Train to Busan / Seoul Station (AmasiA Mediabook #1) [Germany]

[pygospa]

Release date: 03.02. 2017
Buy link: - sold out -
Price: €24.99
Discs: 2x BD
Booklet: 24 pages

Unfortunately not english friendly (Korean + German dubbing, German + Dutch subtitles!)

 

You might have already put me into the box of that crazy dude that only collects and presents dust-covered movies that everybody has long forgotten about - but hold on, before you tape this box shut. I've got far more to offer than just Wicked/Anolis releases of movies pre-80s, with a clustering in the 60s. Today, I am going to present something totally different then the last couple of months:

 

 

A release from the German independent company Splendid Medien AG, that was founded in 1974 and has ever since worked on releasing movies in Germany. A few years ago, probably around 2005, they founded a sub-label called AmasiA, under which they released different titles from all over Asia on DVD, and later also Blu-ray, usually in Amaray or Digipack packaging. In my perception this label hasn't had too much attention from most collectors, even though they also released titles such as "Jackie Chan" movies, the IP Man movies, the Ongbak movies, Godzilla movies, etc. But if you look them up on Facebook collectors group, YouTube, etc., you won't find much. This radically changed when in February 2017 they released their very first Mediabook: "Train To Busan" was on the shelves for roughly a week. Then all of a sudden, people got it and posted pictures of it online, and all of a sudden this Mediabook sold out in a couple of hours. Reasons where, besides the beautiful artwork and the fact that it's a Zombie movie, also the fact that it was individually numbered which wasn't apparent from the outside. Soon the prices rose astronomically from 100€-300€. Absolutely stupid. This crazy trend, however, did not carry on to later releases. On the one side, Splendid raised their limitation numbers from 2.000 for Train to Busan to 3.500- 4.000 for the other titles (although now they are dropping them back to 2.000 numbered copies but all of a sudden, no one seems to care anymore); to this date 7 additional titles have been released. On the other hand, I guess, people seemed to realize that Asian movies is probably not everyone's cup of tea. Funny thing: A lot of people who got the Mediabook later started hating the movie (which I do not share at all). Still, Train to Busan to this date remains the most expensive title on the second market from this label.
 

For a few reasons these releases are really great, and I feel everyone who is slightly interested in current Asian or especially Korean cinema, should collect them. First off, they promote movies that you've probably never seen or heard of. However, these movies are worth your time, non the less. I'm not saying they are absolute master pieces, but they are solid to good movies, that are fun to watch (at least the couple of them that I've already seen). Up to now, unfortunately, only Korean movies are put in these Mediabook releases, even though the AmasiA label usually includes all of Asia (with releases in DigiPacks and Amarays ranging von China, HongKong, India, Japan, Korea, and others). All of the AmasiA Mediabook movies are quite action packed, be it historical battles, hit-man stories, or zombie stories. Second, all have a similar Mediabook-design that is really special: On the front we get an exclusive artwork, that is stunningly drawn, really beautiful. But even more, it also gets a partial gloss varnish treatment, so elements really pop out, and this looks absolutely stunning. They do the same on the back (the Mediabook comes with a J-Card so the back can be text free), only that here a characteristic weapon of the film is used as a cross that is full gloss, and below it, there is the individual copy number as a hologram sticker. Secondly, on the inside we get the same loving treatment: the Tray sides both show an continuously spread artwork that is continued on the disc artwork. What follows is a great text, that in a booklet well designed with a lot of scene pictures, and as a special "making of" spread, we get to see how the cover artwork was done - from the scenes that inspired it, through the different scetches until its the finnished product. I really love this, I think it's ingenious and it's fun to see. Third, what is really great, is that we get another movie instead of a DVD copy! Yes, you get a bonus movie and the last two pages of the booklet are dedicated to this bonus movie. That's really great, especially as these kind of movies are hard to get anyways, and probably it wouldn't be feasible to release them separately. So instead of not releasing them at all, you get this bonus. Absolutely great!

