not, extras for HK releases, and because HK releases are a great bargain, easily obtainable, and likely a good place to start for newbies to importing. The occasional early release of European films or the continuing efforts at re-mastering older Hong Kong films, I appreciate them all.

4. Die Rache der Wikinger (aka Gli Invasori aka Erik the Conqueror) – R2 Germany
Main extra is an English-subbed Mario Bava documentary. This title is likely coming to R1 next year, though I’m not sure about the documentary. Read a great blog entry on this title by Tim Lucas at the following link:
Tim Lucas' blog entry on this title
I understand Germany every so often sneaks out some fine releases of cult/genre (Kung-fu, Spaghetti Westerns, etc.) cinema….they’d likely English-sub more if not for bootleggers ruining it for the rest of us (as I learned from Linn1 in this forum’s kung-fu thread). Support their efforts in bringing us these rare films. I’m a huge fan of old-time Hollywood period war films. I had never even been aware of this Mario Bava-directed, Italian entry into the genre. An enjoyable film that I appreciated as an homage to many of the types of films I watched repeatedly before expanding my tastes after joining this forum.

5. Sorok Pervvy (aka The Forty-First) (1956) – R5 Russia
I am appreciative of the format and International e-tailers for presenting long ago classics like this on DVD. I had little familiarity with Russian cinema until recent years and it’s great I can now select from many classics or even new releases such as “Mechenosets aka The Sword Bearer”. According to Pro-B’s DVD review, the picture is on the dark side among other things, but the extras are English-subbed so that scores some points.

6. The King and the Clown (Limited Special Edition 3 DVDs and Soundtrack CD) – R3 Korea
I wish Korea would take the next step and start subbing extras but given that I buy a fair bit of Korean cinema, I’m including this to recognize their outstanding efforts when it comes to beautiful and lavish packaging, and multi-disc sets.

7. Don (2006) (2-disc Collector’s Edition) – R0 India
Far better than most as far as packaging and extras on Indian DVD releases. This new “Don” re-make includes a sturdy cardboard slipcase, a 130-page English-language comic, a second disc of extras including deleted scenes, making-of, etc. (note: none of the the second disc is English-subbed), and a very entertaining and accessible film. A nice gift idea for someone who might not be familiar with Indian cinema, and hopefully they love it so much that they decide to join the forum and keep me company in this forum’s sometimes quiet (though not recently) Indian cinema discussion (ha, ha, ha…and shame on me for the BSP).

8. El Dorado (1988) – R2 Spain
From renowned director Carlos Saura and presented by Warner Home Video – this is a better film than the earlier take on the same story – the IMDb top 250 Herzog/Kinski entry “Aguirre: The Wrath of God”. Interested in going to IMDb for some more information on “El Dorado”, be my guest, you will find very little. I include this to once again acknowledge my appreciation of the DVD format unearthing these lost treasures for the world to see (if they’re smart enough to do so).

9. Daiteiden no Yoru ni (aka Until the Lights Come Back) (First Press Limited Edition) – R2 Japan
I did purchase a handful or so of R2 Japan releases this year and even though I usually go for the basic edition and English-subbed extras are a rarity, I did want to acknowledge my appreciation of DVDs from Japan. Plus their subtitling is generally a cut above their East Asian counterparts. With the export market of Japanese films being generally more focused on the horror, samurai, action, or more quirky fare, I believe some good mainstream commercial fare is unjustly ignored, especially here in the U.S. Another title “Always Sunset on Third” has received more notoriety and rightly so but the film mentioned above and the DVD are both fine products and that is why I’ve chosen it for this list.

10. The 14 Amazons (IVL, Celestial Shaw Brothers line) – R3 Hong Kong
Given how many of these I purchase, I couldn’t make a list without including them. There were more than a few choices in the running here and I likely picked one of the more flawed presentations – given that this is a cut version of the film – but still, never having seen it before, I enjoyed it and these IVL releases are big bang for your buck. Coming from someone who was never a fan of martial arts films, the vast Shaw Brothers library on DVD has really opened my eyes and have earned from me a great respect for the genre.

Bonus pick:
11. Storm (2005) – R2 Sweden
2-disc set in a nice tin. I’m in the minority but I liked the film. Nothing is English-friendly on the second extras disc. But I just wanted to include this for brownie points just in case there’s some hot, blonde, Swedish chick lurking about this forum.

