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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Hai shang hua" or "Flowers of Shanghai" )

 

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/direct-chair/hou.htm
Taiwan 1998

 

The delicate, exquisitely constructed interiors of the late nineteenth century Shanghai brothels - the flower houses - create a serene, idyllic escape for its venerated patrons. Here, in the euphemistic propriety of privileged society, madams, called "aunts", arrange sexual liaisons for their flower girls through appointed bookings. "The Flowers of Shanghai" opens to a shot of these wealthy and powerful men, accompanied by their flower girls at a dining table. Within the insular walls of the flower houses, these men create a stifling, dystopic world that revolves around their arrogance and vanity: they amuse themselves with incomprehensible drinking games, idly gossip about the affairs of other patrons, leisurely smoke opium, and indulge in the paid services of women. But these flower girls are far from the fragile, exotic creatures evocative of their names. Pearl, the senior member of the Gongyang Enclave flower girls, provides helpful guidance to the younger, immature flower girls. Emerald, a popular flower girl from the Shangren Enclave, is a willful, determined woman who relies on her intelligence and influence on men to buy her freedom. A fading flower girl, Crimson, is burdened with the responsibility of supporting her family. Facing the prospective end of a long-term relationship with her exclusive client, Master Wang, she accepts the inevitable with dignity and perseverance. When Master Yang decides to marry a younger flower girl, Jasmin, to punish Crimson for her rumored infidelity, it is Wang who suffers from their separation. Jade, an idealistic woman who believes her patron's empty declarations of love, attempts to ensnare him in a suicide pact, which, in an unexpected turn of events, proves to be a life-altering event.

Hou Hsiao-Hsien crafts a visually hypnotic and intricately fascinating portrait of love, power, and servitude in "The Flowers of Shanghai". By confining the scenes to interior shots of the Shanghai flower houses, Hou portrays the created, artificial world - the unsustainable illusion - of the flower house patrons. In essence, the flower houses are an idealized reflection of the patrons' own ambivalent feelings between love and passion, obligation and generosity, commitment and fidelity. Inevitably, their hermetic environment of lavished wealth and drug-induced escapism cannot prevent the objects of their affection - the emotionally resilient flower girls - from escaping their tenacious, suffocating grasp.

Excerpt from Acquarello's post in the DVDBeaver Forum and located on his Strictly Film School website HERE

***

An intoxicating, time-bending experience bathed in the golden glow of oil lamps and wreathed in an opium haze, this gorgeous period reverie by Hou Hsiao-hsien traces the romantic intrigue, jealousies, and tensions swirling around four late-nineteenth-century Shanghai “flower houses,” where courtesans live confined to a gilded cage, ensconced in opulent splendor but forced to work to buy back their freedom. Among the regular clients is the taciturn Master Wang (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), whose relationship with his longtime mistress (Michiko Hada) is roiled by a perceived act of betrayal. Composed in a languorous procession of entrancing long takes, Flowers of Shanghai evokes a vanished world of decadence and cruelty, an insular universe where much of the dramatic action remains tantalizingly offscreen—even as its emotional fallout registers with quiet devastation.

Posters

Theatrical Release: May 20th, 1998 (Cannes)

Reviews                                                                                                       More Reviews                                                                                       DVD Reviews

 

Comparison:

WideSight - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Fox/Lorber (Winstar) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray

Box Cover

 

 

  

Coming our June 14th, 20210 on Blu-ray by Criterion, in the UK:

Bonus Captures:

Distribution

WideSight (HK)

Region 0  - NTSC

Fox/Lorber (Winstar)
Region 0  - NTSC
Criterion Spine #1077 - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:53:36     1:53:20 1:54:14.305 
Video 1.83:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 4.31 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
1.83:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 6.86 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 48,234,107,458 bytes

Feature: 35,778,772,992 bytes

Video Bitrate: 36.31 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate WideSight:

Bitrate Fox/Lorber:

Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio Shanghainese (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround) (Mpeg 2) Shanghainese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)

DTS-HD Master Audio Chinese 3357 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3357 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)

Subtitles English, Traditional Chinese (ingrained) English (yellow), and none English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio: WideSight

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen  - 1.83:1

Edition Details:
• Introduction (Chinese text screen)

DVD Release Date: 2000?
Transparent Keep Case

Chapters 8

 

Release Information:
Studio: Fox / Lorber

Aspect Ratio:

Widescreen  - 1.83:1

Edition Details:
• Theatrical trailer
• Filmography 

DVD Release Date: April 16th, 2002

Keep Case
Chapters: 16

 

Release Information:
Studio:
Criterion

 

