EvilNinjaX

Just go to Akihabara and say, "DVD wo hoshii!" You can find just about anything in there! There are TONS of gigantic DVD stores. I think Yodobashi is a decent place to start (it's technically the "World biggest camera store" but has a huge DVD section) and then there's a store next to one of Yodobashi's Towers that also sells DVDs, IIRC. (a) Be aware of region-coding. Japan is R2 and so you need a regionfree dvd player. (b) You're prolly already aware that Japan is expensive but you might not realize the extent until you go to buy DVDs. The Diana Vishneva/Malakhov GISELLE (a must have) is about $70. Each of the K-Ballet DVDs are >$70 with the Kumakawa BEING A DANCER Box being around $200+ (for CARMEN, BOLERO, and BEING A DANCER). Also, on a side note, you should DEFINITELY go to the Ghibli museum in Mitaka! You have to order tickets in advance, but if you've ever seen TOTORO, CASTLE IN THE SKY, KIKIS DELIVERY SERVICE, HOWLS MOVIGN CASTLE, SPIRITED AWAY, CAT'S RETURN, etc. etc. you must visit it! It's well worth it (plus you get to see an extra short movie ther!) and you might see if KBallet has any open classes; at least visit the company and buy their magazine (PIROUETTE). http://www.k-balletgate.com/ -goro-

I've seen that in Japan there have been several DVDs released under the banner of THE ROYAL BOX OF THE MARIINSKY THEATRE and I was wondering if anyone knew anything about them. Each DVD seems to focus on a particular dancer: Svetlana Zakharova Diana Vishneva Altynai Assylmuratova and Konstantin Zaklinsky Igor Zelensky Yulia Makhalina Farukh Ruzimatov Ulyana Lopatkina As with most Japanese DVDs, they are quite expensive ($45) and they are also quite short (~40min). Just wondering if anyone knew anything about these before I dropped upwards of $300 on these DVDs.... thx -goro-

Do be aware of PAL's 4% speedup; I'm not sure that Nero will allow pitch-correction. The alternative is to buy a remote-control hackable $40 DVD player. -goro-

my main point was that this ballet was FILMED IN HI-DEFINITION as looked really nice (not just an up-converted 480p DVD) and so i'm really interested in what the source is (HD-DVD? Blu-Ray?) and if there are not HD masters of ballets. I'm looking at the 2nd gen Tosh HD-DVD player (XA2) or perhap a PS3; I'm still debating the relative merits of either HD system. Ballets available would tip the balance! -goro-

While I was wandering CostCo, I passed by the HDTVs; typically they have some sporting event HD clips running. This time, they had a ballet on and it looked very good. I'm not sure exactly what ballet it was as it quickly excerpted to something else. I did notice that it had Nina Ananiashvili in it and that it looked like like La Bayadere Land of the Shades or Giselle's Wilis or sumsuch. It had a very nice look to it as opposed to (say) the DVDs that are simply VHS-dumps. No, i donut know which ballet company it was nor how old, though, if it was filmed in HD, it must be fairly recent. Anyone know what this is and what/where it's from? -goro-

And don't forget Marguerite et Armand w/Sylvie Guillem. Le Riche is also in the Nina Ananiashvili and her International All Stars DVDs. -goro-

There have beensome excellent replies and so i'll just add a few things to the thread. (1) There are quite a few DVD players that will to PAL<->NTSC conversion and are remote-hackable (region free using teh remote) for <$70 (and perhaps even as low as $45). (2) There is an EXCELLENT DVD player called the oppo (http://oppodigital.com) that does region free, pal<->ntsc, 720p upconversion, and also plays xvids/divx. It is a bit pricier at $200 but imho it is worth it. (3) If you have a region coded NTSC dvd, it is trivial to burn a region free NTSC copy of it (DVDDecrypter + DVDShrink) (4) You will NEVER get a dvd that is ruined afer only one playing (nor will your DVD player). What willhappen is one of two error messages: (1) Region coding doesn't match (or similar) and (2) Content not viewable (or somesuch). The player and disc willbe fine. -goro-

