The Flowers of Shanghai by Hou Hsiao-hsien
Splendors and miseries of Chinese courtesans filmed by the great Hou Hsiao-hsien
At the end of the 19th century, in the British concession of Shanghai. Several “houses of flowers”, reserved for the male elite, form a closed world where people come as much to dine, smoke opium, play mah-jong and have fun as to meet courtesans. The women who work there are called “the flowers of Shanghai”. Wang, a high official, is the official client of the sublime and spendthrift Rubis. In another house, he also frequents Jasmin…
Filmed in a succession of sequence shots, the hallmark of its director Hou Hsiao-hsien, The Flowers of Shanghai is revealed as a series of nocturnal tableaux of hypnotic beauty. The filmmaker depicts an ultra-codified society where, behind appearances, the theater of human tragedy is played out. A source of inspiration claimed by Bertrand Bonello for his Apollonide (2011), Les Fleurs de Shanghai is to be discovered for the first time in its sublime 4K restoration!
by Hou Hsiao-hsien
(1998 – Colors)
New 4K Restoration
Original version with French subtitles
INCLUDED
THE DOCUMENTARY
. CINEMA, OF OUR TIME: HHH – PORTRAIT OF HOU HSIAO-HSIEN (New 2K restoration – 91 min) – Blu-ray exclusive
Directed by: Olivier Assayas. Musical composition: Georges Delerue – © 2000 Ina / ARTE France
Hou Hsiao-hsien, leader of the New Wave of Taiwanese cinema, guides Olivier Assayas to the places of his childhood. HHH or the moving portrait of one of today's greatest Asian filmmakers, directed by the man who made him known in France.
SUPPLEMENTS
. A FLOATING WORLD (19 mins)
“ The Flowers of Shanghai is a pivotal film in the filmmaker's career, which takes place both outside Taiwan and outside the historical context to which it belongs. An interview with Jean-Michel Frodon, critic at Slate.fr and professor at Sciences Po Paris.
. TRAILER 2020
Extras in HD on the Blu-ray version
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BD 50 • HIGH DEFINITION MASTER • 1080/23.98p • AVC ENCODING • Original DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Version • French Subtitles • 1.85 format respected • Colors • Film Length: 114 mins
DVD 9 • NEW RESTORED MASTER • PAL • MPEG-2 ENCODING • Original Dolby Digital 5.1 Version • French Subtitles • 1.85 format respected • 16/9 4/3 compatible • Colors • Length of Film: 110 mins