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 48,234,107,458 bytes

Feature: 35,778,772,992 bytes

Video Bitrate: 36.31 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

New introduction by critic Tony Rayns (28:26)
Beautified Realism, a new documentary by Daniel Raim and Eugene Suen on the making of the film, featuring behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Lee, producer and editor Liao Ching-sung, production designer Hwarng Wern-ying, and sound recordist Tu Duu-chih (37:06)
Excerpts from a 2015 interview with Hou, recorded as part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Oral History Projects (13:16)
Trailer (1:38)
English subtitle translation by Rayns
PLUS: An essay by film scholar Jean Ma and a 2009 interview with Hou conducted by scholar Michael Berry


Blu-ray Release Date:
May 18th, 2021
Transparent Blu-ray Case

Chapters 23

 

 

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (May 2021): Criterion have transferred Hou Hsiao-Hsien's Flowers of Shanghai to 1080P Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "New 4K digital restoration". It distinguishes itself from the lackluster DVDs with a heavy 'green jade' hue that suits the film and looks marvelous in 1080P. The 4K -restored image is rich, more detailed, there is some movement in the frame compared to the Fox DVD, but the overall visuals are captivating. The 'teal' naysayers will surface in Forums but I can tell you this looked exceptional on my system - what a glorious, dark, jade-soaked, image. 

NOTE: We have added 24 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Criterion use a robust DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround track (24-bit) in the original English language. The film has very few surround sequences but offers a contemplative score by Yoshihiro Hanno (Hou's Millennium Mambo and Flowers of Shanghai plus Zhangke Jia Zhang-ke's Platform24 City, and Mountains May Depart) and Duu-Chih Tu (Taipei Story) sounding subtle but adding to the film experience via the lossless. Criterion offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' / 'B' Blu-ray.

The Criterion Blu-ray includes a 28-minute introduction to Flowers of Shanghai by film scholar Tony Rayns recorded remotely in London in 2021. Beautified Realism is a new (2021) documentary by Daniel Raim and Eugene Suen on the making of Flowers of Shanghai featuring behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with director of photography Mark Lee Ping-bing, producer and editor Liao Ching-sung, production designer Hwarng Wern-ying, and sound recordist Tu Duu-chih. There are also 13-minutes of excerpts from a 2015 interview with Hou composed of segments from an interview with director Hou Hsiao-hsien in Los Angeles for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Visual History Program Collection, administered by the Academy Oral History Projects department. There is a trailer and liner notes with an essay by film scholar Jean Ma and a 2009 interview with Hou conducted by scholar Michael Berry.

Hou Hsiao-Hsien's Flowers of Shanghai can be challenging to many cinephiles. It's deliberately paced and formalized cinema that will not appeal to everyone. It improves demonstratively upon repeat viewings. It's a beautiful film, shot in a sly, meaningful, manner, that opines the opium-induced catatonic manner in which its characters are expressed - it challenges meaningfulness exposing decadence. lethargy, female abuse, love, desire, infatuation and less-fettered power all in a devout representation of its era and locale. The Criterion Blu-ray is such a huge step beyond the DVDs for an important, unique film experience with impressive extras. It has our strongest recommendation!

Gary Tooze

 

ON THE DVDs (2002): Frankly both of these transfers leave a lot to be desired. Neither are progressive, neither are 16X9 enhanced - the F/L has contrast boosting and the WideSight has ingrained (dual) subtitles. Combing is prevalent on both releases. The WideSight boasts a 5.1 track to the F/L's 2.0. Extras are non-existent in both. I suppose you can choose 'your' lesser evil as I see no superior edition on the horizon.

 

Lastly, this is a very difficult and demanding work by Hou and the film will not appeal to everyone. We certainly do not recommend it as a first exposure to this acclaimed director. It is very slowly paced with exceptionally dark lighting sequences. Upon repeat exposure it can be quite rewarding.

 - Henrik Sylow

 


WideSight (HK) Region 0  - NTSC

 

Fox/Lorber (Winstar) - Region 0  - NTSC

Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray


CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

1) WideSight (HK) - Region 0  - NTSC  TOP

2) Fox/Lorber (Winstar) - Region 0  - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) WideSight (HK) - Region 0  - NTSC  TOP

2) Fox/Lorber (Winstar) - Region 0  - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) WideSight (HK) - Region 0  - NTSC  TOP

2) Fox/Lorber (Winstar) - Region 0  - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) WideSight (HK) - Region 0  - NTSC  TOP

2) Fox/Lorber (Winstar) - Region 0  - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) WideSight (HK) - Region 0  - NTSC  TOP

2) Fox/Lorber (Winstar) - Region 0  - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

More full resolution (1920 X 1080) Blu-ray Captures for DVDBeaver Patreon Supporters HERE

 

 

 
Box Cover

 

 

  

Coming our June 14th, 20210 on Blu-ray by Criterion, in the UK:

Bonus Captures:

Distribution

WideSight (HK)

Region 0  - NTSC

Fox/Lorber (Winstar)
Region 0  - NTSC
Criterion Spine #1077 - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray


 


 

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