Director Edward Yang (杨德昌) Dies at 59

[gato]

See "Yi Yi" and "A Bright Summer Day" if you haven't yet. They are some of the best Chinese films ever made.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/01/AR2007070100365.html

Taiwanese Director Edward Yang (杨德昌) Dies at 59

By MIN LEE

The Associated Press

Sunday, July 1, 2007; 11:10 AM

HONG KONG -- Edward Yang, who won best director in 2000 at the Cannes Film Festival and was known for his realistic portrayals of modern Taiwan, has died of complications from colon cancer, a film industry consultant said Sunday. He was 59.

Yang, an American citizen, died at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Friday, Norman Wang told The Associated Press. Wang said Yang's family asked him to release the information to the media.

Yang favored stories set in the Taiwanese capital, Taipei. Among his works are "A Brighter Summer Day," a 1991 film set in 1950s Taipei about Elvis-worshipping teenage boys who get involved with gangsters.

The film was viewed as a major incubator of Taiwanese movie talent and an important documentation of the island's history under authoritarian Nationalist rule. One character is shown being questioned by Taiwanese police in the middle of the night, common treatment at the time for locals suspected of communist sympathies.

Among the many first-time movie professionals who worked on "A Brighter Summer Day" was Taiwanese actor Chang Chen who went on to star in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," the Ang Lee kung fu hit.

"He was my inspirational teacher in performance and one of the directors I respect the most," Chang was quoted as saying on Sunday by the Chinese news Web site Sina.com.

Yang won best director at Cannes in 2000 for "Yi Yi (A One and a Two)," about a Taiwanese family that copes with the serious illness of their elderly mother.

Films directed by Edward Yang:

　　2000《一一》Yi yi: A One and a Two

　　1996《麻将》Mahjong

　　1994《独立时代》A Confucian Confusion

　　1991《牯岭街少年杀人事件》A Brighter Summer Day

　　1986《恐怖份子》The Terroriser

　　1985《青梅竹马》Taipei Story

　　1983《海滩的一天》That Day, on the Beach

　　1982《光阴的故事：指望》In Our Time

[againstwind]

I was shocked when finished watching Yi Yi. It's a great film.

向杨大师致敬！

[studentyoung]

I was shocked when finished watching Yi Yi. It's a great film.

向杨大师致敬！

I see. So how about take the lines below in salute to Mr. Yang?

婆婆 对不起不是我不喜欢

Sorry Grandma, it isn’t because I don’t want to talk with you,

跟你讲话只是

but

我觉得我能跟你讲的你一定老早就知道了

I always feel that you have known what I want to say,

不然你就不会每次都教我听话

otherwise you wouldn’t have told me to listen to you every time,

就像他们都说你走了你也没告诉我你去了哪里

just as they told me you have gone, without telling me where you’ve gone,

所以我觉得那一定是我们都知道的地方

and so I guess that must be a place we all know.

婆婆 我不知道的事情太多了

Grandma, there are so many things I don’t know,

所以你知道我以后想做什么吗

so do you know what I want to do in the future.

我要去告诉他们不知道的事情

I want to tell them what they don’t know

给别人看他们看不到的东西

and show them what they can’t see.

我想这样一定天天都好玩

I guess it would be funny everyday.

说不定我会发现你到底去了哪里

Maybe, I might discover where on earth you have gone.

到时候我可不可以跟大家讲

At that time, could I told others about it

叫大家一起来看你呢

and ask them to go to see you?

婆婆我好想你

Grandma, I so miss you!

尤其是我看到那个还没名字的小表弟

Especially when I see my young cousin who still has no name

就会想起你常跟我说你老了

it reminds me that you often told me, “I’m so old.”

我也很想跟他说我也老了

I, too, want to tell him, “I’m so old.”

————

————

电影《一一》简洋洋最终在婆婆葬礼上念的话。

The lines were said by Jian Yangyang on his grandma’s funeral in the film “Yiyi”

http://cache.baidu.com/c?word=%B5%E7%D3%B0%2C%D2%BB%D2%BB&url=http%3A//blog%2Esina%2Ecom%2Ecn/u/494d20bd010005fr&p=882a934fc5d815e744b1c7710d1689&user=baidu

Thanks!

[david1978]

Great post. I love Edward Yang's films, especially Yi YI, which, in my opinion, is a masterpiece. I'll be re-watching it this weekend as a tribute.

[gato]

Try to see "A Bright Summer Day" (牯岭街少年杀人事件). It's even better than Yi Yi in some ways, more natural and free flowing. You probably will have to download it to see, as it's not easy to find it in the stores.

http://lib.verycd.com/2005/10/08/0000068579.html

《牯岭街少年杀人事件》(A Brighter Summer Day)

[skylee]

I love "A bright summer day". Saw the 4-hour version in a cinema and remember clearly how difficult it was to stand up after the screening.

[david1978]

Try to see "A Bright Summer Day" (牯岭街少年杀人事件). It's even better than Yi Yi in some ways, more natural and free flowing. You probably will have to download it to see, as it's not easy to find it in the stores.

http://lib.verycd.com/2005/10/08/0000068579.html

《牯岭街少年杀人事件》(A Brighter Summer Day)

I have it downloading through bit-torrent right now!

[PhilipLean]

I only recently watched Yi Yi 一 一 and was then introduced to the films directed by Edward Yang. I found at the local video hire store in the Foreign Movie sections, there was nothing to indicate how good this film is and the cover only focuses on one theme from the story.

Finally it seems that some of his films are easier to obtain and more information about his work and life is available.

A paperback about him.

Some good articles online about him and his films, Wikipedia, senses of cinema.

DVD's - Yes Asia has a box set - Edward Yang Hou Hsiao Hsien Movie Boxset (DVD) (Taiwan Version) - but one reviewer says there is a problem with the widescreen conversion. A pity.

Finding a good DVD original in any format is difficult. Of course his films are available as downloads, but even the best quality downloads are themselves mediocre extractions from old formats like VHS or Laserdiscs.

A note- Hou Hsiao Hsien has been mentioned a few times before on this site. If you want to find out more about this excellent director there is some good information and a list of his films on Wikipedia .