The 30 Best Asian DVD and Blu-ray Releases of 2021

21. Flowers of Shanghai (Criterion Collection)

“Flowers” of Shanghai” is one of Hou Hsiao-Hsien most beautiful and artistic movies about gender roles and the impossibility of love in a world ruled by an increasingly materialist agenda. The release by Criterion presents the film in a 4K restoration, along with a number of extras and a booklet, among which the making-of is perhaps the most informative and interesting. A great release for cinephiles and classic Asian movies, with one of Criterion's best artworks in recent times. (Rouven Linnarz)

22. Cinematic Vengeance (Eureka Entertainment)

Director Joseph Kuo has certainly left his mark in the field of martial-arts cinema and the recent set, published by Eureka, is a testament to this great body of work as it allocates eight of his movies. Apart from the extras and the booklets to the releases, this is a must-have for genre-lovers, offering great entertainment and a release worthy of Kuo's work and influence in the genre. (Rouven Linnarz)

23. Steamboy (Koch Media)

Although many would argue “Steamboy”, in comparison to his other works, is not Katsuhiro Otomo's best work, there is no denying that this recent release by German publisher Koch Media (which also comes with English subs) is quite astounding. Presenting the film on Blu-ray for the first time in Germany, this set comes along with a great number of extras illuminating the long making of the movie. Also, there is a booklet about the production, the themes of “Steamboy” and its links to such as titles as “Metropolis”, written by myself. (Rouven Linnarz)

24. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance & Lady Vengeance (Capelight/ Koch Media)

After their release of “Oldboy” on UHD German publishers Koch Media and Capelight collaborated on the release of the first and the final entry to Park Chan-wook's Vengeance-trilogy, also on UHD. Whereas “Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance” simply looks much better than the previous releases of the title, while maintaining its gritty look and atmosphere, its is “Lady Vengeance”, probably the best entry into the trilogy, which benefits the most from the transfer. Filled with extras, these releases are must-haves for physical media collectors who are good in German.

25. The Chinese Boxer (88 Films)

It was a year of a few Firsts for 88 Films and this particularly was a big one for the company's future and one that fans had been asking for years. They also started releasing Blu-rays across the pond and the very first title to get a release both in the UK and US was Jimmy Wang Yu's “Chinese Boxer”. A film that fans were long vying for to get a high definition release, “Chinese Boxer” was lapped up by both fans and blind buyers alike upon release, to the point that the limited edition slipcase versions were swiftly sold out.

26. Ever Since We Loved (Cheng Cheng Films)

Cheng Cheng was founded in 2015 and specializes in distributing award-winning Chinese language films in North America. The company's previous releases include Teng Congcong's acclaimed debut Send Me to the Clouds, Taiwan's Oscars entry The Great Buddha+ by Huang Hsin-Yao and Yang Chao's Berlinale Silver Bear winner Crosscurrent. This year, the company decided to release the third collaboration between award-winning filmmaker Li Yu and Fan Bingbing, although this time, the focus is on a male character, played here by K-pop sensation “Super Junior” ‘s former member Han Geng, while the story takes place in the 80s. The release includes trailers, a music video, and the making-of.

27. World of Wong Kar-wai (Criterion Collection)

Arguably one of the most anticipated and talked-about releases of this years has to be “World of Wong Kar-wai” which is a collection of seven movies by the great filmmaker, all of which presented in restored versions. Even though there are not a lot of extras and the casing of the individual discs could have been handled better for a set of this size and price, its design and the booklet make this one a collectors item, while also showcasing the body of work of one of the most influential Asian directors today. (Rouven Linnarz)

28. Bong Joon-ho Collection (Curzon)

Ever since his historic win for “Parasite”, it was evident that Bong Joon-Ho's earlier films would sooner or later get their long overdue love on physical media and sure enough, for the UK, it was Curzon who came through with a lovely boxset including all of his films (with the exception of the Netflix Original “Okja”), including the black-and-white version of “Parasite”. This was a no-brainer for fans of the director and Korean cinema in general. (Rhythm Zaveri)

29. Bastard Swordsman Set (Spectrum Films)

Lesser known, but equally cult with the majority of Shaw Brothers' titles, the Bastard Swordsman is based on the 1979 ATV television series Reincarnated (a.k.a. The Transformation of the Heavenly Silkworm). Spectrum Films presents both the original and its sequel in a very appealing set, which also includes a video essay by Arnaud Lanuque, regarding the decline of SB

30. A Chinese Ghost Story Trilogy (UHD Club)

We'll admit that we've included this more for the stunning packaging rather than the on-disc content. UHD Club are a boutique label based in China who seldom do Asian films, but their latest release of A Chinese Ghost Story was a sight to behold! All in a sturdy box, the release includes original artwork, film stills and a lot more. The discs are housed in a three-fold digipak with the three films getting their dedicated discs. An ultra-limited edition, this was limited to 248 copies only, available exclusively through dedicated group buys rather than through a retailer.