The beloved Restored Classics Section in the Beijing Film Panorama will present 4K restoration version of 11 classics to the audience. The selection not only includes internationally acclaimed films but also rarely known ground-breaking masterpieces. Thanks to film archive storage and digital restoration technologies, today’s movie-goers will enjoy the rare opportunity to watch them.

　　

　　Still of A Hen in the Wind

Last year, the Restored Classics presented The Moon Has Risen (1955) directed by Kinuyo Tanaka and written by Yasujiro Ozu. This year, we are going to present another classics by the golden duo—A Hen in the Wind (1948). Interestingly, their roles are switched this year. It’s directed by Yasujiro Ozu starring Kinuyo Tanaka and Shuji Sano, Yasujiro Ozu’s favorite mainstay in his films. The year 2023 marks the 120th anniversary of the birth of Yasujiro Ozu. Undoubtedly, it’s the best way to pay tribute to the master by presenting the rarely known film by him. The brand new 4K restoration version was completed by the Shochiku Co., Ltd.

　

　　Still of The Conformist

Bernardo Bertolucci rose to international stardom with The Conformist (1970). The film was nominated for the Competition section of the Berlin International Film Festival and Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards. It is adapted from the novel in the same name by Alberto Moravia and written by Bernardo Bertolucci with cinematography by Vittorio Storaro, production design by Ferdinando Scarfiotti, and music by Georges Delerue. Each of the top crew holds at least one Academy Award. The masters worked together to create such a masterpiece. No wonder it set the new benchmark in the film history. L’Immagine Ritrovata completed the 4K restoration from the original camera negative. Movie-goers in Beijing will have the honor to watch the brand new restored masterpiece first in Chinese mainland.

　　

　　Still of The Driver

The Driver (1978) was restored in 4K last October. It’s a complete neo-noir film and an ultimately cool car racing action blockbuster, leaving huge impacts on subsequent filmmakers, such as Michael Mann, Quentin Tarantino, and Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn, who won the Best Director at The Festival de Cannes for the film Drive and became a global hit. While director Walter Hill went on to make a name as screenwriter or producer of the Alien tetralogy in the industry, The Driver, featuring stunning performance by the Best Actress winner at The Festival de Cannes and French actress Isabelle Adjani, offers the best introduction to his cinematic talent.

　　

　　Still of the Tess

The classic by Thomas Hardy was filmitized multiple times. The adaptation by Roman Polanski starring Nastassja Kinski is undeniably the most widely known. The bold casting of young German actress Nastassja Kinski by Roman Polanski precisely highlights how Tess is a stranger living in a world she can never understand. Polanski’s adaptation not only retains the core of the original book, but also transcends it by means of oil painting-like cinematography, and immersive costumes and sets. The film won three Academy Awards as expected, including the Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. On the occasion of Polanski's 90th birthday this year, let’s revisit the appealing Tess restored in 4K.

　　

　　Still of the Rouge

The classic Rouge (1987) by director Stanley Kwan, one of the jury members of the 13th BJIFF Tiantan Award, starring Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung, will be screened again in Beijing in 4K restoration version. The restored version is presented by the Star China Media Limited from the original 35mm camera negative and optical sound tracks. The L’Immagine Ritrovata was commissioned to repair, clean and scan the negative in Hong Kong, and restore the film in 4K in Bologna, Italy. Stanley Kwan will attend the meet-and-greet of the screening. Stay tuned.

　　

　　Still of the Chocolate

The Chocolate (or “Chocolat” in French) (1988), debut feature film by Claire Denis, was directly nominated for the Competition section of The Festival de Cannes. The film is somewhat autobiographical, examining relationships of gender, age and colonial history in the form of a political allegory. Before the film, Claire Denis worked with Jim Jarmusch on the Down by Law, and partnered with Wim Wenders on the Paris, Texas, and Wings of Desire among other films. She acknowledged that her style was influenced by aforementioned works. The title “Chocolat” was a slang used in the 1950s, meaning “being black, or to be cheated”. The film fits the colonial history experienced by the colored in French Cameroon into private touching memory. The brand new 4K restoration version was supervised by Claire Denis, and completed by the Eclair Classics from the original camera negative. The precious version will have its Chinese mainland premiere in Beijing.

