To Live Blu-ray - Zhang Yimou / Gong Li

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka 'Huozhe' or 'To Live', 'Lifetimes', 'Leben!', 'Vivre!')

China 1994

Zhang Yimou's "To Live" is a sweeping examination of the hardships endured by a Chinese family during the political upheavals following the communist revolution. At the film's opening, Fugui (Ge You) is so dissolute from a debauched life of drinking and gambling that he looks like a drug-ravaged rock star. Every night he goes to a club where, over the protests of his wife, Jiazhen (Gong Li), and his father, the arrogant wastrel fritters away the family fortune, running up such a ledger of debts that, eventually, he is forced to sell off their ancestral home to pay them off.

Unfortunately, this is only the beginning of his troubles. After being tossed into the street, his pregnant wife leaves him, taking their daughter with her. Forced to work as a puppeteer to make money, Fugui soon finds himself a prisoner of the Nationalist army and, later, a member of the revolutionary forces. Rocked by his experiences, Fugui returns home determined to change his ways and become a respectable citizen. And when his wife comes back to him with their new son, Youqing, it looks as if he might actually get a second chance.

Having been forced out of the upper class, Fugui attempts to wipe out his past by becoming the perfect worker. But as Zhang pictures them, the political leaders in China are indifferent to individual happiness. Decade by decade through the various stages of communist development, Fugui and his family attempt to cope with the cruel winds of totalitarian fashion. And despite the countless tragedies, they manage to survive."

Excerpt From Hal Hinson Washington Post HERE

Fugui and Jiazhen endure tumultuous events in China as their personal fortunes move from wealthy landownership to peasantry. Addicted to gambling, Fugui loses everything. In the years that follow he is pressed into both the nationalist and communist armies, while Jiazhen is forced into menial work.

Posters

Theatrical Release: May 17th, 1994 (Cannes)

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Comparison:

ERA Home Video NTSC (Taiwan) Region 0 - NTSC vs. MGM Region 1 - NTSC vs. Imprint (Collaborations: The Cinema of Zhang Yimou & Gong Li) - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Covers			Part of Imprint's 8 Blu-ray Collaborations: The Cinema of Zhang Yimou & Gong Li BONUS CAPTURES:
Distribution	ERA Home Video Region 0 (Taiwan)	MGM Region 1 (US)	Imprint- Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	2:06:36	2:12:20	2:12:23.143
Video	1.69:1/4:3 Letterboxed WideScreen Average Bitrate: 4.52 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.78:1/16:9 Average Bitrate: 7.6 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 40,804,045,170 bytes Feature: 36,724,137,984 bytes Video Bitrate: 32.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
BitRate ERA
MGM
Blu-ray
Audio	Mandarin Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround	Mandarin Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround	LPCM Audio Chinese 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	Traditional Chinese, English (removable)	English, Spanish, French, none.	English, none
Features	• Filmographies (in Chinese only) DVD Release Date: 3rd quarter 1998 Keep Case Chapters: 9	• Anamorphic widescreen Theatrical Trailer (01:44) DVD Release Date: July 1st, 2003 Keep Case Chapters: 20	Release Information: Studio: Imprint 1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 40,804,045,170 bytes Feature: 36,724,137,984 bytes Video Bitrate: 32.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: � NEW Tony Rayns Interview on �To Live � (2021) (30:17) � Interview with actress Gong Li (5:52) Blu-ray Release Date: October 22nd, 2021 Transparent Blu-ray Case inside Custom Box (see below) Chapters 12

Package - Imprint- Region FREE - Blu-ray

Comment

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Imprint Blu-ray (November 2021): Imprint have transferred Zhang Yimou's "To Live" to Blu-ray as part of their 8 disc "Collaborations: The Cinema of Zhang Yimou & Gong Li" Blu-ray Limited Edition Boxset that includes: Red Sorghum (1987), Ju Dou (1990), Raise The Red Lantern (1991), The Story Of Qiu Ju (1992), To Live (1994), Shanghai Triad (1995), Curse Of The Golden Flower (2006) and Coming Home (2014). The 1080P image is a shade underwhelming - some lack of depth, a shade waxy but still a handsome leap ahead of even the MGM DVD exporting richer colors (leaning more to the ERA DVD) - modest teal in some scenes - and superior detail. It is clean but flat and I still find the higher resolution a definite bump over the SD versions.

NOTE: We have added 36 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Imprint use a linear PCM stereo track (24-bit) in the original Mandarin language. "To Live" has a few aggressive moments that come through with modest depth and supportive score by Jiping Zhao (Farewell My Concubine, The King of Masks, and many Zhang Yimou films; The Story of Qiu Ju, Red Sorghum, Raise the Red Lantern, Ju Dou etc.) sounding clean with consistent dialogue in the lossless transfer. Imprint offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Imprint Blu-ray offers an informative half-hour with Tony Rayns. He has first hand knowledge of the production, speaking with Yimou and clearing up an exaggerated controversy on the film's showing at Cannes (ERA didn't let the CCP-equivalent see it first.) He talks about the Cultural Revolution and much more directly related to Zhang Yimou's intentions during production and his ability to work with almost no sleep. There is also a 5-minute piece at Cannes with Gong Li. The "Collaborations: The Cinema of Zhang Yimou & Gong Li" Blu-ray Limited Edition Boxset has plenty of new extras including a limited edition (2000 copies) 60-page booklet containing new essays from Professor Chris Berry & Professor Ying Zhu.

Zhang Yimou's "To Live" has been a favorite film for years. Melodrama with subtle sentimentality. As Zhang Yimou says; "I believe that for a long time now Chinese films have been too abstract, conceptual, gimmicky. They don't relate at all to the lives of ordinary Chinese people. I'm certain that most audiences will like this film. We haven't gone overboard on the tragic elements, but rather have focused on the minute, amusing details in the life of a nobody. There are tears and laughter, one following the other in a gentle rhythm like the breath of a bellows." I am excited to indulge in the rest of Imprint's "Collaborations: The Cinema of Zhang Yimou & Gong Li" Blu-ray Limited Edition Boxset. This is year-end poll stuff. Recommended!

Gary Tooze

***

ON THE DVDs (August 2003): )Compared to the digitally manipulated, vertically squeezed ERA transfer, the MGM looks far superior. It is sharper. The colors seem more real and muted in direct contrast to the obvious brightness boosting of the ERA. Both versions appear slightly cropped in various situations. I haven't been able to determine exactly where the missing 6 minutes from the ERA title are, unless it was taken from a PAL source and the speed not compensated (it looks to be about 4%). Skin tones in the MGM look a little red to me and I am still hoping for a better release for this masterpiece film with some substantial Extras (as opposed to just a trailer on the MGM). The MGM DVD is the obvious choice, but it still does not meet the deserved expectations that this fine film should be treated to.

Gary Tooze

Recommended Reading in Chinese/Hong Kong/Taiwanese Cinema (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)


Memoirs from the Beijing Film Academy by Zhen Ni, Chris Berry, Ni Zhen	Zhang Yimou: Interviews (Conversations With Filmmakers) by Frances Gateward	Chinese Films in Focus: 25 New Takes by Chris Berry	Wong Kar-Wai: Auteur of Time (Bfi World Directors) by Stephen Teo	China into Film: Frames of Reference in Contemporary Chinese Cinema (Envisioning Asia) by Jerome Silbergeld	New Chinese Cinemas by Nick Browne	Once Upon a Time in China : A Guide to Hong Kong, Taiwanese, and Mainland Chinese Cinema by Jeff Yang	Chinese Film Theory by George S. Semsel