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Visible Secret



Spirits lurk everywhere in Ann (Boat People) Hui's horror-comedy, Visible Secret. Instantly infatuated by enigmatic amnesiac June (Shu Qi, Millennium Mambo) who has the ability to see spirits, Peter is swept into a world where he has one foot in the past, one in the present, and somehow has to figure out which is which. Beautifully shot by legendary cinematographer Arthur Wong (The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Iron Monkey), Visible Secret is a slick and sexy horror-comedy that reflects the region's contemporary millennium-era moment in its vivid depiction of young people stranded in history, trying to get a handle on both the world around them and each other as they navigate life, love, identity and family.

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• High-Definition digital transfer
• Original 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio surround sound
• New conversation between Ann Hui and NYAFF director Ken Smith who was also on set for the original shoot (2023)
• New visual essay by critic and programmer Alexandra Heller-Nicholas (2023)
• Archival making-of documentary featuring interviews with the cast and crew and behind-the-scenes footage, (2001, 14 mins)
• Trailer
• New and improved English subtitle translation by Dylan Cheung
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
• Limited edition booklet featuring new writing on the film and its place in the horror genre by Hong Kong Horror Cinema co-editor Gary Bettinson
• Single pressing of 2000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

This was a bit of a standout from a recent Ann Hui retro i attended. Not without its faults (the ending, in particular, feels contrived) but it’s really beautifully shot and has a great mysterious dreamlike atmosphere, happy to see this come to blu

The release announcement clarifies that this is a single pressing and will not be made available as a standard edition.

I loved Boat People, but didn't gel with her earlier genre pic The Story of Woo Viet - haven't seen anything after these, so hopefully she improved in tackling genre exercises

The single pressing has been increased to 2500 units.

Will these Radiance releases be generally available for sale in the USA -- or only from a few sources?

I thought Visible Secret was pretty good when I last warched it (many years ago).

Amazon has it up for pre-order.

JLG -- Thanks

Michael Kerpan wrote: Fri Sep 08, 2023 7:36 pm Will these Radiance releases be generally available for sale in the USA -- or only from a few sources?

The US titles should be generally available from your standard online retailers. UK titles can be bought directly or from import sites like Diabolik, Grindhouse, or Orbit. I'm keeping track of US vs. UK titles here

swo -- useful list!

swo17 wrote: Fri Sep 08, 2023 8:11 pm

Michael Kerpan wrote: Fri Sep 08, 2023 7:36 pm Will these Radiance releases be generally available for sale in the USA -- or only from a few sources?

The US titles should be generally available from your standard online retailers. UK titles can be bought directly or from import sites like Diabolik, Grindhouse, or Orbit. I'm keeping track of US vs. UK titles here

Le combat dans l'ile is actually US/UK. It's listed as AB on the Radiance site which has meant both so far. It's also on the MVD site which is definitely US.

Good to know, I've updated my list

This plays like a meandering episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? that dishes out enough light pleasures to earn a soft rec, but doesn't have the breadth of material or vision to earn its feature-length runtime, and implements plenty of filler and (irritating, rather than thematically-appropriate) repetitive narrative devices to make it to that finish line. The entertaining bits mostly come in the first act, and while there are elements that seem to be executed with novelty, they often get lost amidst the stagnant and aimless portions. I especially enjoyed some of the intimate moments of withholding and sharing the details of the ghost-seeing condition, which is portrayed with a keen understanding of youthful/young adult relational insecurity and desperate need for validation in unveiling vulnerable parts of one's history instinctually kept locked up to suffocate alone with. I really don't know what to make of this as a composite package, but I'm looking forward to the Alexandra Heller-Nicholas visual essay to hopefully help me out there

I last watched this almost 20 years ago (when it was still new-ish). This release LOOKED a lot more visually appealing than the DVD version I recall. I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this, despite the rather disjointed story line. I remembered this as an ultimately sad film -- and this view remains unchanged. Even though I vaguely remebered the final twist, the structure made it seem simultaneoulsy surprising -- and yet (perhaps) almost inevitable. Not my most-loved Ann Hui film, but one I was happy to find I still appreciated a good deal.

In case it helps someone, per the Radiance twitter account this one isn't getting reprinted and is already sold out on their (UK?) site, so if you've been meaning to grab a copy now's the time!

This is only £13.49 in Amazon Prime's "Big Deal Days" which finishes today, and as I write this there are 15 copies left in stock. Last call for anyone that wants a copy, and reminder this is a Single Pressing (no standard edition follow-up)!