THE REDISCOVERY OF A TREASURE OF TAIWANESE CINEMA
A TOURBILLON OF FEELINGS CONDUCTED BY PAN LEI…
AN EARTHQUAKE IN 1960S TAIWANESE CINEMA
It will soon be seven years since Chun-li has lived at the Alishan weather station, in the heart of the Taiwanese mountains. Abandoned by her husband, she cheats on her boredom with alcohol. His daily life will be turned upside down by the arrival of Mr. Zhang and his daughter Zhen-zhu, whom they will welcome into their home. Seduced by the man and moved by the child, Chun-li feels alive again. But she does not know that her hosts are not who they claim to be and that Mr. Zhang is actually wanted by the police...
Produced in 1962 by the national studio of the Republic of China, Typhoon immediately strikes with its freedom of tone, ignoring state propaganda and moral conventions. Its director Pan Lei demonstrates singular creativity and an exceptional talent for composing powerful scenes where nature serves as a revealer for his outsider characters. A resolutely unique work in the Taiwanese cinema of the time, to be discovered for the first time on Blu-ray™ in its new 2K restoration.
TYPHOON by Pan Lei
(1962 - Black & White - 113 mins)
Original version with French subtitles
Blu-ray or DVD edition
SUPPLEMENTS (IN HD*)
. PASSAGE OF THE TYPHOON (26 mins)
“In Taiwan, despite censorship, propaganda, a totally stifling political climate, some directors have managed to make themselves heard in a discreet but at the same time very persistent way. » An unpublished interview with Wafa Ghermani, a specialist in Taiwanese cinema and editor with Kristian Feigelson of the review Théorème n° 33, « Image industries in East Asia ».
. TYPHOON: STORM OVER TAIWAN (6 mins)
To open its retrospective “Taiwanese (Bad) Genre Cinema” in 2019, the Cinémathèque française has selected Pan Lei’s Typhoon . Wafa Ghermani justifies this choice and analyzes this meteorite film which defies all categorization.
. RESTORATION
. RESTORATION TRAILER
* in HD on the Blu-ray Disc™ version
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BD 50 • HIGH DEFINITION MASTER • 1080/23.98p • AVC ENCODING
Original Version DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 • French Subtitles
2.35 format respected • Black & White • Film length: 113 mins
DVD 9 • HIGH DEFINITION MASTER • PAL • MPEG-2 ENCODING
Original Version Dolby Digital 1.0 • French Subtitles
2.35 format respected • 16/9 compatible 4/3 • Colors • Film length: 108 mins
Released March 15, 2022