Here are two titles as comparisson (I did them a while ago - I now have all titles, and they all look very well with each other, absolutely perfectly fiting together), just to illustrate what I was trying to convay above:
 

 

 

In this post, as you already know, I am presenting Train to Busan, which i was really lucky to get! This title and I have a long history, that I'd like to share. So by luck I was in one of my local Blu-ray stores on February 3rd when this was just fresh in the shelves. I though "The Mediabook is stunning, the movie looks interesting, I would probably like to watch it - however it could also be total crap - you never know with Asian movies. And taglines that do namedroppings such as: »This movie is as if '28 Days Later' got an infusion of 'Crank' and had 'Speed' in its bags« are probably rather a sing that the movie needs this because it is rather bad". I decided that 25€ was too much, and I'd rather look up a trailer or watch a review and wait if this drops in price - I mean, the shelf was full of these releases. A week long nothing happened, I was actually in that same store on February 10th. And they were still there (both days where a Friday). Back at home, however, I saw that on Forums and Social Media people shared photos and started building up extreme interest for this edition. Especially because it had a hidden limitation number and was limited to just 2000 pieces. And in this weekend people started emptying the stores. I just realized this incidentally without much focus. This however changed, when on that Sunday one of my favorite YouTubers - a Korean guy who was talking about Korean Cinema a lot and who I liked 'cause on films we both new he always had a similar opinion to mine - listed this title in his Top 10 Korean movies of 2016. In that moment I was like: stop using inappropriate language, this is actually the first time that I could get one of the Korean movies he recommends (unfortunately 90% of the movies he talks about are impossible to get [at least with English/German subtitles]).

 

 

So on Monday after work I went back to my store: Sold out! I was like: WTF?! Seriously? That evening I looked online, sold out. Next day I went to all the stores around that had Mediabooks - not a chance. I even went to a small neighboring city, nope. Meanwhile on the Internet people where asking 100€-300€. stop using inappropriate languageing scalpers. But even worse, people where actually paying these prices (and later where pissed that they did ). I was so shocked. I had this title in my hands 3 or 4 times, and decided to wait and a day later every edition in entire Germany was gone! I already made peace with the thought that I missed my opportunity. There was Steelbook announced for two months later, and I though, well, just get that edition and be happy. Then, one day - weeks later(!) - by pure chance I looked up that Mediabook online and found a copy that was sold via Müller (you can order it to your local store and had to pick it up there). I didn't believe it to be true, did it anyways, article was sold out right after I sent my reservation, and three days later (Feb. 27th) I could pick up my order from Feb. 24th. This was either not picked up by someone else or a last copy found in one of the storages - but here you have it, ladys and gentlemen: I actually got the absolute very last copy of this movie ever sold on the regular market, picked it up for 23,99€ while elsewhere at the same time it was sold for €100+. I even kept the bag as a souvenir 

 

 

 

This edition comes with two movies, "Train to Busan" and "Seoul Station". First movie is the main feature of this release. It tells the story of a 350km Train ride from Seoul to Busan, but the crux being that it leaves Seoul just the moment, that in Seoul a Zombie plague breaks out. Of course there's one person on the train that during that ride starts to turn, and makes this routine trip in the high speed KTX a horror trip. In my opinion train to busan is a really great movie, I had a lot of fun watching it, even though we already had a million Zombie movies, this one is somewhat special, as it reduces the Zombie story to a tiny space. We still have all the mechanism, the social critizism we know from normal Zombie movies, but reduced to the train, that is getting smaller and smaller as they loose waggons to the zombies. I thought that was rather cleverly executed, while still keeping all the other elements, be it horror and suspense, goryness, emotions, character development, and comedy. I loved it.
 