I just got a few new DVDs, one of which is the VAGANOVA BALLET ACADEMY series focusing on Diana Vishneva. It has video of her in class (barre, centre, and pas de deux), interviews with her teachers, her partner, and herself, video of what seems like competition variations (Carmen, Don Q, Grand Pas Classique), and some of a Don Q performance. She looks to be about 18yo or thereabouts and shows her amazing facility and it's really interesting for me to be able to see how she (as well as the other VBA girls) work. It's short at about 55min and pricey at about $60+ so it's really for devout fans (or people with more $ than sense). If i understood russian (or could read more Japanese) then i'd likely enjoy this more Still, i found that it's relly an interesting DVD to be able to watch as it's rare enough to be able to see the great ones work. btw, i'm totally in love with Vishneva, so it's a no-brainer for me! -goro-

DVDpacific (http://www.dvdpacific.com) is having a customer apprecation sale from 6/1-6/15 (which includes pre-orders) and all titles are discounted beyond their normal discoutn, many over 40% and some as much as 70% off. a sampling of some ballet dvds: JEWELS : $21 BARYSHNIKOV AT WOLF TRAP : $11 ABT NOW: VARIETY AND VIRTUOSITY : $13 LE CORSAIRE (ABT or KIROV) : $16 NINA ANANIASHVILI Vol 1 or Vol 2 : $25 LA SYLPHIDE POB - $20 LA SYLPHIDE RDB - $16 LA BAYADERE POB - $16 LA BAYADERE RB - $20 COPPELIA - Bujones - $11 COPPELIA - Kirov - $16 PHARAOH'S DAUGHER - $18 KIROV CELEBRATES NIJINSKY $11 KIROVCLASSICS - $16 Yes, you have to pay shipping, but it's not that bad; i think it works out like near or less $1 per title after 3. I think we all know how expensive ballet DVDs are (many msrp >$30 and amazon often gives only token dicounts for them) ;it's a good opportunity to grab some of those titles you might have bene holding off on. note: I have no affiliation with DVDPacific, though i am a veyr satisfied customer (having order many DVDs from them); they are a very good company, ime. -goro-

Just got a notification that Japan (R2 NTSC) is going to have a SLEEPING BEAUTY Paris Opera Ballet DVD released. Curretnly, i have the R2 PAL UK DVD, but that release was quite some time ago (at least 2-3 yrs, iirc). This news that there's an NTSC version means that we can (prolly) look forward to a R1 US NTSC version w/in a few months. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=WPBS-90167 -goro-

Is it just me, or did it seem really odd to see such bravura technique to the music of DYING SWAN? -goro-

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?K...X-50844&ref=myp 4/26th. Pricey (natch) at 7800Y (about $72+) -goro-

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=WPBS-90163 Anyone know about this? -goro-

I see that the SYLVIA dvd has released R2. Oct in Japan and Nov in UK. That means that in the US, we can expect it from TDK on around March/April? http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=TDBT-120 http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B...5113723-8540614 -goro-

If you managed to record it onto a DVR/PVR then you could encode the .ts files and make a burnable dvd or a viewable .avi out of it quite easily, which may be more convenient for you. Just a suggestion. -goro-

I don't think there's any. My Former ballet teacher, a cuban lady, had a video of him in competition and it was amaizng. The video (which i never did have a chance to copy) also had Little Carreno and someone else in class and after class messing around doing triple tours and big Kumakawa-ish cabrioles and the like. *sigh* -goro-

