SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO (Mark L. Lester, 1991)

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Re: SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO (Mark L. Lester, 1991)

Postby Jox on 06 Jul 2015, 10:50

El Rey Network TV spot for June's double feature of SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO and BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA:
https://www.facebook.com/ElReyNetwork/v ... 960366003/
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Re: SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO (Mark L. Lester, 1991)

Postby Jox on 07 Jul 2015, 11:19

Blu-ray review
(talks about the film mostly, no mention on whether or not it's the uncut version, no special features as expected)
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Re: SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO (Mark L. Lester, 1991)

Postby Jox on 16 Jul 2015, 11:12

rupertpupkinspeaks
New #Bluray arrival from @warnerarchive: SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO!
#dolphlundgren #brandonlee
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https://m.facebook.com/RupertPupkinSpea ... &source=48
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Re: SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO (Mark L. Lester, 1991)

Postby Jox on 17 Jul 2015, 10:19

Blu-ray review (still no word on whether it's the uncut or R-rated version)
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/69301/sh ... tle-tokyo/
Video:
Showdown In Little Tokyo looks very good on this Blu-ray from the Warner Archive collection, presented in 1.85.1 widescreen in AVC encoded 1080p high definition. This is, for the most part, a pretty snazzy looking transfer. Colors look fantastic here, especially all those neon signs that are featured in most of the outdoor/night time scenes, while skin tones look nice and accurate, never too hot or too warm. Detail is nicely and noticeably improved over the previous DVD release and black levels are solid if just a tiny bit lighter than reference quality. Texture and depth are sometimes quite impressive, but there are some shots that look a little bit softer than others likely due to how they were shot. There's a natural amount of film grain noticeable here but very little in the way of actual print damage to note, just the odd white speck here and there. So yeah, the movie looks quite good in HD. Fans should be pleased with this aspect of the release.

Sound:
The only audio option on the disc is an English language DTS-HD 2.0 Stereo track with optional subtitles provided in English only. The audio quality here is fine. The score has some nice depth to it that helps to enhance the atmosphere of certain scenes while the levels stay properly balanced throughout. The dialogue is always easy to understand the sound effects have some serious wallop to them. There aren't any problems at all with any hiss or distortion while range, presence and clarity are all noticeably advanced over the previous DVD release.

Extras:
Outside of a static menu and chapter selection, the only extra feature included on the disc is a theatrical trailer for the feature. Fans will lament the absence of anything substantial here and the movie deserved more, but that is, unfortunately, all we get.
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Re: SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO (Mark L. Lester, 1991)

Postby Jox on 18 Jul 2015, 11:26

I hear it's the R-rated cut. :(
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Re: SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO (Mark L. Lester, 1991)

Postby Jox on 21 Jul 2015, 00:39

Blu-ray.com review and apart from being the R-rated "cut", it looks like a great transfer on both image and sound:
http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Showdown- ... 63/#Review

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Video Quality 4.0 of 5

Showdown in Little Tokyo was photographed by Canadian cinematographer Mark Irwin, who shot most of David Cronenberg's early films through The Fly and has had long-running partnerships with Wes Craven (Scream) and the Farrelly Brothers (There's Something About Mary). Irwin's hallmark is invisibility. His lighting and camera work don't draw attention to themselves. He's won four awards from the Canadian Society of Cinematographers, but he'll never win an Oscar, because no one ever thinks to themselves during one of his films, "Wow, that's beautiful photography!" They're too busy following the story.

The Warner Archive Collection has newly transferred Showdown at 2k from an interpositive, and the results are impressive. WAC's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray sports a beautifully film-like image with an organically natural grain pattern, solid blacks (essential for the many nighttime sequences) and vivid colors that brings out the full palette of Little Tokyo and its many residents and visitors. The elaborate body tattoos sported by the various yakuza (which are a plot point), as well as the lurid scene in the club formerly owned by Tanaka, are both vivid and life-like, without the pumped-up digital saturation that one often sees in today's productions. These are colors that could actually exist. Detail is plentiful, whether in closeups of faces or in long shots of elaborate environments like the Red Dragon brewery.

As has become its standard practice, WAC has mastered Showdown at an average bitrate of 35 Mbps. Even at that high rate, the film fits on a BD-25, because it is so short and has no major extras.

It should be noted that Showdown was shot on film, an analog medium, and WAC has preserved the look of that medium. Recent comments in the Blu-ray.com forum have reminded me that such a look still raises concern among viewers who have grown accustomed to digital photography, digital post-production and digital projection. The belief continues that any Blu-ray image with a "soft" or "grainy" texture must somehow be a botched job. On the contrary, an image like that on WAC's Blu-ray of Showdown is a model of how this type of production should be preserved in a high-def medium. It is certainly possible to apply digital software to eliminate visible grain, sharpen the image and enhance the appearance of detail (though only the appearance), but it is precisely those practices that have been repeatedly condemned by videophiles, and with good reason. Occasional instances may require the use of such tools (e.g., to clean up an image from a badly deteriorated source), but Showdown in Little Tokyo is not one of them.


