TAIWAN – rarefilmm | The Cave of Forgotten Films

HAI TAN DE YI TIAN (1983)

Jon W. — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 13:08:03 +0000

Jia-Li’s husband has disappeared. A clue at a beach suggests that he was drowned but no body was found. The film focusses not on the search for the husband, but on the reunion of Jia-Li and her brother’s ex-girlfriend, a successful pianist. The two women share insights on life and memories of growing up, and the struggle they face accepting or defying traditions in their romance and marriage. The film’s deliberation on changes in Taiwanese society and family, its mood of contemplation and reflection, went well beyond the melancholic tone of traditional Taiwanese films about women.

Director: Edward Yang. AKA 海灘的一天 / That Day, On the Beach
Writers: Nien-Jen Wu, Edward Yang.
Stars: Sylvia Chang, Ming Hsu, Lieh Lee, David Mao, Terry Hu.
Cinematographers: Hui-Kung Chang, Christopher Doyle.
Composer: Violet Lam (as Min-Yi Lin).

⇓ DOWNLOAD OPTIONS ⇓

Download in MP4 (Encoded w/Eng. hardsubs)

Download in MKV (Source file w/Eng, Spa, Pt & Pol softsubs)

LI GUI CHAN SHEN (1987)

Jon W. — Sat, 06 Aug 2022 13:50:28 +0000

Fred Tan’s Split of the Spirit is a macabre tale of supernatural possession, necromantic battles, and the vengeful phantom of a woman scorned. In Tan’s stylish neo-noir thriller, a renowned female choreographer becomes overtaken by the specter of a murdered woman, who forces her to enact revenge upon the men who have wronged her.

Director: Fred Tan. AKA 離魂 / Split of the Spirit.
Writer: Fred Tan.
Stars: Siu-Fung Wong, Shu-Yuan Hsu, Shao-Kang Wu, Kuan-Chung Ku, Lap Ban Chan, Ai-Li Chou, Cynthia Khan, Tai-Kit Mak, Tuan-Sun Yang, Yuan-Chang Yang.
Cinematographer: Wei-Han Yang.
Composer: Hung-Yi Chang.

⇓ DOWNLOAD OPTIONS ⇓

Download in MP4 (Mandarin audio + Eng hardsubs)

Download in MKV (Dual Mandarin/Cantonese + Eng softsubs)

WO ZHE YANG GUO LE YI SHENG (1985)

Jon W. — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 11:37:34 +0000

Arriving in Taiwan in the 1950s, Kuei-mei makes a disadvantageous marriage to a widower with three unruly kids and a bad gambling habit. Beautifully portrayed by celebrated actress Yang, she weathers pregnancies, her husband’s infidelity, her daughter’s resentment, a stint as servant in Japan, divorce, and illness while struggling to keep the family restaurant business afloat.

Director: Yi Chang. AKA Kuei-Mei, A Woman / 我這樣過了一生
Writers: Yi Chang, Sa Hsiao (novel & screenplay).
Stars: Hui-Shan Yang, Li-Chun Lee, Hsiang-Ping Hu, Ming Liu, Laula Luo, Lo-Hui Shaw, Elten TIng, Wen-Ying, Ying Ying.
Cinematographer: Wei-Han Yang.
Composer: Hung-Yi Chang.

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JI MO FANG XIN JU LE BU (1995)

Jon W. — Tue, 11 Jan 2022 09:50:35 +0000

A group of aimless Taipei residents deal with their personal problems in this Taiwanese drama that does feature brief flashes of black humor. Much of the story centers upon lonely Mrs. Chen who has trouble coping with her philandering husband, and nearly senile mother-in-law.

Director: Yee Chih-yen. 寂寞芳心俱乐部 / Lonely Hearts Club
Writer: Yee Chih-yen.
Stars: Yang Kuei-Mei, Pai Bing-Bing, Joy Yi-Chun Pan, Neil Peng.

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ASHES OF TIME (1994) [THEATRICAL CUT]

Jon W. — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 13:26:20 +0000

In ancient China, on the edge of a vast desert, swordsman Ou-yang Feng lives the life of a vagabond, controlling a network of deadly assassins. Pitiless and cynical, his heart has long been wounded by a love he neglected then lost. But as seasons, friends and enemies come and go, he begins to reflect back upon the origin of his solitude.

