Asian DVD recommendations ?

rainbow kirby · 30-10-2004 11:07pm

I got Akira for €3 in work a few weeks ago, great film! Just got Ghost in the Shell too. Wasn't a big fan of Battle Royale 2 though, really disappointing because I love the first one.
Anyone got any anime recommendations?

Makaveli · 30-10-2004 11:27pm

Berserk is a great anime series.

Karl Hungus · 30-10-2004 11:34pm

Get Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, raingbow kirby.

rainbow kirby · 30-10-2004 11:54pm

I actually bought Spirited Away 2 weeks ago, just haven't got around to watching it yet!
*logs off*

EDIT: It rocked.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 31-10-2004 2:00pm

berserk and Rah-Xephon are two fantastic anime series.

PWEI · 05-11-2004 10:21am

Anybody ever see Azumi? I watched it the other night.Its totally over the top
but I still enjoyed it.Dialagoue is quite poor but the fight sequestces make up for it.One thing that really annoyed me about the film though was the music.There's permanent guitart solo music throughtout the film which makes it sound like an early 90's Aaron Spelling show.Partiucally the ending,its sounds like an episode of Beverly Hills 90210 or Melrose Place.

Karl Hungus · 05-11-2004 10:49am

Yeah, Azumi is good.

VERY OTT and silly, but a damn fun film altogether. You seen Versus? It's by the same director, Ryuhei Kitamura, and I'd say it's even better than Azumi.

luckat · 05-11-2004 11:42am

Warm Water Under a Red Bridge is a crazy Japanese love story. Very funny, very silly.

If you're into soaps, there's a Korean one called Winter Sonata - a real weepie, and so sweet it makes your teeth clog, but beautifully filmed, and lots of good plot twists.

I'm just going to watch a Vietnamese film called Scent of Green Papaya, of which I've heard good reports.

By the way, Laser in Ranelagh or South Great George's Street, if you're in Dublin, has lots of good Asian films, and you can take out three DVDs for €1.50 each if you bring them back on the same day before 6pm.

scribs · 05-11-2004 11:46am

elivsvonchiaing wrote:

Would have to recommend Battle Royale - completely off the wall Japanese combat movie - school kids must kill each other to win competition. (If you like that sort of thing).

saw this the other day - very good there is also a second one

koneko · 05-11-2004 11:49am

I watched Versus again last night. Love it. It's violent, silly, stylish. Hell, it has everything.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 05-11-2004 1:21pm

don't go see the second battle royale. it is awful, just.. awful.

if you enjoyed the first, don't ruin it by going to see the second.

PWEI · 05-11-2004 2:06pm

Karl Hungus wrote:

Yeah, Azumi is good.

VERY OTT and silly, but a damn fun film altogether. You seen Versus? It's by the same director, Ryuhei Kitamura, and I'd say it's even better than Azumi.

I actually only saw Versus last week but I didn't like.I switched if off before the end cause it was just too ridiculous. I might give another look when I'm in a better mood.

luckat · 05-11-2004 6:39pm

Watched A Scent of Green Papaya. It's fabulous. Girl of 10 comes from a country village to Saigon in 1951, to work for a merchant family.

A very simple film - really about the Buddhist idea of "mindfulness" - of everything one does being a meditation.

If you liked Baraka, you'll love Green Papaya. If you liked Die Hard... well, maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't!

PWEI · 12-11-2004 5:31pm

I watched ZATOICHI last night.It was alright,had some good action sequences
and bit of twist at the end when we find out who the head gang boss is.
I would put it on par with Azumi.The score wasn't as bad as Azumi but wasn't great either.The Japanese should seriously consider getting outside help for their film score's cause they're terrible at it.And what was all that tap dancing about at the end of Zatoici??

ixoy · 12-11-2004 5:35pm

PWEI wrote:

And what was all that tap dancing about at the end of Zatoici??

Apparently, Kitano was a big fan of tap dancing, such as Riverdance and decided to include it in his movie on the basis that, it being his movie, he could do as he pleased. Certainly one of the weirdest segments I've seen this year outside of "Gozu" and the freaky trippy-dream sequence in "Blueberry".

PWEI · 12-11-2004 6:53pm

Yea it was well weird.Mind you it was good tap dancing and did have a bit of a riverdance feel to it.

Karl Hungus · 12-11-2004 7:08pm

PWEI wrote:

I watched ZATOICHI last night.It was alright,had some good action sequences
and bit of twist at the end when we find out who the head gang boss is.
I would put it on par with Azumi.The score wasn't as bad as Azumi but wasn't great either.The Japanese should seriously consider getting outside help for their film score's cause they're terrible at it.And what was all that tap dancing about at the end of Zatoici??

You've got to be joking me. Zatoichi was a far better film than Azumi, and as for the whole film score thing, please tell me what you've been smoking, because Joe Hisaishi (Who does the music for most of Kitano's and Miyazaki's films) is easily one of the greatest films composers around today.

PWEI · 12-11-2004 7:13pm

Karl Hungus wrote:

You've got to be joking me. Zatoichi was a far better film than Azumi, and as for the whole film score thing, please tell me what you've been smoking, because Joe Hisaishi (Who does the music for most of Kitano's and Miyazaki's films) is easily one of the greatest films composers around today.

Well the score for Azumi was absolutely awful. In hindsight the score for Zatoichi wasn't bad but was nothing special either.As far as it been better than Azumi,it probably is but that's a matter of opinion isn't' it!!

PWEI · 12-11-2004 7:13pm

Karl Hungus wrote:

You've got to be joking me. Zatoichi was a far better film than Azumi, and as for the whole film score thing, please tell me what you've been smoking, because Joe Hisaishi (Who does the music for most of Kitano's and Miyazaki's films) is easily one of the greatest films composers around today.

Well the score for Azumi was absolutely awful. In hindsight the score for Zatoichi wasn't bad but was nothing special either.As far it been better than Azumi,it probably is but that's a matter of opinion isn't it!!

PWEI · 12-11-2004 7:29pm

Cany anybody tell what was the pick of the recent Asian film festival at the UCG?

Gozu
A Tale of 2 Sisters
Phone
The Isle
Save the Green Planet
Into the Mirror
Chaos

nadir · 13-11-2004 3:30am

PWEI wrote:

Well the score for Azumi was absolutely awful. In hindsight the score for Zatoichi wasn't bad but was nothing special either.As far it been better than Azumi,it probably is but that's a matter of opinion isn't it!!

what?????
Azumi, erm, that's Aya Ueto (jpop), It's a good sound track imo, theme song and instrumentals, I couldnt imagine what would make you dislike it, how can you justify it being 'absolutely aweful'. Its a whole lot better than most soundtacks ive heard. And as for zatoichi, that has a fantastic soundtrack, as do all Kitano's films. Japanese ost's are the best around imo, esp artists like yoko kanno, maya sakamoto, khiko hashimoto, and Joe Hisaishi to name a few. How can you come up with this 'Japs make crap soundtracks" stuff, bleh....

although I do think azumi was as good as zatoichi, or almost (too hard to call), hehe, but then again, im into that kinda thing

PWEI · 15-11-2004 2:42pm

nadir wrote:

what?????
Azumi, erm, that's Aya Ueto (jpop), It's a good sound track imo, theme song and instrumentals, I couldnt imagine what would make you dislike it, how can you justify it being 'absolutely aweful'. Its a whole lot better than most soundtacks ive heard.

As I said in an earlier post there's a permanent guitar solo throughtout the film which makes it sound like an early 90's Aaron Spelling show.It sounds
sounds like an episode of Beverly Hills.

Asian DVD recommendations ?

Comments