With the success of various limited edition box sets centred on Japanese directors Toshiaki Toyoda and Nobuhiko Obayashi, Third Window Films have now released another one focused on the works of Katsuhito Ishii (็ณไบ ๅ ไบบ), a director that you might not recognise at first but chances are you may have already seen something out of the many titles he has worked on throughout his career.
Background:
Katsuhito Ishii (็ณไบ ๅ ไบบ), born in Niigata Prefecture, Japan in 1966, began his career with directing various commercials with Tohokushinsha Film Corporation before working on his first short film Promise of August (8ๆใฎ็ดๆ) which received an award at one of the Japanese film festivals. Since then he has worked on a mixture of original and adapted works like 1998’s Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl (้ฎซ่็ทใจๆกๅฐปๅฅณ) and 2004’s The Taste of Tea (่ถใฎๅณ), but he has also written a number of screenplays.
Katsuhito Ishii is also no stranger to the anime industry, with his most notable credit being 2009’s REDLINE (ใฌใใใฉใคใณ) by studio Madhouse and director Takeshi Koike as both the original creator, writer, and designer for the characters, background and machines. He would later collaborate with Takeshi Koike as creative advisor for his Lupin the IIIrd film trilogy released in 2014-2019. In 2003, he was a co-character designer at Production I.G. for the anime chapter featured in Quentin Tarantino’s 2003 film Kill Bill Volume 1. In 2013, he was creative director and writer for Hiroaki Ando’s Gambo short film at studio Sunrise on the SHORT PEACE anthology project helmed by Akira director Katsuhiro Otomo.
Before releasing this box set, Third Window Films did release a few of his notable films prior. 2004’s The Taste of Tea (่ถใฎๅณ) which was released on Blu-ray in October 2020, and then a double film pack featuring 2005’s Funky Forest: The First Contact (ใใคในใฎๆฃฎ THE FIRST CONTACT) and 2011’s The Warped Forest (ใใใฃใฆใฎๆฃฎ) with directors Hajime Ishimine and Shunichiro Miki released in March 2022. Both The Taste of Tea and Funky Forest: The First Contact were also released on DVD in North America by Viz Media many years prior, while The Warped Forest was infamous for not being released outside of a film festival in 2011, therefore the UK release was its official debut on home video.
With the background covered, let’s talk about the Katsuhito Ishii Collection, which includes six films from his catalog. These are a mixture of both feature-length and short films, ranging from his debut all the way to his most current work.
Promise of August (8ๆใฎ็ดๆ, Hachigatsu no yakusoku), released in 1995 starring Dankan, Sanae Ueki, Ranran Suzuki and Tomo Taniguchi. This was Katsuhito Ishii’s first short film and one that awarded him with the Japanese Film Grand Prix in the Fantastic Video Section of the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival in the same year.
Shark Skin Man & Peach Hip Girl (้ฎซ่็ทใจๆกๅฐปๅฅณ, Samehada Otoko to Momojiri Onna), released in 1998 starring Tadanobu Asano, Shie Kohinata, Ittoku Kishibe, Susumu Terajima, Kimie Shingyoji, Tatsuya Gashรปin and Shingo Tsurumi. The story is based on the 1993 manga Big Wheel (Daisharin) written by Minetaro Mochizuki.
PARTY 7, released in 2000 starring Masatoni Nagase, Keisuke Horibe, Yoshinori Okada, Akemi Kobayashi, Tadanobu Asano, Yoshio Harada and Tatsuya Gashรปin.
Sorasoi (ใใใใ), released in 2008 starring Sota Aoyama, Ryu Morioka, Fumi Nikaido, Atsushi Yoshioka, Kanoko Kawaguchi, Shunichiro Miki, Ai Makino, Soichiro Hiramoto and Tokushi Suzuki.
Hello! Junichi (ใใญใผ!็ดไธ), released in 2014 starring Hikari Mitsuhima, Amon Kabe, Ryushin Tei, Chizuru Ikewaki, Tatsuya Gashiun, Yoshiyuki Morishita, Ryu Morioka, Kanji Tsuda and Rio Sasaki.
Norioka Workshop (ใใชใชใซใฏใผใฏใทใงใใ), released in 2022 starring Ryu Morioka, Saki Taniuchi and Yuka Harada. This is a 30 minute short film that Katsuhito Ishii recently made.
About Third Window Films:
Third Window Films is an independent UK distributor for Asian Cinema, primarily releasing Japanese films. Their line-up features a variety of films of all genres from notable directors including Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo: The Iron Man), Nobuhiko Obayashi (Hanagatami), Toshiaki Toyoda (9 Souls), Macoto Tezka (Legend of the Stardust Brothers), Sลgo Ishii (Crazy Thunder Road), Shin’ichirล Ueda (One Cut of the Dead) and Junta Yamaguchi (Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes). The distributor is smaller than 88 Films, Arrow and Eureka Entertainment, but continues to provide more variety of Japanese films, both newer and older, to newer audiences. As of the time of this post, their next batch of releases will include Banmei Takahashi’s Door & Door II, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s The Guard from Underground, Reiki Tsuno’s Mad Cats and Shinji Sลmai’s Typhoon Club.
Limited Edition Contents:
This is the fifth special edition box set in this style that UK distributor Third Window Films has offered following their two Toshiaki Toyoda box sets and two Nobuhiko Obayashi box sets. The design and content are consistent with their previous box sets.
The box set consists of a sturdy cardboard slipcase with a digipack that contains the six films across three Blu-ray discs. Each disc is also packed full of on-disc bonus features. There’s no booklet or physical item included with this release, so the main focus is on the films themselves.
The SRP is ยฃ59.99 and has a 2000-unit print run. Once the print run is out of stock, this edition wonโt be available. It is uncertain whether the films will be re-released in standalone sets over time but currently no details on that yet.
Physical Contents:
- Limited Edition slipcase with digipack packaging
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Third Window Films
Released: 17th July 2023
The limited edition release for Katsuhito Ishii Collection contains all six 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 couple of on-disc features which are listed below.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | Japanese |
| Audio | Promise of August: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Shark Skin Man & Peach Hip Girl, PARTY 7, Sorasoi, Hello! Junichi & Norioka Workshop: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 |
| Video | Promise of August: 1080p High Definition Native format 1.33:1 aspect ratio Shark Skin Man & Peach Hip Girl, PARTY 7, Sorasoi, Hello! Junichi & Norioka Workshop: 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: Shark Skin Man & Peach Hip Girl
- Director Katsuhito Ishii Interview (49 mins)
- The World of Katsuhito Ishii – Video Essay (10 mins)
- Director Katsuhito Ishii Audio Commentary for Shark Skin Man & Peach Hip Girl
- Promise of August short film (50 mins)
Disc 2: PARTY 7
- Making Of (20 mins)
- Director Katsuhito Ishii Interview (17 mins)
- Alternate Ending (3 mins)
- Arne Venema & Mike Leeder Audio Commentary
- Storyboards (63 mins)
- Trailer (2 mins)
- Teaser (1 min)
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Katsuhito Ishii Collection 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.
The Normanic Vault 
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