7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Lung, an operator of a fabric business and former member of the national Little League team, lives with his old childhood sweetheart Ah-chin, a westernized professional woman who grew up in a traditional family. Although they live together, Ah-chin is weary of Lung's past liaison with another girl.
Starring: Hsiao-Hsien Hou, Chin Tsai, Nien-Jen Wu, Su-Yun KoForeign | 100% |
Drama | 81% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Mandarin: LPCM Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Note: This film is available as part of Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project, No. 2.
Martin Scorsese has been curating the World Cinema Project for well over a decade, and the result has been a veritable cornucopia of
international films that in some cases Scorsese’s efforts have helped save from the ravages of time (and vinegar syndrome). As of the writing of this
review, the World Cinema Project is closing in on fifty restorations that they’ve undertaken, allowing fans to view films that, as even Scorsese himself
states in some of the introductions included in this set, have been woefully underappreciated and rarely seen. This second volume of films aggregates
six interesting
offerings that have at least some subtextual cross connections at times, but which serve as yet another example of what an incredible job the World
Cinema Project does in bringing films of undeniable merit to a wider audience.
Taipei Story is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. As with all of the films in this set, there are some preliminary text cards describing the restorations, including some information which is also repeated in the insert booklet. The following is from the insert booklet, and omits some more generalized comments about The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project, and other collaborators:
Taipei Story is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. This digital transfer was made in 4K resolution on an ARRISCAN film scanner from the original camera negative and the original soundtrack negative, provided and preserved by the Taiwan Film Institute. The main titles, missing from the original negative, were reconstructed using a vintage print. The film was restored by the World Cinema Project at L'Immagine Ritrovata, in association with the Taiwan Film Institute, Cinematheque royale de Belgique, and Hou Hsiao-hsien. Restoration was completed in March 2016.Taipei Story could well strike fans as having the best looking transfer in this second volume of World Cinema Project offerings. The palette looks natural for the most part, and detail levels are generally very appealing throughout, understandably probably best in close-ups, but also often quite impressive even in midrange shots. There's just a slight peach or tan undertone to some scenes, and some interior moments are a bit murky, but on the whole saturation is great, and the outdoor material in particular pops extremely well. There are no signs of major (or frankly even minor) damage, and grain resolves naturally throughout this very well wrought presentation. As with most releases from the Criterion Collection, there are no signs of over aggressive digital tweaking in any form.
Taipei Story features an LPCM Mono track which provides more than capable support for the film's dialogue, as well as a wealth of urban scenes where the clamor of a busy downtown environment is presented with excellent force and fidelity. The film doesn't have an overly ambitious sound design, but both "quieter" (if sometimes intense) dialogue scenes, often between Chin and Lung, and more boisterous crowd activity are rendered without any issues whatsoever. Optional English subtitles are available.
Taipei Story is a study of both characters and a society as a whole in a state of flux. As Chin and Lung attempt to navigate their personal relationship, both characters are also trying to come to terms with what it means to live in a city where the pull of the past chafes against a seemingly inexorable march toward an uncertain future. This is a deliberately slow, often emotionally repressed, outing, and as such it may take a certain amount of patience for some viewers, but for those so inclined, the payoff is substantial. This film offers the most consistently excellent technical merits of all the offerings in the second volume on Blu-ray of the World Cinema Project. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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