"Seoul Station" is the prequell that was released even before "Train to Busan" on, and though it is an Anime movie, it's as good as the real thing. This one describes how the Zombie plague breaks out in Seoul, just before the train leaves for Busan, and shows all the chaos that is happening in the outside world that we don't get to see during the trian ride. And boy this was both, thrilling and captivating but also devistating as stop using inappropriate language. It's a really good and some (including me) would call it equally good as Trian to Busan. But I've also read people liking "Seoul Station" even more, as it focusses on totally other aspects: People at the bottom end of the social pyramid, like homless people, street thungs and prostitutes. Again, something no other Zombie movie has done before.

 

For me this is a perfect buy, and I am really happy to own this. I would love to share some final pictures of my editon, and after that - you know me, there'll be trailers for both of the movies included. If you ever see this somewhere for a decent price (I'd say under 50€ is okey), grab it! Enjoy! And if oyu are interested in further Korean movie releases, stay tuned. I've got six more of these, that I can present (if you like ).

 

 

 

 

 

[Grendel]

Hello again @pygospa , @Veum @Hollywood E Rock and others...🙂

Thanks very much once more for your comprehensive info wrt both Asian cinema films available in Germany and the specifics regarding Train To Busan/Seoul Station.

 

First, I'm quite pleased to hear you were able to purchase such an elusive copy of this much loved film. I'm also happy to hear you are a fan of both. 🤗

 

I too have a strong affection for Asian Cinema and have purchased a variety of editions from;

- Nova

- Kimchi

- Plain Archive

- YesAsia

and a few other noted sites.

Although those I've listed are more reputed here at MP for the Premium eds they carry for many NA films, they have also proven a very reliable source for Asian cinema releases with English subs and even occasionally dubs.

 

Plain Archive released in 2018, a gorgeous Premium ed of Train To Busan/Seoul Station and should you have interest, here's a link to their page showing the versions still available;

 

https://plainarchive.com/collections/plain-archive?page=2

 

I purchased the 1-click as I love all 3 covers...🙂

I also purchased an LE ed of The Villainess from Nova (and the Steel from Amz.fr) but sadly, those are sold out on both Kimchi and Nova.

 

I'm of course thrilled to discover you have affection for Asian cinema releases as well, though our purses may be upset that this knowledge has come to light...🙃

 

Here again, is an old pic from my gallery displaying some of the Asian films I've purchased but the amount pales in comparison to my collection today, heh.

Should you (or anyone 🙂)  have questions on any of the releases shown, please don't hesitate to ask.

Titles are listed below pic:

 

 

Titles:  (* denotes a 'classic'  or superb show I recommend to everyone)

 

- Seven Samurai  *

- Ring (set) *

- The Handmaiden *

- The Witch (Pt-1)

- Hero *

- Close Encounters of the Spooky Kind

- The Last Princess

- Maidens of Heavenly Mountain

- The Outlaws

- City On Fire

- My Sassy Girl (Lenti LE)

- Mr Vampire *

- Farewell My Concubine *

- Gonjiam (Haunted Assylum)

- Tinker, Ticker

- Believer (P.A. #0001 🙂)

- The Last Emperor (3D) * (definition of a classic, 3D not rq'd and perhaps not preferred)

- Rampant  (* medieval sword wielders vs zombies, wild!)

- Two Sisters

-  Along With The Gods (1 & 2) *

- The Spy Gone North

- The Secret

- Indochine *

- Lady Snowblood (1 & 2) *

🤗

 

Heh, you keep opening these doors my friend and I'm gonna keep walking thru them! hee 😉

 

Edited June 8, 2020 by Grendel

[Grendel]

I should also mention @pygospa (though you are probably already aware) that @ksosk has successfully hooked us up with a variety of orders from Discino for Asian films, here at MP. 🥰

If you go to the main GB page and select Special/Collector Group Buys, you'll see a listing for;

- MLIFE

- WCL

- UHD

and a sundry of other distributors.

Link;

https://mediapsychos.com/forum/73-special-collector-groupbuys/

 

If you scroll further down however, you will see where he has listed some Discino titles individually, for GB purchase.

