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| One of world cinema s most dynamic
and highly regarded auteurs, Hou Hsiao-hsien has
influenced entire generations of filmmakers and was once
dubbed one of the three directors most crucial to the
future of cinema . The Masters of Cinema Series is proud
to present three films from early in his career, Cute
Girl, The Green, Green Grass of Home and
The Boys from Fengkuei, all making their worldwide
debut on Blu-ray. Cute Girl aka Jiu shi liu liu de ta (1980) A young bride-to-be falls for a laid-back land surveyor whilst visiting her family in the countryside. Conceived as a commercial vehicle for popular Hong Kong singer Kenny Bee, this romantic comedy was Hou Hsiao-hsien's debut feature. The Green, Green Grass of Home aka Zai na he pan qing cao qing (1982) A substitute teacher (again played by Kenny Bee) moves to a remote village, where he falls in love with another teacher at the local school. The Boys from Fengkuei aka Feng gui lai de ren (1983) Three young men leave their fishing village for the city to look for work, where they face some harsh realities about growing up. The film which established Hou Hsiao-hsien as a leading figure of the Taiwanese New Wave, The Boys from Fengkuei was rapturously received in Europe and is often considered the director s first mature masterwork. |
Posters
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Theatrical Release: 1980-1983
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Review:
Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray| Box Covers |
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| Distribution |
Masters of Cinema Spine # 188-190 |
| Cute Girl (1980) | The Green, Green Grass of Home (1982) | The Boys from Fengkuei (1983) | |
| Runtime |
1:29:25.651 |
1:30:46.816 | 1:39:38.847 |
| Video |
Disc Size: 45,703,761,922 bytes Feature Size: 22,615,937,856 bytes Average Bitrate: 29.86 MbpsDual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video |
Disc Size: 45,703,761,922 bytes Feature Size: 23,015,937,024 bytes Average Bitrate: 29.94 MbpsDual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video |
Disc Size: 43,077,108,454 bytes Feature Size: 29,127,238,656 bytes Average Bitrate: 34.90 MbpsDual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video |
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Bitrate:
Cute Girl Masters of Cinema Blu-ray
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Bitrate:
Green Green Grass Masters of Cinema Blu-ray
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Bitrate:
The Boys from Fengkuei Masters of Cinema Blu-ray
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| Audio |
LPCM Audio Chinese 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit |
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| Subtitles | English, None | ||
| Features |
Release
Information: Studio: Masters of Cinema
Edition Details: Chapters: 9 + 9 + 10 |
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| Comments |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. ADDITION: Masters of Cinema Blu-ray - March 18': Firstly, these are two dual-layered Blu-ray discs. The first has Cute Girl and Green, Green Grass of Home - with no extras and the second has The Boys of Fengkuei with the video essays. The 1080P presentation of The Boys of Fengkuei starts with a screen stating: "Restored by Cinematek-Royal Film Archive of Belgium in collaboration with Hou Hsiao-Hsien and The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project. The restoration was performed in Cinematek's laboratories, working from original camera and sound negatives. The image negative was scanned on a Northlight4K-Archive. After extensive restoration, color correction was supervised by Hou Hsiao-Hsien. Brussells, 2015."
The first two films, Cute Girl and Green, Green Grass of Home,
look a bit better than I expected in 1080P although contrast and
indoor/outdoor sequences in Green Green Grass of Home tend to
shift quite unpredictably from light to dark, tight to dullness and
colors totally can lose some of their depth although this may well be
within the bounds of the production lighting/stock used. There is a
green/blue bias but I found it acceptable, but noticeable, in my
viewing.
