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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

( aka 'Millennium Mambo' or 'Qianxi manbo' )

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/direct-chair/hou.htm
Taiwan 2001

"Looking at the youthful friends around me, I find that their cycle and rhythm of "birth, age, illness and death' are moving  several times faster than those of my generation. This is particularly true of young girls: like flowers, they are fading almost immediately upon blooming. the process occurs in an instant. I do not remember who said this: 'Of so many leaves drifting everywhere in the sky above us, there is but one leaf which comes to and eternal halt at the very moment of being watches persistently by us with understanding and sympathy'. With this image in mind I hope shot a movie of the story of this youthful girl."     Hsiao-hsien Hou (from the Star Files static screen of the Universe DVD)

 

A stylish and seductive submersion into the techno-scored neon nightlife of Taipei, Hou Hsiao-hsien’s Millennium Mambo is a much-misunderstood marvel. Presented in a stunning 4K restoration, it stars Shu Qi (The Transporter) as an aimless bar hostess drifting away from her blowhard boyfriend and towards Jack Kao’s suave, sensitive gangster. Structured as a flashback to the then-present from the then-future of 2011, it’s a transfixing trance-out of a movie, drenched in club lights, ecstatic endorphin-rush exhilaration, and a nagging undercurrent of ennui.


Posters

 

Theatrical Release: May 19th, 2001 - Cannes Film Festival, France

Reviews                                                     More Reviews                                                  DVD Reviews

Comparison:

Palm Pictures (UMVD) - Region 1- NTSC vs. TF1 Vidéo (France) Box - Region 2 - PAL vs. Universe Laser - Region 3 - NTSC vs. Spectrum (Korea) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Metrograph - Region 'A' Blu-ray

The TF1 Video is on the TOP 100 List of DVDs.

Big thanks to Kevin Parent  and Paul Whitelock for rest of the DVD Captures!

Box Covers

        

 

BONUS CAPTURES:

Distribution Palm Pictures (UMVD)
Region 1 - NTSC

TF1 Vidéo

Region 2- PAL

Universe Laser and Video 

Region 3 - NTSC 

Spectrum
Region 0 NTSC
Metrograph - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:40:57 (NOT transferred to NTSC) 1:40:57 (4% PAL speedup) 1:40:36 (NOT transferred to NTSC) 1:40:48 (NOT transferred to NTSC) 1:45:36.958
Video

1.78:1.00 Letterboxed WideScreen 

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 7.1 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 9.1 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

1.81:1.00 Letterboxed WideScreen 
Average Bitrate: 4.65 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 7.24
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 39,731,904,717 bytes

Feature: 36,239,923,200 bytes

Video Bitrate: 38.99 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate:

Palm Pictures + TF1 Vidéo

 

  

Bitrate:

Universe Laser +

Spectrum

 

    

Bitrate:

Blu-ray

Audio

Mandarin (5.1 Surround)  

Mandarin (DTS)  

Mandarin (2.0)  

Mandarin (5.1 Surround)   Mandarin (2.0 Surround), Mandarin (5.1 Surround)  

Mandarin (5.1 Surround)  

 

DTS-HD Master Audio Multiple languages2496 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2496 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio Multiple languages1583 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1583 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Commentary:

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps

 
Subtitles English, and none

English, French and none

 (Extras NOT subtitled in English)

Removable: English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese English, Korean and none English, none
Features Release Information:
Studio:
Palm Pictures

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen - 1.78:1


 
Edition Details:
• 
Extended Scene ('Vicky in Japan') - 13:00
• Hou Interview (optional English subs) - 4:3 - 8:50
• Trailers (4:05)
• Weblinks
• Filmographies
• Previews

DVD Release Date: August 17th, 2004
Keep Case

Chapters 18

Release Information:
Studio:
TF1 Vidéo

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen - 1.78:1


 
Edition Details:
• 
DVD 1:
• The film (1h 40mn)

DVD 2 (NOT subtitled in English):
• The interview of Hou Hsiao Hsien (40 mn)
• New scenes (13 mn)
• Presentation of the characters (10 mn)
• The trailer (2 mn)
• The trailers taiwanaises (3 mn)
• The spots (2mn), the promotional clip (4 mn)
• Posters and projects
• Photographs of film
• Biographies
• The Rom section


