Tsai Ming-liang

[goblinfootballs]

Vive l'Amour is listed on Film Movement's site as coming soon (theatrical). The page for the film indicates a new 2K restoration.

[yoloswegmaster]

Seems as if the page has been deleted.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

It's working for me. I doubt the "new" restoration is anything except the existing CMPC master, but in any case it'll be good to have a more accessible edition of this.

[mteller]

Rebels of the Neon God coming 12/28 from Vinegar Syndrome

[swo17]

*actually from their partner label Big World Pictures, who also put out Jia's Still Life on Blu-ray last year

[senseabove]

Seems the US rights for the Goodbye, Dragon Inn restoration have gone to Metrograph, which would presumably mean KL would have the option for a US BD release.

They've also put their new poster for the movie up for sale:

[Walter Kurtz]

They say memory is faulty so this will be a nice test. It's been some years since I've seen GDI and I remember the theater as being mostly empty... yet the poster shows a fairly good crowd. Am I remembering it incorrectly?

PS: At the Academy Museum here in LA they have a little Kane area as you walk into one of their main exhibition rooms. It's dark and the screen greets you as you enter with titles and clips before you round the bend and see Mank's script, Toland's lenses, some production art and Rosebud. I thought I'd do an homage to GDI called Hello Citizen Kane and shoot unknowing patrons gazing at the screen (in the dark) as they enter and mill about.

But they always wanted to duck out of the way and I kept telling them "No, I want you in the film!" But they usually wanted to duck out of the way. So I figure that was due to one of two reasons: 1) They thought I was being post-modern (facetiousness in this case) or 2) they were selling crack in the washrooms.

[senseabove]

They say memory is faulty so this will be a nice test. It's been some years since I've seen GDI and I remember the theater as being mostly empty... yet the poster shows a fairly good crowd. Am I remembering it incorrectly?

There's a brief sequence at the beginning that shows the fuller theater audience during the original (implied to be? I don't recall exactly...) Dragon Inn theatrical run. But yes, during the contemporary screening that is the movie's setting, the theater is mostly empty.

[zedz]

BTW, has Tsai mentioned somewhere if there's a set number of the "walker" shorts planned, or if it will just be an ongoing series? To my understanding there are now four (Walker, No Form, Jingang Jing and Meng you), or five with this newly announced one. Hoping these will end up on a video release at some point.

No No Sleep (2015) was a Walker short as well, wasn't it?

[domino harvey]

It would be a lot harder for that one guy to imitate David Niven in Separate Tables if it were that crowded!

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

BTW, has Tsai mentioned somewhere if there's a set number of the "walker" shorts planned, or if it will just be an ongoing series? To my understanding there are now four (Walker, No Form, Jingang Jing and Meng you), or five with this newly announced one. Hoping these will end up on a video release at some point.

No No Sleep (2015) was a Walker short as well, wasn't it?

Yeah, but that wasn't out at the time the post was made. Since then the total's gone up to eight:

No Form (2012)
Walker (2012)
Diamond Sutra (2012)
Sleepwalk (2012)
Walking on Water (2013)
Journey to the West (2014)
No No Sleep (2015)
Sand (2018⁠—though this one is 80 minutes so it's not really a "short")

Wandering (on the upcoming Grasshopper release of Days) looks to be at least adjacent to the series, judging from the opening. There was also a stage production in 2014 called The Monk from Tang Dynasty, a small piece of which can be seen at the end of this video.

[senseabove]

Contrary to what was said by someone who should know these things if they're going to answer them so confidently, the Big World Pictures release of Rebels is almost certainly not a restoration more recent than that in the previous Taiwanese box set release, for those hoping it would be a notable upgrade.

[ryannichols7]

who is our best hope for this getting a newer transfer? Second Run? any clue who has region B rights?

still getting this edition as I don't have the taiwanese box, but pretty annoyed especially with the matter of factness in that tweet. I shouldn't be surprised at all though, given his other comments..

[Glowingwabbit]

still getting this edition as I don't have the taiwanese box, but pretty annoyed especially with the matter of factness in that tweet. I shouldn't be surprised at all though, given his other comments..

I was buying it anyway (and I do have the Taiwanese set) but I'm also annoyed that he either doesn't know the product he's working with or is just being intentionally deceptive. As for the transfer it's obviously old but it looks fine and I'd recommend getting the release especially if you don't have the older set

[yoloswegmaster]

who is our best hope for this getting a newer transfer? Second Run? any clue who has region B rights?

still getting this edition as I don't have the taiwanese box, but pretty annoyed especially with the matter of factness in that tweet. I shouldn't be surprised at all though, given his other comments..

What other comments has he made? I know he was the guy who started the whole 'Fast Times at Ridgemont' controversy earlier this year when Criterion released their disc but I'm unaware of anything else that he has said.

[ryannichols7]

still getting this edition as I don't have the taiwanese box, but pretty annoyed especially with the matter of factness in that tweet. I shouldn't be surprised at all though, given his other comments..

I was buying it anyway (and I do have the Taiwanese set) but I'm also annoyed that he either doesn't know the product he's working with or is just being intentionally deceptive. As for the transfer it's obviously old but it looks fine and I'd recommend getting the release especially if you don't have the older set

that's basically what I'm getting at. it's one thing if you don't know the answer to something but to answer as if you do is a bit silly. my copy shipped today, excited to have it, as I've longed for a bluray of the movie for ages. but knowing it COULD be better is my big disappointment, I felt similarly about Arrow's Masumura titles that they just took existing unrestored masters for - won't complain that we finally have them out there, but knowing they could've been knockouts is a great "what could have been

who is our best hope for this getting a newer transfer? Second Run? any clue who has region B rights?

still getting this edition as I don't have the taiwanese box, but pretty annoyed especially with the matter of factness in that tweet. I shouldn't be surprised at all though, given his other comments..

What other comments has he made? I know he was the guy who started the whole 'Fast Times at Ridgemont' controversy earlier this year when Criterion released their disc but I'm unaware of anything else that he has said.

that was definitely my biggest annoyance but he's often the big contrarian type on there towards any "art" cinema just because he works for a label that puts out quite the opposite. feels to me like he goes out of his way to compensate for any sort of "elitism" within the arthouse circuit for the stuff that his label generally releases. it's all a bit odd to me, and pretty offputting. aside from the KL Insider I can't think of anyone else who works for any label being that outwardly negative online, not to say the guy can't have opinions but it's a weird stance to take.

anyway...likely the last thing I purchase off the VS website, I'd be surprised if this changed. wonder how Big World worked with Cinema Guild for Still Life and ended up with VS on this one. curious what they'll be able to do with The Hole

[Glowingwabbit]

anyway...likely the last thing I purchase off the VS website, I'd be surprised if this changed. wonder how Big World worked with Cinema Guild for Still Life and ended up with VS on this one. curious what they'll be able to do with The Hole

It seems like Big World Pictures is just releasing what's given to them (hence the same transfer). Also they aren't technically with VS, but their sister company OCN Distribution who does all the partner labels. It's a lot like how Kino is selling Redemption, Scorpion, Cohen, Milestone, etc on their website (VS is the more recognizable name so they are front and center). Most likely they moved to OCN Distribution because they'll sell more copies and reach a bigger audience than with Cinema Guild. I know it's VS/OCN's goal to keep growing by adding more and more partner labels to become a kind of catch all place where their is something for everyone. Outside of that tweet I haven't really had any issues with VS and I love some of the partner labels (and the slipcovers) so I'll keep buying directly (I also did the subscription so I'll get 50% off all of 2022 titles immediately anyway).

[jegharfangetmigenmyg]

Comparison up on Beaver. Clearly from the same restoration, but Big World has visibly better compression and color rendering – which I guess was to be expected when it's up against a 6-7 year old release. Probably won't be buying this as I already own the Taiwan box set. The improvements simply seem to subtle.

[ryannichols7]

Vive l'Amour is listed on Film Movement's site as coming soon (theatrical). The page for the film indicates a new 2K restoration.

coming to theatres in March, poster available

thrilled to see this but I do hope Criterion get ahold of What Time is it There. Tsai's work going vastly underseen in the states will only be continued if he continues to only be released by smaller labels. while it's great we're getting these over here (and I hope region B labels put them out in short order too - I think I read somewhere where the founder of Second Run is committed to working with Tsai), he's still a huge obscurity compared to Edward Yang and even Hou Hsiao Hsien, and I hate to say this (for risk of sounding like a criterion fanboy, but I assure you this isn't the case) but I think he's severely limited by his exposure here. I don't believe any of his films have even played on the Criterion Channel, and at the end of the day something as simple as that keeps you in the broader conversation of film far more. I know his work isn't as accessible as the other two directors, but I'd be surprised if he didn't reach something of a wider audience if even one of his films got the 'criterion bump' so to say. I think WTIT? would be the most ideal title for them to release, as its fairly accessible and even has a connection to a large portion of Criterion's catalog with the French New Wave stuff. maybe I'm sounding ungrateful, I'm thrilled to have multiple new Blurays of Tsai's work within the last few years, I just think stuff would be fast tracked even more if even one of his films saw a broader audience. still thinking about how A Brighter Summer Day went from total obscurity to being one in regular conversations you see on various film sites, a true miracle that sadly it seems only criterion has the star power to pull off. maybe that's a commentary on "label worship" as well so to say, as I do wish something put out by grasshopper (days) or film movement would gain the traction a CC would, though that's obviously not their fault at all