Ksosk has a great eye for films of this ilk and I think I've purchased ALL the ones he's listed, heh. 🙂

Edited June 8, 2020 by Grendel

[Grendel]

Hello again @pygospa, @Veum , @Hollywood E Rock and others...🙂

Now that things have quieted down a bit, I took the opportunity to watch the Youtube clip you embedded above, from "Fake Plastic Films".

Very enjoyable, thank-you!

This gentleman is eloquent, well paced, subject knowledgeable and seems to have taste similar to my own...heh.

I have the fortune of owning a few from his list and agree with his assessments of them, including;

- The Handmaiden  (PA)

- Train To Busan/Seoul Station  (PA)

- The Age Of Shadows  (Nova)

- and assuredly The Wailing! (Kimchi)

I believe it's safe to say, Korea had a pretty damn good year for releasing films in 2016 🥰

 

I've since bookmarked this chaps Youtube page, so I look forward to viewing his other assessments.

Cheers!

Edited June 8, 2020 by Grendel

[Veum]

🥤Hey morning here @Grendel / @pygospa,

 

I have not taken a good look at any reviews or in-depth analysis of Train To Busan/Seoul Station... can you tell me if this is a blood-fest type of film 🎞 as I do not enjoy these as much unless they are subtle and make sense in the story-line?

[Grendel]

^^ Hi @Veum ;

Well, as you know, they are zombie films, so there will of course be a modicum of blood and gore but not to the extent of most zombie films.

I'd suggest they are far more story driven than most and the sense of urgency that envelops the characters is palpable.

If I consider some of the other films you've acquired, I'd say you will enjoy these as well. 😀

They are Korean, so subtitled of course.

Should you elect to grab a copy, the Plain Archive link I provided above should bring you to the page showing all their edition offerings.

Bear in mind, that shipping restrictions at this time seem to still be in effect. 🙂

[Veum]

^^^

Yeah @Grendel I know about Plain as I still have not gotten these as of yet 🤨:

 

 

[Grendel]

Oh, just as an aside @Veum, the Steelbook for TtB has a luminescent 'hand-print' on it that glows in the dark.

They (PA) display a small vid showing the effect on the page of any of their selections for it.

They also show a small trailer if you have yet to see one. 🙂

[Veum]

^^^

@Grendel is that glow for all the steels?🤔

[Grendel]

^^ All the Steels in this release, yes.

The slips offer a variety of artwork but the same Steel is used in each.

[pygospa]

Again so much is happening here. Thank you guys, for all your input! I'll try to answer everything - but regarding TtB, @Grendel has already said everything, and I totally agree. Especially, regarding the PA release - the Glow in the Dark effect is wonderful and I got it, just because of the GitD effect

 

17 hours ago, Grendel said:

I too have a strong affection for Asian Cinema and have purchased a variety of editions from;

- Nova

- Kimchi

- Plain Archive

- YesAsia

and a few other noted sites.

Although those I've listed are more reputed here at MP for the Premium eds they carry for many NA films, they have also proven a very reliable source for Asian cinema releases with English subs and even occasionally dubs.

 

Plain Archive released in 2018, a gorgeous Premium ed of Train To Busan/Seoul Station and should you have interest, here's a link to their page showing the versions still available;

 

https://plainarchive.com/collections/plain-archive?page=2

 

I purchased the 1-click as I love all 3 covers...🙂

I also purchased an LE ed of The Villainess from Nova (and the Steel from Amz.fr) but sadly, those are sold out on both Kimchi and Nova.

 

I'm of course thrilled to discover you have affection for Asian cinema releases as well, though our purses may be upset that this knowledge has come to light...🙃

 

Here again, is an old pic from my gallery displaying some of the Asian films I've purchased but the amount pales in comparison to my collection today, heh.

Should you (or anyone 🙂)  have questions on any of the releases shown, please don't hesitate to ask.

