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2046 Limited Edition Box Set (Taiwan)

written by Juice / photos by Juice


2046...or 400? I'm not referring to the name of the movie, rather, I'm referring to a whirlwind of confusion that swirled around this LE during it's release. Even though only 400 of this set were released for sale, there seemed to be quite a few of them for sale on various sites, and even now, they can be found for their original retail price. Suprising for such an excellent release around a quality movie.

It eventually was confirmed that only 400 of these had been released. With such a low run, extra care was put into the set, which is reflected especially on the box and it's contents. Let's see if this set is worth your hard-earned cash!



2046 comes in a large, heavy box. Measuring at 38cm x 38cm by 7.5cm, this box is the biggest I have in my collection. It vaguely reminds me of the large cases movie reels would come in...if any of you ever dealt with them and remember them, that's about the closest I can get to describing this box.

The front of the box has the title of the move across the front in silver print. This is printed on the material, it is not embossed. Minimal, but still striking. The back of the box has standard information on the bottom portion, the aspect ratio of the movie, the Fox logos, company logos, etc. Wrapped into the cover (it comes off, but the edges wrap inside the front cover) is a band of thin paper, that also has more information on it.

The left side of the band shows the contents of the box in full color, which is a nice touch. The only thing confusing in the picture is that it appears to show the posters folded up. It's hard to tell from the image that there are three posters in the box.

The right side of the band lists the various awards 2046 won. An interesting part is on the lower right side of this portion of the band, there are two boxes set for "T-shirt". One is checked off. I'm assuming this may denote what size t-shirt is included in the box. The shirt that came with my box is large, anyone else who has this set, please let me know what you have checked and what size shirt you have. If they correspond, I'll update this review.

The box is seriously heavy duty, and could take some bangs without getting damaged. The set is very heavy, partly due to the box construction itself, but also because of the amount of extras in contains.

Opening the box (it lifts off the bottom), you can see how all of the contents are contained and stored inside.


 

The two disc set comes in a slipcase, and is stored in a quad fold layout. As you can see, vibrant and colorful images from the movie make up the design of the case. You get the feature film DVD and an extras DVD.


The OST is stored in a wonderful packaging idea. It replicates the size and layout of a old school 12" LP. It comes wrapped in clear plastic with a belly band inside. The belly band has a picture of one of the posters included in the OST package.

The OST packaging, it's cover taken up by a huge image of the main character, the back listing the song tracks, opens up to reveal 2 discs, one is the OST, and the 2nd a DVD housing music 2 music videos and an interview spot with what appears to be the director and composer.

The folder holding the OST CD/DVD is built from a thick card stock paper, which has a nice textured feel to it and is printed with a matte finish. The CD and DVD are fastened to the back portion of the folder with simple squeeze rings. This part of the folder is the weakest, since the paper isn't extremly thick it bends when you remove the CD or DVD.


 

Facing the CD and DVD is a bold image, again taken from the movie. This image hides a pocket built into the folder. Within this pocket are three posters. All three are printed on a matte paper, and are full size. Two are doublesided, while one is single sided.

The single sided poster looks to me to be a release poster that you would see in the movie theater, or around town promoting the movie itself. It is made up of a single, bold image. Reflective silver print lists the movie studio, actors, actresses, and more.

The other two posters are both double sided, and contain a great deal of text which I unfortunately cannot read. They appear to be informational posters, so I'm assuming they may contain more information about the CD and DVD included in the OST folder. Both are printed on standard weight paper.

 

 

Now we take a close look at the "book" that's included in this set. An extremely odd size at 37cm x 13cm, we're presented with a thick, beautiful, yet clumsy extra in this set.

The entire book is held together by a single rivet, positioned at the upper left corner of each page. It is divided into 2 sections, one consisting of roughly 70 full color pages printed on a gloss paper, the other section consisting of 8 pages printed on rough, low-end green paper.

The entire document is full of incredible images from the movie. The book is a beautiful piece worth spending time looking through slowly, but only after the movie, as some images may contain spoilers.

Throughout the book are what look to be dividing pages. These are printed on a variety of papers, for example, there is translucent page, which has a print on it but allows you to see through it to the page below, pages printed on blue shiny paper that has a metallic gloss, and pages that are blank and all white. Although the book is tough to look through due to it's design construction, the actual content is great, as is the quality of the paper and the rivet holding it together.

 

 

The senitype in the box is actually the LE certificate, since it is stamped with the LE number on the back. The front of the senitype, which is housed in a double-thick cardboard sheet, displays the same image as the promotion poster located in the OST folder.

The back of the OST is stamped with a Deltamac logo, and has the LE number located directly below the film senitype. The senitype includes both set of subtitles, and is oddly not in the correct aspect ratio of the film.

 

 

To help you carry all of these goodies to your friends house, Deltamac decided to include a bag with the LE. The black bag is large enough to carry the contents of the set, but not the box itself. It is constructed of a black vinyl material that appears to be very durable. The lining around the top and handle looks like faux-leather, but is most likely some sort of plastic. The handles are looped through metal grommets, and the bag seals shut using a magnetic clasp.

Printed on the lower right hand corner of the bag is the 2046 logo, with a silver treatment that sparkles a bit when held in the light.

 

 

 

Finally we come to the t-shirt included with the set. It is a standard, all black t-shirt with the 2046 logo written across the chest. Like the bag, and the front of the box, this is printed with a silver material that sparkles in the light. A decently sized large, it fits my 6'4" 195lb frame well.

 


For a little over $100 US, you get a 3 DVD set, and OST that comes in an oversized LP style folder, a t-shirt, a full sized bag, 3 posters, a stylish book, and a numbered senitype. Don't forget to include a great movie. If you've been on the fence about purchasing this LE, take my advice and buy it. It's a great set that came in a limited quantity, and I highly doubt they'll make another set for 2046 that comes close to providing you with these limited extras!


- Juice's Verdict -

- Build Quality: 8 -

Everything in this set is designed and built well, but it doesn't push the boundaries to excellence. For example, the booklet, due to it's odd size and single rivet worries me, I feel that after repeated viewings and the handling of others will eventually cause it to loosen and tear. The bag, although nice, does not look especially sturdy, and is obviously not made from real leather. The t-shirt is of standard quality, not bad, but not great either.

- Content and Extras: 10 -

1. Numbered Senitype
2. T-shirt
3. OST LP style folder
4. OST CD
5. 70+ page full color double-sided booklet
6. Poster #1
7. Poster #2
8. Poster #3
9. 3 DVD set
10. Carrying bag

- Overall Rating: 9 -

This is a beautiful set, and when someone asks you about it, watch their eyes widen as you pull out extra...after extra...after extra!


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