The Boys of Fengkuei has a few flashback sequences
looking intentionally overexposed with a slightly bleached look. It
looks fairly good, overall, but has some speckles here and there and
areas of inherent weakness (ex. Cute Girl has a 'fantasy'
sequences with a pistol duel that shows immense grain but also some
artifacts - see
HERE). We have compared
Boys to the DVDs we had and it's a big step up but loses a slight amount
of information on the right and top edges. It is in the 1.85:1 aspect
ratio where the first two films are in 2.35:1. All three films utilize linear PCM 2.0 channel mono tracks in the original Mandarin or Min Nan. It was stated that "L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory scanned and restored the original sound negative. The restored sound is a faithful reproduction of the original qualities, as well as issues, of the original soundtrack." They sound imperfect but I don't doubt it is authentic to the production limitations. Scores for Cute Girl and Green, Green Grass are credited to Mou Shan Huang and have a traditional, happy, feeling. Boys has Antonio Vivaldi's Winter from "The Four Seasons" and it is played subtly in the background - but is highly impacting. There are optional English subtitles - see sample - and the Blu-ray disc is Region 'B' - locked. Extras include audio visuals essays by Cristina Álvarez López and Adrian Martin that I have heard before on the FilmArchief DVD versions of the films - from 2015 (I think). They are excellent running shy of an hour in total for the three films. Covered are how Hou utilizes semi-improvised actions of children, life's everyday rituals and rhythms that seem infused in his work and things like the director's occasional extensive tracks and pans, deep focus through doors and circular tracking sequences that mark his autuer signature. It is identified that Cute Girl has a theme using trees, while Green, Green, Grass of Home similarly uses trains. Wonderful supplements for the films. The package also has a collector's booklet featuring a new essay by Phillip Kemp included. Masters of Cinema have given us a must own Blu-ray package for world cinephiles. Hou is a cinema giant and to see his early films - and subtle evolution, with the Cristina Álvarez López and Adrian Martin audiovisual essays, is priceless. These are films to own and appreciate the rest of your lives. Strongly recommended! - Gary Tooze |
Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
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An early film (1982) by Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien (A Time to Live and a Time to Die), one of the most influential contemporary cinematic talents. It concerns the struggles of a city teacher assigned to a rural school, and evidently shows the idiosyncratic and highly personal Hou touch in its attention to everyday ritual and the natural activities of children.. Excerpt from ChicagoReader located HERE
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Titles: "HOU HSIAO-HSIEN ~ 4 DVD DELUXE BOX SET ~ 1983-1986" - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - RIGHT
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| One of the earliest features from Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien, The Boys From Fengkuei offers a revealing glimpse into the developmental period of a world-class director. The first shot of this quietly sad film could have been taken from a picture postcard. It depicts the seaside fishing village of Fengkuei, hometown to the protagonists, and signifies the nostalgic tone of what is to follow. As it unfolds, it tracks a group of young men, and Taiwan itself, as they irrevocably move toward a more urbanized society. These boys see Visconti’s Rocco and His Brothers early on, indicating the trajectory of their lives. After about half of the movie, the band of main characters moves from their small home town to the much larger city of Kaohsiung, prompting personal growth but also defamiliarization. Stuck in a no-man’s land between school and mandatory military service, they find themselves unmoored by the massive city, suddenly aware of new yearnings. Thanks to its early exploration of some of the pet themes that would come to define Hou’s career, it stands as a key work in his oeuvre. |
Subtitle Sample
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1) "HOU HSIAO-HSIEN ~ 4 DVD DELUXE BOX SET ~ 1983-1986" - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP 2) Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) "HOU HSIAO-HSIEN ~ 4 DVD DELUXE BOX SET ~ 1983-1986" - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP 2) Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) "HOU HSIAO-HSIEN ~ 4 DVD DELUXE BOX SET ~ 1983-1986" - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP 2) Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) "HOU HSIAO-HSIEN ~ 4 DVD DELUXE BOX SET ~ 1983-1986" - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP 2) Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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More Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray Captures
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| Box Covers |
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| Distribution |
Masters of Cinema Spine # 188-190 |
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Gary Tooze
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Thank You!