ok, i'll play: BUFFALO 66 ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD A FISH CALLED WANDA UNCLE BUCK BLUES BROTHERS HARVIE KRUMPET (stopmotion) SWINGERS THE VISITORS (FRA) - Remade in the US as JUST VISITING, starring Jean Reno and as two medieval knights who land in modern France. UNIVERSITY OF LAUGHS (JPN) - Stars Yakusho Koji (from SHALL WE DANSU) in a dialogue intensive movie about a comedic playright trying to get his play ok'd by the gov't censor. The Censor's intention is to rid it of all humor but ends up making it funnier. GETTING ANY? (JPN) - Takeshi Kitano as a guy trying to get laid in a wacky over the top Japanese movie that jumps from Zatoichi to Kurosawa to Godzilla. WATERBOYS (JPN) - High school boys Synchro (synchronized swimming). Has some of the weirdest and funniest scenes as well as a winning ending syncho scene! SWING GIRLS (JPN) - by the director of WATERBOYS. This time, it's high school girls swing band. KUNG FU HUSTLE (HK) - parody of old school Shaw Bros Kung fu movies. SHAOLIN SOCCER (HK) - Antoher Stephen Chow movie about kungfu + soccer. GOD OF COOKERY (HK) - Stephen Chow as a tv cooking master. SUMO DO SUMO DON'T (JPN) - By the director of SHALL WE DANSU. College Sumo. ARAHAN(KOR) - Korean "Kung fu"-ish comedy comparable to KUNG FU hustle. TAMPOPO (JPN) - About the search to create the perfect bowl of Ramen. MAYONAKA NO YAJI-SAN KITA-SAN (JPN) - indescribable wacky comedy about a drug addict and a gay man who travel from Edo along a highway. MY NEIGHBORS THE YAMADAS (JPN, animated) - A Ghibli movie featuring a "typical" japanese family. -goro-

If you're interested in good boxing movies, there are a couple you might want to seek out (if you haven't seen them already): * CHAMPION (Kor) - story about reallife SKorean lightweight boxer Kim Deuk-ku who gets a championship match again Ray Mancini. * CRYING FIST (Kor) - story about an aging boxer trying to regain some past glory and a juvenile delinquent looking to do something with his life. The buildup is great and I found the boxing moments in the 3rd act to be quite good. * BEAUTIFUL BOXER (Tha) - fact based story about Thai boxing champion and transvestite. Focuses mostly on issues of self and not sexuality. Stars reallife muy thai champion and many of the boxing matches have a genuine feel to them. CRYING FIST is one of my favorite films of the past year. -goro-

OASIS is quite a controversial film and not necessarily an enjoyable one (depending on how much you need to EMPATHIZE with a character in order to enjoy a film). However, it is a masterful one. The acting by the two leads, the direction, the little nuances, the powerful elements of plot that are handled effortlessly and subtley are all sublime. It does meander a bit near the end of the 2nd act and as a result feels a touch overlong (since it's more a character and tone piece, it's not plot-driven and so tends to such). It is part of Lee Chang-Dong's marvelous 3 film series (not related), which also includes PEPPERMINT CANDY and GREEN FISH. I find the 3 all worth seeing (though the other two aren't Romances and so weren't mentioned in the original post). I think watching Daniel Auteil is absolutely amazing. He's truly a gifted actor with a huge range. I recently watched him in 36 QUAI DES ORFEVRES (playing opposite the equally magnificent Gerard Depardieu) and he was amazing again. And i hear that he's got a new movie coming out opposite Charlotte Gainsbourg (*swoon*). Interestingly, S Korea has been in a huge moviemaking boon the last few years. The most interesting, powerful, energetic films have been comign from there and it's added great freshness to World Cinema. If you have any trouble finding any of these or if you want any more recommendations, feel free to lmk, as Asian (and Foreign in general) films are my OTHER big passion. i spend most of my effort and $ these days acquiring Asian DVDs. ! ( in case you're interesting, here's a shameless plug for my Asian movies blog: http://evilninjax.typepad.com ) btw, I'm jealous tha tyou're able to get to SIFF. I'm here in Zona and there's not much... -goro-

