Distributor Third Window Films rescued by Arrow Films! New Update on the Animerama UK release!
Please note that the titles we’re discussing and displaying artwork for are Not Safe For Work, so you have been warned!
UK distributor Third Window Films have just announced that their company alongside Terracotta Distribution have been rescued by Arrow Films for future distribution in the UK & Ireland. The company ran into trouble when their sales company got shutdown in late January without warning and as a result their future line-up got put on-hold until a solution was found. Thanks to Arrow Films they will be able to continue releasing more asian cinema movies!
During their March newsletter they offered a statement on the announcement of their rescue:
THIRD WINDOW ARE BACK IN BUSINESS!
After all the troubles we found ourselves put into during 2017, we thought we have turned a corner in 2018, though as soon as we started to pick ourselves up came the very bad news that Fusion Media Sales, the sales agent which handled us as well as many other great indie distributors, were closed down by their parent company. This totally screwed us as well as many other labels like ours who are not big enough to negotiate directly with Amazon, HMV, SONY, etc and therefore need to rely on a third-party agent like Fusion who can handle such deals. Though in the case of a company like that being closed it leaves us with no control over our stock or sales, and in a terrible state of limbo.Though no more! Thanks to the great ARROW FILMS!
Both Third Window and our longtime partners Terracotta Distribution have been rescued by Arrow Films, and we cannot think of a better company to partner with! Arrow Films and Arrow Video have been one of the last few saviors in keeping physical media and indie film distribution alive, as we have been trying to do with Asian cinema, so it’s really the perfect match and a wonderful new family to be a part of!
In addition to this announcement they went over their second quarter line-up and one of which is their recently announced release of the first two Animerama movies.
In case you missed the news, Third Windows Films will be releasing both A Thousand and One Nights and Cleopatra: Queen of Sex on Blu-ray for the first time around the world ~ meaning that the UK & Ireland will be the first to release it before even Japan and North America. Much like Belladonna of Sadness, these two films have received brand new masters to offer the best viewing experience possible.
Animerama is the name used to describe a trilogy of X-Rated anime films created by Osamu Tezuka and Eiichi Yamamoto during the late 60s to early 70s. All three targeted a mature audience in the hopes of offering adult anime entertainment with a mixture of comedy and raunchy scenes, however the films didn’t fare well in the box office. Belladonna of Sadness eventually went for a different direction (with its budget cut and dropping the comedic tone for a serious one) and eventually became a cult classic, which was then restored by Cinelicious Pics with a 4K master (down-scaled to 2K). UK distributor Anime Limited eventually acquired and released the film on Blu-ray.
The UK release is presented as a limited edition box set at 2000 units on double discs with a ton of exclusive features including an interview with director Eiichi Yamamoto, audio commentaries on both films by Helen Mccarthy (author of The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga), 4K scanned trailers and also liner notes by film critic Simon Abrams.
Release date is currently set for June 2018.
Third Window Films had this to say for the release:
Third Window Films are pleased to announce the WORLD’S FIRST BLURAY release of two rare animations from the “Godfather of Manga” TEZUKA OSAMU: 1001 NIGHTS and CLEOPATRA as a double disc, 2000 copy limited edition box-set coming in JUNE!
In the late 60s, Tezuka Osamu with his production company MUSHI PRO and director EIICHI YAMAMOTO (Belladonna of Sadness) started a very short run series of X-RATED animations called ANIMERAMA. The series only really officially made these two films before Mushi Pro went bankrupt, but they have been totally forgotten in history and we are very happy to bring them back with new 2K remasters.
Pre-orders for this special release will be available soon, and there will also be a DVD version for those who don’t have a Blu-ray player.
Also coming from Third Window Films are Love & Other Cults on 26th March, The Whispering Star / Sion Sono on 16th April, Antiporno on 30th April, The Suffering of Ninko due this Summer, and Dangan Runner also due for this Summer. More titles will be revealed later into the year.
Source: Third Window Films
