In 2020, a significant event occurred. The Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (TFAI) finally released a 4K digital restoration of Taipei Story . It played at the Berlin International Film Festival and eventually hit MUBI (a streaming service) in select regions. One would expect this to result in a takedown order against the Internet Archive. It did not.
movement and remained difficult to find for decades before recent high-quality restorations. Background and Significance Taipei Story Qīngméizhúmǎ ) stars fellow director Hou Hsiao-hsien as Lung, a former baseball star clinging to the past, and
For decades, Taipei Story was difficult to see outside of festival retrospectives. Its original prints were poorly distributed, and the film’s bleak, introspective tone failed to find a wide audience in Taiwan. However, the film was given new life thanks to the World Cinema Project, founded by Martin Scorsese to restore important but neglected films from around the globe. taipei story internet archive
Taipei Story has also been included in other national collections. The Harvard Film Archive and the Korean Film Archive, for instance, hold prints and have hosted screenings of the film's 4K restoration. The fact that the film has been preserved and restored by so many major archival institutions is a testament to its artistic importance, confirming that while it may not be freely downloadable, its preservation is of paramount priority to the global film community.
The narrative follows the gradual disintegration of their relationship against the backdrop of 1980s Taipei, a city undergoing rapid modernization and Westernization. Lung clings to the past—to traditional loyalties, nostalgia for his baseball glory days, and the old fabric store on Dihua Street. Conversely, Chin is a "woman of the future," eager to embrace upward mobility and emigrate to the United States. Edward Yang masterfully uses the city's topography, from its neon-lit commercial districts to its desolate construction sites, to mirror the couple's growing estrangement. It is a mournful, bleak, yet exhilarating anatomy of a society caught between its traditional values and the crushing pressures of a globalized, capitalist modern world. In 2020, a significant event occurred
If Taipei Story resonates with you, search the Internet Archive for other works by the directors:
This public link is valid for 7 days and shares a thread, including any personal information you added. This link or copies made by others cannot be deleted. If you share with third parties, their policies apply. Can’t copy the link right now. Try again later. One would expect this to result in a
: Alongside filmmakers like Hou Hsiao-hsien and Cinema Guild contemporaries, Yang rejected commercial studio formulas. He opted instead for realism, long takes, social critique, and minimalist storytelling. Why the Internet Archive Matters for Film Preservation
If you are researching this topic for a project, let me know:
Upon its release, Taipei Story won the FIPRESCI Prize at the Locarno Film Festival and has since been recognized as a foundational work of the New Taiwanese Cinema. The Marxist literary critic Fredric Jameson, among others, has written extensively about the film's exploration of postmodern urban life and alienation. The film's legacy is so immense that it was restored by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project—Martin Scorsese's organization dedicated to preserving and presenting global cinematic treasures—at the Cineteca di Bologna and was given a 4K restoration. It was subsequently released on Blu-ray and DVD by The Criterion Collection as part of its "Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 2" box set.
Yet, rights holders have historically turned a blind eye. Unlike Hollywood blockbusters, Taipei Story has no active streaming contract. No one is losing money because no one was making money. In a twist of archival justice, the Internet Archive has acted as a de facto library of last resort.