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

ADDITION: Radiance Blu-ray (April 2024): Radiance have transferred Ye Lou's Suzhou River to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "4K restoration of the film from the original negative". A text screen states "The 4k digital restoration of the original version of Suzhou River was realized starting from the original 16mm a-b negative of the image from the laboratory Kopierwerk Babelsberg. The image was scanned by screenshot AG Berlin, dust-busted at the post republic and colour-graded by Moritz Peters. Titles were rebuilt by Mieke Ulfig." The 1080P presentation looks amazing for being on 16mm (printed to 35mm) and a kinetic hand-held camera. I love the thick grain and impressive detail in facial closed-ups (frequently Zhou Xun's visage.) This is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate and the film is rendered in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio. I thought it looked fabulous.

NOTE: We have added 70 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Radiance use a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround track (24-bit) in the original English language. The soundtrack was restored at Basis Berlin Postproduktion GMBH. New Foleys were recorded by Fabian Weigmann and Jonathan Ritzel, the sound design was recreated and additional sound effect added by Sebastian Tesch. The Dolby 5.1 mix was mastered by Ansgar Frerich and Sebastian Tesch. Suzhou River has few aggressive moments but a handful of notable separations including the rain, bar scenes etc. The score was by Jörg Lemberg (Purple Butterfly) and certainly has violin sequences that are very reminiscent of Bernard Herrmann's music in Hitchcock’s Vertigo. It's beautiful in the lossless. There is also Tear Stained Eyes by Dou Peng and Shanghai Nights from "Flying Phoenix" (adapted by Wu Yiwen.) Radiance offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'B' Blu-ray.

The Radiance Blu-ray includes a new (January 2024) 1/2 hour of critic Tony Rayns discussing his early interactions with Ye Lou as a film student, the unusual story of the film's funding, and Suzhou River's significant impact on the Chinese film industry. Produced for Radiance films in January 2024. Radiance add In Shanghai - a 1/4 hour 2001 documentary film portrait by Lou of his home city that is been subject to great changes thanks to its economic openness to the West, but where the past is still tangibly and visibly present. There is also an original trailer and the package has a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by 'Time Tomorrow' and a limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Josh Slater-Williams and a newly translated archival interview with Ye Lou.

Ye Lou's Suzhou River has major themes and homage that echo Hitchcock’s Vertigo. Obsessive love, ineffectual undisclosed identity swap, Herrmann-esque score and, although Zhang Ming Fong plays the videographer and narrator, he watches Moudan / Meimei (Zhou Xun) voyeuristically like "Scottie" spying on Madeleine Elster and then Judy Barton. There is also some Rear Window in there and film noir also evoking Wong Kar-wai's Chungking Express visual style and In the Mood For Love's fatefully unrequited romance. Ye Lou was lauded as a major voice in the sixth-generation movement and critically praised for the atmospheric visuals in Suzhou River. I loved this as much as other Radiance Asian films released this year on Blu-ray; Noboru Nakamura's The Shape of Night, Yoshishige Yoshida's A Story Written With Water and Tai Katô's I, the Executioner. Radiance are kicking butt as they did last year. This film experience has our highest recommendation.

Gary Tooze