Titles are listed below pic:

 

 

 

Again a wonderful collection, I'm loving it. I have to say, I also once got one of the Asian edition, just to fill up my order with a cheap edition (and save some shipping), but I didn't think about it coming from Asia that it might not have subtitles. So that was wasted (I've already sold that one and I don't even remember the title - if I see the cover I would remember). Since that experience I am a bit careful with getting Asian movies from Asia I don't care for the language, so if it's English or German subtitles, won't matter to me. But without any, and just Asian language, there is no value for me

But after double and tripple checking here is my, very small release of premium Asian editions:

 

 

PAs Train to Busan (I only got that one Edition, because I have the Mediabook), OldBoy (here I still need to get that Mediabook Capelight did, due to the Extras that the PAs Edition did not subtitle ), and from NovaMedia: The Tale of Two Sisters. That's it.

 

But of course, those are not all my Asian movies I shared all my Japanese movies here, starting with this post in the Japanese thread, and these are a misture of German Steelboosk and Mediabooks (mostly Takeshi Kitano movies), but also a few Arrow Video and Eureka! releases from the UK, plus that one movie Wicked did And next I'll plan a Criterion order which will include a few Japanese movies (classics) as well. Also missing on the pictures (because I forgot about it) is "Terror beneathe the Sea" (Anolis) and Kingdom which is a Capelight Steelbook. I also have the Chinese "Detective Dee" trilogy films, and of course the entire Amasia collection up to date, which includes these Korean movies: Train to Busan, Seoul Station, The Battle: Roar to Victory, The Suspect, The Great Battle, A Frozen Flower, The Divine Fury, Arahan, The Gangster The Cop The Devil, Kundo: Age of the Rampant, The Villainess, Confessions of a Murder, The Witch: Subversion, Swordbrothers. Plus a few Asian titles in the Capelight collection: I am a Cyborg but that's okey, Burning, Parasite, BuyBust, ... I think that must have been it, if I hadn't forgotten anything... oh Wailing is one I still want to get, there's a German Mediabook that I've been eyeballing

 

 

16 hours ago, Grendel said:

I should also mention @pygospa (though you are probably already aware) that @ksosk has successfully hooked us up with a variety of orders from Discino for Asian films, here at MP. 🥰

If you go to the main GB page and select Special/Collector Group Buys, you'll see a listing for;

- MLIFE

- WCL

- UHD

and a sundry of other distributors.

Link;

https://mediapsychos.com/forum/73-special-collector-groupbuys/

 

If you scroll further down however, you will see where he has listed some Discino titles individually, for GB purchase.

Ksosk has a great eye for films of this ilk and I think I've purchased ALL the ones he's listed, heh. 🙂

 

Thanks for the tip. I haven't been doing any Groupbuys here yet, except for the ones from forenhase. He's the reason I'm here, because I love Filmarena releases. But I'll keep an Eye on him. Thanks for this tip! Highly appreciated. I am always on the lookout for great Asian movies and unfortunately, most of them are impossible to get in Germany, which is why I am so happy about labels such as Splendid and Capelight. Everything else has to come from the UK Happy for labels such as Arrow, Eureka! and Criterion Now I have another source to look out for!

 

15 hours ago, Grendel said:

Hello again @pygospa, @Veum , @Hollywood E Rock and others...🙂

Now that things have quieted down a bit, I took the opportunity to watch the Youtube clip you embedded above, from "Fake Plastic Films".

Very enjoyable, thank-you!

This gentleman is eloquent, well paced, subject knowledgeable and seems to have taste similar to my own...heh.

I have the fortune of owning a few from his list and agree with his assessments of them, including;

- The Handmaiden  (PA)

- Train To Busan/Seoul Station  (PA)

- The Age Of Shadows  (Nova)

- and assuredly The Wailing! (Kimchi)

I believe it's safe to say, Korea had a pretty damn good year for releasing films in 2016 🥰

 

I've since bookmarked this chaps Youtube page, so I look forward to viewing his other assessments.

Cheers!

