China's rebellious and incessantly audacious Yuan Zhang delves into the secret world of illicit homosexuality in his devastatingly erotic and politically astute film, EAST PALACE,... more
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'liquid history', its banks rich with great houses, quiet towpath walks, riverside pubs, gardens, wharfs, superb churches..The authors know London's riverside well, and their authoritative and affectionate book entertainingly blends history and gossip." This copy is bound in marron with gilt lettering to the spine. The dust jacket, which is not price clipped, has a wraparound illustration by Dorothea Hall. This copy is in good condition only a little bumping to corners and some minor shelf wear, hence this highly competitive price.
illustrations by Cetra Hearne. A blend of history, description, suggestions and gossip relating to the places along London's River Thames. A Fine copy with no inscriptions, in a Fine unclipped dustwrapper.
Plot: Following his arrest for loitering at a popular gay cruising hot-spot, A Lan is put through a night-long interrogation by the arresting officer, Shi. A Lan recounts his life story, focussing on his sexuality and Shi's curiosity develops beyond a professional interest.
Release details
DVD Region: Region 2 (Europe)
Studio(s): MILLIVRES MULTIMEDIA; ARVATO SERVICES
Release date: 21/06/2004
No of Discs: 1
Catalogue No: MMD 030
Barcode: 5038275100281
Languages
Main Language: Mandarin
Dubbed Language: None
Subtitle Language: English
Technical information
Special Features: Chapter Indexes, Other Millivres Multimedia Releases
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo
Dubbing Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo Mandarin
DVD Description
China's rebellious and incessantly audacious Yuan Zhang delves into the secret world of illicit homosexuality in his devastatingly erotic and politically astute film, EAST PALACE, WEST PALACE. Immediately banned by the Chinese government, the film follows the young gay writer, A-Lan, as he drifts in and out of China's hidden homosexual haunts, where he is beaten, humiliated and harassed along with other gays. When a handsome policeman busts him for "cruising" the grounds of the Forbidden Palace, A-lan starts to see his behaviour as a dangerous obsession. When he is caught by the officer a second time, A-lan undergoes a loaded overnight interrogation laced with barely sublimated erotic tension in which he talks about his life as a homosexual to the enraptured officer. As A-lan describes the sometimes tortuous conditions of being gay in China, which he proudly proclaims "make life worth living," the master and servant relationship slowly evolves into one of curious attraction and fear. Zhang slyly uses the chamber drama taking place between A-lan and the officer to create a stunning metaphor for the sado-masochistic relationship that Chinese people have with their own authority figures. As the drama is played out, A-lan's dreamlike, tragedy-laced past mingles with symbolic images from Chinese opera. Each of A-lan's stories deftly seduces the officer and further illuminates A-lan's complex hidden courage.
Professional reviews
Review: "...A rich, poetic meditation on desire and degradation..." (Screen International, )
"...Unerring... and intense..." (Sight and Sound, )
Advantages: Breath-taking images, arty play on colours, poetic, emotional Disadvantages: There's a twist at the end, but predictable from then onwards
...A traditional Chinese epic. Sword fights and martial arts combined with beautiful imagery, and a twisty plot. The cast is a Hong Kong film addict's dream with Tony Yeung, Jet Li, Maggie Cheung, and others.
Large budget film with great CGI (computer graphic imagery). The traditional Chinese martial arts genre has been made more accessible to Western audience with screenplay - the relationships between the characters, which can easily be related to that of Jane Austen's work.
PLOT
(Minimal spoilers - you really must watch it for yourself!)
In brief, this is a film about the Emperor and an assassin, or a group of would-be assassins.
Nameless (Jet Li) is a well known warrior who arrives at the palace, with a harrowing account of how he has come to defeat the Emperor’s most notorious enemies. The Emperor (Chen Daoming...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Deborah Kerr and costars, fine adaptation of source, rich and dramatic use of technicolour sans garishness. Disadvantages: Nil.
...themselves known, in 'l'affair Kanchi', as well as in the crisis involving Sister Ruth (and in a subliminal manner, Sister Clodagh, too). The socio-cultural clash between the West and this remote corner of the East will emerge in the case of the very ill baby from the village, with disastrous consequences for the nuns. All these, plus the chilling effects of the constant cold mountain winds that sweep through the palace corridors like ghosts of the past, may just prove to be a bit much for the Sisters, and Mr Dean's initial comment about 'giving [them] till the rains come' will soon echo like the clanging mission bells in Sister Clodagh's thoughts. The story comes to a head in scenes of taut suspense that finally end in tragedy.
Several things make 'Black Narcissus' a hauntingly beautiful, gripping and moving film. The casting could not have...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Learn a bit more about a period in history; glorious scenery; get caught up in a classic story for two and a half hours. Disadvantages: Originally made as a TV Series in two episodes, and it shows; Some of the casting not the best; synchronisation.
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