Hou Hsiao-hsien

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DarkImbecile
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Hou Hsiao-hsien

#1 Post by DarkImbecile » Wed Jul 26, 2006 9:35 am

Hou Hsiao-hsien (1947- )

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"The cinema that I like has a kind of simultaneity between conspicuousness, exteriority and content... If I were to compare film to music, I'd say that what interests me is more like the style of a fugue than that of an orchestral symphony. I like to create films in the same way as one would a fugue."

Filmography
Features
Jiu shi liu liu de ta / Cute Girl (AKA Lovable You) (1980)
Feng er ti ta cai / Cheerful Wind (1981)
Zai na he pan qing cao qing / The Green, Green Grass of Home (1983)
Feng gui lai de ren / All the Youthful Days (AKA The Boys from Fengkuei) (1983)
Dong dong de jia qi / A Summer at Grandpa's (1984)
Tong nien wang shi / A Time to Live and a Time to Die (1985)
Lian lian feng chen / Dust in the Wind (1986)
Ni luo he nu er / Daughter of the Nile (1987)
Bei qing cheng shi / A City of Sadness (1989)
Xi meng ren sheng / The Puppetmaster (1993)
Hao nan hao nu / Good Men, Good Women (1995)
Nan guo zai jan, nan guo / Goodbye South, Goodbye (1996)
Hai shang hua / Flowers of Shanghai (1998)
Qian xi man po / Millennium Mambo (2001)
Kôhî jikô / Café Lumière (2003)
Zui hao de shi guang / Three Times (2005)
Le voyage du ballon rouge / Flight of the Red Balloon (2007)
Ci ke Nie Yin Niang / The Assassin (2015)

Shorts
"The Sandwich Man" AKA "The Son's Big Doll" [segment, Er zi de da wan ou / The Sandwich Man] (1983)
"The Electric Princess Picture House [segment, To Each His Own Cinema] (2007)
"La Belle Epoque" [segment, 10+10] (2011)

Books
No Man An Island: The Cinema of Hou Hsiao-hsien by James Udden (2009)
A Nation of Sadness?: A Study of History, Culture, and Gender in Hou Hsiao-hsien's Film A City of Sadness by Christine You-Ting Hung (2013)
Hou Hsiao-hsien by Richard Suchenski, ed. (2014)
The Ethics of Witness: Dailiness and History in Hou Hsiao-hsien's Films by Xiao Cai (2018)
The Assassin: Hou Hsiao-Hsien's World of Tang China by Hsiao-yen Peng, ed. (2019)

Web Resources
"Cinema of Sadness: Hou Hsiao-hsien and 'New Taiwanese Film'" by Adam Bingham, Cinetext (2003)
"Cheerful Staging: Hou's Early Films" by David Bordwell, from Figures Traced in Light (2005)

Forum Discussion
Hou Hsiao-hsien Box Set
BD 188-190 Early Hou Hsiao-hsien: Three Films 1980-1983
BD 165 Daughter of the Nile
A City of Sadness (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1989)
Café Lumière / Kôhî jikô (Hau Hsiao-hsien, 2003)
Flight of the Red Balloon (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 2007)
The Assassin (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 2015)

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tavernier
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#2 Post by tavernier » Sun Oct 08, 2006 2:30 pm

alfons416 wrote:
Wed Jul 26, 2006 9:35 am
This just came up on IMDB.

Looks like Hou's first western picture and with a major European star (Juliette Binoche).

I love Hou and his films and I'm really looking forward to his next movie, do anyone know more about this? can this be the movie he was about to do together with Olivier Assayas, Raoul Ruiz and Jim Jarmusch?
I was reading an article by Jonathan Rosenbaum titled Ten Best Movies of the 90s, when I came upon the name of Hou Hsiao-hsien ( The Puppet Master ranks #7 on the list). I still have to see one of his films, any recommendation?
The Puppetmaster and A City of Sadness are his masterpieces. See them if you can!
Last edited by tavernier on Sun Oct 08, 2006 2:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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John Cope
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#3 Post by John Cope » Sun Oct 08, 2006 2:34 pm

Start with those. But Flowers of Shanghai is his masterpiece.

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Cold Bishop
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#4 Post by Cold Bishop » Sun Oct 08, 2006 4:01 pm

The three aforementioned above are usually considered his three best. But honestly, almost everything I've seen from him is worth watching. Goodbye South, Goodbye seems like a pretty good starting point, even if it's not exactly his masterpiece (Although Cahiers named it one of the three best films of the 90s). His latest film Three Times also seems pretty accessible. Really, just find one of his films and dive in, you shouldn't be dissapointed.