　　

　　Still of A City of Sadness

The Venice International Film Festival recently announced that Tony Leung Chiu-wai will receive the Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement. With over four decades of working experience, Tony Leung Chiu-wai starred in three Gold Lions winning films, including A City of Sadness (1989) directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien, the very first Chinese film to win the Golden Lions. The film responded to historical trauma. Together with subsequent The Puppetmaster (1993) and Good Men, Good Women (1995), they formed Hou’s trilogy on the history of Taiwan, China.

A City of Sadness needs no elaboration on its artistic value. Film fans have countless reasons to cherish it in their heart. On the occasion of the release of the new 4K digital version of the film, the Beijing Film Panorama is honored to premiere the invaluable film in Beijing, Chinese mainland. Fu-Sheng Chiu, producer of the film, Liao Ching-Sung, editing master nicknamed “Liao Sang” and widely known among movie-goers in Beijing, and Arthur Chu, major driving force for the digital version, and other senior filmmakers will attend the meet-and-greet in person.

　　

　　Still of The Blood

Shot in black and white, The Blood (1990), directorial debut of Portuguese artistic and literary director Pedro Costa, earned him overnight fame. The brand new 4K restoration version was completed from the film and sound tracks approved by himself. It became the most popular restored classic worldwide, and had screening tour at the Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival among other film festivals. As one of the Portuguese directors that started their filmmaking career in the 1980s, Pedro Costa did avant-garde experiment with story, characters, camera and music in the film. Adapted from the classic literature, the film blends political metaphors with family history, characterized by Pedro Costa’s distinctive personal style. The digital restoration version on DCP was made from the original 35mm camera negative, mono sound track and optical sound tracks archived in the Cinemateca Portuguesa. The Beijing Film Panorama will have its premiere of the brand new 4K restoration version in China.

　　

　　Still of the Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me

The 4K restoration version of the Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) was completed under the supervision by director David Lynch. As the prequel and sequel to his classic TV series Twin Peaks, the film focuses on the last week of 16-year-old Laura’s short life in high school. Widely known as an author-director, David Lynch seemed to have done a sizable experiment with the film, in which he tried to break conventional limits and establish one-of-his-kind narration. Back in 2017, the Beijing Film Panorama curated the Retrospective of David Lynch, and screened his seven feature films. The year 2022 marked the 30th anniversary of the release of the film. The 4K restoration version allows the audience in Beijing to enjoy his film again. 

　　

　　Before and After the Restoration of the Woman Sesame Oil Maker

The Woman Sesame Oil Maker (1993) directed by Xie Fei won the Golden Bear Award at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival. The film is one of the best examples of Chinese feminist films. It depicts the relationship between Xiang and Huanhuan with identical fate, and presents the tragic ending of two generations of women. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the release of the film. The 4K restoration version will be premiered in China, after which director Xie Fei will attend the meet-and-greet in person!

It’s known that the film was restored exclusively by the iQIYI-Xiamen University Film Restoration Lab. Over eight months, the iQIYI restoration team utilized its proprietary Zoom AI automatic restoration technology and manual efforts to restore approximately 150,000 frames and render the film in 4K resolution. Finally, the classic of 1993 was restored following the principle of “restoration as it is”. The brand new version will be presented in cinema again.

In addition to offline screening, the restored version will be exclusively streamed on the iQIYI at the same time. Those fond of old classics can also enjoy the Nurse’s Diary, My 1919, The East Is Red, Li Shuangshuang, Zhang Ga the Soldier Boy and many other classics restored exclusively by the iQIYI.

　　

　　Still of the Poetry