criterionforum.org

ryannichols7 wrote: Thu Aug 21, 2025 3:14 pm

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

I was actually going to mention that after Yi Yi and Brighter Summer Day, Something from Hou might actually be a solid companion piece in that vein.

Bad news:

Watched the new 4k restoration in theaters the other day and was very unhappy to see that the new restoration has quite some DNR/Grain removal, leading to a much softer image....

The lack of grain can also be seen quite clearly in the Carlotta and Janus Films trailers.

I guess I'll stick with the old Criterion Blu-ray for now ;(

There is plenty of grain in the trailer on the Janus Vimeo channel.

nicolas wrote: Mon Sep 22, 2025 4:35 pm Bad news:

Watched the new 4k restoration in theaters the other day and was very unhappy to see that the new restoration has quite some DNR/Grain removal, leading to a much softer image....

The lack of grain can also be seen quite clearly in the Carlotta and Janus Films trailers.

I guess I'll stick with the old Criterion Blu-ray for now ;(

Who said this? The trailers and the screen captures posted by Carlotta look absolutely fine! The scan was made off the original negative at Japan and restoration work was handled by IMAGICA, one of the best in business. The old Criterion blu-ray is a Spirit Datacine mess and how it could possibly hold a candle to a modern restoration is beyond me.

andyli wrote: Tue Sep 23, 2025 4:32 amWho said this? The trailers and the screen captures posted by Carlotta look absolutely fine! The scan was made off the original negative at Japan and restoration work was handled by IMAGICA, one of the best in business. The old Criterion blu-ray is a Spirit Datacine mess and how it could possibly hold a candle to a modern restoration is beyond me.

Sorry, I linked the wrong post above and have corrected it now.

4K upgrade in January 2026

4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
New 4K digital restoration, with original theatrical 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
Alternate 5.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
Audio commentary featuring writer-director Edward Yang and Asian-cinema critic Tony Rayns
Interview with Rayns about Yang and the New Taiwan Cinema movement
U.S. theatrical trailer
Original English subtitle translation by Yang and Rayns
PLUS: An essay by critic Kent Jones and notes from the director

Why is Criterion so allergic to Dolby Vision? Should be a rubber stamp for every one of these upgrades.

mfunk9786 wrote: Wed Oct 15, 2025 4:14 pm Why is Criterion so allergic to Dolby Vision? Should be a rubber stamp for every one of these upgrades.

1) It's often up to the director. Some don't want it for artistic reasons.
2) Sometimes it's up to the distributor.
3) Sometimes they A/B it and decide that it doesn't add anything substantial OR it actually bakes in a less accurate representation of the original print. Which is ideally, after all, the goal.

I think they really decide on a case-by-case basis. Kiss of the Spider Woman, Birth and The Dead are all DV.

I still haven't seen any proof that DV/HDR is required for every film. Regardless, this new restoration will be heads and shoulders above the old Criterion blu, so I will happily be picking this up.

this is a top 4 movie for me and I'm okay with no DV - the upgrade should be really substantial, the old disc was dated when it was released (which Chris notes in his review), so this will be a huge lift

mfunk9786 wrote: Wed Oct 15, 2025 4:14 pm Why is Criterion so allergic to Dolby Vision? Should be a rubber stamp for every one of these upgrades.

The restoration was performed in SDR by the rights holders in Taiwan. Criterion are always* using what they’re supplied when it comes to SDR or HDR.

*The exceptions to this self-imposed rule are The Red Shoes and the Wes Anderson DI-finished films.