24 City Blu-ray - Joan Chen

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka 'Er shi si cheng ji')

Directed by Jia Zhang-ke
China / Hong Kong / Japan2008

A masterful film from Jia Zhang-ke, the renowned director of Still Life and The World, 24 City chronicles the dramatic closing of a once-prosperous state-owned aeronautics factory in Chengdu, a city in Southwest China, and its conversion into a sprawling luxury apartment complex. Bursting with poetry, pop songs and striking visual detail, the film weaves together unforgettable stories from three generations of workers – some real, some played by actors (including Joan Chen) – into a vivid portrait of the human struggle behind China’s economic miracle.

***

In 24 City (2008) Jia skilfully combines documentary and fiction film as he charts the transformation of a military hardware factory into a complex of
luxury flats, and the social impact this has.

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Theatrical Release: May 17th, 2008 - Cannes Film Festival

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Comparison:

Cinema Guild - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Arrow - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

1) Cinema Guild - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Arrow (Three Films by Jia Zhangke) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - RIGHT

Box Cover		Released from Arrow Films, in the *Three Films by Jia Zhangke* with *A Touch of Sin* (2013), *Mountains May Depart* (2015) on Blu-ray:
Distribution	Cinema Guild - Region 1 - NTSC	Arrow - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:51:56	1:51:55.958
Video	1.78:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.59 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 37,989,243,595 bytes Feature: 26,375,872,512 bytes Video Bitrate: 25.89 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	Mandarin (Dolby Digital 5.1), Mandarin (Dolby Digital 2.0)	DTS-HD Master Audio Chinese 3888 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3888 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	English, None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Cinema Guild Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Jia Zhang-ke Short: Cry Me A River (20:16) • Scott Foundas interviews Jia Zhang-ke (45:30) • Original Theatrical trailer (2:54) DVD Release Date: January 12th, 2010 Keep Case Chapters: 14	Release Information: Studio: Arrow Academy 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 37,989,243,595 bytes Feature: 26,375,872,512 bytes Video Bitrate: 25.89 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Interview with director Jia Zhangke by Scott Foundas (45:41) • Introduction to 24 City by Tony Rayns (17:12) • The Making of 24 City (11:00) • Cry Me a River (20:16) • Trailer (2:56) • Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Scott Saslow for all films • Booklet featuring new writing on the films by Chris Berry, Geoffrey Macnab, Jonathan Rosenbaum and Tony Rayns Blu-ray Release Date: January 29th, 2018 Custom Blu-ray Case Chapters 24

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Arrow - Region 'B' - Blu-ray (January 18'): This film was shot with a Digital Camera but bumped to 35mm for theatrical. It is very evident the improvement of the 1080P transfer over SD. The image is brighter and significantly tighter and looks excellent in the, original, 1.78:1 aspect ratio.

Audio is lossless in the DTS-HD Master in original Mandarin and some Shanghainese. Despite the robustness (24-bit, 3888 kbps) there isn't much separation or depth exported by the film itself. The score is by Yoshihiro Hanno (Hsiao-Hsien Hou's Millennium Mambo and Flowers of Shanghai plus Zhangke Jia's Platform and Mountains May Depart).

Arrow offer a 3/4 hour interview with director Jia Zhangke by Scott Foundas (former Variety Chief Film Critic) specifically about 24 City and there is another introduction to 24 City by Tony Rayns running over 15-minutes. Both are revealing and excellent. We get the older 11-minutes featurette The Making of 24 City as well as a trailer. Included is Jia Zhang-ke's Cry Me a River aka Heshang aiqing short film from 2008 - screened at the Venice Film Festival where it was described as "An ancestral city; through its delicious botanical garden and its branched canals, we observe the clues and traces of its ancient culture. Two couples of men and women, former lovers, meet again one year later. The yesterday's breath of youth is still perceptible in their conversations. Is it still possible for us to love? Does youth really have an end? Like the networks linking the old city, what type of ecological existence does their culture require?" The package has a reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Scott Saslow for all films and a limited edition booklet featuring new writing on the films by Chris Berry, Geoffrey Macnab, Jonathan Rosenbaum and Tony Rayns.

Arrow's Three Films by Jia Zhangke brilliant Blu-ray set with A Touch of Sin, Mountains May Depart and 24 City, is immensely impressive with great extras. We give it our strongest recommendation for fans of the director and world cinema.

***

ON THE DVD: This is an exceptional DVD from Cinema Guild. Shot with a Digital Camera but bumped to 35mm for theatrical this dual-layered, progressive and anamorphic transfer looks wonderful. It is tight, very sharp and extremely impressive (as is the film). It is one of the better SD-DVD transfer efforts I have seen. Good news again that I don't see any manipulation and the image is pristinely clean. It looks quite flawless.

Audio comes in two flavors - both competent. The mostly dialogue-driven film doesn't offer a lot of separation or any effect noises so the 5.1 option is largely unnecessary. Dialogue is always clear and the optional English subtitles seem well rendered.

There are some good extras as well. The 20-minute short 'Cry Me A River' (Heshang aiqing) directed by Jia Zhang-ke has optional English subtitles and premiered at the 65th Venice Film Festival in 2008. Scott Foundas of the L.A. Weekly has a good interview with Jia Zhang-ke for more than 3/4s of an hour with a translator. It appears to have been conducted at the Lincoln Center during the 2008 NY Film Festival. We are also given the film's original theatrical trailer running just shy of 3-minutes.

Bordering on an essential DVD release - this has one of our strongest recommendations. Fans of the director shouldn't hesitate a moment. Great job Cinema Guild!

Gary W. Tooze

DVD Menus

Cinema Guild - Region 1 - NTSC

Arrow (Three Films by Jia Zhangke) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray