criterionforum.org

Comparison between the Criterion blu and new 4K restoration:

Blu:

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4K Restoration:

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Blu:

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4K Restoration:

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yoloswegmaster -- color seems overall better on the new version (based on this tiny sample).

Not sure I like the new colors. Seem too harsh to me. But I’ve only ever seen the Criterion disc, so what do I know.

is there an UHD which has been released somewhere ?
if Criterion upgrade Yi Yi to UHD they will keep the original Blu-Ray (I had bought the DVD, then the blu-ray), looking forward to see Mahjong with the new 4K restoration; aways love to see Virginie Ledoyen- and I can kind of understand why E. Yang ask her to do his movie when I see the kissing scene which makes me think WKW is floating around - kind of.

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(images taken from Carlotta's various tweets)

The scan quality at IMAGICA is so good that I can live with a slightly errant grade. But I wasn't around to witness it in theater back then so who am I to say? And the Criterion looks so red and dark by comparison.

I had seen Mahjong on Carlotta web site about the 4K restoration; they tweet about this two movies. Will there release all these movies and not only Yi Yi on UHD ?

There is no precision about this yet.

Rupert Pupkin wrote: Tue May 20, 2025 2:36 am is there an UHD which has been released somewhere ?
if Criterion upgrade Yi Yi to UHD they will keep the original Blu-Ray (I had bought the DVD, then the blu-ray), looking forward to see Mahjong with the new 4K restoration; aways love to see Virginie Ledoyen- and I can kind of understand why E. Yang ask her to do his movie when I see the kissing scene which makes me think WKW is floating around - kind of.

Criterion have begun to relent on the remastered blu-ray front (i.e. The Wages of Fear), so we'll see.

That, I believe, is a one off thing, probably due to different running time between the restored version and the old transfer. Criterion’s The Wages of Fear is a hell of a release surely, with a thick booklet, fantastic cover design, and as you said a newly produced blu-ray disc with newly added extra. I wouldn’t read too much into it though.

rrenault wrote: Thu May 22, 2025 8:41 am

Rupert Pupkin wrote: Tue May 20, 2025 2:36 am is there an UHD which has been released somewhere ?
if Criterion upgrade Yi Yi to UHD they will keep the original Blu-Ray (I had bought the DVD, then the blu-ray), looking forward to see Mahjong with the new 4K restoration; aways love to see Virginie Ledoyen- and I can kind of understand why E. Yang ask her to do his movie when I see the kissing scene which makes me think WKW is floating around - kind of.

Criterion have begun to relent on the remastered blu-ray front (i.e. The Wages of Fear), so we'll see.

Ummm, I'm a bit out of the loop, but as far as home video, so far we have an announcement for Criterion BD ONLY's of Confucian and Mahjong 4k restos....and that's about it. I doubt Yi Yi is popular enough for them to do a 4k (or new BD). So maybe elsewhere for 4ks of any of these? Was there something already announced?

The Wages of Fear likely included a remastered BD because the 4k restoration also happens to be a longer cut of the movie.

Zot! wrote: Fri May 23, 2025 5:31 pm

rrenault wrote: Thu May 22, 2025 8:41 am

Rupert Pupkin wrote: Tue May 20, 2025 2:36 am is there an UHD which has been released somewhere ?
if Criterion upgrade Yi Yi to UHD they will keep the original Blu-Ray (I had bought the DVD, then the blu-ray), looking forward to see Mahjong with the new 4K restoration; aways love to see Virginie Ledoyen- and I can kind of understand why E. Yang ask her to do his movie when I see the kissing scene which makes me think WKW is floating around - kind of.

Criterion have begun to relent on the remastered blu-ray front (i.e. The Wages of Fear), so we'll see.

Ummm, I'm a bit out of the loop, but as far as home video, so far we have an announcement for Criterion BD ONLY's of Confucian and Mahjong 4k restos....and that's about it. I doubt Yi Yi is popular enough for them to do a 4k (or new BD). So maybe elsewhere for 4ks of any of these? Was there something already announced?

Yi Yi is probably the one Yang film I *could* see being commercially viable as a 4K release (A Brighter Summer Day's running time probably plays against it attracting a large enough crossover crowd to justify a 4K release, considering it's already well-served on 1080p blu-ray, which wasn't the case for The Mother and The Whore). Carlotta seem likely to release it on the format anyway (Yi Yi that is). After all, they released a 4K of Brocka's Bona, which is far more obscure than the most well-known Yang films.

Michael Kerpan wrote: Mon May 19, 2025 4:43 pm yoloswegmaster -- color seems overall better on the new version (based on this tiny sample).

I actually saw a 35mm print of this last year and I recall it looking more closer to the 4K restoration than the old blu (though my memory could be faulty on this). I'm most interested in seeing how the scene with NJ overlooking the ocean in Japan looks with the new restoration, as I distinctly remember that scene looking very blue on the 35mm print (even more so than the blu).

Zot! wrote: Fri May 23, 2025 5:31 pm I doubt Yi Yi is popular enough for them to do a 4k (or new BD)

I think it is, for sure— it regularly makes it near the top of "Best of the 21st century" lists and is extremely beloved on Letterboxd (it's rated the 11th best film of all time there). It also has 150K people logging it "seen," which puts it ahead of a bunch of recently-4k-upgraded titles like Mishima, In the Heat of the Night, Wages of Fear, and Ugetsu. Seems like a no-brainer now that the restoration exists, the only question is when.

adamfeldman wrote: Thu May 29, 2025 9:15 pm

Zot! wrote: Fri May 23, 2025 5:31 pm I doubt Yi Yi is popular enough for them to do a 4k (or new BD)

I think it is, for sure— it regularly makes it near the top of "Best of the 21st century" lists and is extremely beloved on Letterboxd (it's rated the 11th best film of all time there). It also has 150K people logging it "seen," which puts it ahead of a bunch of recently-4k-upgraded titles like Mishima, In the Heat of the Night, Wages of Fear, and Ugetsu. Seems like a no-brainer now that the restoration exists, the only question is when.

Sound arguments, I hope you’re right. I guess when I see a new release like the new Yang 2-pack passed over for 4k consideration, it makes me question. Also, I did a full review of my collection recently and the amount of upgrades for discs as old as 10 years…is relatively measly.

What we need is a Yang box with everything in 4K. I can dream.

trailer for the 4K restoration, I hopefully will get to see this in a theatre finally before a UHD

Beautiful looking restoration. If they nail the UHD encoding, this should be an amazing release.

I loved Yi Yi and A Brighter Summer's Day. Which of his other films are most like those two?

Probably Taipei Story.

I’d say Taipei Story is closer to A Brighter Summer Day than to Yi Yi. The latter is rather unique in its tone. A Confucian Confusion comes closest in my opinion.

Thank you both for your suggestions!

andyli wrote: Thu Aug 21, 2025 2:01 amA Confucian Confusion comes closest in my opinion.

Came here to say the same, though I didn’t find it to be nearly as rich as Yi Yi

Agree with the others, but two you have seen are standouts in his "humanist melodrama" mode, but his films are really different and something like Terrorizers is is a complete departure, but still very interesting. No real dogs in his brief, but complex, filmography.

Matt wrote: Thu Aug 21, 2025 1:40 am Probably Taipei Story.

this is the only other Yang I like so far, and A One and a Two is a top 5 movie for me. but I haven't seen the two Criterion just released yet. for me, the English title (which I even say as 台北故事 in Chinese) is the best title because the movie really is about Taiwan and it's transformation in the 1980s. it's also usually the movie I recommend people see if they haven't seen a Yang or Hou movie before, since they get introduced to both at the same time