DVD Release Date: August 22nd, 2002
Double
Keep Case

Chapters 18

Release Information:
Studio: Universe Laser and Video

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen - 1.81:1
 
Edition Details:
• DVD5 - One side / one layer

Star's File : Hou statement in 13 static screen with autobiography in Eng or Chinese

Non anamorphic widescreen trailer with non-removable Eng and Chinese subs - 1:47

Three more Golden Scene trailers: 
Lan Yu Non anamorphic widescreen trailer with non-removable Eng and Chinese subs - 2:15
Barking Dogs Never Bite - Non anamorphic widescreen trailer with non-removable Chinese subs - 1:52
The Goddess of 1967 - Non anamorphic widescreen trailer with non-removable Chinese subs - 3:30


DVD Release Date: July 1, 2002
Keep Case

Chapters 8

Release Information:
Studio: Spectrum Entertainment

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1


Edition Details:
 2nd Disc: Interactive Menu, Scene Selections, Interview with Director, Deleted Scenes, Main Characters, Cast & Crews, Taiwanese Trailer, Posters, Photo Gallery, 12 Films Clips of Director 

DVD Release Date: July 17th, 2003
Keep Case

Chapters 18

Release Information:
Studio:
Metrograph

 

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 39,731,904,717 bytes

Feature: 36,239,923,200 bytes

Video Bitrate: 38.99 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Audio commentary by Rolling Stone film critic K. Austin Collins
• Video essay by Adrian Martin and Cristina Alvarez Lopez (9:25)
• Re-release Trailer (1:40)


Blu-ray Release Date: June 27th, 2023

Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 10

 

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Metrograph Blu-ray (June 2023): Metrograph have transferred Hsiao-Hsien Hou's Millennium Mambo to Blu-ray. It is cited as "presented in a stunning 4K restoration". The film has a strong vérité feel and this is reflected in these image's unique artifice, and less-specific, framing. Of course, the 1080P looks better than the old DVDs - and is notable as being the first in the corrected NTSC running time. It was clean and consistent on my system and I believe, by far, the most accurate digital representation from dark, smoky clubs to peaceful snow-blanketed streets. 

NOTE: We have added 38 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Metrograph offer both DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround and 2.0 channel stereo tracks (both 24-bit) in the original Mandarin Chinese, and some English, Japanese languages. There are a few separations - mostly dance and nightlife crowd partying in the neon club. The music is by Yoshihiro Hanno, Kai-yu Huang (as DJ Fish) - mostly rhythmic dance and techno remixes - intentionally fluctuating volume levels - and Giong Lim (A Pure Person) with very slow, haunting and trance-like in certain important scenes sounding encompassing via lossless transfers. Metrograph offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

There is a new audio commentary by Rolling Stone film critic K. Austin Collins who discusses the film historically - Hou Hsiao-hsien’s 14th film and the first to get distribution in the US. How many latched onto Millennium Mambo to be able to reflect on his previous work. He identifies themes - youth, identity, displacement, history and reconciling the massive changes that are happening in Taiwan including renewal, distance from traditional education etc. He talks about the narration from 10-years in the future, the camera; visually, spatially, psychologically, the rooms with no windows and much more including the unique editing. I thought it was fantastically observant commentary about the film's subtle style. I learned a lot. I really enjoyed the 10-minute video essay by Cristina Alvarez Lopez and Adrian Martin - read by Adrian. They dissect the camera positioning/movement and use of audio in the apartment scene where the police come to talk to Vicky (Shu Qi) about Hao-Hao (Chun-hao Tuan.) What can appear to be haphazard, even lazy, cinematography is anything but as Cristina and Adrian detail Hsiao-Hsien Hou deliberate and specific methodology. I found it a fascinating supplement. There is also a re-release trailer.

Hsiao-Hsien Hou's richly textured Millennium Mambo has rootless Vicky (Hong Kong's expressive nubile Shu Qi) - a drifter, becoming a mainstay at urban dance clubs with dimly lit flashes of neon lights. She is trying, indifferently, to exit the relationship with her abusive, criminal, ex-boyfriend. Vicky is trapped by her circumstance - reflecting on it in a disparate narration voiceover that contradicts her past reality. Millennium Mambo is unique in Hou’s oeuvre, although utilizing long, slow-cinema precision documenting Vicky's potential as she recognizes her confinement by examining the role she plays in her own destiny. Fascinating. A brilliant masterpiece that I am so happy to finally have on Blu-ray. Thank you Metrograph.

