Central Motion Picture Corporation

Discuss internationally-released DVDs and Blu-rays or other international DVD and Blu-ray-related topics.
Post Reply
Message
Author
dekalog
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2008 7:28 am

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#76 Post by dekalog » Sat Sep 04, 2010 3:31 am

According to CPC facebook, Tsai Ming Liang's Vive l'Amour and Chen Kwo Fu's The Personals remastered dvd will be released on mid-Sept while Ang Lee's Eat Drink Man Woman on Oct.

User avatar
mostly asia
Joined: Fri Aug 06, 2010 5:54 pm

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#77 Post by mostly asia » Wed Sep 08, 2010 8:54 pm

The BD is now listed at yesasia!

User avatar
John Edmond
Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2010 8:35 pm

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#78 Post by John Edmond » Thu Sep 09, 2010 12:32 am

And the boxset as well - for US$49, which is a first for an English language store (I think). http://www.yesasia.com/global/i-taipei- ... /info.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

artfilmfan
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:11 pm

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#79 Post by artfilmfan » Thu Sep 09, 2010 8:54 pm

denti alligator wrote:Maybe I should try it with my Sherwood set to 1080i.
Please let us know whether the problem is still there after you try it.

User avatar
zedz
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#80 Post by zedz » Sun Oct 03, 2010 5:43 pm

Just received the box set and Dust in the Wind BluRay but haven't watched them yet. Here's some banal packaging info, though.

The box for the box set is a big solid thing (thick cardboard like the very early Criterion boxes), red, textured and gold embossed to look faux-opulent. The individual DVD cases are oddly thick (not quite the width of the old double alphas) and oddly empty, except for some advertising bumf. The latter includes, tantalisingly, a postcard for Tsai's The River (also included with the Dust BluRay), so that might be a title in line for future release.

Another useful piece of information, which I didn't realise before ordering, is that the box set includes a bonus disc, packaged with Tropical Fish, which promises to be a 'Central Pictures Corporation 45th Anniversary Special'. I assume this is exclusive to the box set: there seems to be no mention of it on the Tropical Fish packaging (well, on the English portion thereof).

User avatar
denti alligator
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:36 pm
Location: "born in heaven, raised in hell"

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#81 Post by denti alligator » Mon Oct 04, 2010 8:43 am

artfilmfan wrote:
denti alligator wrote:Maybe I should try it with my Sherwood set to 1080i.
Please let us know whether the problem is still there after you try it.
The problem persists.

User avatar
zedz
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#82 Post by zedz » Mon Oct 04, 2010 4:00 pm

My DVDs (I sampled The Terrorizer) and BluRay (Dust in the Wind) seem to play just fine on the Oppo, motion-wise, so I guess that's another reason to be grateful for paying through the nose.

The transfers are gorgeous, though it does look like the contrast and colour have been pushed at times. There were a few colour details in the Yang which have never looked so dayglo in the four 35mm screenings (and three prints) I've attended, but then none of those prints were pristine, so that's an acceptable trade-off. Dust's colour scheme is more subdued and generally comes out beautifully on the BluRay, with only a few colour details that seem distractingly bright. I didn't come across those magic slippers from the Beaver caps in my quick survey (just sensible shoes), but there were some bright pastel reels of thread, which actually seemed fair enough.

In sum, I'm very pleased with the transfers, particularly since I seem to have dodged the motion bullet.

I was also very pleased with the short extras on those two titles. Each is about twenty minutes, with various talking heads, and each is uncommonly perceptive about their film, less back-patting reminiscence than nuts and bolts filmmaking information. The interviews are fully subtitled in English (though the speakers' names are not, so knowing various Taiwanese New Wave luminaries by sight is a distinct advantage!) The Yang piece is particularly worthwhile, if only because there is so little information about his working practices out there. There's fascinating information here about how he constructed his scripts collaboratively (and Wu Nien-jen, who worked with both Yang and Hou is concise and revealing about the differences in their approaches to narrative). It seems that he developed his densely layered and precisely balanced narrative worlds by exploring each potential narrative turning point in turn ("If A does X, then what are the consequences. . . ?"), requiring his collaborators to follow through all sorts of false leads before eventually synthesising a matrix of the most promising ones. It was a vast and exhausting writing task, but the results speak for themselves.

The 'Central Pictures Corporation 45th Anniversary Special' in the box set is, on the other hand, not really worth the effort. It's unsubbed (unlike everything else on the discs), a blah analogue transfer of what appears to be a bog-standard made-for-TV corporate retrospective doc. Lots of clips from blockbusters of their day, with a thin thread of historical (and presumably celebratory) narration from some venerable Taiwanese Troy McClure. I'm sure there's some insight to be gained from the programme, but it frankly didn't look too promising, and was well out of sync with the tenor and focus of this set, which had nothing to do with action epics of the 1960s (for instance).

artfilmfan
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:11 pm

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#83 Post by artfilmfan » Mon Oct 04, 2010 8:25 pm

Thanks, denti and zedz, for the reports on Dust in the Wind.

