“The Beauty of Beauties”, the spectacular historical epic that swept the Golden Horse Awards (winning for best feature film, director, actor, color cinematography, and art direction), is a story drawn from China’s legendary Warring States Period, The King of Yueh, Goujian (Lei Zhao), is defeated and imprisoned by the King of Wu, Fucha (Mu Chu). But when Goujian returns to his much-maligned homeland, he is determined to defeat Wu once and for all, with a secret weapon: a local beauty named Xi Si (Ching Chiang), who is sent to serve Fucha and lure him to his doom.

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Video Quality

The Beauty of Beauties receives its first domestic release ever on Blu-Ray via 88 Films with a new 1080p master in its original 2.39:1 aspect ratio derived from a 4K restoration of the Original 35mm Low Contrast Camera Negative. This restoration was spearheaded by the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute in 2021 which corrected instances of instability, warp, flicker, dy fade, molds, and dirt. While there are still some instances when you can see the limitations of the source, just take one look at the restoration comparison in the supplements to see what a marvel this is for film fans.

The transfer does not show off signs of heavy filtering or DNR which allows it to present with a lovely organic appearance. There are sporadic moments when the grain field spikes and the image quality dips for a few seconds, but this is not a consistent issue. The transfer provides favorable color saturation on display with lush hues making an impression in the ornate production design and costumes. Fine detail is in good shape as you observe subtle facets of these craft elements in such clarity. This transfer has cleaned up much of the wear and tear, and the film does not succumb to any egregious instances of compression artifacts. There are occasional shots that skew very soft which likely links back to the quality of the source elements. 88 Films has treated this with great care.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray presents the film with an LPCM 2.0 Master Audio mono track in the original Mandarin with optional English subtitles. The overall soundscape has a somewhat boxy quality to it, but it is par for the course for this era and not a huge detriment. Dialogue is easily distinguishable throughout the film with little in the way of sibilance. The score maintains a consistent fidelity with no egregious instances of age-related wear and tear. The track can sound a bit harsh in the upper registers, but this is once again not common. The film shows its strength once things get more exciting towards the finale which adds a bit of immediacy to the overall mix. 88 Films has done a considerate job of presenting this film in the best quality possible.

Special Features

Diamond In The Rough – Tony Rayns On The Beauty of Beauties: A new 22-minute discussion with Asian Cinema Expert Tony Rayns who delves into why this is a historic release, how it fits into the landscape of Chinese cinema, the scale achieved by the filmmakers, why this is a cut down version of what was originally released, the legacy of the feature, and more.

Restoration Comparisons: A nearly six-minute before-and-after look at the feature that shows exactly how big of a leap in quality this was given.

Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided here.

Booklet: A 20-page booklet featuring the essay “Hsi Shih: The Beauty of Beauties: A Legendary Production” by film historian Tom Cunliffe is provided that gives you a terrific amount of background details about the film.

Final Thoughts

The Beauty of Beauties is quite the period epic that hones in on the thrill of palace intrigue more so than large-scale action sequences. The film especially impresses with its attention paid to the production value, as huge sets with unbelievable production design are a common sight. What is slightly disappointing here is knowing that this was originally released as a two-part film theatrically, but that version is more than likely lost to time. This stitched-together version that has been available for decades is quite engaging, but there are rough editing transitions and jarring jumps in the story that clue you into the fact that something is missing. Even with these caveats, this is a strong film worth discovering. 88 Films has released a Blu-Ray featuring a great A/V presentation and a couple of useful special features. If you enjoy a classic period drama that focuses on complex narratives, give this a whirl. Recommended

The Beauty of Beauties is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: 88 Films has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.