ADDITION: Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - February 2011: Not much to say  beyond the captures - the new 1080P transfer has the same contrast level of their 2006 DVD - it is marginally brighter - detail also advances and, overall, it looks very strong being dual-layered with a high video bitrate. It seems totally free of artefacts or noise. It is a muted, gentle appearance and makes the Starmax DVD definitely look unseemly harsh and boosted. Notable improvement over the previous Criterion DVD will depend on your discerning nature towards the visuals and how adept your system is at identifying the disparity. We run through this debate about the image quality affected viewing perception - and I definitely believe it is true. This, more pure, more film-like, Blu-ray presentation will bond closer to the individual and give the most impacting of all digital, home theater, viewings. There is no question as to that.

Audio is lossless - still 2.0 channel stereo and has no dropouts, hiss or flaws. The optional English subtitles are cleaner and 'less-bold' (see sample). The Blu-ray disc is, predictably, region 'A'-locked.

Extras duplicate the previous Criterion release - Tony Rayns fabulous commentary, the Everyday Reality video interview (now in 1080P), a U.S. trailer and 20-page liner notes booklet.   

***

ADDITION: Criterion - Region 1- NTSC - June 06': Well, the Criterion is significantly darker. On the Criterion website it states:

The commentary, by Yang and Rayns, is very good. It is the same as the one on the Region 2 UK (ICA) PAL DVD (not shown here). In the past we have recognized Tony Rayns as giving the best commentaries in all of DVD-dom. On this the two talk of everything from color significance in the film to suggested references on the television shows played in the background. There are quite a few gaps but Rayns does a good job of identifying the narrative structure of Yi Yi while Yang often supports his conclusions or expands upon them. Yang's English is excellent and the two work quite well together - although this is not as in-depth as a typical Rayns-solo commentary. It, like the film, is more relaxed and the less-probing comments are still highly educational.

If the 15 minute featurette Everyday Realities Rayns explains the historical background of Taiwan - both in regards to modern cinema and socially and economically. He discusses censorship and the brief collaborations of Hou, Yang and others remarking that Yi Yi has still not been seen in Taiwan except via bootleg DVDs. It ends with the statement that the Taiwan film business is essentially dead.

Bottom line: The Criterion DVD looked exceptional on my system (42' plasma with total darkness) and it may be somewhat unfair to compare it directly to the other two DVDs with an expectation of that level of brightness. What this review hopefully does is prepare those who are intending to purchase -> as they can expect a much darker and muted transfer than they may have seen in the past. The extras are at Criterions usual excellent level.

NOTE: With regards to the darkness of the Criterion transfer, I can assure you that the Taiwanese print I watched at the Singapore International Film Festival in 2001 (or was it 2000) was just as dark. (Thanks Veen!)

"Starmax R0 offers by far the best transfer, it seems to be the only one of the three tested that was made from a digital master source. Less clipping on both top and bottom of the grayscale, much more natural detail, sharper (although there is visible edge enhancement), more natural colors" 

The Fox Lorber has a commentary by Yang and is richer in the Extras department as the Starmax has only 3 trailers to speak of. The Fox uses those awful yellow subs which are quite distracting. There are other version of this fine film out there, but so far I believe the Starmax, with its good film grain and slight Edge enhancement, is the definitive edition until Criterion puts theirs out in 2006.

 - Gary W. Tooze

1) Winstar - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM