Ju Dou
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Movie Reviews of Ju Dou
Movie Review: The other day, on PBS, I heard and saw
Summary: 4 Stars
Enrico Caruso perform the most famous aria from Pagliacci--remastered, on the stage, in black and white. My God! THAT'S the way he sounded! The last time I heard Caruso, it was on a record, which sounded like it was being played with a thorn needle--tinny, faint, full of scratches. So he really WAS the greatest tenor of them all...
Some day, this 1990 movie will be given the same treatment, but until then, I will content myself with a good sound track, acceptable subtitles, and a weird, wonderful story.
And try to remember how those bolts of cloth looked, unrolling, collapsing on themselves, in the brilliant colors they originally had.
Movie Review: Superb Film--Rotten DVD
Summary: 4 Stars
As the Chinese government wants to supress Yimou's work for it's less than idyllic portrayal of China, they couldn't have a better partner in crime than MagicPlay Entertainment. This is just an awful DVD made from a worn out print by a bunch of slackers on a bad day. Another reviewer has said they have performed a similar hatchet job on "Raise the Red Lantern."
I was lucky enough to see that on cable a few years ago and the photography was incredibly fine--even the credits were beautiful and the color saturation & resolution were amazing.
Movie Review: Five stars for the film, zero for the transfer
Summary: 3 Stars
I have to echo previous comments. A dark, disturbing and intense film, full of repressed rage and suppressed emotion. Although difficult to tell from this mucky transfer, the original cinemaphotography was clearly outstanding. Very claustrophobic in scope and character, the images still manage to glow at times. There are also some truly bleak characters- most notably the mute, implacable sociopathic son. Scary and memorable.
This film clearly deserves better than this pathetic, murky, gritty, 4:3 transfer it receives here. A real shame- when are Zhang's films going to get the treatment they deserve? The only kind thing I can find to say is that is was somewhat better than the truly putrescent transfer given to 'Raise the Red Lantern' - a landmark in low-end video quality. Oh dear.
Movie Review: Great Film Marred By Horrible Presentation
Summary: 2 Stars
The films of Zhang Yimou are some of the most innovative motion picture experiences today. Yimou uses light and color like few directors of his generation. From my understanding one of the highlights of Ju Dou was the dramatic colors used both literally and symbolically. Unfortunately this does not come through in the Razor release. In this edition the colors are faded and washed out. The transfer is poor. It looks like a copy of an inferior PAL tranfer from VHS.
The film moves with the spirit of Greek tragedy. The downfall of the Yang family is told through the story of an illicit affair between the wife of silk dyer Jin Shan Yang, played beautifully by Gong Li and Tianquing (Baotian Li), the dyer's nephew. The affair brings about tragic consequences leading to thedownfall of the Yang business,
I wish I could say more but my copy of the DVD froze and would not play in the last two minutes of the film. This is quite possibly one of the worst transfers I have ever experienced. I have seen bootlegs that have been done more professionally. I addition to the poor quality the film is presented in the wrong aspect ratio, the subtitling is laughable, and the actual print looks like it was dragged along a concrete road leading to numerous scratches.
I would love to see this film as it should be shown. Unfortunately the film is not available to me in another edition.
Avoid this Razor edition as it is a true waste of money and a source of great frustration.
Movie Review: Amazon should not sell these titles
Summary: 2 Stars
I believe the quality of this transfer (along with the one for Raise The Red Lantern) is so horrific that it completely ruines the beautiful experience of watching these Gong Li/ Zhang Yimou movies and should not even be offered for sale. Truly Bad