Director: Wong Kar-Wai.
Writers: Wong Kar-Wai, Louis Cha (novel).
Stars: Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Ka-Fai, Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Jacky Cheung, Carina Lau, Maggie Cheung, Charlie Yeung.
Cinematographers: Christopher Doyle, Pun Leung Kwan.
Composers: Frankie Chan, Roel A. García.

⇓ DOWNLOAD OPTIONS ⇓

ENCODE:
MP4 | 1.87 GB | 1400×664 | 23.976 FPS | 2500 kb/s | AAC 192 kb/s
Language: Cantonese | Subtitles: English (hard)

⇒ DL via GOFILE

SOURCE FILE:
MKV | 1.72 GB | 700×332 | 23.976 FPS | 2277 kb/s | AC3 192 kb/s
Language: Cantonese | Subtitles: English (soft)

⇒ DL via GOFILE

FENG ER TI TA CAI (1981)

Jon W. — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 10:59:10 +0000

The pop-star leads from Hou’s first feature, Cute Girl, are reunited in the director’s follow-up, a brisk work of bubble-gum romance that begins to experiment with the rules of the genre. This time, Taiwanese singing sensation Feng Fei-fei plays Hsing-hui, a trendy photographer visiting a seaside village in Penghu with her successful boss/fiancé. When she happens upon a flute-playing medic blinded in an ambulance crash (Kenny Bee), sparks fly, songs are sung, and she’s left with the tough decision of who to say “I do” to. Despite the eye-rolling premise, Hou infuses the film with enough formal ingenuity (long takes, telephoto lenses, on-location shooting) that a case can be made for its auteurial significance.

Director: Hou Hsiao-Hsien. AKA 風兒踢踏踩 / Cheerful Wind / Play While You Play
Writer: Hou Hsiao-Hsien.
Stars: Feng Fei-Fei, Kenny Bee, Anthony Chan Yau, Chou Wan-Sheng, Shih Ying, Mei Fang, Wu Ling.

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Note: Not an easy film to find by Hou Hsiao-Hsien, this is a rip from I think a Chinese/Taiwanese streaming site, this copy originally had Chinese and English subtitles burned in but the English ones were pretty bad and had a lot of parts untranslated so what I did is I cropped those and used another set of English subtitles I found that were more accurate and complete, filled all the missing parts and retimed them to fit this rip, as you can see the Chinese subs ones are still visible I didn’t want to crop the image at the bottom too much so I left just a portion of them which shouldn’t cause any problems with the English subs since the English ones are in yellow, I intentionally made them this color so they can be read better. Enjoy!

BEIQÍNG CHÉNGSHÌ (1989)

Jon W. — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 14:21:32 +0000

Soon after Japan relinquishes control of Taiwan in 1945, the Lin brothers face hardships from the changing culture. Bar owner Wen-heung, the eldest brother, falls foul of local gangsters, Wen-sun disappears, and Wen-leung, scarred by his experiences in the war, ends up in an insane asylum. Deaf-mute photographer Wen-ching, the youngest brother, decides to make a stand and fight the Kuomintang government from China that is assuming power.

Director: Hou Hsiao-Hsien. AKA 悲情城市 / A City of Sadness
Writers: T’ien-wen Chu, Nien-Jen Wu.
Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Chen Sung-young, Jack Kao, Li Tian-lu, Xin Shufen, Wu Yi-fang, Nakamura Ikuyo, Jan Hung-tze, Wu Nien-jen, Zhang Dachun.
Cinematographer: Huai-En Chen.
Composer: Naoki Tachikawa.

1989 Venice Film Festival – Winner of the Golden Lion.

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GUANG YIN DE GU SHI (1982)

Jon W. — Mon, 05 Aug 2019 06:54:55 +0000

The film that kickstarted the New Taiwanese Cinema movement, ‘In Our Time’ is a rebellious ode to youth in four vignettes of ’80s teenage life. The film includes a rare, never-seen-before piece from the late Edward Yang (‘Yi Yi,’ ‘A Brighter Summer Day’).

Directors: Yi Chang, I-Chen Ko, Te-chen Tao, Edward Yang. AKA 光陰的故事 / In Our Time
Writers: Yi Chang, I-Chen Ko, Te-chen Tao, Edward Yang.
Stars: Sylvia Chang, Lan Sheng-wen, Chi Chen, Lee Lichun, An-Ni Shih, Shih An-ni, Emily Y. Chang, Ya-Tung Sun, Vega Tsai, Duo-Duo Yao.
Cinematographer: Chia-Mao Chen.