The other day, on PBS, I heard and saw
Added 8/28/2009
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.
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Wonderful movie, lousy DVD
Added 5/5/2009
This DVD should be outlawed and purged from the Amazon inventory, it is a disgrace to what DVD is capable of. It is a lousy transfer from a lousy print. DO AVOID AT ALL COSTS AND AWAIT A MORE DESERVING DVD OF A GREAT FILM.
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False advertising by the publisher
Added 3/15/2009
I guess I can't blame Amazon.com for claiming this DVD (the MagicPlay release - UPC 690445022424) has an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 because that is what it says on the back cover (MagicPlay didn't even get the syntax right, they printed it as "2:35-1"). While I'm sure they would claim it is a typographical error, as it stands it is false advertising perpetrated by MagicPlay Entertainment, because this DVD is actually "pan and scan" 4:3 aspect ratio. Razor Digital Entertainment also takes credit for this release but since MagicPlay takes the copyright credit for the cover design, I place the blame on them for this fraud. I'm not sure, but it wouldn't surprise me if there is no actual panning of the image. I think they just cropped it right up the center and left it at that. The Internet Movie Database states that the aspect ratio for this film is 1.66:1 (5:3), so 2.35:1 would not be correct even if it had been transferred as widescreen letterbox. And to add salt to the wound they obviously started with a very poor quality print from which to make the digital transfer. There is also a problem with the audio. My first point here is that I experienced about a 24dB difference in volume between the main feature soundtrack and the audio loop that accompanies the main menu screen; specifically it is the menu screen audio that is too loud. So if you set the volume based on the film's audio track, remember to quickly mute or turn it down when the film ends or you will get blasted out of your seat when the menu returns. The second point is that it appears the audio is only basic stereo, which may in fact be how the film was made, but again we have misleading information on the DVD case cover, because it says "Dolby Digital 5.1" but based on the behavior of my receiver, there was no "5.1" even if there is some aspect of "Dolby Digital" to the audio. The Setup menu gives you a choice of "AC3-2.0" (Dolby Digital 2-channel) or "LPCM" (while LPCM can theoretically support up to 7.1 channels, here it sounded nearly the same as the AC3-2.0). One final discrepancy which I'll mention is that the cover of my DVD appears to imply it is a "Region Zero" disc, while Amazon.com lists it as "Region 1" but I have no way of knowing which is correct. My rating for this product is based strictly on the quality of the MagicPlay DVD, not the movie, which I would rate very high.
3 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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Superb Film--Rotten DVD
Added 3/20/2008
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.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Great Film Marred By Horrible Presentation
Added 1/11/2008
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.
3 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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