DVD
REVIEW: A BEAUTIFUL LIFE
12/12/11
When a Hong Kong girl (Shu Qi) looking to make her way in Beijing accidentally bumps into a police officer (Liu Ye), a friendship is born. But as that friendship progresses, feelings change and the various challenges of life – past, present and future – take hold of the intertwined destinies of two souls. A BEAUTIFUL LIFE will be available day-and-date on cable VOD, digital platforms and DVD on December 13, following its premiere in China and a wide theatrical release in the U.S. and Canada..
Andrew Lau is one of China’s top directors, having garnered notice by Western audiences for his film Infernal Affairs which won Best Director(s) at the Hong Kong Film Awards and the Golden Horse Awards, spawned two sequels and served as the impetus for Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning The Departed. Just as he did with Infernal Affairs, he took on co-directing duties with Initial D, based on the famous anime and manga series, and turned it too into a box office hit throughout Asia. The film later served as an “Official Selection” at the 2005 Venice Film Festival. He returned to Venice in 2010 with Legend of the Fist: Return of Chen Zen, considered the unofficial follow-up to Bruce Lee’s 1972 Fist of Fury..
Shu Qi has established herself throughout world cinema, having received critical praise for a number of roles. For her role in Portland Street Blues (a spin-off of Andrew Lau’s film series, Young and Dangerous), she won the Best Supporting Actress award at the Hong Kong Academy Awards and the Golden Horse Awards. If You Are The One, in which she stars, and its sequel both broke records at the box office during their initial Chinese releases. Western audience will recognize Shu Qi in the action film The Transporter, with Jason Statham, and in New York, I Love You. She also stars in Andrew Lau’s Legend of the Fist: Return of Chen Zen. .
Liu Ye was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at China’s Golden Rooster Awards for his film debut, Postmen in the Mountains, in 1999, and went on to win Best Actor at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards for Lan Yu in 2001, later snagging the Best Actor at the Golden Rooster Awards for The Foliage. Since then, he has participated in many internationally acclaimed films by directors including Dai Sijie, Lou Ye, Chen Kaige, John Woo and Zhang Yimou, and worked alongside actresses including Ziyi Zhang, Gong Li and Meryl Streep (Dark Matter). Western audiences would be most familiar with him from the crossover Chinese hit, Curse of the Golden Flower.
VIDEO:
Widescreen
1.33:1
AUDIO:
Dolby Digital
2.0 Mandarin
Chinese and English subtitles
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