The Movie: I thought this film was going to be about some king and a concubine of his or something, but actually, it's about a couple of guys who started out as boyhood friends who eventually become famous for doing the traditional Chinese opera "Farewell My Concubine"... which is about a king and his loyal concubine.

This, like so many other Chinese films, is a depressing movie. It's all about the hardships these guys have to live through from their childhood training for the theater, on through all of the political turmoil that went on in China between the 40's and 70's, and of course, the woman that is driven between them like a big fat wedge.

It's interesting, it's engaging, and like I said, it's depressing. But it's also quite good, and definitely worth watching.

The DVD: This was not a terribly advanced DVD release, with it's non-anamorphic video format and whatnot. The video didn't quite have the full range of contrast and resolution possible, and exhibited some crushed blacks, somewhat muted colors, and quite a bit of grain. Audio was equally unspectacular, but functional. And as far as special features go, there are none, unless you consider marketing for other Miramax DVD titles to be a "feature".