Throw Down | Blu-ray (Criterion)
RELEASE DATE: September 21, 2021
On September 21, 2021, Criterion Collection is releasing the Blu-ray & DVD for Johnnie To’s Milkway Image 2004 classic thriller Throw Down.
Check out the official details below:
One of the most personal films by the prolific Hong Kong auteur Johnnie To is a thrilling love letter to both the cinema of Akira Kurosawa and the art and philosophy of judo. Amid the neon-drenched nightclubs and gambling dens of Hong Kong’s nocturnal underworld, the fates of three wandering souls—a former judo champion now barely scraping by as an alcoholic bar owner (Louis Koo), a young fighter (Aaron Kwok) intent on challenging him, and a singer (Cherrie Ying) chasing dreams of stardom—collide in an operatic explosion of human pain, ambition, perseverance, and redemption. Paying offbeat homage to Kurosawa’s debut feature, Sanshiro Sugata, To scrambles wild comedy, flights of lyrical surrealism, and rousing martial-arts action into what is ultimately a disarmingly touching ode to the healing power of friendship.
Features:
- New 4K digital restoration, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- Interview from 2004 with director Johnnie To
- New interviews with coscreenwriter Yau Nai-hoi, composer Peter Kam, and film scholars David Bordwell and Caroline Guo
- Short making-of documentary from 2004 featuring To and actors Louis Koo, Aaron Kwok, Cherrie Ying, and Tony Leung Ka-fai
- Trailer
- New English subtitle translation
- PLUS: An essay by film critic Sean Gilman
Stay tuned for pre-order information. If you have an all-region Blu-ray player, Eureka’s equally stunning Blu-ray for Throw Down is currently available from U.S. seller The Goodie Emporium. Check out the Trailer for this release below:
Ho-ly—shit. About damn time Criterion started re-releasing To’s movies, and this one’s one of my favorites!
Definitely a surprise to see Criterion releasing a Johnnie To movie, and a welcome surprise at that. I already have the old HK blu-ray of “Throw Down”, but honestly, I’ll probably buy this Criterion edition just out of principle.