Shall We Dance and Buena Vista ? (1 Viewer)

[Kenneth Lee]

Hey Folks,
Digital Bits just posted up the release schedule for all of Buena Vista's DVD Showcase titles for this year, but does anyone know if:
1. These titles include Miramax titles (which are under Buena Vista, right?)
2. What does "Movie Showcase" mean? (is it like the Vista series / special lineup?)
3. If it does indeed include Miramax films stuff, then what's to happen to my beloved "Shall We Dance?" on DVD? :frowning:
Argh! Seriously, I hope to see a real DVD release of this great foreign film sometime in the near future.

 

[LukeB]

1. Yes
2. "Movie Showcase" is the informal name given to all of Buena Vista's budget catalogue line. The DVDs carry SRPs of $9.99 - $19.99 and are for the most part, entirely without special features.
3. While it is the same studio outputting all of these releases, Miramax titles seem to have been treated the best. I can't think of a Miramax title which has been released in P&S as part of the Movie Showcase line, and some of them even have extras (like the magnificent "Gordy" which is packaged as 'Disney' but is really Miramax), usually just a trailer. But a trailer is more than most of these 'Movie Showcase' titles offer.

 

[Bill McCamy]

Kenneth,

I wondered the same when I saw the Bits list. "Shall We Dance" was a divx release. How many of those titles that were, at the time, divx only are still unreleased? Does Miramax know there is an audience for this movie?

Or maybe they do know, and the audience is not large enough.

 

[Tim RH]

Yeah, I'd love a SHALL WE DANCE? DVD; I'd buy it in a second. Great film!
I'd also like Miramax to release another amazing little Japanese movie called "Picture Bride". If you haven't seen it yet, please give it a chance. Very unde , IMHO.

 

[Kenneth Lee]

Tim,

Thanks for the recommendation - can you tell me quickly what "Picture Bride" is about?

Is it a comedy? Tragedy? Drama?

How does it compare with Shall We Dance?

Thanks.

 

[Tim Fleming]

While we are at it, a couple more recommendations for interesting/quirky Japanese films are "Down the Drain" and "Waterboys"... the latter stars Takenaka, Naoto who also starred in Shall We Dance.

regards, Tim (who has had a "thing" for Kudoh, Yuki ever since seeing her in Mystery Train)...

 

[Bill McCamy]

From IMDB:

Plot Summary for
Picture Bride (1995)

"The story of 16-year-old Riyo who journeys to Hawaii in 1918 to marry a man she has never met, except through photographs and letters they have exchanged. Hoping to escape a troubled past and to start anew, Riyo is bitterly disappointed upon her arrival: her husband is twice her age and Hawaii is not the paradise she expected. As Riyo comes to terms with her new home, she discovers a land full of hardship, struggle--and unexpected joy."

Harvey Weinstein planned to have Miramax remake this in English as the "The Pineapples of Wrath."

 

[Jeff Wilson]

Shall We Dance is vastly superior to Picture Bride, IMHO. Picture Bride is a tepid romance, and Mifune's role is a very brief cameo. Shall We Dance has a lot more going for it and needs a quality release, the sooner the better. I don't think it's even come out in Japan yet on DVD, which is strange.

 

[Tim RH]

I think Picture Bride is worth seeing if just for the great performances by Youki Kudoh and Tamlyn Tomita (two of the most beautiful actresses I know). Mifune has a nice cameo too. But I was quite unexpectedly overwhelmed and moved by the story and cinematography. The images of Hawaii that the filmmakers captured are at times breathtaking. But of course I do know some people who would disagree with my opinion of the film (like Jeff).

 

[ThomasC]

Yeah, I'd love a SHALL WE DANCE? DVD; I'd buy it in a second. Great film!

Ditto that!

 

[Michael Lee]

While my laserdisc of Shall We Dance is still around, I would give it the boot in a second for a re-mastered DVD. All I needed to know was that Tamlyn Tomita was in Picture Bride in order for me to know it is a must-have!