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Shot in 1948, SPRING IN A SMALL TOWN has endured a difficult history after being heavily censored by the Chinese government. Fortunately, the favorable tide of opinion from critics and those lucky enough to have seen the film has swept SPRING IN A SMALL TOWN into release once more, and the tale of a woman caught up in myriad relationships is presented here in an uncut version.

You might check out this page for more info from Zhang Yingjin, or, better yet, this book.

ltfontaine wrote:For a delirious split second, opening Steven's post and seeing Crossroads, I momentarily forgot the thread title and mistook this for the Kinugasa film by that title; but then, does a copy of the Japanese film even survive?

ltfontaine wrote:For a delirious split second, opening Steven's post and seeing Crossroads, I momentarily forgot the thread title and mistook this for the Kinugasa film by that title; but then, does a copy of the Japanese film even survive?

leo goldsmith wrote:True enough, but if they're charging $20-25 for each DVD (not the right price as far as I'm concerned), these things ought not to look like shit.

A filmed version of one of the great Chinese folklore tales - on par with "Gone with the Wind" - this rare silent film is presented for the first time ever on any home video format and restored from the only known existing 35mm print.

Initial reports of Cinema Epoch film transfers, Big Road & Queen of Sports, Crossroads & Daybreak, Song at Midnight, Springtime in a Small Town and Street Angel/Twin Sisters are very sub-standard

Initial reports of Cinema Epoch film transfers, Big Road & Queen of Sports, Crossroads & Daybreak, Song at Midnight, Springtime in a Small Town and Street Angel/Twin Sisters are very sub-standard

I hope that this helps out with decisions any of you might be making.

There would appear to have been no real restoration done on the film, which is presented here in a quite poor quality print. There are numerous tiny scratches as well as quite a few larger marks, blots and damage throughout, including missing frames replaced by black inserts. Although there is a surprising amount of detail available in interior shots, contrast isn't good, and exteriors show that the brightness has been boosted to such an extent that it washes out any whites, and particularly skies and faces. The image is inevitably very soft, almost blurred in places, and certainly doesn't look well when projected onto a large screen. It might still have been acceptable in this state, since it is largely intact and the only means of viewing an important piece of Chinese cinema history, however, the problems with the print are only compounded by issues with the transfer, which does appear to be poorly authored. Interlaced, the already soft image bobs and blurs further to become almost unwatchable on a progressive display. Pixilation is also barely contained during normal playback, and is clearly evident on scene transitions. In reality, this looks about as good as the average VCD transfer and if you are content enough with that, the unrestored Spring In A Small Town is still watchable. If you have any higher expectations than that – and considering the importance of the film, you have every right to expect more - you are likely to be severely disappointed by what is presented here.