BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

Discuss releases by Eureka and Masters of Cinema and the films on them.
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MichaelB
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#76 Post by MichaelB » Sun Jan 24, 2016 11:20 am

The physical media market is shrinking year on year, and multiple labels are trying out various initiatives to gently encourage people to pay realistic prices - something that's becoming critically important to smaller labels given that they can't match the majors for economies of scale.

I don't think A Touch of Zen is the least bit overpriced given that it's a brand new restoration of a three-hour film (with all the additional expense that that implies in terms of subtitling - a major if often unacknowledged part of the production budget) - but this way you have the choice between paying a realistic price now and a lower price later.

So from a certain perspective you're right: this is a strategy to ask more money for this release. But what you're not acknowledging is that the motivation behind this isn't greed - merely the desire to stay in business in a contracting market.

AK
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#77 Post by AK » Sun Jan 24, 2016 11:22 am

frankiecrisp wrote:Has the release date changed I pre ordered but amazon are showing "Currently Unavailable" will let you know if or when this will be released
No idea why they're showing that. Perhaps just a system error? In my orders at least it still shows a delivery time for that's in line for a dispatch tomorrow. (And there it does say the release date is 25 January).

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perkizitore
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#78 Post by perkizitore » Sun Jan 24, 2016 1:02 pm

They have sold out their allocation, that is probably why it's listed as unavailable.

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domino harvey
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#79 Post by domino harvey » Sun Jan 24, 2016 1:15 pm

Amazon.co.uk has done this with all of the recent limited releases from Arrow and BFI and every time, patience reveals all orders get fulfilled and more come into stock. Fear not

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perkizitore
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#80 Post by perkizitore » Sun Jan 24, 2016 1:23 pm

BFI doesn't always state how limited their releases really are and you can't compare the popularity of the War Trilogy and Preminger to King Hu and Deep Red (especially Deep Red is highly unlikely to be back in stock, with the exception of a few cancellations)

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domino harvey
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#81 Post by domino harvey » Sun Jan 24, 2016 1:33 pm

Tell you what: If I am wrong, I owe the forum a Coke

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Grisbi
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#82 Post by Grisbi » Sun Jan 24, 2016 1:59 pm

perkizitore wrote:BFI doesn't always state how limited their releases really are and you can't compare the popularity of the War Trilogy and Preminger to King Hu and Deep Red (especially Deep Red is highly unlikely to be back in stock, with the exception of a few cancellations)
Deep Red was actually back in stock on Amazon UK for a handful of hours Friday night with around (I think) 125 copies. Sold back out fast as lightning, but domino is right that more often than not there is another window of availability beyond the first "sellout". I think there's extremely little chance Zen isn't available again at some point soon.

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Drucker
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#83 Post by Drucker » Sun Jan 24, 2016 2:54 pm

Arrow also explicitly said that Deep Red was selling out/sold out, while no such notification was given for the other releases.

isakborg
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#84 Post by isakborg » Mon Jan 25, 2016 9:47 am

For those of you who pre-ordered, like myself, and were disconcerted, like myself, when the unavailable notice appeared, I checked Amazon UK this morning and A Touch of Zen has in fact been shipped to me. And, I would assume, to all you who also preordered.

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The Fanciful Norwegian
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#85 Post by The Fanciful Norwegian » Mon Jan 25, 2016 1:12 pm

It's also no longer listed as unavailable but instead as "dispatched within 9 to 11 days," so no doubt they're expecting a restock.

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What A Disgrace
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#86 Post by What A Disgrace » Mon Jan 25, 2016 1:37 pm

I pre-ordered mine with some other items, and it isn't scheduled to ship until the end of February. I should not worry about this, should I?

Bürgermeister
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#87 Post by Bürgermeister » Mon Jan 25, 2016 4:31 pm

What A Disgrace wrote:I pre-ordered mine with some other items, and it isn't scheduled to ship until the end of February. I should not worry about this, should I?
I would be, particularly if it's something you want.
Buy it direct from Eureka, yeah it's £21.99 but at least you'll get it.

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rapta
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#88 Post by rapta » Tue Jan 26, 2016 12:47 pm

domino harvey wrote:Amazon.co.uk has done this with all of the recent limited releases from Arrow and BFI and every time, patience reveals all orders get fulfilled and more come into stock. Fear not
No doubt that you're right. I had a few BFI pre-orders from Amazon dispatch a week or two late in the last few months. This is definitely a good seller - Kevin quoted about 60% sold on pre-order a week or two ago - but I very much doubt it's already OOP.

Eureka only dispatched direct pre-orders on Friday, so they must have got stock at the last minute. Amazon says 9-11 days but it'll probably only be 4-5 days at the most.