 

 

Nice to hear, that you like him. I've been following him for a few years, but lately he wasn't too active, unfortunately. I really loved his reviews, as you say he is really eloquent, and can describes movies in a way in English that I would wish I could. I always feel that I sound like a cavemen, compared to him (and he's from Korea, so this isn't even his mother tongue!). It's unfortunate that he stopped, or just became so irregular. If I remember correctly he recently started his studies and of course he's doing something with movies/cinematography. So who knows, maybe some day we'll talk about his movies

 

Uh, btw. just as I am reading this: I also own "The Handmaiden" - there was a neat German boxset from Koch Media:

Unfortunately, this has sold out, and is now quite expensive (100€). And of course, it isn't English friendly at all But if you know German, Japanese or Korean...

 

[Scary Hair]

What an edition 

Spoiler

On 6/8/2020 at 1:13 AM, pygospa said:

Release date: 03.02. 2017
Buy link: - sold out -
Price: €24.99
Discs: 2x BD
Booklet: 24 pages

Unfortunately not english friendly (Korean + German dubbing, German + Dutch subtitles!)

 

You might have already put me into the box of that crazy dude that only collects and presents dust-covered movies that everybody has long forgotten about - but hold on, before you tape this box shut. I've got far more to offer than just Wicked/Anolis releases of movies pre-80s, with a clustering in the 60s. Today, I am going to present something totally different then the last couple of months:

 

 

A release from the German independent company Splendid Medien AG, that was founded in 1974 and has ever since worked on releasing movies in Germany. A few years ago, probably around 2005, they founded a sub-label called AmasiA, under which they released different titles from all over Asia on DVD, and later also Blu-ray, usually in Amaray or Digipack packaging. In my perception this label hasn't had too much attention from most collectors, even though they also released titles such as "Jackie Chan" movies, the IP Man movies, the Ongbak movies, Godzilla movies, etc. But if you look them up on Facebook collectors group, YouTube, etc., you won't find much. This radically changed when in February 2017 they released their very first Mediabook: "Train To Busan" was on the shelves for roughly a week. Then all of a sudden, people got it and posted pictures of it online, and all of a sudden this Mediabook sold out in a couple of hours. Reasons where, besides the beautiful artwork and the fact that it's a Zombie movie, also the fact that it was individually numbered which wasn't apparent from the outside. Soon the prices rose astronomically from 100€-300€. Absolutely stupid. This crazy trend, however, did not carry on to later releases. On the one side, Splendid raised their limitation numbers from 2.000 for Train to Busan to 3.500- 4.000 for the other titles (although now they are dropping them back to 2.000 numbered copies but all of a sudden, no one seems to care anymore); to this date 7 additional titles have been released. On the other hand, I guess, people seemed to realize that Asian movies is probably not everyone's cup of tea. Funny thing: A lot of people who got the Mediabook later started hating the movie (which I do not share at all). Still, Train to Busan to this date remains the most expensive title on the second market from this label.
 

For a few reasons these releases are really great, and I feel everyone who is slightly interested in current Asian or especially Korean cinema, should collect them. First off, they promote movies that you've probably never seen or heard of. However, these movies are worth your time, non the less. I'm not saying they are absolute master pieces, but they are solid to good movies, that are fun to watch (at least the couple of them that I've already seen). Up to now, unfortunately, only Korean movies are put in these Mediabook releases, even though the AmasiA label usually includes all of Asia (with releases in DigiPacks and Amarays ranging von China, HongKong, India, Japan, Korea, and others). All of the AmasiA Mediabook movies are quite action packed, be it historical battles, hit-man stories, or zombie stories. Second, all have a similar Mediabook-design that is really special: On the front we get an exclusive artwork, that is stunningly drawn, really beautiful. But even more, it also gets a partial gloss varnish treatment, so elements really pop out, and this looks absolutely stunning. They do the same on the back (the Mediabook comes with a J-Card so the back can be text free), only that here a characteristic weapon of the film is used as a cross that is full gloss, and below it, there is the individual copy number as a hologram sticker. Secondly, on the inside we get the same loving treatment: the Tray sides both show an continuously spread artwork that is continued on the disc artwork. What follows is a great text, that in a booklet well designed with a lot of scene pictures, and as a special "making of" spread, we get to see how the cover artwork was done - from the scenes that inspired it, through the different scetches until its the finnished product. I really love this, I think it's ingenious and it's fun to see. Third, what is really great, is that we get another movie instead of a DVD copy! Yes, you get a bonus movie and the last two pages of the booklet are dedicated to this bonus movie. That's really great, especially as these kind of movies are hard to get anyways, and probably it wouldn't be feasible to release them separately. So instead of not releasing them at all, you get this bonus. Absolutely great!

