Beauty of Beauties – 88 Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Taiwan, 1965
Director: Li Han-hsiang
Writer: Tang Shao-Hua
Cast: Chiang Ching, Zhao Lei, Chang Fang-Hsia, Chang Feng, Chu Mu

Release Date: March 11th, 2024 (UK), May 21st, 2024 (USA)
Approximate running time: 155 Minutes 11 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 12 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: LPCM Mono Mandarin
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A,B
Retail Price: £16.99 (UK), $39.95 (USA)

"Told through the story of Xishi (Hsi Shih), one of the 'Four Great Beauties' of Chinese history, the film portrays the war between two Chinese Kingdoms during the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C). After the kingdom of Yue is defeated by the kingdom of Wu, King Goujian of Yue takes pains to prepare for his revenge and rebuild his country. Knowing that King Fucha of Wu is lewd and lustful, he offers Xisi to the court of Wu to serve as Fucha’s concubine, with Fucha unaware that she is also a spy. She uses her charm to draw Fucha away from his office and governance, while King Goujian rallies his forces together to attempt to reclaim his lands." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "Brand new 4K Remaster from the original negatives".

Here is additional information about the transfer, "This film was originally released in 1956, and its digital restoration was completed by Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute in 2021 as part of the 'Taiwan Film Classics Digital Restoration and Value-adding Project' commissioned by the Ministry of Culture.

The restoration was based on a 35mm low contrast negative with 4K resolution. The content of the story is the compilation version released at that time. The condition of the film contains instability, warp, flicker, dye fade, molds and dirt. Automatic restoration was used to reduce the instability and flicker and to remove dirt and stains. The frame-by-frame manual process was carried out to remove tears, residual defects and artefacts caused by automatic restoration."

Beauty of Beauties comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 43.9 GB

Feature: 36.7 GB

The source looks great, flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity is strong, black levels look good, and there are no issues with compression.

Audio: 3.75/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Mandarin with removable English subtitles. The audio is in good shape; there are no issues with background hiss or distortion. That said, this audio track is limited range-wise; fortunately, the dialog comes through clearly enough to follow.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 13 seconds, LPCM mono Mandarin with non-removable English subtitles), a restoration comparison (5 minutes 39 seconds, LPCM mono Mandarin, no subtitles), an interview with Oriental cinema expert Tony Rayns (22 minutes 3 seconds, LPCM stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for Mandarin film clips), reversible cover art, a double walled O-ring slipcover (limited to the first pressing), and a 20-page booklet with an essay titled Hsi Shih: The Beauty of Beauties: A Legendary Production written by Tom Cunliffe.

Summary:

Directed by Li Han-hsiang, whose other notable films are The Enchanting Shadow, The Magnificent Concubine, and Empress Wu Tse-Tien.

Beauty of Beauties is an epic melodrama that is based on Chinese history. The narrative revolves around the kingdom of Wu and the kingdom of Yue, two kingdoms at war. And in the case of the latter, who lost the war, their plot was to exact revenge against the other.

The look and scope of Beauty of Beauties have all the grandeur of the epic films Hollywood made during the 1950s and 1960s. Beauty of Beauties was originally released in two parts, each around two hours in length. A digest version with a two-and-a-half-hour length was released a few years after the original two-part version. Sadly, the longer, two-part version no longer exists.

The opening setup does a great job showing the vast difference between the Yue and their oppressors, the Wu. In the case of the latter, even in victory, their cruelty has no boundaries, as they needlessly kill. And though the ruler of Yue is determined to keep his people safe by remaining subservient to Wu oppressors, the people of Yue quickly became frustrated, forcing the king of Yue to come up with a plan to free his people.

When it comes to the performances, as good as everyone is in the roles, especially Chiang Ching in the role of Xisi, a Yue woman who goes undercover as a concubine who spies on the King of Wu.

Despite opening in the aftermath of a bloody battle, there is actually very little action in Beauty of Beauties. With its main action set piece not happening until the last 20 minutes. That said, Beauty of Beauties has a dialog-driven narrative that builds tension through characters actions related to overthrowing the Wu. Also, the production design is impressive, and the cinematography is breathtaking. Ultimately, Beauty of Beauties is a riveting melodrama that greatly benefits from Li Han-hsiang’s direction.

Beauty of Beauties gets a solid release from 88 Films that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and a pair of insightful extras, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer