Woman Is the Future of Man + Tale of Cinema: Two Films by Hong Sangsoo Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Woman Is the Future of Man + Tale of Cinema: Two Films by Hong Sangsoo Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 19, 2018

Is Arrow Video holding Tony Rayns hostage? Rayns, inerrantly cheery as usual (Stockholm Syndrome?), is back again on another Arrow release offering an overview of both Hong Sang-soo’s filmography in general as well as Woman is the Future of Man and Tale of Cinema in particular, and it’s perhaps salient to note that Rayns starts out his supplementary analysis by stating that Hong is virtually unknown in the United Kingdom (as happens quite often with Arrow releases, Arrow Academy has brought out Woman is the Future of Man + Tale of Cinema: Two Films by Hong Sangsoo in the UK more or less simultaneously with this domestic release, and so some of Rayns' statements seem aimed at a British audience). My hunch is as unknown as Hong may very well be on that side of the pond, he’s probably even less recognized on this side of the pond, but as Rayns more or less alludes to in his comments, there may be no better place to start getting to know this interesting South Korean auteur than with the two films Arrow has compiled for this release.

For reviews of the two films included on this release, please click on the following links:

Woman Is the Future of Man Blu-ray review

Tale of Cinema Blu-ray review

Woman Is the Future of Man + Tale of Cinema: Two Films by Hong Sangsoo Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Video quality of each film is assessed in the above linked reviews.

Woman Is the Future of Man + Tale of Cinema: Two Films by Hong Sangsoo Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Audio quality of each film is assessed in the above linked reviews.

Woman Is the Future of Man + Tale of Cinema: Two Films by Hong Sangsoo Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Arrow is offering both of Woman is the Future of Man and Tale of Cinema together on one disc, and kind of interestingly has authored the disc so that separate special features appear after each film is chosen.

Choosing Woman is the Future of Man offers the following supplements:

• Introduction to Woman is the Future of Man by Martin Scorsese (1080i; 2:32) offers the legendary director ticking off a laundry list of Korean directors before mentioning how special Hong's films have been for him. He gives a brief plot summary as well as some thematic analyses.


• Introduction by Tony Rayns (1080p; 42:05) is another well done summary by Rayns, who gives some biographical and filmographical background on Hong before diving into an analysis of Woman is the Future of Man.


• The Making of Woman is the Future of Man (1080i; 38:16) is an archival piece with some interesting footage of shots being filmed and Hong giving direction to the actors.


• Interviews with the Actors are in Korean with English subtitles and come with brief (like 5 second) text introductions which have kind of strangely been authored as separate chapters:

  Kim Taewoo (1080i; 7:47)

  Sung Hyunah (1080i; 18:29)

  Yoo Jitae (1080i; 5:40)

• Original Trailers

  Korean Trailer One (1080i; 1:47)

  
  

  Korean Theatrical Trailer Two (1080i; 1:54)

  
  

  French Teaser One (1080p; 00:56)

  
  

  French Teaser Two (1080p; 1:11)

• Stills Gallery (1080p; 1:50)

Choosing Tale of Cinema offers the following supplements:

• Introduction by Tony Rayns (1080p; 20:50) features Rayns giving his thoughts on this film.


• Interviews with the Actors are in Korean with English subtitles and (also) come with brief (like 5 second) text introductions which have kind of strangely been authored as separate chapters:

  Kim Sangkyung (1080i; 14:13)

  Uhm Jiwon (1080i; 11:36)

  Lee Kiwoo (1080i; 7:05)

• Original Trailers

  Korean Theatrical Trailer (1080i; 2:30)

  
  

  French Trailer (1080p; 1:55)

• Stills Gallery (1080p; 11:30)

As usual, Arrow has also provided a nicely appointed insert booklet with stills and an essay.

Woman Is the Future of Man + Tale of Cinema: Two Films by Hong Sangsoo Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Arrow Academy continues to offer fans of international cinema some really striking releases, and while these two Hong films take a bit of patience to fully appreciate, they repay that attention with some really interesting ideas and structural artifices. Technical merits are generally solid, and as usual Arrow has assembled some very appealing supplements. Recommended.