Ju Dou (1990) [NOVA Media]

[elite]

Just saw this pop up on the Nova website. Listed as having English subtitles too.

Hopefully, this is the start of more of his pre-Hero movies getting released with English subtitles. All of his movies deserve to be seen in the best quality possible.

http://www.novamnm.com/product/blu-r...isplay_group=2

https://kimchidvd.com/en/21454/v.kim...nd=&searchWrd=

[Fabs]

Incredible! I can finally get rid of that old DVD with burned in subtitles.

So excited for this.

[Zen_Amako]

I remember this being a great dark comedy. I'll probably order a copy, since all the old DVDs were terrible. Hopefully they can also release Raise the Red Lantern.

[truecineaste]

Hope that the 1.33:1 framing is an error on NOVA's page. The OAR for Ju Dou is actually 1.66:1. All of the DVDs have been cropped.

[PGW]

I didn't really care for "Ju Dou," but I have the superbit DVD of "The Road Home" which is almost as good as a blu-ray. I'd love to see that, "Not One Less" and "Happy Times" on blu-ray (the latter with the original ending restored).

[RDA]

'The Road Home' is one of my most wanted blu-rays, so I hope they do more of his early films.

[Shingster]

Originally Posted by truecineaste

Hope that the 1.33:1 framing is an error on NOVA's page. The OAR for Ju Dou is actually 1.66:1. All of the DVDs have been cropped.

Probably not an error, probably either a port or using the same masters as the Japanese BD release. Did a quick comparison for you between a grab from the old 1.33:1 Pioneer US DVD (taken from DVDBeaver) and the Japanese BD here. As you can see there's a little more info all around on the BD transfer so I guess it's possible it's open matte.

As for what the intended ratio was, seems no-one knows for sure? A lot of the criticism that the old Pioneer DVD got for its 4:3 framing seemed to stem from a mistaken belief the OAR was supposed to be 2.35:1 so you got reviews that exaggerated the framing foibles "oh you can clearly see it's pan & scan the framing is much too tight" well yeah maybe the framing is tight if it's been cropped down from 1.66:1, but it ain't gonna be THAT tight!

Anyway seems the people who reported 1.66:1 are US viewers who caught it theatrically? Wouldn't it be pretty common for theatres to project 1.33:1 cropped down to 1.66:1 though? Anyway I've never been able to find a definitive answer to the question of OAR, but if this BD is actually open matte at 4:3 then I think that's probably the best compromise after failure to deliver a 1.66:1 framing.

[qw0aszx]

Originally Posted by truecineaste

Hope that the 1.33:1 framing is an error on NOVA's page. The OAR for Ju Dou is actually 1.66:1. All of the DVDs have been cropped.

The OAR for Ju Dou is 1.33:1, not 1.66:1.

[p_cqvist]

Indeed, this was filmed in academy ratio. The occasionally tight framing is due to the cinematography.

[Zen_Amako]

This showed up today. Looks pretty nice.











I really hope they can also release Raise the Red Lantern.

Edit: I checked out the transfer, and I was impressed. I forgot this film was shot using the three strip Technicolor process. The film looks really good on this Blu-ray. The colors pop and the picture has a nice amount of detail with a fine layer of grain. It is in the square 1.33:1 aspect ratio.

[Dan Average]

Just to be pedantic for a moment: no Chinese film was ever made in three-strip Technicolor. The confusion came about because China bought Technicolor London's old equipment for making dye-transfer prints (and subsequently self-produced a second dye-transfer line). You can make a dye-transfer print regardless of what process was actually used to shoot the movie, and in the case of Ju Dou it was just boring old Eastmancolor—though even that was uncommon in China at the time due to the expense of importing the necessary film stock.

[Zen_Amako]

Originally Posted by Dan Average

Just to be pedantic for a moment: no Chinese film was ever made in three-strip Technicolor. The confusion came about because China bought Technicolor London's old equipment for making dye-transfer prints (and subsequently self-produced a second dye-transfer line). You can make a dye-transfer print regardless of what process was actually used to shoot the movie, and in the case of Ju Dou it was just boring old Eastmancolor—though even that was uncommon in China at the time due to the expense of importing the necessary film stock.

Thanks. It seems to be a common misconception, because even Roger Ebert mentioned it in his review of the film.

Even if it wasn't made in three-strip Technicolor, the film still looks really good on this new Blu-ray. It's a pretty big upgrade from the DVD.

