Ju Dou

Starring:Jia Jin, Xingli Niu, Ma Chong, Wu Fa, Zhang Yi, Zhijun Cong, Wei Li, Li Gong, Yang Qianbin, Jia Zhaoji, Ji-an Zheng, Baotian Li
Director: Yimou Zhang, Fengliang Yang
Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]
Product Type: DVD

Customer Reviews:

Colours.......2007-04-18

The best type of Chinese film. Sumptuous colours,Gong Li, and a love triangle. I cannot recommend this film more highly. Buy it, and enjoy the experience. There is not a bad thing to say about it!

A Beautiful, Bucolic Tragedy........2007-04-10

Director -and ex-cinematographer- Zhang Yimou infuses a simple tale of lust with beautiful visuals and a strong sense of foreboding. Hazy yellows, midnight blues and strong reds alternate to create an overwhelming sense of melancholy and desire in this tale of a servant (Li Baotian) who falls for his sadistic master's slave wife Ju Dou (Gong Li).
The film recalls silent cinema's use of tints while at the same time creating a languid editing cadence totally at odds with Hollywood technique, and succeeds in creating a bucolic tragedy which boils over with desire and death.
Ju Dou was banned in China on release, because it was seen as focusing on the persistence of feudalism in modern (post-1948) China. Although this issue is not immediately apparent to Western viewers, the film is seen as a key work of the Chinese Fifth Generation directors, and is a great example of an aesthetic in Chinese cinema which blends the personal with the political comment in a distinctively rural environment. Yimou's subsequent work has not really lived up to this and the other films he made in the 1980s, as he has veered onto big-budget works such as "House Of Flying Daggers", which unapologetically aim for international audiences.

Ju Dou: Razor D. E. lo-fi remix.......2006-09-16

Ju Dou is a great movie, I'd only previously seen it on VHS borrowed from the public library and was so looking forward to this release, but sadly I concure, this DVD is as bad as the other reviewers have previously stated. Worse than the old VHS recording I saw 7 years ago. So bad, that it's gotten someone like me, one who never writes reviews, to comment on it. This DVD should not be sold in the United States, or anywhere. Unfortunately, I picked this DVD up on a whim before reading any reviews.

I'd suggest you just cherish your memories of this wonderful film until a better transfer is made available. It was good to be reminded of the story, but very sad to see how carelessly Razor Digital Entertainment handled this transfer.

It really baffles me how terrible this transfer is. A few moments here and there the picture actually looks acceptable, but then the rest of the time it's blurry, washed out, monochromatic yellows and browns, lines and dust marks everywhere, and occasional digital glitches. This dvd has probably any bad transfer cliche you can imagine; more than I've seen anyway.

Yimou Zhang is a great director, Li Gong a wonderful actress, and it was from two beautiful films(seen only on VHS :( ) that I discovered this, Red Sorgum and Ju Dou. But heed the reviews, this DVD lo-fi remix of Ju Dou by Razor Digital Entertainment is a nightmare.

Amazon should not sell these titles.......2006-09-04

I believe the quality of this transfer (along with the one for Raise The Red Lantern) is so horrific that it completely ruines the beautiful experience of watching these Gong Li/ Zhang Yimou movies and should not even be offered for sale. Truly Bad

Different.......2006-07-31

I own a lot of Asian movies. They are different from western movies. I really enjoy them. I own most of Yimou's movies. He is an excellent director. The very enchanting Gong Li stars in a lot of them and is quite an excellent actress. A lot of his movies have a political statement. You will find an excellent story of a woman married to an impotent man. Has a child by another. She's abused by this old impotent man throughout. I won't ruin it,but I really enjoyed it. Buy Shanghai Triad,Temptress Moon,Chinese Box,Qiu Ju,Empress Dowager,Emperor and the Assasin,Zhou Yu's Train and Soul Haunted by painting. Gong Li is an excellent actress and called the best in China. I believe it.

Average customer rating:

Colours
A Beautiful, Bucolic Tragedy.
Ju Dou: Razor D. E. lo-fi remix
Amazon should not sell these titles
Different

Ju Dou
Starring: Wu Fa , Zhang Yi , Zhijun Cong , Wei Li , and Li Gong
Director: Fengliang Yang , and Yimou Zhang
Manufacturer: Geneon [Pioneer]
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Period Piece | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video

( J ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Raise the Red Lantern (MGM World Films)
The Story of Qiu Ju
Farewell My Concubine
Temptress Moon
Shanghai Triad

ASIN: 6305460183
Release Date: 1999-06-29

Description

They were destined, if not doomed, to be together. She was the mill owner's battered bride; he was his overworked nephew. Out of their plight grew a profound and powerful secret love. Their hearts were free, but only murder could free the lovers from the tyranny of the mill owner. Or could it? Acclaimed throughout the world, this film almost didn't come to the screen at all. Chinese officials tried to hide Ju-Dou behind a wall of censorship - an act that prompted Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen and other major filmmakers to speak out in support of this remarkable film.

Customer Reviews:

Colours.......2007-04-18

The best type of Chinese film. Sumptuous colours,Gong Li, and a love triangle. I cannot recommend this film more highly. Buy it, and enjoy the experience. There is not a bad thing to say about it!

A Beautiful, Bucolic Tragedy........2007-04-10

Ju Dou: Razor D. E. lo-fi remix.......2006-09-16

Amazon should not sell these titles.......2006-09-04

Different.......2006-07-31

Average customer rating:

Disgrace

Raise the Red Lantern/Ju Dou
Starring: Raise the Red Lantern , and Ju Dou
Manufacturer: Razor
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

( R ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Farewell My Concubine
The Story of Qiu Ju
The Road Home
The Virgin Spring - Criterion Collection
Ju Dou

ASIN: B000E5KULA
Release Date: 2006-02-14

Customer Reviews:

Disgrace.......2006-03-02

Two beautifull films that, sadly, I must warn you away from. Razor Digital has set a new low point for DVD release. They've provided discs with such staggeringly bad picture, sound, and subtitling quality that I can scarcely imagine how it could be worse.

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