In 2014, the Shanghai International Film Festival created the "4K Restoration" unit for the first time. In line with the concept of showing the highest technology and latest achievements in film restoration in the world, "4K Restoration" has introduced batches of film restoration products to Chinese audiences over the years. It has not only become one of the most popular units of the Shanghai International Film Festival, but also It has received professional praise from the academic circles of film protection and restoration. This year's "4K Restoration" unit is equally exciting, with a gathering of masters and superstars. We have already announced the first batch of film lists for the "4K Restoration Unit", and today we announce the second and last batch of film lists, including:
The masterpiece "Shoeshine" by Italian neo-realist master De Sica; "Early Spring and February" by Sun Daolin, Xie Fang and Shangguan Yunzhu; the mysterious fantasy film "Monster Man" by Indian "parallel film movement" master Aravindan ; Japanese film master Imamura Shohei's "The Desire of the Gods"; Italian film master Bertolucci's epic biopic "The Last Emperor"; American film master Jarmusch's "Ghost Dog Killer"; The Justice"; special screening of the 4K digital version of "City of Sadness" by Chinese film master Hou Hsiao-hsien.
What to watch: One of the four classics of Italian neo-realism film
This masterpiece of Italian neo-realism directed by the film master De Sica truly depicts the miserable lives of ordinary people in post-war Italy through the experience of the two young protagonists doing black market fraud and being sent to a reformatory. The film cleverly reveals the transformation of the relationship between the two through the language of the lens, which shows De Sica's superior director skills. The film did not cause much response after it was released in Italy, but it won a reputation overseas and was nominated for the Best Original Screenplay Award and a Special Honor Award at the 1948 Academy Awards. In 2022, the film will be listed as a restoration project of the Martin Scorsese Film Foundation, and a new 4K restoration will be carried out by the Bologna Film Restoration Institute in Italy. The restored copy will be selected for the "Cannes Classics" section of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.
What to watch: Sun Daolin's wonderful rivalry with Xie Fang and Shangguan Yunzhu
Adapted from Rou Shi's novel "February", it tells the story of Xiao Jianqiu, a young intellectual who came to Furong Town to teach in 1926, and was awakened by personal encounters and devoted himself to the revolution. The film was written and directed by Xie Tieli, and Xia Yan made key revisions to the script. Sun Daolin plays the elegant Xiao Jianqiu, while Xie Fang and Shangguan Yunzhu play Tao Lan, who pursues progress, and Wen Sao, who is miserable and tragic. The film won the 1995 China Film Century Award Top Ten Film Award and Top Ten Director Award. In 2023, the Shanghai International Film Festival commissioned the China Film Archive to carry out a new 4K digital restoration of the film. This film is also the 16th film that has been jointly restored since the Shanghai International Film Festival and the well-known Swiss watch brand Jaeger-LeCoultre cooperated in the "Classic Film Copy Restoration Project".
What to watch: Fantasy films with mysterious orientalism
Govindan Aravindan is a heterogeneous master in India's "parallel film movement". As a cartoonist, he broke into the film industry with an unconventional attitude. "Monster Man" is one of his masterpieces. The village turns children into animals and back to humans, but leaves out the story of a child who didn't turn back into a human. The film uses strong colors to render the traditional folk customs of rural India, and presents a childlike fantasy story in an atmosphere of oriental mysticism. Although the original negatives of Aravindan's works have been lost, the Martin Scorsese Film Foundation "World Cinema Project" decided to join hands with the Bologna Film Restoration Institute to digitally rescue the existing copies of the film. Monster Man" will have its world premiere at the Lost Film Festival in Bologna, Italy in July 2021.
What to watch: Ryuichi Sakamoto's Oscar-winning classic
Adapted from Puyi's autobiography "My First Half of Life", Italian film master Bertolucci combined Puyi's personal fate with major events in modern Chinese history to complete a magnificent oriental epic. Zun Long, Chen Chong, Peter O'Toole, Ying Ruocheng and other new stars and veterans in the Chinese and foreign film circles co-starred together. The unforgettable red and yellow main colors of photographer Storaro and the in-depth real-life shooting of the Forbidden City all made this film It has become a legend in front of and behind the scenes, and has achieved great results in all 9 nominations including the Academy Award for Best Picture, including the Best Original Music Award jointly won by Sakamoto Ryuichi, David Byrne and Su Cong. In 2013, the film was re-screened in 3D after restoration, and the 3D version was screened at the Shanghai International Film Festival in 2015. This screening is the original 2D digital version of the latest 4K scan restoration in 2022.
