first thing i've read today and it's already made me happy. Had thought, like everyone else, that this much cheaper HK disc of the classic Koji Yakusho movie was the truncated (118 minute?) version. It isn't. It's turned out to be the full 136 minute version. Fantastic.
Now, for all those that avoided the recent R2 Japanese disc because of the price - you can go for this one. I certainly am. Like to try and spend my money as wisely as possible and get more films for my money.
via AsianDVDGuide.com.
Can anyone tell me WHAT is in the missing 18 minutes?
footage. thats all i need to know.
i know thats odd and maybe harsh. but it doesnt matter whats missing when its not missing.
available to order at cd-wow too... or dddhosue.com / layoyo.com as usual.
Nah. I'll stick with the J-Lo remake. Everyone knows that one is much better. I mean it got Richard Gere in it.
They cutted mostly dancing-scenes.
Actually it wasn't mostly dancing scenes. There's some more backstory with the fat bossy woman whose name I forget. What a great film though!
Most of the footage cut was backstory on the individual characters. Mai had a longer more disruptive history of self-centeredness; she had an argument scene with her father; there was additional informative scenes of her at the Blackpool competition. There's more of a history to Toyoko, showing her working; her daughter talks more indepth about how Toyoko had to give up dancing and about her dead father. Ther are additional scenes to indicate the financial crunch that Sugiyama was feeling, including his wife going back to work for the first time in many years.
All the missing scenes (cut by Miramax) help to flesh out the characters and give depth and breadths to the world.
In the R2 dvd, there is also a 3 min outtakes reel, edited together into a music video. It's really funny.