***

ADDITION: Palm Pictures (Dec -04) - Here is the scoop - DON'T BUY THE PALM PICTURE RELEASE FOR THE IMAGE QUALITY ! What a disappointment! - I had read other reviews and was really expecting this to be stellar, but they did not adjust for the PAL speedup and the image is hazy (very blurry) and the colors are washed out. It looks to be a shade cropped on the right edge too. It is as bad as the Spectrum edition in terms of image quality. At least the Hou interview is optionally subtitled and the DTS audio is a real treat, but overall you should indulge and get the French edition (if it is still in print). It is the definitive at present.

***

ADDITION: TF1 Vidéo edition (January 2004)

The TF1 Vidéo DVD has the best image quality and a whole second disc of Extras (not subtitled in English though). It is slightly sharper than the Spectrum DVD and since one is PAL and the other NTSC, yet they both have the same running times. The TF1 Vidéo has no signs of "ghosting". The TF1 Vidéo shows the other DVDs to be cropped slightly on both sides (the Universe Laser more than the Spectrum). On the TF1 Vidéo DVD are wonderful motion menus that are accompanied by music from the film. In fact, they took a unique approach in that when the menu first loads the lead-in part of the music plays, then a second (identical) menu loads that contains a part of the music that loops. The TF1 Vidéo is the one to get - even with the un-translated Extras - no question!

*****

As this film is so dark, it is pretty hard to make concrete determinations about the transfers. One DVD ratio is slightly skewed... I would suspect it is the Spectrum (using my eye) but I don't know for sure. I can say that the Universe Laser edition is brighter, but that could be enhanced. Neither version seems cropped. The Spectrum is sharper and anamorphic. The 2nd disc on the Spectrum is full of involved Extras. Obviously, if you have the opportunity and money I would buy the Spectrum, but you will still have a decent viewing experience with the Universe Laser edition.


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

Check out more in "The Library"


 Menus

(Palm Pictures - Region 1- NTSC LEFT vs. TF1 Vidéo - Region 2 - PAL RIGHT
)


Universe Laser - Region 3 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Spectrum - Region 0 - NTSC - RIGHT)

 

Metrograph - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

 

 

Optional Subtitled capture of Hou Interview on the Palm Pictures release!

 


CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

Subtitle Sample - Metrograph - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

 


1) Palm Pictures - Region 1- NTSC TOP

2) TF1 Vidéo - Region 2 - PAL SECOND

3) Universe Laser - Region 3 - NTSC - THIRD

4) Spectrum - Region 0 - NTSC - FOURTH

5) Metrograph - Region 'A' - Blu-ray  BOTTOM

 


1) Palm Pictures - Region 1- NTSC TOP

2) TF1 Vidéo - Region 2 - PAL SECOND

3) Universe Laser - Region 3 - NTSC - THIRD

4) Spectrum - Region 0 - NTSC - FOURTH

5) Metrograph - Region 'A' - Blu-ray  BOTTOM

 


1) Palm Pictures - Region 1- NTSC TOP

2) TF1 Vidéo - Region 2 - PAL SECOND

3) Universe Laser - Region 3 - NTSC - THIRD

4) Spectrum - Region 0 - NTSC - FOURTH

5) Metrograph - Region 'A' - Blu-ray  BOTTOM

 


1) Palm Pictures - Region 1- NTSC TOP

2) TF1 Vidéo - Region 2 - PAL SECOND

3) Universe Laser - Region 3 - NTSC - THIRD

4) Spectrum - Region 0 - NTSC - FOURTH

5) Metrograph - Region 'A' - Blu-ray  BOTTOM

 

 


 

More full resolution (1920 X 1080) Blu-ray Captures for DVDBeaver Patreon Supporters HERE

 


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Box Covers

        

 

BONUS CAPTURES:

Distribution Palm Pictures (UMVD)
Region 1 - NTSC

TF1 Vidéo

Region 2- PAL

Universe Laser and Video 

Region 3 - NTSC 

Spectrum
Region 0 NTSC
Metrograph - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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