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Ghost Canyon

Versus + Ultimate Versus (2-Disc Special Edition)
(Tak Sakaguchi, Hideo Sakaki, Chieko Misaka, et al / 2-Disc Blu-ray / NR / (2000) 2020 / Arrow Films - MVD Visual)

Overview: A relentless one-of-a-kind sensory assault chock full of hyper-kinetic fight scenes, gangster shootouts, sword-slashing violence and gory zombie horror, 'Versus' was a key title amongst the barrage of innovative horror and action movies that appeared (as if from nowhere) from Japan at the turn of the millennium, leading to a new wave of appreciation for Asian extreme cinema.

A mysterious, and ultimately bloody face-off in a wooded clearing between two escaped convicts and a carload of sharply dressed yakuza holding a beautiful woman captive ends in hails of bullets and showers of blood.

The location for this violent encounter is the mythic Forest of Resurrection, the site of the 444th portal of the 666 hidden gates that link this earthly domain to the netherworld and it didn't get this name for nothing.

As one of the surviving prisoners escapes with the girl into the darkness of the forest, disgruntled gangsters soon become the least of their worries as an earlier battle between a lone warrior against hordes of zombie samurai is carried over from a millennium ago into the present day.

Arrow Video is proud to present this mythic cult title in both its original 2000 and expanded 2004 'Ultimate Versus' iterations, in a brand new, director-approved restoration.

Blu-ray Verdict: To my impartial mind, the contribution that Japan has made to the world of screen violence can hardly be overstated, and in the 21st Century there seems to be a new renaissance of sheer bloodiness.

Movies like BATTLE ROYALE, ICHI THE KILLER and VERSUS really set new standards for out and out shocking violence that I don't think any other country in the world has ever matched.

'Versus' is basically all about action. The premise is a crazy one that involves kung-fu samurais re-incarnated as yakuza who then get turned into zombies and vampires.

It's actually a very interesting and quite complex story in its own right, but basically it's an excuse to get a bunch of people in a forest and stage a fairly continuous sequence of hand to hand fights, sword fights and gun fights - with a supernatural angle to justify some HK style OTT acrobatics and an undead angle to justify people getting seriously messed up and still fighting on.

Genius. Sick as all Hell, but genius!

These days, good action movies from Hong Kong are becoming increasingly rare. For years HK stood unchallenged and exported its unique cinematic arts throughout Asia.

Since the talent or the investment or the will or whatever seems to have fled the HK industry in recent years, it seems like other Asian countries are stepping up to the challenge of filling the gap.

Korea has produced movies like MUSA and MY WIFE IS A GANGSTER, Thailand has produced BANGKOK DANGEROUS and TAK 4, INDIA has produced AANKHEN and MISSION KASHMIR. Hollywood and Europe have had a go too, but with so little success overall it's hardly worth mentioning.

'Versus' is clearly made by a small independent team who recognized that Hong Kong isn't going to produce the next jaw-dropping action movie any time soon, and who believed they had what it took to do it instead.

It takes a lot of confidence and dedication to produce results like these on a clearly low budget, and Napalm Films must have had a lot of both.

'Versus' attempts practically every type of action scene that Hong Kong has been famous for (and Japan traditionally has not), and pulls most of them off very well.

There'd been such a lot of hype around 'Versus' on the net for ages just before it came out in 2000, so much so that I'd found myself instinctively hating it before I knew anything about it!

But when I first saw the trailer I was converted to pure and utter enthusiasm and now having watched both the original version and the Ultimate Edition of the film, well, all is once again ok with my world!

Admittedly, having previously seen the wild disparity between the cool SHIRAYUKI HIME trailer and the dreadful full-length movie gave me some trepidation about 'Versus' back then; which is probably a good thing since at least I wasn't expecting something flawless.

And sure, 'Versus' is not flawless, but it's much much better than SHIRAYUKI HIME, of that you have my word!

The action scenes are not better than Hong Kong's best and, in truth, they're not even nearly as good as some of the scenes in movies like MAGNIFICENT WARRIORS, but they're imaginatively and enthusiastically staged and filmed.

And violent! Oh so very very violent! The special effects are some of the most convincingly brutal I've seen. ICHI THE KILLER may have had more outrageous effects, but was never in danger of having convincing effects, if that makes sense.

BATTLE ROYALE may have had more realistic violence, but nothing like the sheer magnitude of the bodily damage people take here in 'Versus'!

People get cut in half, lose limbs, have gaping holes blown through them and, well, you know how much it takes to stop a zombie moving toward you at pace!

It's all played fairly non-seriously, but not to the cartoonish extent of ICHI ie: It looks pretty damn real!

Definitely not one for the squeamish, and really not a family movie, but for the sick puppies out there who maintain an innocent curiosity as to just how violent a movie can be (like myself, I admit), 'Versus' is definitely the real deal and a must-see! This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements by Arrow Films, approved by director Ryûhei Kitamura
High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of both versions of the film: the original 2000 cut and 2004's Ultimate Versus, featuring over 10 minutes of new and revised footage
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Chris Malbon

DISC 1: 'Versus'
Original lossless Japanese 5.1 and 2.0 stereo audio and English 2.0 stereo audio
Optional English subtitles
Audio commentary by Kitamura and producer Keishiro Shin
Audio commentary by Kitamura and the cast and crew
New visual essay on the career of Kitamura by Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp
Behind Versus, a two-part behind-the-scenes documentary exploring the film's production
First Contact: Versus Evolution, a featurette exploring the film's origins
Tak Sakaguchi's One-Man Journey, an archival featurette on the actor's visit to the 2001 Japan Film Festival in Hamburg
Film festival screening footage
Team Versus, a brief look inside the Napalm Films office
Deep in the Woods, an archival featurette featuring interviews with Kitamura, cast and crew
The Encounter, an archival interview with editor Shûichi Kakesu
Deleted scenes with audio commentary by Kitamura, cast and crew
Nervous and Nervous 2, two side story mini-movies featuring characters from the main feature
Featurette on the making of Nervous 2
Versus FF Version, a condensed, 20-minute recut of the film
Multiple Trailers
Image Gallery

DISC 2: 'Ultimate Versus'
Original lossless Japanese 6.1 and 2.0 stereo audio and English 6.1 and 2.0 stereo audio
Optional English subtitles
Audio commentary by Kitamura, cast and crew
Sakigake! Otoko versus Juku, a featurette on the newly shot material for Ultimate Versus
+ FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector's Booklet

Amazon Purchase Link

Original Trailer

www.MVDvisual.com





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