TheDoman
Joined: Sun May 18, 2008 6:19 am

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#84 Post by TheDoman » Sun Dec 05, 2010 3:04 pm

dekalog wrote:According to CPC facebook, Tsai Ming Liang's Vive l'Amour and Chen Kwo Fu's The Personals remastered dvd will be released on mid-Sept while Ang Lee's Eat Drink Man Woman on Oct.
I have been looking forward to the release of Vive, do you have any ideas on when it is now scheduled for? I haven't found any information on any sites, so far.

solrage

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#85 Post by solrage » Tue Jan 11, 2011 8:18 am

So, what's the cheapest way to get the box set and blu-ray? The total on YesAsia is about $80, while someone said the page in Chinese (Taiwanese? Mandarin?) had them for a total of $50, but hell if I could figure out how to order through that page (Google Translate wasn't much help).

dekalog
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2008 7:28 am

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#86 Post by dekalog » Sun Jan 30, 2011 10:05 am

According to CPC facebook, the second batch of remastered works is in progress though no release date yet.

Package design of the disc

Titles include Terrorizers, Tropical Fish, Vive l'Amour and The Personals.

The second batch will be in BD+DVD combo format.

User avatar
perkizitore
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:29 pm
Location: OOP is the only answer

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#87 Post by perkizitore » Sun Jan 30, 2011 10:25 am

Terrorizers and Tropical Fish have been released on DVD already, does this mean they are putting out all titles on blu-ray?

User avatar
andyli
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 4:46 pm

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#88 Post by andyli » Sun Jan 30, 2011 11:05 am

Can sb. tell them to at least make it 1080p this time?

User avatar
zedz
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#89 Post by zedz » Tue Feb 01, 2011 3:56 pm

Terrorizers on Blu? I don't think I'll ever be happier to double dip.

The Personals seems to have been largely forgotten, but I remember it being a great film, so that's also fantastic news.

User avatar
knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#90 Post by knives » Tue Feb 01, 2011 4:07 pm

Is there a place cheaper than yesasia for the topic blu?

User avatar
perkizitore
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:29 pm
Location: OOP is the only answer

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#91 Post by perkizitore » Tue Feb 01, 2011 7:56 pm

There is this great Taiwanese retailer but you will certainly face some difficulty ordering from site with no latin characters (Google Translate in Chrome it's really helpful). Not only they are cheaper from Yesasia, but they use DHL Express!

User avatar
knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#92 Post by knives » Tue Feb 01, 2011 8:14 pm

Thanks for the (somewhat befuddling link). Just because the translator's a bit wonky I want to double check that this is the blu ray correct?

User avatar
perkizitore
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:29 pm
Location: OOP is the only answer

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#93 Post by perkizitore » Tue Feb 01, 2011 8:27 pm

Yes, you can also tell from the higher price.

User avatar
knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#94 Post by knives » Tue Feb 01, 2011 8:29 pm

The price is rather steep, in fact if my currency converter is right it's more expensive than at yesasia.

User avatar
perkizitore
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:29 pm
Location: OOP is the only answer

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#95 Post by perkizitore » Tue Feb 01, 2011 8:53 pm

What do you mean steep? It's $22!

User avatar
knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#96 Post by knives » Tue Feb 01, 2011 9:06 pm

The price is in Yuan correct? I'd be totally embarrassed(not to mention apologetic)if that's not the case.

User avatar
perkizitore
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:29 pm
Location: OOP is the only answer

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#97 Post by perkizitore » Tue Feb 01, 2011 9:08 pm

No, it's Taiwanese dollars!

User avatar
knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#98 Post by knives » Tue Feb 01, 2011 9:16 pm

#-o Well if that doesn't make me a regular jackass. Even after shipping now it comes out cheaper. Thanks again. Can't really tell if my order went through, but I guess should know in a couple of days.

dekalog
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2008 7:28 am

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#99 Post by dekalog » Sat Feb 05, 2011 3:33 am

More package design for Tropical Fish BD/DVD combo:

Tropical Fish

User avatar
FerdinandGriffon
Joined: Wed Nov 26, 2008 11:16 am

Re: Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao Hsien, 1986) DVD & Blu-ray

#100 Post by FerdinandGriffon » Sun Feb 06, 2011 4:09 am

perkizitore wrote:There is this great Taiwanese retailer but you will certainly face some difficulty ordering from site with no latin characters (Google Translate in Chrome it's really helpful). Not only they are cheaper from Yesasia, but they use DHL Express!
Can anyone please guide me through ordering on this site? I can't make head or tails of it.

Post Reply