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The only other title not yet released by WCL from that studio that I'm familiar with is Zhang Yimou's Ju Dou. Are they're any other potentially exciting titles to look forward to? I really wish Yellow Earth was with that studio.

[Edit: I just realized I asked this same question awhile ago, and The Fanciful Norwegian gave thoughts on a few titles that eventually got released. Thanks for that!]

It's hard to guess where they might go with the Xi'an titles in the future. The ones they've released already (plus Old Well) are the studio's best-known films outside of Ju Dou, which they might not have access to since it was a co-production with another company (Japan's Tokuma Shoten). Zhou Xiaowen is the most renowned of the studio's directors not yet represented in the collection; his work there mostly hewed to genre models and Obsession (a.k.a. The Price of Frenzy) is a rape-revenge thriller that's still surprising in its frankness, though its sexual politics haven't weathered as well. Teng Wenji's At the Beach is a real one-of-a-kind movie that reads as one of those earnest "tradition vs. modernity" parables (a fishing village contends with a nearby factory complex) but proves much more weird and abstract than that synopsis would normally suggest.

Zhang Yuan's Mama is a daunting and unsentimental social-problem film about a mother's struggles to raise her mentally-disabled son, with documentary inserts that were, AFAIK, without precedent in Chinese film. It's a seminal work, but Xi'an may not have any rights to it at this point—it was actually an independent production that Zhang and Co. paid the studio to "legitimize" so it could be legally distributed in China, something that still occasionally goes on today (it still amuses me that Li Hongqi's Routine Holiday and Winter Vacation are billed as Inner Mongolia Film Studio presentations). I haven't seen them myself, but Zhang Zi'en did a couple of mainstream martial-arts films at Xi'an (The Magic Braid and Yellow River Fighter) that appear to have a small following among fans of the genre.

If they're willing to repeat any directors, Huang Jianxin did plenty of other interesting work for the studio, and I have a special fondness for Dislocation—the more overtly sci-fi sequel to The Black Cannon Incident—even if Tony Rayns speaks of it dismissively in his interview on its predecessor. A more likely choice for the label (given its reputation in China) would be Samsara, which subsumes Huang's comic sensibilities into Wang Shuo's more mordant variety but is kind of compelling in its nihilism. The Zhang Yimou-helmed Code Name: Cougar was, by Zhang's admission and everyone else's, a shameless cash-in; it's pretty dumb, but its politics (involving Beijing and Taipei teaming up to stop pro-Taiwan-independence terrorists) are perversely fascinating, and Zhang's name alone is a big selling point.

Code Name Cougar, while not worthless, was still pretty "not good".

I just wanted to add, I received the invoice for Swordsmen in Double Flag Town and the Wandering Earth and the total came to $161. Suffice to say, think I'm done picking these up unless a Zhang Yimou film does appear.

The Fanciful Norwegian wrote: Thu Nov 14, 2019 11:25 pmZhang Zi'en did a couple of mainstream martial-arts films at Xi'an (The Magic Braid and Yellow River Fighter) that appear to have a small following among fans of the genre.

This reminds me that at the end of the 1980s, Tony Rayns made a documentary for the BBC called New Chinese Cinema that's a great snapshot of the Xi'an studio in particular at a key moment for the international profile of Chinese film. The producers and directors talk quite explicitly about the genre films made at the studio essentially subsidizing the "art" films like Red Sorghum, and Zhang Zi'en gets a few opportunities to defend his martial arts films. (Although it spends the most time with familiar figures like Chen Kaige and Wu Tianming, the doc does feature a number of other directors who haven't had much international profile—or in some cases have barely worked at all—since that time.)

On that note: An extremely knowledgeable Chinese cinema aficionado who haunted a late, much lamented t*rrent site under the name ShaolinWolf often argued that the mainland wu xia of the 1980s and 1990s were superior to those made in HK at the same time. I'd be inclined to dismiss this as pure challops, except this guy (I assume it was a guy!) spent hours upon hours tracking down, restoring, subtitling, and sharing PRC action films in the hopes that people would come to agree. I still have too much catching up to do to weigh in forcefully, and I'm probably too sentimental about the Tsui Hark, etc. classics to come around anyway. But it's an interesting volley.

Maybe we should take this to a general Chinese cinema thread, if there is one....

Looking over the release list, I thought it was interesting that WCL is set to release Roman Holiday sometime this year. Wondering if this is a one off, or if there's a potential stateside release brewing.

