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

ADDITION: 88 Films Blu-ray (April 2024): 88 Films have transferred Han Hsiang Li's The Beauty of Beauties to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "Brand new 4K Remaster from the Original Negatives". An opening screen states: "This film was originally released in 1965, and its digital restoration was completed by Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute in 2021 as part of the "Taiwan Film Classics Digital Restoration and Value-adding Project" commissioned by the Ministry of Culture." However, there is also a caveat: "The restoration was based on a 35mm low contrast negative with 4K resolution. The content of the story is the compilation version released at that time. The condition of the film contains instability, warp, flicker, dye fade, molds and dirt. Automatic restoration was used to reduce the instability and flicker and to remove dirt and stains. The frame-by-frame manual process was carried out to remove tears, residual defects and artifacts caused by automatic restoration." We have shown four of the many inordinate softer sequences (often within visually stronger scenes) below. Much of the film has a remarkable image quality - looking reasonably sharp, tighter, deep colors (notable reds and greens) and texture. If you get used to the uneven 1080P image - which I found eventually happens - the presentation remains quite fascinating.  

NOTE: We have added 66 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, 88 Films use a linear PCM dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original Mandarin language. The Beauty of Beauties has sword and battle conflicts - screams - that come through with modest depth. The sweeping score is by Lan-Ping Chow (Come Drink With Me, Dragon Inn) frequently fitting the epic film's grandiose scenes. Dialogue, like the video, can have occasional inconsistencies. 88 Films offer optional English subtitles - that are impressive in the use of language with words like "physiognomy" (yes, I had to look it up.) The disc is a Region FREE Blu-ray playable worldwide.

The 88 Films Blu-ray offers a new 22-minute interview with Asian Cinema Expert Tony Rayns who believes that this is the first home video release, anywhere in the Western world, of a film by Han Hsiang Li - one of the leading Chinese directors of the 20th Century. He describes the director as a 'big name' in Chinese film history, Li's move to Hong Kong and Mandarin language films there and occasional role as an actor and work with Shaw Brothers studio plus his inveterate gambling issues. He eventually devolved to exploitation dramas like The Amorous Lotus Pan and Madame Bamboo. Included is a split screen "Restoration Comparison" running over 5-minutes, and an original trailer. The package has a 20-page liner notes booklet with photos and an essay by Tom Cunliffe - Lecturer (Teaching) in East Asian Film and Media. There is a reversible sleeve with alternate original artwork.

Han Hsiang Li's The Beauty of Beauties is a huge historical epic with enormous outdoor sets and massive groups of costumed extras. It's an entertaining and elegant spectacle originally released as a two-part production (2 hours each.) This is 'digest' version of the film - the only one surviving - leading to the narrative being slightly uneven. It's quite majestic, reminding me of Cleopatra or Kurosawa's RAN. As well as a large-scale battle within the film there is a focus on a stunning and irreverent concubine, Hsi Shih, (played by a 19-year actress named Ching Chiang - iconic Brigitte Lin talks about her HERE) who seduces the oppressive King. She has a hidden agenda - complicit with her eleven fellow courtesans. Hsi Shih is the titular "beauty of beauties". I was swept up in the immense-ness of the production; 1000's of extras, beautiful costuming, extravagant palace set and its effective melodrama. As Rayns stated, this is the important director's first ever Western home video release! I would recommend to fans of historical epics or cinephiles interested in Asian (Taiwanese) films. 88 Films should be commended for bringing this to Blu-ray regardless of the uneven-ness of the a/v. There is still value and well worth a spin or more. In a word; "fascinating". Recommended!

Gary Tooze