(aka 'Zhantai')
directed by Zhang Ke Jia
Hong Kong / China / Japan / France 2000
One
of the richest films of the past decade, Jia Zhangke's Platform finally gets a
theatrical run. Jia's three-hour epic spans the 1980s, filtering the period
through the mutation of the propaganda-performing Fenyang Peasant Culture Group
into the equally cheesy All Star Rock and Breakdance Electronic Band. Jia, whose
brilliant follow-up, Unknown Pleasures, opens later in the month, has a strong
visual style (based on long fixed-camera ensemble takes) and a powerful set of
concerns (the spiritual confusion of contemporary China, caught between the
outmoded materialism of the Maoist era and its market-driven successor).
Elliptical yet concrete, Platform is a laconic tale of lackadaisical love and
even more haphazard entertainment, as played out in a series of unheated factory
halls and outdoor courtyards.
The environment is at once prison-like and vast; with its objective viewpoint
and lovingly bleak locations, Platform looks like a documentary, but it's Pop
Art as history. Perhaps influenced by Hou Hsiao-hsien's
The Puppetmaster, Jia finds subtle ways to
transform the world into a stage. The play of the proscenium against the
filmmaker's taste for unmediated reality is fascinating. The penultimate image,
held long enough for the full weight of quotidian despair to infect the
audience, epitomizes the odyssey from kindergarten collectivity to failed
privatization.
Excerpt of J. Hoberman's review at The Village Voice located
HERE
Promotional photo
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Theatrical Release: September 4th, 2000 - Venice Film Festival
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DVD Review: New Yorker Video - Region 1 - NTSC
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| Distribution | New Yorker Video Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC | |
| Runtime | 2:28:20 | |
| Video | 1.78:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.52 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Audio | Mandarin / Shanxi (Dolby Digital 2.0) | |
| Subtitles | English, None | |
| Features |
Release Information:
Edition Details: • Interview
with director Zhang Ke Jia (13:31) |
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| Comments: |
I've heard some poor things about the Region 2- PAL Artificial Eye version of this film (HERE) and this New Yorker edition also has its problems. There is some 'combing' in horizontal pans indicating that the image was not transferred progressively although it is anamorphic at around the 1.78:1 ratio. Colors aren't too bad, a little dull maybe, and the image is hazy in spots. As this seems akin to the AE edition it is quite possible that a decent negative is not accessible. On the positive; subtitles are very good and the extras are a magnificent addition with a 15 minute interview with Zhang Ke Jia (with optional subtitles) and another 20 minutes of behind the scenes footage. A trailer and photo gallery round out the supplements but there are also some extensive liner notes (good job NY'er!) with excerpts from the excellent Shelly Kraicer review published in CineAction magazine. I am very happy with the extras and eventually we may compare this release to the PAL one, but it sounds as though they are similar. The extras make this a viable purchase and from that standpoint we recommend. |
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| Distribution | New Yorker Video Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC | |
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Gary Tooze
Mississauga, Ontario, CANADA |
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Thank You!iew Zhang Ke Jia Platform Zhantai DVD Review Zhang Ke Jia Platform Zhantai DVD Review Zhang Ke Jia Platform Zhantai DVD Review Zhang KD Review !
