In the UK we’ve never had a wider selection of titles to watch on DVD - so why are so many classics being overlooked?…
There’s no doubt that the choice for film fans in the UK has greatly increased in the last couple of years. Even the way the British buy and enjoy movies has made a dynamic shift towards collector, even hoarder (though some of us were already), which has helped a buoyant and ever-expanding market to the point where the choice seems almost endless.
Almost. Yet there are still some fantastic titles that have fallen through the net. Some of these may have been released on video years ago, but have yet to be reissued onto DVD. Some have yet to be released. Sadly, many don’t easy ‘fit’ categorisation - a common trait of Asian films. The following is a list of a few of our own favourites that you won’t be finding in your local HMV or Blockbuster store.
Now some of our international readers may find this all rather ponderous - why so much fuss if you can’t find it in your own country, why not buy it online? Well, for many the film company imposed fascism of Region control still dominates the viewing habits of those who haven’t been lucky enough, or bothered, to track down a hack for their machine. Many of those machines won’t even play ‘Region free’ (or Region 0) discs. And the rest may just not trust retailers based in other countries (not that I’ve ever had a problem).
I’m sure even those based in Asia and The States will have titles to add to this list, so please let us know.
First up is a recent movie that seems to have been rather overlooked generally. Despite being popular at festivals wherever it’s been shown - including the London Film Festival - and despite being director Wisit Sasanatieng’s follow-up to his successful (and highly promoted) Tears Of The Black Tiger NO ONE has picked up Citizen Dog (2004).
This tale of a simple farm boy who moves to the big city has everything: romance, chain smoking teddy bears, zombie taxi drivers. It’s a highly enjoyable adult fairytale, often favourably compared to Amelie, and it’s crying out for a proper release! How long will we have to wait till the big companies realise? Come on, guys, buck up your act!
Until recently, there wasn’t even an English subtitled DVD available for this.
Not that’s it’s unusal for the odd film to be missed from a directors work, even if everything else has been released by them. Take Kim Ji-woon, for example. The director of My Bittersweet Life and A Tale Of Two Sisters has had pretty much his entire back catalougue made available in the UK.
Everything -even his debut The Quiet Family, which was remade by Takashi Miike as The Happiness of the Katakuris - except perhaps his finest hour (or two to be precise), The Foul King.
This comedy about wrestling (bear with me) starring Song Kang-ho (JSA, Memories Of Murder, Sympathy For Mr Vengeance) is one of the funniest films I’ve seen for a long time - so why no interest over here? Like many of the following films, this is available on DVD in the States…
Next in line is a beautiful, intelligent ghost story that turned all my expectations of Hong Kong movies on their head. Rouge (1988) stars ‘Chinese Madonna’ Anita Mui as Fleur, a ghost who returns from the underworld to find out what became of her fiancé, played by Leslie Cheung.
An exquisite musing on both a changing Hong Kong, and what true love really means (would you kill yourself for your beloved?), Rouge is a real treat from start to finish. Made all the more poignant by the recent tragic death of both leads.
Originally released on video, even the plain old Hong Kong disc of this is now hard to find, let alone the Limited Edition remastered version released a few years back. In the States, distributor Tai Seng has made the budget version available. This version has poor picture and sound quality, and many amusing spelling mistakes on the English subtitles. However, it’s all there is! Surely it’s time for an astute UK based distributor to pick this up and release a newly-remastered version?
The King Of Masks is one of those movies that, when you see it, you wonder why more people don’t go on about it. (Allow me to…) It’s a beautiful, touching story of a street performer who adopts a boy to continue his family tradition, only to find it’s actually a girl. It’s intelligent treatment allows the themes the story touches to be subtly explored, without them getting in the way.
The Hong Kong DVD may have many of the defects from the original print, it is a distinct improvement on the US DVD release that takes an equally poor print and Pan & Scan’s it, loosing a considerable amount of the original picture. Again, another film crying out for a new remaster and release?
In fact Chinese movies often get ignored, take for instance the work of Zhang Yimou. You might have expected the theatrical and retail success of Hero and House Of Flying Daggers might have made DVD distributors check out his back catalogue? Think again.
In the UK none of his films before the late 90s have been released, including the Oscar nominated Raise the Red Lantern - which explored the themes of Memoirs of a Geisha far better - Story Of Qiuju and the BAFTA winning To Live (aka Lifetimes). All of which are fantastic and certainly more intelligent than his more recent films.
The same is true of Yimou’s rival, Chen Kaige. Again his Oscar nominated work Farewell My Concubine is not to be found in your local store, and if you try looking for Temptress Moon… Forget it!
Stateside, however, at least they’ve had the sense to release them.
And if one director seems criminally overlooked, it would be King Hu. His innovative movies from the sixties and seventies broke new ground how ‘wuxia’ swordplay movies were filmed and influenced everything that came after.
From his first wuxia movie, Come Drink With Me, his films still as fresh as the day they were released. In fact, considering Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a homage come ripoff of his work, it might come as a surprise that only Touch Of Zen - with it’s iconic (and familiar Mr. Lee!) swordfight in the bamboo forest - has made it to DVD in the UK. That and Swordsman, a Tsui Hark produced 90s comeback that sadly went wrong, forcing action director Ching Siu-tung to complete it (uncredited).
Even now, the only place where his talent seems truly recognised is Japan. Dragon Inn, the follow-up to Come Drink, has only just been released in the states. While in Hong Kong his earlier Shaw Brother productions are only just being released thanks to the Celestial Pictures remastered versions, including the fantastic Come Drink With Me. Come on Momentum Asia, I know you’ve been releasing some of the more ‘boysy’ titles from Celestial - how about it?
This is, of course, just the tip of the iceberg, and one you can bet we’ll be returning to in the near future. In the meantime, let us know your top films that you’d like to see released on DVD, either in the UK or worldwide.
