Edward Yang’s sprawling achievement, A Brighter Summer Day, had finally managed to acquire a proper American release as a result of the Criterion Collection. The late Taiwanese filmmaker had already managed to land a spot with his swan song, Yi Yi, but it was about time his own magnum opus, a four hour-long epic about the turmoil in regards to Taiwan’s own search for cultural identity has finally entered the Criterion library. But what exactly is it about this particular Criterion release that makes it stand out amongst all others that have come out this year in my eyes? Maybe I’m inclined to have it so high up because it happens to be a close contender for my favourite film of all time but all of that aside we still have a phenomenal release in our hands. Prior to Criterion’s release the only available versions of A Brighter Summer Day that were set to be found are in terrible VHS quality but Criterion’s new restoration fixes this problem and fixes damages present in previous restorations both picture and sound wise. Not only that but the extras are amongst some of the very best to come around on any Criterion release all year, with an exclusive Chang Chen interview as well as a documentary, Our Time, Our Story detailing the work of the New Taiwan Cinema movement where director Edward Yang was a prominent figure. It’s easy to say that one of the greatest and most underseen movies of the 1990’s decade could only be done justice with the best Criterion release of 2016. (Jaime Rebanal)

Chimes at Midnight (1965)