Boz
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Post by Boz on Nov 8, 2006 18:43:31 GMT
I've been recently interested in seeing City of Sadness and A Time to Live, and a Time to Die. I know little about them, but they are considered some masterpieces of the modern era.
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RNL
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Post by RNL on Feb 7, 2007 19:05:06 GMT
1. Three Times (2005) 7/10 2. To Each His Cinema (2007) 4/10 (segment: "The Electric Princess House")
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RNL
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Post by RNL on Feb 7, 2007 19:09:33 GMT
The first two segments of Three Times are wonderful, but the third, I feel, is a significant step down. Not that it's bad, it's good, but it drags the whole thing down a notch. I'm a little prejudiced against anthology films, but not without good reason. Certainly it seems a single filmmaker handling all of the segments results in more consistency and coherency than a collaborative project, but still...
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jake
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Post by jake on Feb 7, 2007 21:38:55 GMT
I have to agree with nearly every other commentator on this film that the first section is easily the most impressive. I'd like to have seen the second section completely silent with no dialogue through the inter-titles but I suppose they were the only way to communicate the information to the audience about the Japanese occupation of Taiwan. The third section I was also slightly indifferent to and I'm really sure why.
Perhaps this wasn't the best place to start with Hou as from what I've read, prior knowledge of his other films adds a lot to the appreciation of Three Times.
I'll watch it again soon as I think there is still a lot to get from it.
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RNL
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Post by RNL on Feb 7, 2007 22:28:03 GMT
Yeah, I gathered from the interview on the DVD that Hou doesn't have strong emotional ties to present-day Taiwanese society. So the third segment is a critique, the first is a paean, the second... kind of a document.
It's not just that it seems a tonal departure from the first two segments, though, it also runs too long, dragging on, the elliptical time-shifting is less effective (and kind of worn out as a conceit at that point), and it looks less distinctive than the other two (less attractive too, but I suppose that can be rationalised by noting Hou's attitude toward that story).
I'll put it this way, if these were independent short films, the first two would get four stars and the third would get two.
I'm looking forward to seeing more from Hou, anyway.
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RNL
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Post by RNL on Mar 20, 2008 1:59:51 GMT
1. Flight of the Red Balloon (2007) 8/10 2. Three Times (2005) 7/10 3. To Each His Cinema (2007) 4/10 (segment: "The Electric Princess House")
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Post by svsg on Aug 22, 2008 5:38:38 GMT
Three times Cafe Lumiere
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Aug 22, 2008 12:47:06 GMT
What was edited in the first post of this thread?
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Post by svsg on Aug 22, 2008 14:11:31 GMT
Kino, have you watched Cafe Lumiere? Apparently it is influenced by Ozu (who I am yet to explore).
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Kino
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Post by Kino on Aug 22, 2008 21:27:29 GMT
Yeah, I have. It's one of my all-time favorites. It's #2 on my 2003 top-ten list. It's really tied with Goodbye, Dragon Inn, but I didn't know if ties were "okay."
Yes and no in regards to it being influenced by Ozu. Hou was commissioned by Shochiku to film an homage for Ozu's centennial. However, Cafe Lumiere shouldn't be used to guess what an Ozu film would be like; they're so different. It's Hou paying tribute by making a Hou film with some Ozu as a starting point not a Hou-making-an-Ozu-film tribute.
Glad you like it.
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RNL
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Post by RNL on Aug 27, 2008 2:54:06 GMT
What was edited in the first post of this thread? The thread title was "Re: Hsiao-hsien Hou", due to Kino deleting his original post.
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Post by svsg on Sept 27, 2008 21:00:59 GMT
Three times Cafe Lumiere The Puppet Master (If you liked works of Tarkovsky like Andrei Rublev and Zerkalo, this is highly recommended).
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Post by pimppanda on Sept 30, 2008 23:03:58 GMT
A master of the modern era indeed!