[jegharfangetmigenmyg]

thrilled to see this but I do hope Criterion get ahold of What Time is it There. Tsai's work going vastly underseen in the states will only be continued if he continues to only be released by smaller labels. while it's great we're getting these over here (and I hope region B labels put them out in short order too - I think I read somewhere where the founder of Second Run is committed to working with Tsai), he's still a huge obscurity compared to Edward Yang and even Hou Hsiao Hsien, and I hate to say this (for risk of sounding like a criterion fanboy, but I assure you this isn't the case) but I think he's severely limited by his exposure here. I don't believe any of his films have even played on the Criterion Channel, and at the end of the day something as simple as that keeps you in the broader conversation of film far more. I know his work isn't as accessible as the other two directors, but I'd be surprised if he didn't reach something of a wider audience if even one of his films got the 'criterion bump' so to say. I think WTIT? would be the most ideal title for them to release, as its fairly accessible and even has a connection to a large portion of Criterion's catalog with the French New Wave stuff. maybe I'm sounding ungrateful, I'm thrilled to have multiple new Blurays of Tsai's work within the last few years, I just think stuff would be fast tracked even more if even one of his films saw a broader audience. still thinking about how A Brighter Summer Day went from total obscurity to being one in regular conversations you see on various film sites, a true miracle that sadly it seems only criterion has the star power to pull off. maybe that's a commentary on "label worship" as well so to say, as I do wish something put out by grasshopper (days) or film movement would gain the traction a CC would, though that's obviously not their fault at all.

Completely agree with everything here. And you're right, WTIT? (also one of my faves from Tsai), especially, is begging for an upgrade. The Wellspring dvd is atrociously edge enhanced. Luckily, I got my hands on the Swedish dvd from Cinemagi which is not marred by digital enhancement. I had to sync the subtitles from the US dvd, but it was definitely worth it to rewatch this masterpiece. Regarding Criterion being seemingly uninterested in entering any Tsai into the collection, I have wondered about this too. I don't really see how Tsai is any less accessible than, say, Hou or Yang. Actually, I would say that especially with Hou, one has to read into Taiwan's history to really appreciate his pre-2000's output. This is certainly also true with A Brighter Summer Day. Of course, Tsai is what would probably be considered slow cinema, and I think that this is the problem. Criterion has not released many titles within that specific subgenre; no titles by contemporary directors within that field such as Tarr, Weerasethakul, Puiu, Ceylan, Diaz, etc. Dumont, Costa and Reygadas would be some of the few exceptions to the rule here, and where is an earlier master such as Angelopoulos? He even worked with many actors that would be easily sellable to the arthouse crowd. If they have concluded that slow cinema doesn't sell on the basis of the mentioned three, I would say that they had chosen the "wrong" directors.

[joshua]

Regarding Criterion Channel and Tsai, they had three of his grouped together early on.

[MV88]

thrilled to see this but I do hope Criterion get ahold of What Time is it There. Tsai's work going vastly underseen in the states will only be continued if he continues to only be released by smaller labels. while it's great we're getting these over here (and I hope region B labels put them out in short order too - I think I read somewhere where the founder of Second Run is committed to working with Tsai), he's still a huge obscurity compared to Edward Yang and even Hou Hsiao Hsien, and I hate to say this (for risk of sounding like a criterion fanboy, but I assure you this isn't the case) but I think he's severely limited by his exposure here. I don't believe any of his films have even played on the Criterion Channel, and at the end of the day something as simple as that keeps you in the broader conversation of film far more. I know his work isn't as accessible as the other two directors, but I'd be surprised if he didn't reach something of a wider audience if even one of his films got the 'criterion bump' so to say. I think WTIT? would be the most ideal title for them to release, as its fairly accessible and even has a connection to a large portion of Criterion's catalog with the French New Wave stuff. maybe I'm sounding ungrateful, I'm thrilled to have multiple new Blurays of Tsai's work within the last few years, I just think stuff would be fast tracked even more if even one of his films saw a broader audience. still thinking about how A Brighter Summer Day went from total obscurity to being one in regular conversations you see on various film sites, a true miracle that sadly it seems only criterion has the star power to pull off. maybe that's a commentary on "label worship" as well so to say, as I do wish something put out by grasshopper (days) or film movement would gain the traction a CC would, though that's obviously not their fault at all.