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Gropius
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#5 Post by Gropius » Sun Oct 08, 2006 4:19 pm

tavernier wrote:See them if you can!
...which is probably not very likely.

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Le Feu Follet
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#6 Post by Le Feu Follet » Mon Oct 09, 2006 10:25 am

I don't think anyone can fail to be effected by A Time To Live And A time To Die, a very moving autographical film about his childhood.

I can recommend this box set. This contains four autobiographic films from his early life, all in watchable versions with decent subtitles.
Last edited by Le Feu Follet on Tue Oct 10, 2006 8:06 am, edited 2 times in total.

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#7 Post by Michael Kerpan » Mon Oct 09, 2006 12:12 pm

I agree that the 4-film box set is an excellent starting point. My favorite of the four is "Dust in the Wind".

The Puppetmaster DVD is formatted wrong (and it matters in HHH's films) -- only get it if it is dirt cheap.

The best looking US DVD could be"Good Men, Good Women" -- but that might be a difficult starting point. "Flowers of shanghai" is lovely -- but rather atypical.

The French DVD of "Millennium Mambo" is probably the best-looking HHH DVD available with English subs. (and this may be my favorite HHH film -- though I actually like every one of them).

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#8 Post by denti alligator » Mon Oct 09, 2006 8:02 pm

Michael Kerpan wrote: The Puppetmaster DVD is formatted wrong (and it matters in HHH's films) -- only get it if it is dirt cheap.
How is it formatted and how should it be formatted? (I vaguely remember it being academy ratio-- I also remember turning it off because the picture was so bad.)
Any sings of a decent DVD edition?

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#9 Post by kieslowski_67 » Mon Oct 09, 2006 8:24 pm

A Time to Live, a Time to Die is my wife's favorite Hou. My personal favorite is Dust in the Wind.

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zedz
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#10 Post by zedz » Mon Oct 09, 2006 9:36 pm

It's official. Everybody loves Hou. I third the recommendation of the box set: Dust in the Wind and A Time to Live would, if they were better known, be acknowledged as masterpieces, and I simply adore Summer at Grandpa's - also one of the most accessible entry points to his work.

I'm afraid I think The Puppetmaster is overrated. Along with Daughter of the Nile and Good Men, Good Women, it's probably my least favourite Hou. But this is all relative: they'd all be career-bests in the oeuvre of almost any other filmmaker.

I'll also go to bat for Goodbye, South, Goodbye, for my money his best film of the 90s (with City and Flowers nipping at its heels). It's also a good place to start because it demonstrates his radical way with decentred narratives - it's actually a pretty punchy crime film, but the on-screen action is generally on the margins of the storyline action. Instead of the typical set-pieces, we get some of cinema's most lyrical tracking shots - a perfectly acceptable trade-off in my book!

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#11 Post by miless » Tue Oct 10, 2006 1:28 am

Michael Kerpan wrote: The best looking US DVD could be"Good Men, Good Women" -- but that might be a difficult starting point. "Flowers of shanghai" is lovely -- but rather atypical.
does it look better than Three Times (which just came out)... because that one looks pretty darn good

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#12 Post by The Fanciful Norwegian » Tue Oct 10, 2006 3:45 am

Coincidentally enough, I started on a Hou binge a couple of weeks ago and have now seen all of his post-1983 films except Three Times (which I'm saving for the St. Louis International Film Festival next month) and Daughter of the Nile. Of everyone in this thread I find myself agreeing with zedz the most -- I found The Puppetmaster a bit ponderous and too concerned with minute detail (mainly in the first half) and Good Men, Good Women has a certain obviousness that feels out of place among Hou's films. I'll definitely watch them again -- his films offer a lot to take in and my opinions of these may well change upon further viewings -- but I don't think either of them are good introductions. (I'm also curious about the Puppetmaster AR issue -- the DVD is definitely Academy ratio but I don't recall any obvious signs of panning-and-scanning. I'm guessing it should probably be matted to 1.66:1 or 1.85:1, though.)

