Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Anti-War Trilogy (Limited Edition Blu-ray) Unboxing

Back in 2018, I finally got back into the world of Asian Cinema which included picking up a Blu-ray or two from different UK distributors – like Arrow Video, Eureka Entertainment and Third Window Films. One of those films that I bought was Nobuhiko Obayashi (大林宣彦) and his 1977 film House (ハウス, Hausu) which was bizarre but rather intriguing and I enjoyed it a lot.

Eventually from there on I watched many more Japanese films since, but Nobuhiko Obayashi’s works never had a proper re-release or new works brought over to the UK since. That is, until Third Window Films out of nowhere announced they had acquired Hanagatami (花筐) which I acquired day one to support the chances of more of his works brought over but also because longer films are much harder to release due to the BBFC costs.

Admittedly I haven’t had the chance to watch it, but the distributor must have saw the potential in demand or sales and was able to license a few more of his works – which turned out to be a film trilogy that Hanagatami was a part of.

Background:

Nobuhiko Obayashi, born in Onomichi, Japan in 1938, has directed many experimental films throughout his career. His 1977 film House was basically the one that gathered him the most success, and by this day is considered a cult classic. He’s also produced films based on popular Japanese books including The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (時をかける少女, Toki o Kakeru Shōjo) in 1983, The Drifting Classroom (漂流教室, Hyōryū Kyōshitsu) in 1987, and School in the Crosshairs (ねらわれた学園, Nerawareta Gakuen) in 1981.

There’s many more of his films that have been recommended by fans and critics like 1986’s His Motorbike, Her Island (彼のオートバイ、彼女の島, Kare no Ootobai, Kanojo no Shima), 1982’s I Are You, You Am Me (転校生, Tenkōsei), 1993’s Samurai Kids (水の旅人 侍KIDS, Mizu no Tabibito Samurai Kiddzu) and more.

Unfortunately, in 2020, Nobuhiko Obayashi had sadly passed away from terminal cancer which is heart-breaking. He was 82 years old. This news came just as his final film Labyrinth of Cinema (海辺の映画館 キネマの玉手箱, Umibe no Eigakan – Kinema no Tamatebako) was released in Japanese theaters.

But thanks to his recent films, it seems there’s been some more interest in distributors releasing more of his works for home video. Third Window Films is no exception, as their aim is to provide a wide variety of Japanese films for the United Kingdom and Ireland, whether its from a new and coming director or a long-forgotten gem. Their line-up is so vast and many of them I have enjoyed watching, but most importantly introduced me to directors that I wouldn’t have heard of before.

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Before Nobuhiko Obayashi released Labyrinth of Cinema, he created a series called the Anti-War Trilogy; which comprises of three films that have a similar message:

Casting Blossoms to the Sky (この空の花 長岡花火物語, Kono Sora no Hana: Nagaoka Hanabi Monogatari), released in 2012 starring Yasuko Matsuyuki, Masahiro Takashima and Masao Kusakari.

Seven Weeks (野のなななのか, No no nanananoka), released in 2014 starring Tōru Shinagawa, Takako Tokiwa, Yutaka Matsushige, and Hirona Yamazaki.

Hanagatami (花筐), released in 2017 starring Shunsuke Kubozuka, Shinnosuke Mitsushima, Keishi Nagatsuka and Honoka Yahagi. This film is notable for originating during the 70s but took 40 years for him to produce, pretty much a passion project from my understanding.

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About Third Window Films:

Third Window Films is an independent UK distributor for Asian Cinema, primarily Japanese films. Their line-up includes films from notable directors including Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo: The Iron Man), Sion Sono (Love Exposure), Takeshi Kitano (Hana-bi), Macoto Tezka (Legend of the Stardust Brothers) and most recently more niche directors like Shin’ichirō Ueda (One Cut of the Dead), Junta Yamaguchi (Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes) and Katsuhito Ishii (Funky Forest: The First Contact). The distributor is smaller than 88 Films, Arrow and Eureka Entertainment, and is still going their best to provide more films in the future. As of the time of this post, their 2022 line-up includes Sogo Ishii’s Crazy Thunder Road and Shinya Tsukamoto’s Hiruko the Goblin which are available to pre-order on Terracotta Distribution.

Limited Edition Contents:

UK distributor Third Window Films has offered their third big special limited edition package following their two Toshiaki Toyoda box sets. In fact, the design pretty much matches that release for the shelf.

The box set consists of a sturdy cardboard slipcase with a digipack that contains the three films across three Blu-ray discs. Each disc is also packed full of on-disc bonus features. In addition to the digipack, a booklet is also included which is neat.

The SRP is £59.99 and has a 2000 unit print run. Once the print run is out of stock, this edition won’t be available. Hanagatami was previously released standalone first, and the disc is the same as before. As for the other two, the distributor has commented about it and is likely to be re-released in standalone sets over time.

Physical Contents:

• Limited Edition slipcase with digipack packaging
• Booklet

On-Disc Contents:

Distributor: Third Window Films
Released: 13th December 2021

The limited edition release for Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Anti-War Trilogy contains all three films spread across three Blu-ray discs. No English dub was ever produced for these films so they are all presented in Japanese audio with English subtitles. The white subtitles are unlockable during playback and each Blu-ray disc is Region B locked.

Each disc comes with a making of featurette or interview with the director himself.

Blu-ray Specs:

Languages	Japanese
Audio	Casting Blossoms to the Sky, Seven Weeks & Hanagatami: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Video	Casting Blossoms to the Sky, Seven Weeks & Hanagatami: 1080p High Definition Native format 1:85:1 aspect ratio
Region	B
Subtitles	English
Locked Subtitles	No
Discs	3 BD-50s

Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:

Disc 1: Casting Blossoms to the Sky

• Interview with Nobuhiko Obayashi (45 mins)
• Trailer

Disc 2: Seven Weeks

• Making of Seven Weeks (75 mins)
• Trailer

Disc 3: Hanagatami

• Interview with Nobuhiko Obayashi (35 mins)
• Making of Hanagatami (20 mins)

Unboxing Photos:

Final Notes:

Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Anti-War Trilogy limited edition box set is licensed and released by UK distributor Third Window Films. You can order the box set on Terracotta Distribution’s store.