Completely agree with everything here. And you're right, WTIT? (also one of my faves from Tsai), especially, is begging for an upgrade. The Wellspring dvd is atrociously edge enhanced. Luckily, I got my hands on the Swedish dvd from Cinemagi which is not marred by digital enhancement. I had to sync the subtitles from the US dvd, but it was definitely worth it to rewatch this masterpiece. Regarding Criterion being seemingly uninterested in entering any Tsai into the collection, I have wondered about this too. I don't really see how Tsai is any less accessible than, say, Hou or Yang. Actually, I would say that especially with Hou, one has to read into Taiwan's history to really appreciate his pre-2000's output. This is certainly also true with A Brighter Summer Day. Of course, Tsai is what would probably be considered slow cinema, and I think that this is the problem. Criterion has not released many titles within that specific subgenre; no titles by contemporary directors within that field such as Tarr, Weerasethakul, Puiu, Ceylan, Diaz, etc. Dumont, Costa and Reygadas would be some of the few exceptions to the rule here, and where is an earlier master such as Angelopoulos? He even worked with many actors that would be easily sellable to the arthouse crowd. If they have concluded that slow cinema doesn't sell on the basis of the mentioned three, I would say that they had chosen the "wrong" directors.

Everything said here is spot on. It’s definitely peculiar that Criterion has this apparent blind spot for slow cinema, especially given how revered some of the directors are among the type of people who could be classified as Criterion’s base demographic. Weerasethakul’s absence from the Collection (aside from Mysterious Object at Noon being in the second WCP set) is particularly odd to me since several of his films seem to have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, so I imagine a release of Tropical Malady, for instance, would be considered a major release by a lot of people. Unless of course they have been trying to get the rights to his films but for whatever reason haven’t been able to. I just can’t imagine them not being interested at this point no matter what reservations they might have about slow cinema being a potentially hard sell.

Back to Tsai, though, as previously mentioned, Second Run seems committed to releasing more of his films, and they did such a great job with Goodbye, Dragon Inn that it’s definitely good to know any future releases from them will likely be great as well. But to the point about Criterion having the ability to give his films wider exposure that they’re currently lacking, that’s a really valid reason why Criterion should try to acquire at least one of his films even if just to see how it does. Edward Yang’s status within film discourse has increased so much recently to the point that it wouldn’t be all that surprising to see A Brighter Summer Day make the top 20 in the Sight & Sound poll later this year, and I’d even suggest it’s a dark horse for the top 10. And a lot of that is undoubtedly because of the exposure its Criterion release gave it. Even Hou Hsiao-hsien, who had previously been the most revered among the Taiwanese New Wave directors, is starting to seem undervalued in comparison, but that’s really only because he’s under-seen. And Tsai Ming-liang is even MORE under-seen.

Criterion surely realizes that while there are plenty of other great boutique labels out there to release these films, for better or worse, Criterion is the only one with that sort of power to elevate a film’s exposure and status. People who bought Second Run’s Goodbye, Dragon Inn were likely already familiar with Tsai, or at least curious enough about him that they were actively looking for his films on whatever label they could find them. And that’s great, but it doesn’t do very much for Tsai’s prominence in the overall discourse or canon of film. And maybe it’s not fair to Criterion that they’re in this position of being the de facto tastemakers of world cinema in that there’s only so many releases they can put out and it’s impossible to prioritize them, but I do believe that when there’s a major director such as Tsai who still doesn’t have ANY of his films in the Criterion Collection, that starts to look like more and more of a glaring omission with each passing year, and what’s more, considering their ability to provide exposure — especially in North America where they’re virtually the only game in town for high-quality releases of art cinema (at least as far as most people here are concerned) — dare I say they should almost view it as a responsibility to make sure a director like Tsai doesn’t slip through the cracks and fall into obscurity.

[ianthemovie]

Yes to all of the above. I think exposure to Tsai here in the U.S. is definitely growing. In the past 1.5 years or so alone we've had revival runs of both The Hole and Goodbye, Dragon Inn, plus a limited theatrical run and a warm critical reception for Days. Nick Pinkerton's book on Goodbye, Dragon Inn and the subsequent Second Run Blu-ray also helped draw attention to that film. So I would say that we're starting to see lots of newfound or renewed appreciation for Tsai (at least for these films) on places like Film Twitter and that's encouraging!

I too would love to someday see What Time Is It There? rescued from non-anamorphic DVD hell, though. I can only imagine that there are rights issues tying up some of these Tsai films. Rebels of a Neon God and Vive L'amour are not my favorites but at least they're a starting point. Hopefully the more familiar people become with Tsai the more likely it is that we'll see more attention paid to the rest of his stuff.

[L.A.]

Days @ Beaver

[senseabove]

"We are now aware of Lee Kang-sheng’s superfluous third nipple."

It's taken reviewing 22 different releases of 11 Tsai movies for Gary to notice Lee's third nipple?