Audio Quality 4.0 of 5

Showdown in Little Tokyo was released in Dolby Surround, which has been encoded on Blu-ray in lossless DTS-HD MA 2.0. It's a serviceable mix that provides a good surround experience when played back through a decoder, lending an effective ambiance to scenes like the opening fight competition, the bathhouse brawl and the battle at Yoshida's auto yard. The dynamic range is broad enough to lend appropriate impact to the gunshots, car crashes, flames and body blows. The dialogue is clear, and the score by former Broadway conductor David M. Frank (Above the Law, Hard to Kill) effectively imitates Hans Zimmer's style of importing Japanese musical elements into Western film music demonstrated in Black Rain two years earlier.


Special Features and Extras 0.5 of 5

The disc contains no extras other than a trailer (1080p; 1.78:1; 1:26), but this is more than Warner's 1998 DVD had.
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Re: SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO (Mark L. Lester, 1991)

Postby Jox on 25 Jul 2015, 11:46

Comparison Blu-ray / iTunes HD

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The iTunes version must be from the master used for the DVD, which like the VHS, I always thought made the photography too bright and bland especially during daylight scenes (looking more like a TV show of that era). The new Blu-ray 2K transfer seems to render the 35mm film and cinema experience much better.
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Re: SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO (Mark L. Lester, 1991)

Postby Krom on 25 Jul 2015, 22:56

Wow, great transfer, cinematic colors!
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Re: SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO (Mark L. Lester, 1991)

Postby Jox on 26 Jul 2015, 12:32

Full cover below
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EDIT:
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Re: SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO (Mark L. Lester, 1991)

Postby Jox on 30 Jul 2015, 09:22

Blu-ray vs UK DVD captures comparison:
http://www.caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergleic ... 35#auswahl
(note that this US release is region-free so you can play it on your region B player as well)

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Re: SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO (Mark L. Lester, 1991)

Postby Jox on 31 Jul 2015, 10:28

Preserving its R-rated cut, Warner Archive presents Showdown in Little Tokyo with a 1080p transfer, sporting a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Appearing free of any intrusive instances of dirt or debris, colors are solid with skin tones reading naturally and warm. With a noticeably filmic representation, the film provides excellent inky black levels with detail found in the Yakuza’s multicolored tattoos and various facial features impressing. Continuing their dedication to quality transfers, Warner Archive delivers another effort worthy of its praise. Equipped with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix, dialogue is crystal clear while its respective score and massive moments of gunfire are adequately prioritized providing viewers with a solid listening experience. Lastly, the film’s Theatrical Trailer (2:13) is included as the sole special feature.

http://mikespopculture.com/movies/14162827
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Re: SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO (Mark L. Lester, 1991)

Postby Jox on 05 Aug 2015, 11:08

In case I haven't said it, the US Blu-ray is REGION-FREE...

Review from DVDActive
Video
For the majority of its fans, the highlight of Showdown in Little Tokyo's bow on Blu-ray will be its 1.78:1 aspect ratio. After their previous cramped quarters on home media, the streets of L.A. and the bodies littering them are given ample screen room in which to breathe. Save for this added openness, the overall transfer is passable enough; some sections olook more cleaned-up than others, although the film's more die-hard aficionados might appreciate that much of its distinctive early '90s grit has been retained here.

Audio
Showdown in Little Tokyo comes with an English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio track (with optional English subtitles). For as much as the flick skimps on truly spectacular visual action, the sound is in very solid shape. No dialogue gets lost amidst the picture's many exchanges of gunfire, explosions have audible heft, and David Michael Frank's chintzy score provides the perfect sort of background noodling deserving of the corny exploits that play out before our eyes.

Extras
The sole bonus feature is a theatrical trailer (1:26) that favors emphasizing the film's stunt work more so than its quips.

http://www.dvdactive.com/reviews/dvd/sh ... tokyo.html
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Re: SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO (Mark L. Lester, 1991)

Postby Jox on 17 Aug 2015, 10:15

Not much of a disc review:
http://moviefreak.com/showdown-in-littl ... ay-review/
Movie 4 Video 8 Audio 8 Extras 1 Overall 5

THE VIDEO

Showdown in Little Tokyo is presented on a single-layer 25GB Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video with a 1.78:1/1080p transfer.

THE AUDIO

Showdown in Little Tokyo slices its way onto Blu-ray with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track and includes optional English SDH subtitles.

THE EXTRAS

The only extra included with this release is the film’s Original Theatrical Trailer (1:26)
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