Goodbye South, Goodbye vies with A City of Sadness and Flowers of Shanghai for my favorite and I second those who recommend it as a starting point; as zedz noted, it's a crime film Hou-style, and I think this makes it more approachable. A City of Sadness is a masterpiece and a key work, but it requires at least some familiarity with the 228 Incident and the general history of 20th-century Taiwan. Flowers of Shanghai is great, but like Michael said, it's atypical of his work in some ways (although still indisputably a Hou film). The available English-subbed editions are atrocious, too, which is a huge handicap for such a gorgeous film. (None of the Fox Lorber/Wellspring Hous are good except Cafe Lumiere -- which has some problems of its own -- but I think Flowers suffers most from a poor presentation.)

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#13 Post by John Cope » Tue Oct 10, 2006 5:00 am

The Fanciful Norwegian wrote:Good Men, Good Women has a certain obviousness that feels out of place among Hou's films.
It's more sublime than it may at first appear.
The Fanciful Norwegian wrote:Goodbye South, Goodbye vies with A City of Sadness and Flowers of Shanghai for my favorite and I second those who recommend it as a starting point; as zedz noted, it's a crime film Hou-style, and I think this makes it more approachable.
I don't think Goodbye South is approachable at all. I continue to find it one of the most difficult and least accessible of Hou's works. The idea that it's a crime film makes it seem far more approachable than it is. In truth, Hou's after the same kinds of things here that he's after in all of his works and the crime genre stuff is just an affectation of the society being depicted.

In terms of "youth films" and pictures about hanging out and observing the passing of time (which is far more what this is), I find Millennium Mambo a better entry point. It seems to connect more directly to people, which I find somewhat strange as it pushes Hou's aesthetics of de-dramatization to the limits. Still, the reason is probably clear. Mambo is the most subjectified of all Hou's films and appears to foreground the story of a specific individual more than the other pictures, even Cafe Lumiere. This communicates more quickly to Western audiences who are used to narratives of this sort. The fact that Hou upends virtually all the standard expectations is less relevant.

Goodbye South is the story of a certain aesthetic and how its application distends time and allows for a cumulative understanding of humanity and existence. Millennium Mambo is doing the same thing but it's also very much the story of a single person, Vicky's story, and that's one thing we are never in doubt about.

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#14 Post by Le Feu Follet » Tue Oct 10, 2006 8:05 am

I would also like to put in a strong recommendation for Cafe Lumiere, a beautiful, poetic film in which not much happens, and the trains are so wonderful!

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#15 Post by Michael Kerpan » Tue Oct 10, 2006 9:24 am

I feel I can't judge "Puppetmaster" until I see it presented properly (the Fox Lorber is a pan and scan release of a 1.75:1 formatted film).

My first HHHH film was "GSG -- and I thought I hated it. As it turns out, I tried to watch it when I was much too tired. Because some scenes (primarily the ones of the train gliding through small villages and through the country side) struck me as wonderful (despite my overall reaction). I gave this another shot a few months later -- when I WASN'T sleepy -- and mostly loved it.

I don't think there is anything especially obvious about GMGW. I love the way this interweaves and ultimately intertwines the multiple narrative strands.

"Cafe Lumiere" is a wonderful film -- and the US DVD is okay. Like almost all of HHH's films, it is somewhat atypical. To tell the truth, though, I would submit that, once we pass the first three romantic comedies (and even here ,, the third starts to break into new territory), there really IS no typical HHH film. In accordance with Ozu's maxim as to great films, HHH creates a unique "grammar" for each of his later films.

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#16 Post by The Fanciful Norwegian » Tue Oct 10, 2006 1:44 pm

John Cope wrote:Goodbye South is the story of a certain aesthetic and how its application distends time and allows for a cumulative understanding of humanity and existence. Millennium Mambo is doing the same thing but it's also very much the story of a single person, Vicky's story, and that's one thing we are never in doubt about.
I watched his films in sequence so by the time I got to GSG I was already somewhat well-acquainted with his work, so I can't say from experience if GSG is a good first film for someone with an interest in Hou (although we have at least one poster who went in semi-cold and didn't find it displeasurable). The central protagonist at the heart of Millennium Mambo seems more approachable on paper, but I felt part of the point was that Vicky didn't have any idea where she was going or what she wanted, whereas the gangster business in GSB (affectation or no) gave us at least some ready idea of the characters' aspirations. MM tells us right off the bat that Vicky wants to dump Hao-hao, but I confess I got pretty antsy at times wondering exactly how far the film had to go and when Vicky would finally dump the jerk. It's not a bad film and it has a powerful cumulative effect, but the narrative line seemed thinner in MM despite the more subjective approach. Still, though, if this thread shows anything it's that there isn't really a bad place to start with Hou; on a more general level, after years of reading about how "difficult" Hou is, I was surprised by how well his films work even on a basic gut-reaction level.

