Farewell My Concubine
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Synopsis
A breathtakingly intimate romance unfolds against a sweeping backdrop of social upheaval in renowned director Chen Kaige’s sumptuous saga of passion, fate, and the transcendent possibilities of art. Spanning fifty years of twentieth-century Chinese history, Farewell My Concubine follows aspiring actors Dieyi (a heartbreaking Leslie Cheung) and Xiaolou (Zhang Fengyi) as they emerge from a childhood of brutal training to become Beijing-opera stars, with life mirroring art as Dieyi’s unrequited love for Xiaolou and the country’s changing political tides engulf them in their own personal tragedies of jealousy and betrayal. The first Chinese film to win the Palme d’Or is epic filmmaking of the highest order—visually and emotionally ravishing from frame to exquisite frame.
Picture 10/10
The Criterion Collection presents Chen Kaige's Farewell My Concubine on 4K UHD in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on a triple-layer disc. The 2160p/24Hz ultra high-definition presentation is sourced from a new 4K restoration and delivered in 10-bit SDR. The release also includes a standard Blu-ray featuring the film in 1080p high-definition, along with all the release's special features.
The new 4K presentation looks unbelievably good, a far cry from Miramax's non-anamorphic DVD. The restoration has significantly cleaned up the image, leaving behind only a handful of minor bits of dirt, and the digital encode looks phenomenal. The film's fine grain structure is rendered impeccably, leading to nice details, although this can be slightly limited due to the film's original shooting conditions. Many of the interiors (and exteriors) feature smoke, mist, or fog, resulting in a somewhat fuzzy image, though this is intentional. These smokier shots blend smoothly, retaining a natural look without introducing any digital anomalies. The high-definition Blu-ray presentation also handled this aspect well, but the 4K manages to render it all just a bit cleaner. The 4K also handles sequences draped in red better, with reds and blacks blending nicely without ever appearing noisy.
If the presentation disappoints in one area, it's the lack of an HDR grade. Though it is dark (and can lean a bit green, particularly in nighttime exterior sequences), it's still a very colorful film, and the boost from a broader range would have enhanced the visuals, particularly in the shadows. That said, the range present in the shadows and darker sequences still looks impressively wide, exposing details that aren't as apparent on the Blu-ray.
Despite that one minor quibble, the presentation remains outstanding, delivering a cleaner, film-like experience that hasn't been available before.
Audio 8/10
The film comes with a 5.1 surround soundtrack presented in DTS-HD MA. It’s a rather active mix, with plenty of activity pushed to the rears, whether it be the film’s music, the bustle in the streets, or echoes and activity in the theater settings. Dynamic range is very wide, and the track is crystal clear without any apparent damage.
Extras 5/10
The supplements (all found on the standard Blu-ray) prove a little underwhelming, but Criterion has recorded a new interview between the film’s producer, Janet Yang, and film scholar Michael Berry. The 35-minute conversation delves into Yang’s earlier years in the Chinese film business and her efforts to bring Chinese films to Western audiences before moving on to discuss Farewell My Concubine. They provide some background on the source novel and its adaptation into a film (though it apparently took years for director Chen to read it), the casting process (John Lone was first approached for what would become Leslie Cheung’s role), and the changes made to the novel to make it more cinematic, with the ending being the most significant alteration. Gong Li’s character was also fleshed out significantly once she joined the cast. From there, they discuss controversies, including the Chinese government's reactions to the film’s content and how it was edited down in some markets due to its content (and possibly length).
It's a great, wide-ranging conversation that does a decent job of covering the film's production. This is good because the included making-of documentary from 2008 doesn’t provide much insight beyond interviews with the cast. Though it runs 23 minutes, the last third consists of footage from its Cannes premiere and clips from the film.
Much better is an 18-minute 1993 interview between Chen and Charlie Rose. This interview covers the film’s success in the West and the differing expectations of European and American audiences. Chen also shares a personal story about his father that relates to the film and elaborates on why the Chinese government reacted poorly to it. It feels a bit rushed at the end (with Rose interjecting that they’re running out of time mid-sentence), but it’s a solid find on Criterion’s part.
The disc then closes with a trailer advertising the new restoration and an insert featuring an essay on the film by Pauline Chen.
The two interview features are strong additions, but there still seems to be a lot of ground that could be covered, including anything around the cuts originally made to the film during its initial release and more about the Chinese film industry during this period, which is only vaguely addressed in the current features. Overall, it’s a somewhat underwhelming edition in this department.
Closing
Chen Kaige's sweeping epic has never looked as good as it does here. It's a shame the features aren't as probing as they could be.
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