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Initial D (2005)
Released By: Tai Seng   Rating: Not Rated   In Theaters: 6/19/2005
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Studio: Tai Seng
Genre: Action-Adventure
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Director: Andrew Lau
Language: English
Official Website: N/A
Theatrical Release: 6/19/2005
Home Video Release: 1/24/2006
Cast: Anne Suzuki, Jay Chou, Edison Chen, Shawn Yue, Chapman To, Jordan Chan
Published ID: 575192
UPC: 601641727648, 601641734745, 117119143044,
Plot: Infernal Affairs powerhouse Andy Lau and Alan Mak bring the most popular manga in Japan screaming to life in this in this live-action look at the high-speed sport of drifting that shot straight to the top of the Hong Kong box office. Eighteen-year-old Takumi (Jay Chou) is never late for a tofu delivery, and though he speeds the tofu to its destinations with the velocity of a landlocked stealth plane, his true aspiration in life is to follow in the footsteps of his formerly fast-driving father (Anthony Wong) -- an ex-adrenaline junkie who eventually gave up the race track for the restaurant business. In his five years delivering meals from his father's restaurant Takumi has learned the streets of his hometown like the back of his hand, and he can take every corner with the needle planted firmly on the right. The trick to Takumi's amazing driving skills is a technique known as drifting, and in a world where high-risk racing has spilled out of the tracks and onto the streets, this daring driver is about to become a legend. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
IDDateTimeTitleReviewHelpfulVotesTotalVotes
If it ever gets here..
Added 11/23/2009

Well, I'd love to give this movie a shining review for being amazing, and so on. But instead, I have to do this here since there's no "Leave buyer feedback" direct from Amazon. I ordered this BluRay on Friday of last week, with overnight shipping for Saturday the next day. It never showed. It's 12:48am on Monday, and the tracking number for the package shows it hasn't even shipped yet. I wasted 18$ on overnight shipping, and I want my money back.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
INITIALD BLUE-RAY
Added 9/12/2009

what else is there to say. I'm a huge fan of the InitialD series, and loved the movie. this is the second movie I have thought was worth paying the extra money to have it in blue-Ray. If you like InitialD, I would recommend buying this movie.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
Clear Your Mind of the Anime Before Watching
Added 5/16/2009

I'm not a car fan, nor a racing fan, but when I stumbled upon the anime, I loved it. So, even though I knew the live action film wouldn't be the same, I still looked forward to seeing it. As I have never read the manga, any comparisons I make are between the anime and the live action versions.

Like any movie that is adapted from another souce, they made changes, some significant - Bunta, Takumi's father is a womanizing alcoholic who abuses his son, and Itsuki is a braggard,, rather than the nerdy side kick - both revisions did not appeal to me. On the other hand, Jay Chou, who plays Takumi, did an excellent job of projecting the personality of the character in the anime, and which is part of the appeal for the story - a kid who doesn't know or like cars is a better racer than those obsessed by cars - and then finds focus in his life by racing.

I think the problem with this film is that it tries to do too much. This is worse for viewers familiar with the anime or manga because character and racing development takes place in leaps, rather than steps. Even for viewers who come in with no knowledge of the characters, sometimes you wonder where they are coming from - and basically, I think it comes from trying to imitate the major points from the original story without spending the time to develop it. On the other hand, the movie does revise characters' personalities and histories, so it is also trying to add some original touches. In the end, the movie is neither original, nor a faithful adaptation for the hard-core anime fans.

For me, the movie itself is a two star rating, but might be a 2 1/2 for those who give higher priority to visual racing scenes, or three for those not familiar with the anime - but as far as the Amazon rating stars, it still gets two because, as other reviews have stated, those trailers in the beginning are really annoying. Not only did I spend some extra time trying to skip past the trailers, but when the movie finally started, I realized that I forgot to set the sub-titles and had to sit through the trailers again. If you are going to watch this movie, make sure to see it in one sitting - it's just not worth having to sit through the trailers just to get to the movie and then getting to the point you left off at.

1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
good quality!
Added 3/24/2009

Since this is in blu-ray, it's quality is awesome. I saw this movie before and not in blu-ray quality. 1080p does make a huge difference.

As storyline goes, it's kind of close to the anime. It just felt like it crammed a whole lot of episodes in 2 hours worth of a movie. Too much was going on. And at the end, you are left hanging.

Still a 4 though since it gave great veiwing quality!

0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
I love Initial D and I love this movie.
Added 1/9/2009

Ok, I'm biased because I love cars and I love Initial D. So this movie is obviously a good one for me. If you know nothing about cars or Initial D, it will not be that fun. In fact, it's just an ok movie otherwise, not worth buying.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
If it ever gets here..
Added 11/23/2009

Well, I'd love to give this movie a shining review for being amazing, and so on. But instead, I have to do this here since there's no "Leave buyer feedback" direct from Amazon. I ordered this BluRay on Friday of last week, with overnight shipping for Saturday the next day. It never showed. It's 12:48am on Monday, and the tracking number for the package shows it hasn't even shipped yet. I wasted 18$ on overnight shipping, and I want my money back.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
INITIALD BLUE-RAY
Added 9/12/2009

what else is there to say. I'm a huge fan of the InitialD series, and loved the movie. this is the second movie I have thought was worth paying the extra money to have it in blue-Ray. If you like InitialD, I would recommend buying this movie.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
Clear Your Mind of the Anime Before Watching
Added 5/16/2009

I'm not a car fan, nor a racing fan, but when I stumbled upon the anime, I loved it. So, even though I knew the live action film wouldn't be the same, I still looked forward to seeing it. As I have never read the manga, any comparisons I make are between the anime and the live action versions.

Like any movie that is adapted from another souce, they made changes, some significant - Bunta, Takumi's father is a womanizing alcoholic who abuses his son, and Itsuki is a braggard,, rather than the nerdy side kick - both revisions did not appeal to me. On the other hand, Jay Chou, who plays Takumi, did an excellent job of projecting the personality of the character in the anime, and which is part of the appeal for the story - a kid who doesn't know or like cars is a better racer than those obsessed by cars - and then finds focus in his life by racing.

I think the problem with this film is that it tries to do too much. This is worse for viewers familiar with the anime or manga because character and racing development takes place in leaps, rather than steps. Even for viewers who come in with no knowledge of the characters, sometimes you wonder where they are coming from - and basically, I think it comes from trying to imitate the major points from the original story without spending the time to develop it. On the other hand, the movie does revise characters' personalities and histories, so it is also trying to add some original touches. In the end, the movie is neither original, nor a faithful adaptation for the hard-core anime fans.

For me, the movie itself is a two star rating, but might be a 2 1/2 for those who give higher priority to visual racing scenes, or three for those not familiar with the anime - but as far as the Amazon rating stars, it still gets two because, as other reviews have stated, those trailers in the beginning are really annoying. Not only did I spend some extra time trying to skip past the trailers, but when the movie finally started, I realized that I forgot to set the sub-titles and had to sit through the trailers again. If you are going to watch this movie, make sure to see it in one sitting - it's just not worth having to sit through the trailers just to get to the movie and then getting to the point you left off at.

1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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IDPriceImageUrlPurchaseUrlIdTypeBindingStore
DVD
$17.99 @ Amazon
Blu-ray
$19.99 @ Amazon