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#17 Post by Michael Kerpan » Tue Oct 10, 2006 1:58 pm

The Fanciful Norwegian wrote:after years of reading about how "difficult" Hou is, I was surprised by how well his films work even on a basic gut-reaction level.
Mainly what it takes to enjoy HHH is patient attentiveness -- or attentive patience. ;~}

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#18 Post by gubbelsj » Tue Oct 10, 2006 2:22 pm

What is the current availability of City of Sadness on dvd? I've stumbled across at least one all-region DVD that didn't appear to have any English subtitles. There also appears to be a UK VHS. Anything else?

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#19 Post by Michael Kerpan » Tue Oct 10, 2006 2:28 pm

I think there is also a Japanese-subtitled version of "City of Sadness" -- but not sure it is available separately.

I've never heard any reports as to the Japanese HHH releases. I did buy the Japanese "Cafe Lumiere" (hoping it would have English subs -- which were promised initially) -- and it looks quite nice.

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#20 Post by whaleallright » Tue Oct 10, 2006 4:24 pm

Super Happy Fun had--last I checked--a copy of "A City of Sadness" with English subtitles, from an old laserdisc.

The UK video looks good but is out of print as far as i know.

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#21 Post by gubbelsj » Tue Oct 10, 2006 4:57 pm

jonah.77 wrote:Super Happy Fun had--last I checked--a copy of "A City of Sadness" with English subtitles, from an old laserdisc.
Yeah, it's still there, and for $15. Gotta love the SuperHappyFun ethos - "All titles are are believed to be in the public domain. No rights are given or implied. All titles are sold purely for research purposes. No entertainment should be gained from any title on this site."

Having never used this site before, and now seriously considering it, are they generally dependable? Is an "8" picture quality rating acceptable? Or should I just stop worrying and spend the miserly $15 plus $3.50 in shipping? (Seems like quite the deal, and I promise it will only be used for research purposes.....)

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#22 Post by John Cope » Tue Oct 10, 2006 5:22 pm

gubbelsj wrote:Having never used this site before, and now seriously considering it, are they generally dependable?
Yeah, they're great and very reliable. Too bad their stock recently got gutted (should have bought that damn Days of Eclipse while I had the chance :x ).

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#23 Post by The Fanciful Norwegian » Tue Oct 10, 2006 6:19 pm

The laserdisc rips (including the one at SHF) don't translate the intertitles, which are pretty important. There's a good-quality 3 CD rip of the Japanese DVD going around with more comprehensive English subs in SRT format -- sadly enough that's probably the best way to see it bar a theatrical screening (good luck) or buying the Japanese DVD and re-authoring it with English subs. (The Taiwanese DVD is cheaper but it's either open matte or pan-and-scan and looks generally lousy -- no English subs on it, either.) Going by the rip the Japanese DVD looks good, but the AR is weird (it's something like 2:1).

Questions for those better versed in these things:

1) How is the BFI monograph on City of Sadness? I know nothing of Berenice Reynaud and I find the series to be pretty hit-and-miss depending on the author.

2) Is it worth tracking down Hou's pre-Sandwich Man films? They're not readily available and Hou himself seems dismissive of them, but directors aren't always perfect arbiters of their own work.

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#24 Post by Michael Kerpan » Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:45 pm

The Fanciful Norwegian wrote:Is it worth tracking down Hou's pre-Sandwich Man films? They're not readily available and Hou himself seems dismissive of them, but directors aren't always perfect arbiters of their own work.
All three of the first films are available from Taiwan. There are releases of the first two that look pretty good (and have more or less proper aspect rations) but have no subs (even if YesAsia -- and their boxes say they do have them). There is a DVD of the third which looks rather mediocre (and is not full 'scope format) but which has subs most of the time (even though they are not listed on the box).

All three films are fun to watch (and listen to), but only the third seems to point the way to HHH's later work (and it has a subplot involving school kids -- with very good performances).

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#25 Post by The Fanciful Norwegian » Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:56 pm

Thanks, figures that YesAsia would be one place I didn't check. Just to be sure: by "the third" you mean Green Green Grass of Home, right? And what do you mean by it has subs "most of the time"? How much of it is unsubbed?

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