Wayne Wang's Life is Cheap… But Toilet Paper is Expensive (1989) (Arbelos Films)

[MifuneFan]

Arbelos Films will be releasing Wayne Wang's black comedy film Life Is Cheap... But Toilet Paper Is Expensive (1989) on Blu-ray on December 12th, sourced from a new 4K restoration. Update: Radiance Films will be releasing this in the UK as a partner label title in July 2025.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKY2RQNL...ect=1&sr=1-481



Arbelos Shop Exclusive Slipcover (Limited to 1,000 Copies)

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Specs:

• Anamorphic Widescreen 1.66:1
• DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono
• Region code: A

Special Features:

• New 4K restoration of Wayne Wang's final cut by Lightbox Film Center at University of the Arts in collaboration with University of California Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive
• New video interview with Wayne Wang
• New video interview with Wayne Wang and co-writer/co-director Spencer Nakasako
• Original chase sequence
• U.S. Theatrical Trailer
• New essay by Aliza Ma

LIFE IS CHEAP... BUT TOILET PAPER IS EXPENSIVE - Official Trailer (4K Restoration) - YouTube

Arbelos Films presents LIFE IS CHEAP … BUT TOILET PAPER IS EXPENSIVE - New digital restoration of Director Wayne Wang's definitive cut of this much-loved independent film.

Exploding a seemingly simple premise - a nameless "cowboy" courier (Spencer Nakasako) arrives in pre-Handover Hong Kong to deliver a mysterious briefcase to a mercurial Mob boss whilst becoming entangled with his femme fatale mistress (Cora Miao) - independent filmmaking legend Wayne Wang's LIFE IS CHEAP … BUT TOILET PAPER IS EXPENSIVE barrels through inspired genre deconstruction, guerrilla docu-fiction and fierce political jeremiad, all with a keen sense of humor and deeply rich visual palette.

Tracking the Man-with-no-name's increasingly byzantine mission across every level of the city's social strata, we're introduced to fortune families, cabdrivers, hustlers, butchers and more, each punctuating the high-octane Neo-noir narrative with instantly memorable monologues that capture a now-distant era in Hong Kong history.

Multifaceted but never incoherent LIFE IS CHEAP … BUT TOILET PAPER IS EXPENSIVE is among Wang's most unique and bracing contributions to the independent film cannon. Much-loved on the international film festival circuit but unjustly overlooked in North America, this is a maverick tour de force ripe for rediscovery.