This is absolutely hilarious.

Bestbuy has it. Probably the most "Non-user friendly" Packaging.

I highly doubt that this will not take long and be pulled out and get recalled.

Believe me its not safe opening this DVD. The main reason (as what fellow member wildman1037 said)- The plastic/packaging Clinging.. Its hard to remove the bloodbag and also the DVDs inside.

Anyways here are four 1st hand look of an opened ichi the killer (took 10minutes in the making - whew.. this is the hardest DVD I opened to still look like "new" condition)

nice pixs.thanks for taking the time to take the photos for us

Can someone confirm if this is the same video transfer as previous edition?

Thnak you!

Huh. How bizarre. You'd think one of the key elements of testing the appeal of cool DVD packaging would be to hand the product to a consumer and ask them to open it.

Kinda like opening a condom wrapper. Once you finally wrestle the thing out of the packaging, you've lost a lot of your interest.

I feel like if i try to force these dvd's out of this blood bag any more the dvd information will rip right off the discs.

Anyone have the Dutch release of this and know how it compares extra / imagewise?

i would really like to know as well. i would assume it is and if so when compared to the Dutch release, this looks absolutely horrid! it does say "New 16x9 transfer" on package, so who knows?

by the way, i put two pieces of felt cloth along with each disc and it seems to be working out pretty well.

whose dvd's were all scratched and scuffed when taken out the first time?

My God what a cluster fuck this packaging is... Picked it up to replace my older R1 single disc Tokyo Shock version. Ill probably just get rid of the old disc and use the old case for the new ones.

I just got my set and agree with everyone. Absolutely ridiculous. I thought I was going to rip the bag and that red crap would be all over the place. I finally did get them out.

I think I'm gonna write to Media Blasters and complain.

That's what I'd like to know, too.

Stop whining about the packaging already and start talking about the actual discs!

Are the discs getting scratched when you take them out, and, how are the two discs separated?

scuffed and marked, rather than deep scratching. i have yet to play so don't know if any play is affected, but they don't look like new discs after the fiasco. and if there is the least bit of humidity in the house forget about watching them till winter.

the only thing between the discs and us is a thin layer of gaberdine.

Guess you're talking about the 2-disc Dutch edition. So here it is:
It's R2, PAL, DVD 9, 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen
Soundtracks: Japanese 5.1, English 4.0
Subtitles: English, French, Dutch
Extras: Interview with director,
Interviews with cast
Biographies of cast
Fimographies
Film notes
Original trailer
European promo
Original Japanese press kit (1. Takashi Miike interview; 2. Storyboard)
Behind the scenes
Production stills
Campaign artwork
Photo gallery

I'd like to mention also that this edition is totally UNCUT.
I have this release so if you got any other questions about it feel free to ask.

thanks, but what about a image compare to new verison?

Or at least a similar content list of the new edition.

christ... what a pain in the ass the packaging is.

Sorry, but I have no info on the new release. Unlike many I like the packaging so I'm going to buy it eventually. But I guess till that time someone will already have information on the new release's image and all.

you may like the look of the packaging (like all of us), but trust us it is some of the worst packaging ever and i don't think worth the tremendous effort.

Well yeah, I agree. But I already have an edition to watch if I want to. So I can just put this one on a shelf and it will delight the eye. Even if I don't have to open it at all.

Anybody get a chance to watch this yet?

I've been holding off until I hear some feedback on it - The initial selling point was the packaging but that seems more like a "Con" than a "Pro" now. I already own the uncut single-disc set but would like to know if theres any picture/sound quality improvements in this version as the extras don't seem too tempting (at least not $21.99 tempting!)

rubbish packaging and the Eli Roth sticker isn't even helping...

Amazon now wants over $30 for this crap, they can keep it...I am happy with the older version....

Yeah, I have the Dutch release but was wondering if the new R1 is worth the double dip! Sorry for the confusion!

Finally here's a review

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=65070

already own previous R1, doesn't sounds worth an upgrade...