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

ADDITION: Sony Blu-ray (December 2024): Sony have transferred Trần Anh Hùng's The Vertical Ray of the Sun to Blu-ray. I've been waiting for this film to come to 1080P for over a decade. Sony (Columbia Tri-Star) released Tran's The Scent of Green Papaya to Blu-ray way back in 2011! We compared the US and UK DVDs of HERE, and to a few of the Blu-ray images below. It's a very pleasing upgrade - colors are much bolder, while sharpness gains a demonstrative edge. This beautiful films looks magnificent in this HD presentation. The strong greens are lush and evocative. 

NOTE: We have added 54 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Sony use a very robust DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround track (24-bit) in the original Vietnamese language. The Vertical Ray of the Sun has no significant instances of separation. The score was by Vietnamese-born French music composer Tiêt Tôn-Thât (Tran's The Scent of Green Papaya, Cyclo) with his warm fusion of oriental and occidental blends advancing the mood. Plus there is traditional-sounding music by Vietnamese musician, songwriter, painter and poet Cong Son Trinh (widely considered the country's best songwriter), as well as Lou Reed's Pale Blue Eyes performed by The Velvet Underground and his Coney Island Baby plus The Married Monk's Tell her tell her etc.  I LOVED this music and own the soundtrack CD that is now way out-of-print. It all sounds excellent in the lossless with subtleties distinguishable, carrying gentle depth. Sony offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Sony Blu-ray is completely bare-bones and the film starts when you put the disc in. No extras at all - not even a trailer.

After two well-received short films, “La Femme Mariee De Nam Xuong” (1988) and “La Pierre De L'Attente” (1990), Trần Anh Hùng's career exploded onto the international scene with his first feature production, “The Scent of Green Papaya” (1993). In it Tran floats his camera through windows and over walls. He also brushes vibrant green foliage in some extremely elegant and painstakingly thought-out choreographed scenes. “The Vertical Ray of the Sun" was Tran’s most contemporary relationship drama. It was entitled “At the Height of the Summer” in Europe (taken from a Japanese poem). It surrounds the romantic entanglements of three sisters over the course of one month. It begins with the traditional Asian celebration of the anniversary of the deceased mother’s birth, and ending with that same event for the father, by coincidence, exactly thirty days later. “The Vertical Ray of the Sun" is my favorite of Tran’s films. It is filled with strong performances by four supporting cast members, who have worked with Tran previously; his beautiful wife, Tran Nu Yên-Khê, stars again in this production following her challenging role in “Cyclo”. She is backed by fellow actors, Nhu Quynh Nguyen (who is also the owner of 'Cafe Quynh' in Hanoi's Bat Dan Street,) Ngoc Dung Le, and Manh Cuong. There are a myriad of simultaneous events with multiple character relationships, including infidelity with the eldest sister’s marriage, suspected adultery in the middle sisters, and the blossoming romance and naiveté of the third. The soundtrack, including Lou Reed plus Trinh Con Son's wonderful Vietnamese folk songs, plays in perfect balance to the gentle expression of imbued sophistication portrayed on the screen. "There are always three types of music in my work", Tran states. "American, which is something that touches me personally in my own life and which we cannot escape from; there's Vietnamese music and then there's the music composed for the film". “The Vertical Ray of the Sun” was filmed with exquisite bright colors by “In the Mood For Love” and "Flowers of Shanghai" cinematographer, Mark Lee Ping-Bin. I consider it as masterpiece and I will be holding onto the Sony Blu-ray with both hands. Absolutely recommended.

Gary Tooze