Here are two titles as comparisson (I did them a while ago - I now have all titles, and they all look very well with each other, absolutely perfectly fiting together), just to illustrate what I was trying to convay above:
 

 

 

In this post, as you already know, I am presenting Train to Busan, which i was really lucky to get! This title and I have a long history, that I'd like to share. So by luck I was in one of my local Blu-ray stores on February 3rd when this was just fresh in the shelves. I though "The Mediabook is stunning, the movie looks interesting, I would probably like to watch it - however it could also be total crap - you never know with Asian movies. And taglines that do namedroppings such as: »This movie is as if '28 Days Later' got an infusion of 'Crank' and had 'Speed' in its bags« are probably rather a sing that the movie needs this because it is rather bad". I decided that 25€ was too much, and I'd rather look up a trailer or watch a review and wait if this drops in price - I mean, the shelf was full of these releases. A week long nothing happened, I was actually in that same store on February 10th. And they were still there (both days where a Friday). Back at home, however, I saw that on Forums and Social Media people shared photos and started building up extreme interest for this edition. Especially because it had a hidden limitation number and was limited to just 2000 pieces. And in this weekend people started emptying the stores. I just realized this incidentally without much focus. This however changed, when on that Sunday one of my favorite YouTubers - a Korean guy who was talking about Korean Cinema a lot and who I liked 'cause on films we both new he always had a similar opinion to mine - listed this title in his Top 10 Korean movies of 2016. In that moment I was like: stop using inappropriate language, this is actually the first time that I could get one of the Korean movies he recommends (unfortunately 90% of the movies he talks about are impossible to get [at least with English/German subtitles]).

 

 

So on Monday after work I went back to my store: Sold out! I was like: WTF?! Seriously? That evening I looked online, sold out. Next day I went to all the stores around that had Mediabooks - not a chance. I even went to a small neighboring city, nope. Meanwhile on the Internet people where asking 100€-300€. stop using inappropriate languageing scalpers. But even worse, people where actually paying these prices (and later where pissed that they did ). I was so shocked. I had this title in my hands 3 or 4 times, and decided to wait and a day later every edition in entire Germany was gone! I already made peace with the thought that I missed my opportunity. There was Steelbook announced for two months later, and I though, well, just get that edition and be happy. Then, one day - weeks later(!) - by pure chance I looked up that Mediabook online and found a copy that was sold via Müller (you can order it to your local store and had to pick it up there). I didn't believe it to be true, did it anyways, article was sold out right after I sent my reservation, and three days later (Feb. 27th) I could pick up my order from Feb. 24th. This was either not picked up by someone else or a last copy found in one of the storages - but here you have it, ladys and gentlemen: I actually got the absolute very last copy of this movie ever sold on the regular market, picked it up for 23,99€ while elsewhere at the same time it was sold for €100+. I even kept the bag as a souvenir 

 

 

 

This edition comes with two movies, "Train to Busan" and "Seoul Station". First movie is the main feature of this release. It tells the story of a 350km Train ride from Seoul to Busan, but the crux being that it leaves Seoul just the moment, that in Seoul a Zombie plague breaks out. Of course there's one person on the train that during that ride starts to turn, and makes this routine trip in the high speed KTX a horror trip. In my opinion train to busan is a really great movie, I had a lot of fun watching it, even though we already had a million Zombie movies, this one is somewhat special, as it reduces the Zombie story to a tiny space. We still have all the mechanism, the social critizism we know from normal Zombie movies, but reduced to the train, that is getting smaller and smaller as they loose waggons to the zombies. I thought that was rather cleverly executed, while still keeping all the other elements, be it horror and suspense, goryness, emotions, character development, and comedy. I loved it.
 

