as his ninth feature film, and first feature film in his "taiwanese history trilogy," hou's "a city of sadness" was almost universally acclaimed by film critics as a masterpiece upon its release. it has the distinction of being the first ever taiwanese film to win the prestigious golden lion award at the 1989 venice film festival, where hou also won a special golden ciak award ("for artistic originality and sensitivity") and a unesco award. it is also the very first film to openly deal with the authoritative rule of the kuomintang (kmt) after taking taiwan over from the japanese in 1945 following wwii, and the tragic february 28 incident (1947), where thousands of taiwanese citizens were killed. in the british film institute's 2012 sight & sound poll, 2 directors and 14 film critics named it one of "the greatest films ever made" of all time, ranking #322 in the directors' poll and #117 in the critics' poll. the film was also taiwan's best foreign language film entry for the 62nd academy awards, but it did not make the final nomination shortlist.