Edward Yang

[PimpPanda]

Mulvaney confirmed (via email to board member -- see "forthcoming" thread) that Brighter Summer Day is indeed coming as a Criterion title.

So there is a God.

[Murdoch]

Words cannot express my joy, so here is something else:

[bearcuborg]

Great news, I guess I can delete my downloaded version...I only watched 35 minutes of it so far.

[zedz]

Some more information on the restoration which it seems is not (yet) complete, courtesy Kent Jones (at Dave Kehr's blog):

There is still some more work to do on the restoration of A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY. The shorter cut exists as a negative, but the pieces comprising the longer cut exist only as an I.P. And, as of Cannes, 5 minutes in reel 7 had yet to be located. In progress.

So the Criterion edition may not exactly be imminent. On the other hand, this does suggest that it would be relatively straightforward for Criterion to issue both cuts, which would be astonishing if it happened.

[Cronenfly]

Well, I'm guardedly optimistic that Criterion will include both cuts, given the precedents: Brazil, Fanny and Alexander, Scenes From A Marriage, The Leopard, Mr. Arkadin, The Last Emperor...although A Brighter Summer Day is somewhat more obscure than any of those, barring Mr. Arkadin (which was fortunate enough to have the Welles hook). Still, I remain hopeful that a 3-disc set with both cuts is what the end product will turn out to be.

[Tom Amolad]

Well, I'm guardedly optimistic that Criterion will include both cuts, given the precedents: Brazil, Fanny and Alexander, Scenes From A Marriage, The Leopard, Mr. Arkadin, The Last Emperor...although A Brighter Summer Day is somewhat more obscure than any of those, barring Mr. Arkadin (which was fortunate enough to have the Welles hook). Still, I remain hopeful that a 3-disc set with both cuts is what the end product will turn out to be.

But does anyone actually think the three-hour cut is in any way interesting in its own right? I haven't seen it, but I've never heard anyone say they liked it better. (Anyone want to put up a defense of it?) And unlike most of the films you mention, it's not as if the shorter version is already well-known. (The theatrical version of "Fanny and Alexander," say, whether or not its director liked it, was a major part of film history when the DVD came out.)

[Jun-Dai]

Is there any reason to include both cuts? I'd think you'd want to have a pretty strong reason before making the package that much bigger and more expensive, but I don't know anything about the history of alternate versions of A Brighter Summer Day.

[Cronenfly]

Refer to zedz's post about the two versions on the first page of this thread; it doesn't sound as if the shorter version is radically different in any way, but I think that it would make for a fascinating look at a more narratively economical version of the film, as zedz suggetss. And if both versions are available to Criterion, I see no reason not to bump the set from 2 to 3 discs/39.99 to 49.99 MSRP, especially if additional supplements are not easy to come by.

[ptmd]

I've seen both cuts and there's absolutely no reason to include the shorter one. It's a commercial compromise that Yang never wanted to make and which has no real existence outside a few markets close to Taiwan. In France and Britain, they always showed the complete version and in the US the film has never had a commercial release, so you can't make a case for it the way you can with, say, Touch of Evil. I think including the shorter cut would be a waste of money and time that would almost certainly push up the cost of the set (since another disc would be required).

[swo17]

If the shorter cut is only different in that certain parts of the longer cut have been excised (and I don't know if this is the case) couldn't they just use branching to give us two cuts in one?

[domino harvey]

So the Criterion edition may not exactly be imminent.

Except that for the last few years, Criterion has rarely if ever confirmed a title that didn't come out pretty soon thereafter. Maybe they're working on the extras now while waiting for the print to be restored

[ianungstad]

I wouldn't make that assumption. You had the press release from Cannes which stated that Criterion was releasing this film along with the other dozen or so projects worked on by Scorsese's World Cinema Foundation. There would be no point in Mulvaney denying a title after the news has been published in a widely available press release and most likely already read by everyone on the board. In my email, he simply said that they had plans to release the film but had no plans for Losey's Accident, no time frame was mentioned.