"Seoul Station" is the prequell that was released even before "Train to Busan" on, and though it is an Anime movie, it's as good as the real thing. This one describes how the Zombie plague breaks out in Seoul, just before the train leaves for Busan, and shows all the chaos that is happening in the outside world that we don't get to see during the trian ride. And boy this was both, thrilling and captivating but also devistating as stop using inappropriate language. It's a really good and some (including me) would call it equally good as Trian to Busan. But I've also read people liking "Seoul Station" even more, as it focusses on totally other aspects: People at the bottom end of the social pyramid, like homless people, street thungs and prostitutes. Again, something no other Zombie movie has done before.

 

For me this is a perfect buy, and I am really happy to own this. I would love to share some final pictures of my editon, and after that - you know me, there'll be trailers for both of the movies included. If you ever see this somewhere for a decent price (I'd say under 50€ is okey), grab it! Enjoy! And if oyu are interested in further Korean movie releases, stay tuned. I've got six more of these, that I can present (if you like ).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes the no English text is a downer for me on Korean Movies as here in the UK they do not get the respect they deserve 

 

I love the Originality of Train To Busan and sadly i still need to watch Soul Station .

 

May I leave this here ❤️

 

 

[pygospa]

12 minutes ago, Scary Hair said:

I love the Originality of Train To Busan and sadly i still need to watch Soul Station .

 

May I leave this here ❤️

 

 

 

Oh yes. The originality of the story is really great. And you should definitely watch Seoul Station as well, it's a great movie as well. But also more devastating. It will depress you (at least it depressed me).

And thank you for leaving the trailer here. I knew that Peninsula would be the "Train to Busan 2" movie, but I didn't know that there was already a trailer released. To be quite honest, I am not yet sure about how to feel about this movie. It looks a bit more like things you'd see in The Walking Dead, and others. So I hope this isn't a bad step for them. But I am also looking forward to it, and am open to be surprised. Prepare for the worst, but hope for the best - then you'll never be disappointed

[Grendel]

Good Evening @pygospa, @Veum, @Scary Hair and others  🙂

 

Thanks very much once more pygospa for the great info.

It sounds like I need to take some time and cruise the Japanese and Chinese sub-forums.

I've dropped in there in the past but will do so more regularly now.

Hope they don't mind...😉

Of course I'm very pleased that you've shared pics of some of your other esteemed editions my friend, very nice indeed!

 

The contents to that Koch Media Spec ed. for "The Handmaiden" bears striking similarity to the PA Spec ed. I picked up.

So you missed nothing by not double dipping it would seem ( happy to say 🙂 ).

I'm also glad you have your eye on a forthcoming MB for "The Wailing" as the Kimchi release I think was gone in a day.

I was fortunate enough to procure a Lenti and what I consider the nicer of the two Full Slips.

 

As for "Oldboy";

Well, there's no shortage of releases for this most excellent film, I found it more trouble deciding which to get than I did receiving my copies, heh.

I purchased the SteelBook and the Trilogy Limited Edition issued by Arrow. I think they were gobbled up in about 2 days.

That said, though I support your hunting down of the Capelight MB ( heh, I might also), I would be remiss not to inform you that Arrow has re-issued the Trilogy in another set just recently.

Here's a link to Zavvi but I suspect it may be available at Amz.uk as well.

Link:

https://www.zavvi.com/blu-ray/the-vengeance-trilogy/12311605.html

 

Oh, I too am quite looking forward to the Sequel to TtB ! I do hope they don't catch 'sequel-disease' but one more romp with this gang would be fun!

Thanks for the Trailer @Scary Hair  😀

Cheers my friends.