A Brighter Summer Day
Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project
Directed by Edward Yang • 1991 • Taiwan
Starring Chang Chen, Lisa Yang, Chang Kuo-hu
Among the most praised and sought-after titles in all contemporary film, this singular masterpiece of Taiwanese cinema, directed by Edward Yang, finally comes to home video in the United States. Set in the early sixties in Taiwan, A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY is based on the true story of a crime that rocked the nation. A film of both sprawling scope and tender intimacy, this novelistic, patiently observed epic centers on the gradual, inexorable fall of a young teenager (Chen Chang, in his first role) from innocence to juvenile delinquency, and is set against a simmering backdrop of restless youth, rock and roll, and political turmoil.
Restored in 2009 by the Cineteca di Bologna/L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in association with The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, the Central Motion Picture Corporation, and the Edward Yang Estate. Scan performed at Digimax laboratories in Taipei. Restoration funded by Armani, Cartier, Qatar Airways, and Qatar Museum Authority.
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A Brighter Summer Day
Directed by Edward Yang • 1991 • Taiwan
Starring Chang Chen, Lisa Yang, Chang Kuo-huAmong the most praised and sought-after titles in all contemporary film, this singular masterpiece of Taiwanese cinema, directed by Edward Yang, finally comes to home video in the United States. Set in the early...
Extras
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A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY Commentary
Recorded in 2014, this audio commentary features film critic Tony Rayns.
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Paul Dano on A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY
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Richard Peña on A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY
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Our Time, Our Story
This 2002 documentary by Hsiao Chu-chen looks at the groundbreaking New Taiwan Cinema movement of the 1980s and ’90s, and features interviews with filmmakers Hou Hsiao-hsien, Sylvia Chang, and Tsai Ming-liang, among others.
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Likely Consequence
The following is a recording of a play cowritten and directed by Edward Yang, a satire that showcases Yang’s talent for working with young actors and his penchant for pointed social critique. The performance took place in Taipei in 1992.
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Chen Chang on A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY
Taiwanese actor Chen Chang was only a teenager when he got the lead role in A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY. He would go on to become a major star, appearing in such films as HAPPY TOGETHER; CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON; and THE GRANDMASTER. In this 2014 interview, Chang discusses his breakthrough debut.