I suppose one recent-film topic won't soil the board :ph43r:

A Cronenbergian body horror that is probably the most powerful Asian horror movie in decades! If there's any justice in this world Henge will become a festival sensation as soon as it's released outside Japan! Watched it twice in cinema, and looking forward to the 3rd time. Just a word of warning: avoid the film’s 92 second trailer, which spoils way too much. The 118 second version is also 100 times less impressive than the film.

I’ll finish translating my spoiler-free review in just a moment. Meanwhile, poster and a promotional picture:


- http://www.hen-ge.com/index.html

And I'm not even alone with my opinions. Tokyo Filmex subtitler Don Brown:

Review (English):
http://sketchesofcinema.wordpress.com/2012...-metamorphosis/

Original (Finnish) for the ones who prefer grammar that makes (more) sense:
http://www.elitisti.net/arvostelu/2012/04/...jime_ohata.html

Screencaptures from the trailer

By all means, soil the forum all you want! :up:

It's my understanding that despite the grammar Finnish never makes sense! :lol:

That film sounds very interesting! (you caught my attention already by "Cronenbergian"). Were did you see the film, you're in Japan now, right? Please get a bootleg and subtitle it for us. Thanks. ^_^

It's my understanding Danish people never understand anything :angry:

I watched it in Tokyo... twice! And when it lands in Sapporo (where I live) at the end of next month I'll be seeing it for the third time.

My understanding is that the film will have its international premiere at HÕFF tomorrow (!!) so there's your first chance!
- http://www.hoff.ee/en/blog/2012/04/09/meta...e/#.T5tYhdlIuiF

There was some kinda body horror boom in Tokyo last weekend... caught Henge, Tetsuo 1 and Red Tears (Monster Killer) all in cinema! B)

JP Blu-Ray in July!
(2012/7/11)
KIXF-74

Extras:
The Big Gun (Short Film)
Audio Commentary
Trailer

No mention of subs.

- http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=KIXF-74

The Big Gun (2008) is a 30 minute Tokyo Film School work by director Ohata. It's a semi-interesting (iron-punkish) tale of a factory owner who is extorted into gun business by the yakuza - but starts his own secret side project while he's at it... Some interesting ideas and a couple of stylish old school special effects, but not that much of an indication of what was to come with Henge. Unlike the overly digital looking cheapos that have been flooding Japan recently, The Big Gun looks almost like it was shot (though harshly) in the 90's V-Cinema era. Worth a look as a bonus feature. In Japan it's screened together with Henge as an appetizer for the main feature.

Gonna see Henge in cinema at least once more before the BD hits the streets, though.

The Big Gun

Japan Times' Mark Schilling digs, too:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/ff20120302a2.html

DVD and BD artwork

Japanese Blu-Ray

Publisher: King Records
Format: BD-25 (film file: 14:7 GB)
Region Code: Region Free
Movie running time: 53:34
Video: 1080p widescreen
Audio: Japanese Dolby True HD 2.0
Subtitles: none

Extras
Audio Commentary by director Hajime Ohata, special effects director Kiyotaka Taguchi and actress Aki Morita
The Gig Gun (short film) (31:11)
Opening Day (Theater N / Tokyo) (11:03)
Theatrical Trailer (1:58)

Package
Standard (blue) case, no 1st press bonuses as far as I'm aware (I picked it up a few weeks after its release)

A few words about the transfer. I saw the film theatrically three times. In Tokyo's Theater N it was a digital projection - I'm no expert on these things, not to mention blessed with glasses that are dirty more often than not, but both times I was impressed by just how good the film looked. I even went on record to write "almost comparable to film", though that might have been a bit of an over-statement. The third viewing was in Sapporo's Sasoriza, where it was a Blu-Ray projection - and a terrible one at that. The image was awfully dark, with zero shadow detail, terribly dark colors, and dark areas occasionally glowing in blue. I suppose the theater had their equipment calibrated completely wrong.

This retail Blu-Ray, apparently not what was screened in Sapporo (all the theatrical screenings in Japan were subtitled in English, unlike the retail Blu-Ray), certainly looks better than the Sasoriza screening, but it still has a bit of a dark appearance. It's possible the Blu-Ray is indeed too dark, or perhaps that’s just the way the film was shot, and at Theater N they had (very successfully) boosted the brightness to give it a brighter overall appearance.

However, in many scenes you can see something that looks like bad compression or un-natural grain stuck on the lens that becomes visible when there is camera movement. Again, perhaps it’s just my lack of technical expertise, but this is something that caught my eye within a minute of playing the Blu-Ray, after having viewed the film twice in Theater N without having spotted anything.
All this said, this Japanese BD is good enough until otherwise proven. The fact that the film was shot in digital, and that the Blu-Ray is a came out very fast and by a reputable company (King Records), makes me wonder if there is any chance of seeing a better presentation of it – or if the film even can look better to begin with. Maybe, maybe not.

I would dare to assume, though, that Henge will be picked up by a few overseas home video distributors sooner or later, but it will probably take time as the film has only begun its international festival tour now. You could get the Japanese BD now, or wait possibly for a long time for a foreign release to come out, which might or might not be better. Just make sure you watch the film – it’s mesmerizing, easily the best thing to come out of Japan in years!

Movie screencaps



















+ a more spoiling sfx cap for those who need further convincing:
http://bulletsnbabesdvd.com/forums/upload/...Fist/henge8.png

+ below are two screen captures highlighting the transfer issues discussed before




The Big Gun (short movie)







Extras: Opening Day

OMG! I saw that last year at the Daegu Short Film Festival. It was really nice even with the slow beginning.