The next Chinese catalog titles to be put out through this label will be Huang Jianxin's Back to Back, Face to Face (this was announced awhile ago, I just neglected to mention it here) and, rather surprisingly, Bu Wancang's 1931 silent Love and Duty, starring Ruan Lingyu and restored by L'Immagine Ritrovata and the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute.

Surprising indeed! Does that make it the first Chinese silent film to be released on Blu-ray, I wonder?

The Fanciful Norwegian wrote: Wed Aug 19, 2020 10:19 pmand, rather surprisingly, Bu Wancang's 1931 silent Love and Duty, starring Ruan Lingyu and restored by L'Immagine Ritrovata and the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute.

!!!!
Quite the surprise. It's been on my wishlist for a while now. I'll have to understand how to get these discs now.

Love and Duty isn't up yet at MediaPsychos, but it should be the best place to order.

A bit of mixed news here. The good news is that one of these restorations, Red Sorghum, has been released in Korea, meaning it's now possible to acquire it without paying hundreds of dollars on eBay or jumping through hoops to get it from Taobao. The bad news is it's only available in a $100 box with Raise the Red Lantern, The Story of Qiu Ju, and To Live, and while that may not sound all that bad, Red Sorghum is the only one in the set with English subs, presumably because it's the only one that's previously been released on Blu with them. At least we finally have a foreign distributor licensing one of these restorations.

The Fanciful Norwegian wrote: Wed Aug 19, 2020 10:19 pmBu Wancang's 1931 silent Love and Duty, starring Ruan Lingyu and restored by L'Immagine Ritrovata and the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute.

Has there been any update on this?

It's definitely coming, and quite loaded with extras. But probably not until the end of year. Next year promises some more exciting new releases, including a 4k Blu-ray of an 80s Chinese film.

Love and Duty about to be released.

Specs

Disc 1:
- 2K restoration from the only surviving 35mm copy, done by L'Immagine Ritrovata
- Brand new score by Maud Nelissen, commissioned by Disk Kino exclusively for this release

Disc 2:
- Brand new video essay on Love and Duty (in Mandarin, no subtitles)
- Tony Rayns on Love and Duty (in English, with Chinese subtitles)
- The Rediscovery of a Lost Film: Restoring Love and Duty (in Mandarin, with Chinese and English subtitles)
- Interview with Stanly Kwan, the director of Center Stage (in Mandarin, with Chinese and English subtitles)
- Scoring Love and Duty (in English, with Chinese subtitles)
- Before and after the Restoration

They are going all out on this one apparently.

MP Group Buy for Love and Duty.

so may be a silly question but...am I totally missing a price on here? anyone who's done it before have a ballpark figure as to what they normally cost?

My first time on one of these (and it doesn't help that all their group buy rules are currently being "updated") but I asked one of the members running the buy and was quoted in a message "550cny + shipping." There's a $50(US) deposit due upfront.

Yeah, it might end up costing close to $100, which is better than $200-$300 on eBay. Also, "upfront" doesn't mean immediately. I don't believe you actually pay anything until the Group Buy is closed.

Those of you who are interested in Ruan Lingyu (star of Love and Duty) will be aware of The Peach Girl (1931), which has appeared on DVD in several editions, one of which has a score by Donald Sosin. That DVD was part of a package that included an accompanying book by Richard Meyer (like The Goddess). The package was published by Hong Kong University Press and distributed by the San Francisco Silent Film Society. Needless to say, it's no longer available.

However if one looks for the accompanying book, entitled Jin Yan: The Rudolph Valentino of Shanghai, used copies can be found on Abebooks. In other words, search there for the book title rather than the film title. Check with the seller that the copy available still comes with the DVD (book and DVD were originally housed together in a slip case). I just managed to get hold of a copy that way and thought that others might like to do the same.

brundlefly wrote: Tue Feb 22, 2022 3:08 am MP Group Buy for Love and Duty.

Mine arrived today! It comes with a really fancy golden foil cardboard plate thingy

Did you get a shipping notice? I didn't get anything after the invoice.

No but I keep getting emails about accessing special forum powers or something

I think that really fancy golden foil cardboard plate thingy was a $10 extra that was surreptitiously added to the order (as Exclusive Bonus Card done by MP). It is purty though.

Those psychos!

Disk Kino is going to release three classic films from Shanghai Film Studio, Two Stage Sisters (1964), My Memories of Old Beijing (1983) and Hibiscus Town (1987). The two Xie Jin films are 4K restored and Hibiscus Town is confirmed as a UHD release.