Tag: Shout! Factory

Is This Studio Ghibli Blu-ray/DVD Re-release Worth Waiting For?

GKIDS is rereleasing all Studio Ghibli’s films in all new packaging!

Studio Ghibli and GKIDS, with distribution by Shout! Factory, will soon have on shelves in North America several titles from the library of Studio Ghibli this fall on Blu-ray & DVD Combo Pack and on DVD. The former versions from Disney had tiny issues which made them far from perfect and those fans who complained of the “red tint” problem with Spirited Away may well consider this remastered version (if they have not bought the Japanese version).

This new release promises significant upgrades to one of the world’s most coveted animation collections. Part of Studio Ghibli’s catalog of films to get this re-release includes Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle, Ponyo, Kiki’s Delivery Service and Princess Mononoke. These will arrive on October 17, 2017. Castle in the Sky and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind will be released on October 31, and The Secret World of Arrietty and Porco Rosso will follow on November 21. There’s no word of other titles like Pom Poko will see a Region 1 side release also. Essentially, this particular set spotlights the works of Hayao Miyazaki.

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Sarik Andreasyan’s Guardians to Hit Shelves Sept and Dec 5th

Guardians

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

The Guardians are coming. No, we are not talking about the Guardians of the Galaxy. Instead, a Russian-based team of superheroes will appear at Wal-Mart on September 5, 2017! This film is landing in America courtesy of Shout! Factory and will debut as a DVD first, and a Blu-ray on December 5th. Both will feature the English dub and original audio track (Russian), but at time of press, an official trailer by this distribution company is not available yet.

No reason is given for the delay of the higher definition version. When considering some of the stylistic effects work seen in the trailer, the wait for the latter will be worthwhile.

Part of this film’s appeal is in how it makes use of all the visual tropes known to represent the symbolic history of Russia. The Guardians is Sarik Andreasyan’s (American Heist) answer to the X-men. Although this group is similar to the Winter Guard (both have feature a were-bear as part of the team), this movie is by no means a carbon copy. A few people may look at Kahn as this film’s version of the Winter Soldier (Captain America).

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Looking Closer at In This Corner of the World & Its Canadian Release

corner-of-world-posterBy Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

To my knowledge, few Japanese animated movies exist which looks at a part of history from World War II with a perspective not overdone. Isao Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies is the granddaddy of the genre because it’s so depressingly sad, and Barefoot Gen somewhere on the vein of being positive while it looks at the aftermath. With In This Corner of the World (この世界の片隅に), the point of view is from innocent bystanders. The atomic destruction of Hiroshima has not happened yet. This particular fact is not dwelled upon. Nobody is aware except for the viewer. Most of the characters are blissfully unaware.

This film looks at the life of an idyllic young girl, Suzu (Rena Nōnen), living her life through a veil. She wants to be an artist and she describes herself as a daydreamer. A significant part of her life is portrayed and it has a Studio Ghibli like quality during this innocent time. This fact is of no surprise as Director Sunao Katabuchi worked on Kiki’s Delivery Service.

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In This Corner of the World set to Expand August 18th

corner-of-world-poster

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Coming this Friday, August 11th is In This Corner of the World to cinemas in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. On August 18th, this Japanese animated film will expand its market to major cities in both the United States and Canada. FUNimation and Shout! Factory is handling the theatrical release and to celebrate, information was passed along to press about the work director Sunao Katabuchi put forth. They may appear on the eventual video release.

A lot of the landscape around Kure and Hiroshima was tragically lost to air raids and the atomic bomb which ended World War II. Not many survivors with first-hand experience of the war are still with us. but Katabuchi met some — who were children at the time — and got their perspective. He also mentioned that this zone was your typical living quarters. He spent six years thoroughly researching the details before animation work began. He gathered accounts from people about those days and collected more than 4,000 photographs to recreate the cityscape of the 1930s and 40s.

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The Empire Pictures Collection Pre-Sale is LIVE and I’m in Love

EmpireSetBy Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

If you are a Full Moon Pictures addict like me, I am seriously considering pre-ordering Charles Band’s The Empire Pictures Blu-ray Collection. Pre-sales have begun (it started yesterday) and although I’m hard pressed for money, I’m seriously considering hitting a casino to break the bank so I can buy it! I have been waiting for certain films like Ghost Town to get a release for a long time and while others like From Beyond and Robot Jox are available as singles, to see it all put together in a comprehensive package, which includes a 24-page book with notes from the producer and Empire of the B’s author Dave Jay is very enticing.

This company is working with Shout! Factory to release this box set and only 600 editions will be made. A bit of stock will be held back for sales at conventions Full Moon will be at, but if you do not have any of the titles in your video collection yet, then this set is worth obtaining! Especially if you do the math:
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In This Corner of the World Anime is Coming to North America!

in_this_corner_of_the_world_posterBy Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

This summer, the message will even spread further about how indomitable the human spirit is to different kinds of adversity in Sunao Katabuchi’s adaptation of Fumiyo Kouno’s manga, In This Corner of the World, in theatres around North America. In this tale, the life of soon to be wed Suzu Urano is looked at. As she settles into the life in Kure City on the coast of Hiroshima Prefecture during World War II, the darker elements are always looming.

Shout! Factory, a multi-platform media company, and Animatsu Entertainment, a London-based producer, licensor and distributor of anime in the UK and Ireland, have entered into an exclusive film deal to distribute this movie in North America and abroad across various platforms. Animatsu will handle the rollout which will start in England, France, and South America.

The announcement was made today by Shout! Factory’s founders Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos; and Animatsu Entertainment’s Chief Operating Officer, Jerome Mazandarani.

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