Brother DVD release date

[cozmik]

Hi Folks

Could someone tell me when Brother (about the Japanese yakuza) is coming out on region 4. I've been waiting for this one ever since I saw it at the cinema 4 or 5 months ago. Any help would be great. Thanks.

[jackson]

I'm not sure about the exact date, but it should be by the end of March.

[hardtack]

According to the MichaelDVD site, this was due for rental release 20th March and the sell thru date was unknown - so I would not be holding my breath if I were you.

As an alternative, why not buy it from Region 3 (Hong Kong) where it has good subtitles, DTS sound, and sells for approximately $HK40 ($10 AUD) from places like DVDShelf and DDDHouse. It is Region 3 encoded, but if you have a multi-zoned player (and let's face it, who doesn't;) ), then it is a real bargain - and while you are at it, you should also look at Battle Royale (starring Brother's director Kitano "beat" Takeshi) which is going for a tad over $HK62 ($15 AUD) and also has DTS sound.

regards, Tim...

[hardtack]

In response to a PM I received and just as extra information for anyone that might be interested:

These region 3 releases are definitely DVDs and not VCDs (I have both) and they are most definitley legitimate DVDs - both are region 3 encoded.

www.DDDHouse.com
- charge shipping by the DVD, somewhere around the $HK25 mark ($6 AUD) - I have never ordered a single DVD, but for an order of 3 DVDs I was charged $HK70 shipping. If you were to buy just the Brother DVD it would then cost you approx $16 AUD.

www.DVDShelf.com
- charge their shipping in blocks of 5 DVDs. For example, if you buy one DVD it will cost you $HK135 (approx $34 AUD) and if you buy 5 DVDs it will still cost you $HK135 - their rates are listed on the site. So in effect, you are better off waiting until there are 5 DVDs you want to buy and then ordering - that way Brother (for example) would work out at approximately $17 AUD.

If you were to order from DVDShelf (or even DDDHouse) and needed to make up the 5 DVDs to maximise your shipping, let me recommend some other titles based on the fact that you liked Brother.

Battle Royale $HK62 (DTS) is a must - stars Takeshi, the director of Brother
Tokyo Raiders $HK39 (DTS) - HK action
Shaolin Soccer $HK72 (DTS) - HK action/comedy/cgi
Kikujiro $HK115 - another Takeshi directed film... not violent, but a very enjoyable and quite humorous film
Friend $HK68 - Korean film
Shiri $125 (DTS) - Korean action film

They also have a number of non-Asian films which are good quality and very reasonable priced:
For example...
The Others (DTS) $HK60
Twin Peaks - the Pilot $HK$64
Taxi $HK39
Taxi 2 (DTS) $HK59

regards, Tim...

[cozmik]

Thanks for all the kind replies, folks. Please keep them coming. I'll certainly be looking at Battle Royale and a few other Takeshi films.