Giles

well that's the last time I will look at a disc's cover art and think that a Cannes logo means it's a good movie..

god... this movie was sooooooo bad....

all the effects in this movie couldn't save this, from such tedium and an off putting pro-life stance...

worst blind buy in 2006 for me.

if anyone wants this... for free...just shoot me an email.

BuddhaWake

I also did enjoy Storm a lot. I'm yet to pick up Saura's recent dvds.

toddly6666

FLIXTIME: is DON really entertaining? I'm almost suckered to buy it due to the flashy looking DVD, almost looks professionally done. I bet the movie is bad, but knowing Bollywood films, is this film entertaining? How are the action scenes and the girls in this movie?

I actually thought VALLEY OF WOLVES IRAQ would have been a better movie if they didn't use well-known Western actors such as Gary Busy and Billy Zane, and not only well-known, but poor actors as well. All the Turkish actors were really good, but the use of Busy and Zane just brought the movie down to a B-movie straight-to-video rental.

TheDoug

Don (2006) (2-disc Collector’s Edition) – R0 India
Far better than most as far as packaging and extras on Indian DVD releases. This new “Don” re-make includes a sturdy cardboard slipcase, a 130-page English-language comic, a second disc of extras including deleted scenes, making-of, etc. (note: none of the the second disc is English-subbed), and a very entertaining and accessible film. A nice gift idea for someone who might not be familiar with Indian cinema, and hopefully they love it so much that they decide to join the forum and keep me company in this forum’s sometimes quiet (though not recently) Indian cinema discussion (ha, ha, ha…and shame on me for the BSP).

Flixtime, where would be the best place to buy this new "version" of "DON?" (I own the original one produced in the seventies).

toddly6666

nehaflix.com - quick and trustworthy bollywood dvds

flixtime

TheDoug, the e-tailer toddly6666 mentioned would be a good choice.

toddly6666, though I wasn't as high on "Krrish" as you were, I'd recommend that you are likely to enjoy this new version of "Don", even more so if you haven't seen the original. The action scenes though lifted from all sorts of Hollywood films are pretty darned good as compared to other Hindi films. You liked the action in "Krrish" quite a bit more than I, and I'd say the action in "Don" is more effective than that in "Krrish" (though it lacks for that sort of grand dojo fight from "Anniyan"). I believe that they brought in some Hollywood technical talent to assist with the actions scenes in "Don". While "Don" might not be the best Indian film of 2006, in the long run it might end up being my favorite in terms of replay value. Not a whole lot of eye-candy, but you do have Priyanka Chopra looking as good as ever and from my perspective you really don't need much more than that. Her part in this film is better than what she got saddled with in "Krrish". Also, as compared to "Krrish", "Don" has less comedy and romance so that is why I recommended as perhaps being a nice selection (for those who might not be accustomed to the Indian "masala" style of filmmaking...meaning a big mix of action, comedy, romance, music, etc.). Also, for the newbies, "Don" features perhaps the two most popular performers in current Hindi cinema (Shahrukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra). The film is a popcorn entertainer so don't expect any great depth or meaning, but "entertains" it most certainly does....an interesting story, nice action, good song & dance, charismatic performances, some nice shots in Malaysia, and solid production values....and it doesn't have that "dead weight" section of the film that you often find early in Hindi films (I personally thought that the first third of "Krrish" had a lot of dead weight that could have been trimmed away). toddly6666, I'd definitely tell you to give it a purchase, I'd be surprised if you didn't enjoy it at least on some respectable level.

While I'm at it, here are a couple of youtube.com clips from my two favorite song & dance numbers in the film:
Mourya Re video link at youtube
Khaikepaan Banaraswala video link at youtube - not to worry, Priyanka gets in on the action later in the song

And for nostalgia's sake, a youtube clip of the Khaikepaan Banaraswala song with Amitabh Bachchan in the original 1978 version of "Don"
1978 "Don" video clip (same song as the second one linked above)

toddly6666

FLIXTIME, I'm definitely going to buy DON now. I'm thinking of going to my little India to pick it up, but maybe i'll just wait til DOOM 2 comes out and pick up both at the same time. Did you see DOOM 2. Any good?

As long as DON has good production values and doesn't have filler, I'm down with that.
My favorite Bollywood action movies have been Mission Kashmir, The Hero: Love Story of a Spy (it's Priyanka Chopra's second movie and Sunny Deol plays a chubby James Bond and Temple of Doom's Amrish Puri plays the villain), Anniyan, and Krrish