I also don't see your statement about Mulvaney confirmations meaning a title is coming soon being true. Last I checked they've issued press releases and confirmations for Insignificance, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, rereleases of Naked Kiss, Shock Corridor, Walkabout, Greenaway's Cook, Thief, Wife, Lover, White Mane, Red Balloon, Scorsese short films, Maysles shorts, etc. that have all been "announced" over a year ago with still no release dates in sight. I think even the recently solicited Human Condition was originally "confirmed" by Mulvaney something like 2 and a half years ago? That Gorin set that your anxious for has also been announced ages ago with nothing on the horizon.

[zedz]

If the shorter cut is only different in that certain parts of the longer cut have been excised (and I don't know if this is the case) couldn't they just use branching to give us two cuts in one?

This is what I was hoping for. I don't see any need for the shorter cut to get its own disc. (Actually, even if they documented what footage comprised the short cut so you could manually reconstruct it, that would be valuable).

What I find most interesting about the shorter cut is how little is actually left out, since Yang condenses the story rather than excising significant parts of it. Since Yang's handling of narrative ellipses and use of indirect narration are among his most interesting characteristics as a filmmaker, and since the shorter edit is the director's, not the producer's, the option of a side-by-side comparison would be quite valuable. But as I said, I'm not holding my breath. It was only the indication that the short edit material is from a better source than the rest of the film that made it even seem like a possibility.

[Cronenfly]

Has Criterion ever released a DVD with seamless branching, though? There's always a first time, of course, but I can’t remember any examples, and they didn’t do it for In the Realm of the Senses recently even though it would have made sense to do so. My prediction is that it’ll be on a third disc or not at all, and I’m feeling the latter is more likely (which I have to admit makes sense, seeing as the shorter version wasn’t something Yang wanted to have to create/is not a radically different edit of the film). Personally I feel the extra $10 is worth it, but I admit the prospect seems dubious/can understand why others feel including the shorter edit would be pointless.

[nemosama]

new article on Yang at Time.com

[Perkins Cobb]

Full Edward Yang retro finally coming to NYC over Thanksgiving.

[Tom Amolad]

With, it appears, a full week of A Brighter Summer Day at one of their new releases theaters.

[godardslave]

If Criterion release a blu boxset of Yang in 2012, that would be .

[Perkins Cobb]

With, it appears, a full week of A Brighter Summer Day at one of their new releases theaters.

Which are kinda small ... would be nice if they screen it in the Walter Reade once. Otherwise it'll get shortchanged, despite the welcome exposure.

[denti alligator]

Full Edward Yang retro finally coming to NYC over Thanksgiving.

Not living in NYC anymore sucks. Sometimes.

Now's one of them times.

[Perkins Cobb]

Oops: Several of the key films (especially That Day on the Beach and The Terrorizers) are showing digitally. At least they've snagged a print for In Our Time, which screened digitally in that overview of Taiwanese cinema that FSLC did earlier this year.

[J Adams]

ALL of those films exist in 35mm with subtitles. Someone in NY (I think MoMA) did a Yang retro eons ago. Admittedly the prints were a bit ragged. Thanks for the digital warning. I'll be skipping those.

[Perkins Cobb]

It was Anthology, some time ago (before Yang died), and my memory is that some films were announced but then cancelled after prints couldn't be obtained. Harvard and one of the L.A. venues did a full Yang retro a few years ago but I don't know whether they were all film (and they've played other non-U.S. cities since, so the same prints may be even more ragged). I'm a little disappointed too, but I'm willing to bet that the FSLC staff had a good reason for taking digital over film, if they even had the option. I suspect I'll be there for these (probably excepting The Terrorizers, since there's a Blu-ray).

[J Adams]

At least most of them are in 35 so I will give them credit for that. The retro I'm thinking of was a LONG time ago--mid to late 90s.

[ando]

Full Edward Yang retro finally coming to NYC over Thanksgiving.

Not living in NYC anymore sucks. Sometimes.

Now's one of them times.

Heh. Thanks for the heads up. I didn't even know he died. I was pretty impressed with YiYi but watched it at home. It'll be nice to see it on a large screen (assuming it's The Walter Reade Theater).