Pre-orders
Third Window Films present the world bluray debut of Sogo Ishii's punk classic ELECTRIC DRAGON 80000v as well as the first ever physical release outside of Japan of his most recent film PUNK SAMURAI
Bonus Features
• New HD master from the original negatives
• Sogo Ishii, musician Hiroyuki Onogawa & producer Takenori Sento Stage Greeting
• Tadanobu Asano Stage Greeting
• Masatoshi Nagase Stage Greeting
• Premiere Stage Greetings
• Producer Takenori Sento Interview
• Music Creator Hiroyuki Onogawa interview
• Synthesized Images with Commentary
• Storyboards
• Trailer
• Slipcase with illustrated artwork by Ian MacEwan
• Reversible Sleeve with original Japanese artwork
• Slipcase edition limited to 1500 copies
• Region B
World bluray debut March 6th
Trailer https://youtu.be/CWfKE7Y6ojk
Bonus Features
• Making Of (66 mins)
• Go Ayano interview (6 mins)
• Premiere Stage Greetings (16 mins)
• Trailer
• Slipcase with artwork by Gokaiju
• Reversible Sleeve with original Japanese artwork
• Slipcase edition limited to 1000 copies
• Region B
Out on bluray & digital March 13th
Trailer https://youtu.be/N0NGJxg9Xlk
SPECIAL PRE-ORDER DEAL AT TERRACOTTA DISTRIBUTION:
Buy 1 of the 2 above films and get 10% off the other!
Deal runs til their release dates
Head over to: https://shop.terracottadistribution.com/
In Cinemas
Nationwide:
Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme
The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2023, the largest Japanese Film Season in the UK, will kick start from 3 February 2023.
Celebrating the 20th anniversary, this nationwide film programme will be touring to 24 cities, visiting England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
With an exciting line up, most of which have only recently been released, but also some masterpieces from the distant past, and all of which share connections to the themes taken up in the past, the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2023 explores the theme of “the evolution of Japanese cinema”.
Come and see some of Japan’s finest cinematic works, showcasing varied tones and styles, as well as the diverse skills of both experienced and emerging film talents.
Find out more at: https://www.jpf-film.org.uk/
LONDON:
Akira Kurosawa Retrospective at the BFI
In January and February, the BFI will be running a mammoth retrospective of the master, screening 15 of his films alongside many talk events. A must-attend event for fans of Japanese cinema! All titles are on the BFI Player too!
https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/article/akirakurosawa
Podcast
Episode 16 now live
Episode 16 of the Third Window & Ben podcast is now live!
https://linktr.ee/BenjyBox
This month was answering your questions and if you did send one over, make sure to listen to the end to see if you've won the competition prize!
Streaming
Loads of new services to try!
A bunch of new and great streaming services for Japanese independent cinema have popped up recently and we'd love to share them with you
JFF+
The Japan Foundation have a new FREE service which showcases 12 Japanese independent films selected by mini-theatre programmers across Japan.
This service runs from Dec 15th and includes a wonderful variety of Japanese indies, including the latest from Toshiaki Toyoda, for FREE outside of Japan!
https://jff.jpf.go.jp/watch/independent-cinema/film-lineup/
Todoi Films
Unlike JFF+, Todoi Films is not free, but contains a fascinating selection of very independent films which have barely made it out of Japan. There are some incredibly interesting gems, such as Cosmetic DNA and Noise, but all of them are very unlikely to receive distribution outside of Japan, making this site the only way to watch them.
Availability of films depends on territories, but check them out for some lovely discoveries!
https://todoifilms.com/
Sakka Films
Sakka Films is another new rental site which has a smaller selection of finely curated Japanese independent films, though most of their films are much more well-known and have won awards at major film festivals. The films' availability depends on where you're located, but they have a great selection of titles from big-hitter directors such as Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Sho Miyake, plus include many bonus features such as director interviews and other exclusive content.
https://www.sakkafilms.com/
Terracotta
Terracotta's titles are aimed just at UK customers, but have an incredibly wide variety of titles spanning all across Asia, with everything from Jackie Chan to Nobuhiko Obayashi!
A bit of something for everyone!
https://www.terracottadistribution.com/products
Arrow Films
JU-ON: The Grudge Collection
The quintessential J-horror series make its Blu-ray debut with a brand new 4K restoration of Ju-On: The Grudge and a wealth of new and archival extras, including Shimizu’s two The Curse straight-to-video precursors (previously unreleased outside Japan) and the White Ghost/Black Ghost diptych of tales unfolding within the same terrifying universe.
Now out!
https://www.arrowfilms.com/4k/ju-on-the-grudge-collection-limited-edition/13996710.html