Mine arrived this morning, so I guess I was lucky. The slipcover is a little battered though, which is slightly annoying as if I was to return my copy I'd have to wait for new stock to get a replacement. :(

By the way, if anybody has pre-ordered from Amazon but it hasn't dispatched yet, and is thinking of cancelling theirs - don't! At some point whilst it was Out Of Stock, the price dropped to £17.35...so it's the cheapest price for this release from any retailer. Of course, if you don't mind paying an extra fiver then go with Eureka directly and you'll get it sooner.

Emilio
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#89 Post by Emilio » Wed Jan 27, 2016 7:52 am

My pre-order at Zavvi has not shipped yet. I just received an email that they are looking into the situation and inform me as soon as they know more.

Hmmm, how worried should I be? Is there anyone else who had pre-ordered at Zavvi?

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domino harvey
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#90 Post by domino harvey » Wed Jan 27, 2016 11:36 am

Just got my shipping notice from Amazon, as expected

Spacescape
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#91 Post by Spacescape » Wed Jan 27, 2016 6:50 pm

rapta wrote:
domino harvey wrote:Amazon.co.uk has done this with all of the recent limited releases from Arrow and BFI and every time, patience reveals all orders get fulfilled and more come into stock. Fear not
No doubt that you're right. I had a few BFI pre-orders from Amazon dispatch a week or two late in the last few months. This is definitely a good seller - Kevin quoted about 60% sold on pre-order a week or two ago - but I very much doubt it's already OOP.

Eureka only dispatched direct pre-orders on Friday, so they must have got stock at the last minute. Amazon says 9-11 days but it'll probably only be 4-5 days at the most.

Mine arrived this morning, so I guess I was lucky. The slipcover is a little battered though, which is slightly annoying as if I was to return my copy I'd have to wait for new stock to get a replacement. :(

By the way, if anybody has pre-ordered from Amazon but it hasn't dispatched yet, and is thinking of cancelling theirs - don't! At some point whilst it was Out Of Stock, the price dropped to £17.35...so it's the cheapest price for this release from any retailer. Of course, if you don't mind paying an extra fiver then go with Eureka directly and you'll get it sooner.
I got mine from Amazon yesterday, the slipcase was fine thankfully. I was charged £20.23 but they sent me an automatic refund of £2.88. Its currently in stock and priced at £19.99 if anyone is wanting to buy from Amazon.

Emilio
Joined: Sat Dec 05, 2009 8:38 am

Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#92 Post by Emilio » Thu Jan 28, 2016 4:26 am

Yes! Just got an email from Zavvi that they dispatched this order...

HugoDeVries
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#93 Post by HugoDeVries » Thu Jan 28, 2016 6:59 am

Is there supposed to be a slipcase AND a physical booklet with the release.

Had my amazon delivery arrive today, it was shrink wrapped but NO slipcase nor booklet, is booklet a pdf thing?

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tenia
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#94 Post by tenia » Thu Jan 28, 2016 8:33 am

Looks like a factory mistake.
Both the slipcase and the booklet are a physical thing and should be included.

HugoDeVries
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#95 Post by HugoDeVries » Thu Jan 28, 2016 10:45 am

Cheers for the reply.

Guess its now limited to 1999 copies and one return!

Orlac
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#96 Post by Orlac » Sun Feb 07, 2016 6:49 pm

Bluray.com a bit torn on Dragon Inn - http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Dragon-In ... 96/#Review" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Drucker
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#97 Post by Drucker » Sun Feb 07, 2016 10:58 pm

Interestingly, the color seems to match A Touch of Zen.

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feihong
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#98 Post by feihong » Sun Feb 07, 2016 11:28 pm

I have the Touch of Zen disc, it looks pretty great as far as I can see. I saw it at the LA Film Festival quite a few years ago, but the color on this disc is fairly close to the color I saw on that print, only with the added clarity of the restoration. I'm not as convinced the look on the discs isn't authentic. I've not seen Dragon Inn theatrically, but after living with some pretty nasty DVDs over the years, these discs give a lot nicer an experience.

Interesting detail on the Touch of Zen disc, there is a title card in the beginning that indicates that the restoration was funded entirely by Hsu Feng.

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StevenJ0001
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#99 Post by StevenJ0001 » Mon Feb 08, 2016 11:28 am

Orlac wrote:Bluray.com a bit torn on Dragon Inn - http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Dragon-In ... 96/#Review" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
That review doesn't seem to provide any evidence whatsoever that the film was not intended to look that way. Rather, the criticisms appear to be based on personal preference, which would be a very unfair assessment of the disc. Am I missing something?

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ermylaw
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Re: BD 129-130 Dragon Inn & A Touch of Zen

#100 Post by ermylaw » Mon Feb 08, 2016 11:44 am

^ Quite right. In fact, the review suggests evidence to the contrary insofar as it says, "The film's director of photography, Mr. Hua Hui-Ying, was involved with the restoration and supervised the color grading."

Presumably the film's director of photography has a better understanding of the way the film should look than the reviewer.

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