Tora! Tora! Tora! out in Region B (1 Viewer)

[Danny_N]

Last week Fox released Tora! Tora! Tora! in the Netherlands. The disc has both the theatrical version and the Japanese version of the film on it. The Japanese version (I didn't even know it existed) runs four minutes longer than the theatrical. As far as I could tell those four minutes are made up of one scene of two cooks on one of the Japanese carriers on its way to Pearl discussing the international date line and its implications. Unlike the other two big war movies that Fox has released thus far, Patton and The Longest Day, Tora! Tora! Tora! looks excellent. No excessive DNR or EE that I could see, a very filmlike presentation. Sound is 5.1 DTS HD (there's also a French DTS dub). Subs: Dutch, French and English. Extras are the same as those that were on the last SD edition. I didn't test it but according to the back cover the disc is region free.

 

[BillyFeldman]

Where did you order it from - I must have it.

 

[John Hodson]

God almighty; the Japanese version? Thank you Danny - that IS a must have.

 

[BillyFeldman]

Need it NOW.

 

[John Hodson]

Mediadis (my usual Dutch supplier) has it as 'delayed'.

 

[BillyFeldman]

I found this page:

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Tora-Tora-Tora-Blu-ray/6966/

Seems like it's coming November 20. There's an amazon link on this page - would this be amazon.de?

 

[John Hodson]

It would.

 

[BillyFeldman]

Just ordered it. My all-region Blu player arrives tomorrow and I can finally watch The Red Shoes, Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Brief Encounter, The Bed Sitting Room, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Hamlet, Henry V, and a few others that have been sitting on my shelf taunting me.

 

[John Hodson]

Coincidentally, this...



...has just been sold at auction for $800 - "Akira Kurosawa original hand drawn production storyboard for Tora! Tora! Tora!. (TCF, 1970) Original storyboard, hand drawn by Akira Kurosawa in pencil on an 8 ½ x 11 in. leaf of Tokyo Prince Hotel stationery, featuring a dramatic shot of a Japanese Zero strafing the aircraft carrier USS Valley Forge, with annotations at the upper and lower margins"

 

[Worth]

I just received this from Amazon Germany and had a quick look at it - it does indeed look spectacular. Very sharp, clean and crisp, but also very natural and filmlike. There is a very fine veneer of grain that's present if you look for it, but is never intrusive.


And for anyone that's sick of waiting for Fox to release this in North america, it's an all-region disc.

 

[Rick Thompson]

Originally Posted by John Hodson ...has just been sold at auction for $800 - "Akira Kurosawa original hand drawn production storyboard for Tora! Tora! Tora!. (TCF, 1970) Original storyboard, hand drawn by Akira Kurosawa in pencil on an 8 ½ x 11 in. leaf of Tokyo Prince Hotel stationery, featuring a dramatic shot of a Japanese Zero strafing the aircraft carrier USS Valley Forge, with annotations at the upper and lower margins"

That would have been a tough shot to have in "Tora! Tora! Tora!", as USS Valley Forge wasn't launched until November 1945. Given the regard for accuracy, however, it would have fit well into Michael Bay's "Pearl Harbor"!

 

[John Hodson]

It was clearly from Akira Kurosawa's proposed Tora! Tora! Tora!; The Final Countdown.

 

[Rick Thompson]

Originally Posted by John Hodson

It was clearly from Akira Kurosawa's proposed Tora! Tora! Tora!; The Final Countdown.

USS Valley Forge wasn't in "The Final Countdown," either. That was USS Nimitz.

 

[AdrianTurner]

Originally Posted by Rick Thompson




USS Valley Forge wasn't in "The Final Countdown," either. That was USS Nimitz.

I think Mr Hodson's comment was intended as a joke. At least, I got a chuckle out of it.

 

[John Hodson]

I'm glad somebody did.

 

Originally Posted by Worth

I just received this from Amazon Germany and had a quick look at it - it does indeed look spectacular. Very sharp, clean and crisp, but also very natural and filmlike. There is a very fine veneer of grain that's present if you look for it, but is never intrusive.


And for anyone that's sick of waiting for Fox to release this in North america, it's an all-region disc.

There are several Blu-ray versions listed on the German Amazon. I assume yours is the German version? Are the translation subtitles switchable to English?

 

[Worth]

Originally Posted by John Hermes


English subtitles can be selected and only appear over the Japanese dialogue. I believe Fox holds worldwide distribution rights to this title, so my guess would be that the eventual North American release will be identical to this disc, save for the cover art.

 

Originally Posted by Worth


English subtitles can be selected and only appear over the Japanese dialogue. I believe Fox holds worldwide distribution rights to this title, so my guess would be that the eventual North American release will be identical to this disc, save for the cover art.

Thanks, I ordered one. It was about $41 with shipping charges, but it sounds like a great Blu-ray.

 

[Rick Thompson]

I watched mine last night, and it looks great. A tip while ordering (unless you speak German and/or have an account at Amazon Germany already).


You'll have to open an account for Amazon Germany, and since everything on Amazon.de is in German, open another browser window for Amazon UK. I use Firefox, so I open UK Amazon in Explorer. Germany and UK have the same account opening and payment procedures, so you can click along in UK as the English translation for Germany. I just exited UK Amazon right before the account and sale became final.


No need to get the expensive shipping. I took standard and it got to me in less than a week. Needless to say, I was impressed by the speed. Germany to rural US in less than a week! Wow!


Later edit add-on: Just choose English in setup for both versions on the disk. You only get subtitles (in English) during the Japanese dialog -- even on the Japanese version. You'll note they switch the director credits on the Japan version. Instead of "Japanese sequences directed by . . ." and then "Directed by . . .", you get "American sequences directed by . . ." and then "Directed by . . ." Their guys get top billing.

 

[Worth]

I haven't needed to open up new accounts for any foreign Amazon subsidiary - my amazon.ca settings were automatically transferred to the American, British, French, German and Japanese sites.