Wonderful Days - Is It Ever Coming to the US on DVD? (1 Viewer)

[Michael Martin]

Two years ago, Wonderful Days (which, according to the IMDB, is called "Sky Blue" here in the States)had a great Website, and a 2003 release date. It also had a beautiful trailer with mythic images and a haunting, ethereal score.

Now, the Website doesn't even work, and I can't find anything on the film.

There are many "region-free" DVDs of the movie on Ebay, but my player is not a region-free one.

Any of HTF's Asian animation enthusiasts able to shed some light on this?

 

[Brian Thibodeau]

Here's the link to the Korean 2-disc Region 3 DVD, a very nice set that runs about $20 US. (I know you're not region-free, but you never know when you might be!)

http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.asp...section-anime/

There's also a deluxe 3-Disc version with what I'm told are more extras and a director's cut of the film (not sure, though, how it differs from the regular special edition).

http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.asp...section-anime/

One reason some folks can't find info on the film is it's Korean, rather than Japanese, origins. I'm sure its fairly well known, but I've seen some sites that claim it's Japanese anime, which it isn't. Koreans don't like the term anime to be applied to their animated features, and indeed, this one is quite different from Japanese anime on several levels, although it obviously shares two things: it's animated and it's Asian.

Critical response to the film was decidedly mixed (largely due to an underdeveloped story), and it was not a financial hit on Korean soil, but it's reputation has only increased with time. Here's one such review that reiterated the general opinion that the film is still quiet an achievement despite its drawbacks:

http://www.koreanfilm.org/kfilm03.html#wonderful

If you have all-region capabilities, I strongly recommend the two-disc set above, as it's the one I have. Otherwise, last I heard, ADV had purchased the rights, but now their website lists nothing about the film. I'd imagine it will make its way to R1 at some point, but I wouldn't hold your breath waiting...

 

[Joshua Lane]

ADV never had the rights to Wonderful Days. It was acquired for international distribution by Maxmedia, LLC (located in CA)... under their "Masquerade Films" banner. They comissioned an English translation and dub for the film which was screened at Sundance earlier this year (January).

Last I heard (Feb of this year), the company was still looking for a distributor for the film, but several outfits were apparently interested. Beyond that, I don't know anything.

 

[Tim Fleming]

Michael Martin wrote:


Actually, your player IS a region-free player in the sense that it will play discs that are designated Region Free as opposed to Region 1, 2, 3, 4 etc.

If a disc is "Region Free" it has no region coding and will therefore play on any DVD player anywhere in the world as long as the NTSC/PAL format thing is not an issue.

 

[AaronMan]

I have the 3 disc Region 3 version and its pretty damn cool. Nice fold out packaging and stuff. The film is subtitled in English. Awesome DTS track on there, too.

The first disc contains the film. 1:78 aspect ratio, DTS Korean, Dolby 5.1 Korean, commentary track (not subtitled) with the director and others (I think). There's also about 15 or 16 making-of featurettes.

The second disc focuses on the storyboarding, script, interviews with the cast and crew. I'm sure this section would explain the story better, but it's not subtitled.

The third disc has huge chunks of the movie in rough pencil test form. If you like 2D animation, its really cool.

This set covers just about every aspect of the film. There's a ton of information on there. Unfortunately, all the supplemental material is not subtitled. However, the featurettes focusing on miniatures and digital compositing are mind blowing. The pencil test sequences are cool, too. The amount of time and effort they put into it really shows.

Admittedly, the film's story is pretty standard. I read some reviews and knew this going in. Its not bad, it just not life-changing or anything. I ordered it purely based on the incredible visuals. Since none of the extras are not subtitled, you may want to go with the 2 disc or find a single disc version if one exists.

 

[Michael Martin]

I had no idea. That's very cool. Will have to go back and look at the DVDs on ebay.