1. A City of Sadness 2. The Puppetmaster 3. A Time to Live, A Time to Die 4. Flowers of Shanghai 5. Dust in the Wind 6. Good Men, Good Women 7. Goodbye South, Goodbye 8. Three Times 9. Voyage of the Red Balloon 10. The Boys from Fengkuei
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Kino
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Post by Kino on Oct 4, 2008 2:42:00 GMT
Three times Cafe Lumiere The Puppet Master (If you liked works of Tarkovsky like Andrei Rublev and Zerkalo, this is highly recommended). I'm glad you've taken the plunge into Hou films. I don't get the Tarkovsky connection, though. Andrei Rublev, maybe, in that they're unusual biopics, if that. All three are visually impressive, but pretty different in style. Did you catch The Puppetmaster on DVD? The Region 1 butchered the aspect ratio.
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Post by svsg on Oct 4, 2008 5:39:13 GMT
I don't get the Tarkovsky connection, though. Puppet Master deals with (among other things) how art and the artist are affected by political developments and the development of the society itself. That art is not created in isolation and is very much a function of environment of the artist. Andrei Rublev deals with this theme extensively. Maybe not so much zerkalo, but the vivd childhood memories and narration reminded me of that movie too. Did you catch The Puppetmaster on DVD? The Region 1 butchered the aspect ratio. Yeah I saw it on DVD, though I don't recall seeing any problem with the aspect ratio. I have a HDTV (16:9) screen. So most of the films in 4:3 have to be scaled to fit the entire screen. Since I play my DVDs from my latop connected to my TV, I usually use a software DVD player like PowerDVD or VLC player which has several scaling options. When you say "butchered", do you just mean that they changed the aspect ratio from the original or that it was bad looking on the screen?
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Kino
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Post by Kino on Oct 4, 2008 22:47:08 GMT
I don't get the Tarkovsky connection, though. Puppet Master deals with (among other things) how art and the artist are affected by political developments and the development of the society itself. That art is not created in isolation and is very much a function of environment of the artist. Andrei Rublev deals with this theme extensively. Maybe not so much zerkalo, but the vivd childhood memories and narration reminded me of that movie too. True. I just thought that you meant more than thematic and content-wise connections. The film is widescreen. The DVD is 4:3 which means there's significant cropping of the image. You, I, and others who have only seen the film on sources with that ratio haven't truly seen the film yet. The DVD transfer is horrible, too.
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Post by svsg on Oct 5, 2008 2:44:41 GMT
The film is widescreen. The DVD is 4:3 which means there's significant cropping of the image. You, I, and others who have only seen the film on sources with that ratio haven't truly seen the film yet. The DVD transfer is horrible, too. OK, I understand now. Pan and Scan is the worst thing someone can do to a film. Why can't they just letterbox and leave the aspect ratio alone!! Pan and Scan is as bad as censorship
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Post by Anasazie on Oct 21, 2008 9:06:40 GMT
Generally not as impressed as many are.....
1. Good Men, Good Women (1995) [blue]8.5/10[/blue] 2. The Flight of the Red Balloon (2007) [blue]8/10[/blue] 3. Three Times (2005) [blue]7/10[/blue] 4. A Time to Live and a Time to Die (1985) [blue]7/10[/blue] 5. A City of Sadness (1989) [blue]6/10[/blue] 6. Café Lumière (2003) [blue]6/10[/blue] 7. The Puppetmaster (1993) [blue]5/10[/blue] 8. Millennium Mambo (2001) [blue]5/10[/blue]
To contribute to the discussion above....i personally think the third section of Three Time is by far the most relevant and modern.
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Post by quentincompson on Oct 31, 2008 17:37:11 GMT
1.Goodbye South, Goodbye 9.5/10 2.Good Men, Good Woman 8/10 3.Three Times 8/10 4.Millenium Mambo 7/10 5.A Time To Live, A Time To Die 7/10 6.Cafe Lumiere 6/10 7.The Puppetmaster 5/10
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