FW: video tapes for Taiwan movies

[maureen donovan]

I am forwarding the following message to KineJapan because I know a few list
members will be interested (and possibly could help provide information on
how to obtain the videos needed).  Also, I thought the wider audience might
want to know that Kinema Club (and KineJapan) are being thought of as a
possible model for Chinese cinema.

Greetings,
Maureen Donovan
Ohio State University Libraries

-----Original Message-----
From: Thomas Hahn <hahn at gw.sino.uni-heidelberg.de>
To: eastlib at listserv.oit.unc.edu <eastlib at listserv.oit.unc.edu>
Date: 1998年9月18日 12:48
Subject: Re: video tapes for Taiwan movies


(This may be interesting to a few other people, so I send it out to
the list, though it's "constructed" as a personal mail)


Dear Mrs. Hu,

have you tried the video corner of Nanhai? They were our
provider for a lot of "standard" films and can still get most of the
more "liu-hsing" videos which are on the market(s). Try
www.nanhai.com for starters, or mail them under inquiry at nanhai.com.
I believe they might have Wong Kar-wei and Hou Hsiao-hsien, and if
they don't, they will certainly make an effort and get it for you.
Honorable Cheng & Tsui also has films, even from Hou Hsioa-hsien. Try
http://www.cheng-tsui.com/catalog/new/newfilmall.html
and it'll take you right to the order form for "A Time to live and a
Time to Die" (synchronised, I am afraid).

About films from Taiwan in general I think it wouldn't be imprudent
to ask Huang Hsin-hsin from Lexis Bookshop to acquire them for you
from local video stores. They sell cheaply, and the quality is
usually (not always) o.k. Re films from the PRC I remember CIBTC
made a claim that they could and would provide films and other media
besides books or serials. In Hong Kong a company called Chiao-Ying
Co. Ltd. used to export vidoes and even sent out catalogs, but this
is a while back, and the fax # 5-450441 may not be in working order
still. Solid Video Ltd. in the Watson's Estate Block (fax # 5-807
2499) should be reachable, though.

One of the problems you may encounter is not to get the film, but
actually which media is used for distribution. Orthodox tape
cassettes (VHS/NTSC) are substituted more and more by DVD (Digital
versatile - or Video -disk) or VCD (Video Compact Disk), and you need
a special player to project the film onto a screen (TV-set, a beamer,
etc.). DVD players aren't expensive nowadays, but it's one more
(proprietary) machine to buy and operate.

If you need more information, don't hesitate to contact me or my
colleague Martin Gieselmann (giesel at gw.sino.uni-heidelberg.de). We
are presently in the process of setting up a National China Film
database (Heidelberg has about 980 films to date, other institutions
- including German distributors - will participate as well),
consisting of a website and a mailing list dedicated to China
filmmaking, comparable perhaps to Kinema club for Japanese filmmaking
(we hope).

Autumn greetings from Heidelberg

Thomas




***************
> Dear Estlibers,
>
> I would appreciate it if any one could tell me where to buy video tapes
for
> Taiwan movies directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien, Yang Te-ch'ang, etc. in the
U.S.
>  Also I would like to know where to buy Hong Kong movies drected by Wong
> Kar-wai (Wang Chia-wei).
>
> Chia-yaung Hu
> Assistant Librarian for the Chinese Collection
> Harvard-Yenching Library
> 2 Divinity Ave.
> Cambridge, MA 02138
> Tel:  (617) 495-3394
> Fax:  (617) 496-6008
> E-mail:  hu at fas.harvard.edu