[truecineaste]

Thanks for the clarification! A friend of mine saw Ju Dou theatrically in New York when it first came out so I'll have to query her if she can recall black bars on the sides. It's a curious decision of Zhang's to shoot the picture in full frame (open matte) given that he shot Red Sorghum in 2.35:1 (at least that's what it was presented in on the New Yorker VHS.) Perhaps he wanted a tighter, more intimate framing to coalesce with his fable of a forbidden romance.

I paid top dollar for the Pioneer DVD (a port of the LD) long after it went OOP. We'll try to obtain a BD of the Korean to review on the site.

Originally Posted by Shingster

Probably not an error, probably either a port or using the same masters as the Japanese BD release. Did a quick comparison for you between a grab from the old 1.33:1 Pioneer US DVD (taken from DVDBeaver) and the Japanese BD here. As you can see there's a little more info all around on the BD transfer so I guess it's possible it's open matte.

As for what the intended ratio was, seems no-one knows for sure? A lot of the criticism that the old Pioneer DVD got for its 4:3 framing seemed to stem from a mistaken belief the OAR was supposed to be 2.35:1 so you got reviews that exaggerated the framing foibles "oh you can clearly see it's pan & scan the framing is much too tight" well yeah maybe the framing is tight if it's been cropped down from 1.66:1, but it ain't gonna be THAT tight!

Anyway seems the people who reported 1.66:1 are US viewers who caught it theatrically? Wouldn't it be pretty common for theatres to project 1.33:1 cropped down to 1.66:1 though? Anyway I've never been able to find a definitive answer to the question of OAR, but if this BD is actually open matte at 4:3 then I think that's probably the best compromise after failure to deliver a 1.66:1 framing.

[Shingster]

Originally Posted by truecineaste

It's a curious decision of Zhang's to shoot the picture in full frame (open matte) given that he shot Red Sorghum in 2.35:1 (at least that's what it was presented in on the New Yorker VHS.) Perhaps he wanted a tighter, more intimate framing to coalesce with his fable of a forbidden romance.

Yeah I think it's possible he was still experimenting and wondering what aspect ratio to settle on during this period, afterall he framed his next film (Red lantern) in 1.85:1 and stuck to that ratio (Lumire & Co. aside) until The Road Home.

[jurples]

Just to be on the safe side before placing an order could someone confirm that this does, in fact, have English subtitles? I know that the Nova Media listing claims it does. Thanks!

[Zen_Amako]

Yes, it does have English subtitles.

[jurples]

Awesome. Much appreciated!

[JTKenobi]

Great to see all these informative exchanges regarding this release. Based on all this, I ordered mine with confidence from a South Korean eBay seller before the holidays and it recently arrived in great shape. Can't wait to give that disc a spin. I really love this film as well as all of Zhang Yimou's earlier films.

I really, really hope that one day we get solid releases of Zhang's earlier films, especially 'Raise the Red Lantern' and 'To Live'. Seems almost criminal that these films don't get proper releases in the blu-ray format.

[Batman1084]

Originally Posted by JTKenobi

Great to see all these informative exchanges regarding this release. Based on all this, I ordered mine with confidence from a South Korean eBay seller before the holidays and it recently arrived in great shape. Can't wait to give that disc a spin. I really love this film as well as all of Zhang Yimou's earlier films.

I really, really hope that one day we get solid releases of Zhang's earlier films, especially 'Raise the Red Lantern' and 'To Live'. Seems almost criminal that these films don't get proper releases in the blu-ray format.

I am fairly confident the people who make blu rays at these studios and distributors loathe Gong Li and her fans. They seemingly refuse to release these two which iritates me beyond words. Love those movies and would do anything for even an above average transfer.

Pretty sure movies like these will never get remastered releases after a BD if one were to happen... pretty much 2 of my handful of DVDs that I will never part with.

[thisgenius]

Originally Posted by Batman1084

I am fairly confident the people who make blu rays at these studios and distributors loathe Gong Li and her fans. They seemingly refuse to release these two which iritates me beyond words. Love those movies and would do anything for even an above average transfer.

Pretty sure movies like these will never get remastered releases after a BD if one were to happen... pretty much 2 of my handful of DVDs that I will never part with.

To Live recently got a Japanese bluray, sans English Subs of course, but I’m holding hope that someone, somewhere will still pick that up for an English-friendly release.