Ju Dou
by Zhang Yimou
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DVD details
Actor: Gong LiDirector: Zhang Yimou
Brand: Razor
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); Chinese (Original Language); French (Published)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Digital Sound, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 94 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-02-14
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Razor
DVD Reviews of Ju Dou
DVD Review: 5 stars for the film, 1 star for the Razor Digital DVD release
Summary: 5 Stars
A note to readers, I have not viewed this new DVD version of this film first-hand. However, a very helpful screenshot analysis by a DVD enthusiast's website clearly demonstrates that this DVD does not do Zhang Yimou's great film justice; a review from www.dvdtown.com underscores this assessment. (www.dvdbeaver.com has a detailed side-by-side comparison of an earlier, out-of-print DVD release of Ju Dou by Pioneer with this new one from Razor Digital. The earlier version, which I already have, is clearly a better transfer even though it is in 4:3 ratio and still not great.) Based on all this information, and yet another review I found elsewhere (excerpt below), I can't recommend that people purchase this version on DVD. I have just cancelled my order for these two films, which I enthusiastically placed 2 or 3 months ago. I will keep my Pioneer version of this DVD. I guess if you can't find a copy of that one, which isn't great but is surely better than the new Razor Digital release, then this version would be better than nothing. It's still a great movie. But it appears that the wait must continue for a decent DVD release of this film - and also for Raise the Red Lantern. What a shame. Criterion really should get the rights to these films and do them justice.
And here's the excerpt from the review I found of this new version at www.dvdtown.com:
"The 1.85:1 non-anamorphic widescreen video is a disaster. The print used for this video transfer is in incredibly lousy shape. There are so many scratches and gashes that it looks like the film print was found in a trash can. The image is often wobbly, jittering up and down, left and right. Colors are muted and faded. The reds bleed. The picture looks muddy and cloudy, and it is so generally lacking in definition that you don't even know what you're observing during long-shot scenes. What's particularly awful is that the movie was shot with the three-strip Technicolor process, which means that the movie should look breathtaking."
(AND BELOW IS MY REVIEW PRIOR TO LEARNING HOW BAD THIS VERSION OF THE DVD REPORTEDLY IS)
I have been waiting YEARS for this film to come out on DVD. (Likewise for Raise The Red Lantern, another Zhang Yimou/Gong Li masterpiece, which is also coming out on DVD from Razor Entertainment on the same day.) I actually own a Region 1 copy of Ju Dou, released by Pioneer years back, which is in 4:3 format and not very good quality - but at one point it was selling for up to $100 a copy, because it was the only legitimate DVD version available. (I also have a DVD version of Raise The Red Lantern, which I bought from a seller in Hong Kong via a popular auction website, but the quality is lousy and the subtitles are not very good, either.)
When I saw a few weeks ago that Razor was releasing this, I sent them an email asking about the quality, format etc. and they very quickly replied that this will be widescreen, Region 0 (viewable universally) and they are doing the transfer from the master digital tape from China. I don't know what that means exactly, but hopefully it will be an improvement over the version I have now. I have nothing to say concerning the film itself, enough has been written already. It's a heartbreaking story, beautifully filmed and wonderfully acted. The colors are incredible, it is obvious Zhang Yimou was a cinematographer before he started directing. I have been a fan of both Zhang Yimou and Gong Li for almost 15 years now, ever since I first saw this film in a little theater in Washington, DC. Why Criterion has not released DVD versions of these great films is beyond me, although I noticed they have yet to release a Chinese film.
Hopefully Razor will do this great film justice. I can't wait to find out.
Description of Ju Dou
Studio: Razor Digital Ent Release Date: 02/14/2006 Run time: 94 minutes Rating: Pg13Bestsellers in DVD
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