A few of mine (foreign): IL MARE (Korea) - currently being remade in the US starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. Romantic melodrama. It's like FREQUENCY crossed with SHOP AROUND THE CORNER. SHALL WE DANSU ? (Japan) - original director's cut is 20min longer than the Miramax US edit and is much better. MY SASSY GIRL (Korea) - RomCom about a normal college guy who meets a somewhat crazed girl who gets him into all kinds of trouble. MY LITTLE BRIDE (Korea) - RomCom about a forced marriage b/w a 22yo college student and a 16yo high school girl and the humorous situations they face. LAST PRESENT (Korea) - melodrama. Echoes of GIFT OF THE MAGI. A woman has terminal illness and before she dies, she wants to give her husband a last present: getting him a chance to be a successful comedian. Meanwhile, he finds out about the illness and looks to give her a final present: a reunion wiht her first and only true love. CHRISTMAS IN AUGUST (Korea) - Understated drama about a man who owns a camera store and a female meter maid. BE WITH YOU (Japan) - A year after she dies, a young woman returns to her husband and child to stay with them for the duration of the rainy season. She doesn't have any memories and so they relive them together. Painfully tender and beautiful. Set to be remad ein the US starring Jennifer Garner. LOVER'S CONCERTO (Korea) - A young college student meets two girls and falls in love with one at first sight, but she doesn't (at first) return the feelings. The three of them form an inseparable friendship, though,... OASIS (Korea) - painfully awkward romance b/w a girl with cerebral palsy and a man just released from prison. it's a too-realistic film about the troubles both these people face and the less-than-romantic love that blooms. GIRL ON THE BRIDGE (France) - Patrice Leconte. About a knife thrower who rescues a "bad luck girl" from jumping off a bridge. Together, they brign each other good luck... for a while. INITIMATE STRANGERS (France) - Patrice Leconte. A woman looking for counseling accidentaly enters the wrong office and starts talking to a tax accountant, who (puzzled) listens to her. This leads to a strange relationship... HANA AND ALICE (Japan) - About two mid school girls and their friendship and the love that comes into Hana's life. As a bonus, they are both ballet students and a marvelous scene near the end depicts how much Alice loves ballet. HE LOVES ME HE LOVES ME NOT - Audrey Tautou. She's in an affair with a married man and it's not quite what she seems to think it is. LOVE LETTER (Japan) - Shunji Iwai. About a woman who relives the love of her past thru a strange correspondence. Touching and beautiful if you can accept the premise. MESSENGERS (Japan) - ROmcom about a high society girl who is forced to become a bicycle messenger. ONLY YESTERDAY (Japan) - Ghibli animated film. About a woman accountant who returns to the countryside of her youth and finds what was missing in her life. NELLY AND MR. ARNAUD (France) - Emmanuelle Beart. An aging man hires a beautiful young woman as he dictates his life story. The Relationship blossoms but is handled delicately and in a nice understated manner. CRYING OUT LOVE IN THE CENTER OF THE WORLD (Japan) - Love affair taking place in high school as two young lovers send audio cassettes back and forth. TWILIGHT SAMURAI (Japan) - Mostly a love story about a low-end widowed samurai and the woman who comes to care for him and his children. WHEN I TURNED NINE (Korea) - Echoes of 400 BLOWS. A 9 year old's life in a poor town filled with characters, including the new girl at school with whom he doesn't get along... -goro-

I got an email from CDJapan about upcoming Ballet DVDs from Japan. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=TDBT-121 GISELLE, Moscow Classic Ballet, 1991, No cast listing http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=TDBT-122 BRAVO MALAKHOV, 1991, 60min, Looks like yet another Malakhov documentary. -goro-

My Japanese DVDs just came this week. RHAPSODY (KBallet - Kumakawa) GISELLE (Toky oBallet - Malakhov/Vishneva) DON Q (Tokyo Ballet) SLEEPING BEAUTY (Asami Maki Ballet Tokyo - Mizuka Ueno) Rhapsody is beautiful and Kumakawa's absolutley amazing in it. His 540s are cleaner and bigger than I've ever seen them before. There's a 15min interview with Antony Dowell at the end about such things as Kumakawa at Royal, Viviana Durante and Kumakawa, etc. GISELLE is simply breathtaking. Malakhov and Vishneva make such ao wnderful pairing. havne't watched the other two yet, but interesting that the GISELLE came with several postcards of Malakhov and Vishneva while the SLEEPING BEAUTY came with 2 postcards of Mizuka Ueno (*swoon*) -goro-

http://www.netflix.com/MovieDisplay?moviei...16&trkid=181026 hth. hand. -goro-

Yikes! 35 GBP => $63. even when you subtract off VAT, it's still pricey (even before shipping). Still, yeah, I think I'll go ahead and order it! -goro-

i think it might be this booK: http://cgi.ebay.com/American-Ballet-Theatr...1QQcmdZViewItem -goro-