Highlights: One of the top 100 Japanese film history
Japanese film master Imamura Shohei’s masterpiece, which has been conceived for six years, tells the story of a series of conflicts caused by residents of a small island in southern Japan who sent people to explore water sources in a sugar factory. The film, like Imamura Shohei's other works in the 1960s, is an allegory that starts from the contradiction between farming society and modernization, and deeply examines the Japanese national character. The film is Shohei Imamura's first color film, so the use of color is similar to that of a stage play. Due to problems during the production process, such as poor location shooting conditions, the film actually took a year and a half to complete. Although it won the Best Film Award and the Best Director Award of the "Film Xun Bao" of the year, it failed disastrously at the box office. The bankruptcy of Nikkatsu also resulted in Shohei Imamura having no films to shoot for the next ten years. In 2022, Nikkatsu performed a 4K scan and restoration of the film, and the restored copy was selected into the Classic Restoration Unit of the Venice Film Festival in the same year.
What to watch: This killer is not simple
American film master Jim Jarmusch made a tailor-made work for the movie star Forest Whitaker. It tells the story of the killer "Ghost Dog" who is loyal to the gangster Louis for saving his life, but executes an assassination. Stories that put themselves in danger after a mission. This film combines gangster movies and killer movies, and also adds oriental elements such as Japanese bushido, tribute to "Rashomon" and "Brand of Killer", combined with the soundtrack created by the famous American hip-hop god RZA and the throughout. TV animation, the mashup of subcultures to the end. Academy Award-winning actor Whittaker, who spent months researching Japanese culture before the show, managed to create a complex character who is ruthless in his killing and human in his life. It was shortlisted for the main competition unit of the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the César Awards.
Highlights: Rey's rare stream-of-consciousness technique
The first part of the "Kolkata Trilogy" by Indian film master Satyajit Ray tells the story of the actor Siddhartha who dropped out of school due to his father's death. He wants to find a suitable job in Kolkata, but he is at a loss. . Rey used a different stream-of-consciousness editing technique in this critical realism film to deal with the protagonist's unstable psychological state tortured by society, and won three awards including the Best Director Award at the Indian National Film Awards. 2022 is the 75th anniversary of India's independence, and the Cannes Film Festival is also in its 75th year. The newly restored "Justice" was selected into the Cannes Classics section. Restoration experts from the National Film Archive of India scanned and restored the original 35mm film negative provided by the film producer in 4K. " and other blockbusters, the photographer Sudeep Chatterjee guided the color grading of the film.
Highlights: Must-see masterpieces of historical reflection for Chinese
The most epic masterpiece of the Chinese film master Hou Hsiao-hsien, set around the "February 28 Incident" in 1947 as the background, tells the ups and downs experienced by the Lin Alu family in the great era. Hou Hsiao-hsien's stylized long shots appear from the perspective of historical witnesses in the film, which not only has the courage to reflect on historical trauma, but also embodies the tradition of Chinese intellectuals' compassion. Won the Golden Lion Award, Golden Horse Award for Best Director and Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival. In February 2023, after 4K scanning and grading, "City of Sadness" was re-screened in Taiwan, China in the form of a 4K digital version, and then screened at the Hong Kong International Film Festival and Beijing International Film Festival. Although the film has not been restored in 4K before, 4K digitization is also a way of film protection, so this Shanghai International Film Festival made an exception to include the 4K digital version of "City of Sadness" in this unit.
Welcome to continue to pay attention to us, and grasp the blockbuster list of the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival in 2023 as soon as possible. Ticket sales for this year's film festival will begin at 12:00 noon on June 2 on the Tao Piao Piao platform.
Note: In case of any changes in the film list, please refer to the actual schedule.
