After 40 years of 1905 film network special article, the 4K restored version of "Shaolin Temple" was re-released in Japan on April 15. As soon as the news came out, it immediately attracted heated discussion on the Internet. As the famous work of Chinese kung fu superstar Jet Li, the 82nd edition of "Shaolin Temple" is the collective memory of a generation. When the "Shaolin Shaolin" in the lyrics of the theme song sounded, the classic picture in the movie began to flash in front of people's eyes.
On March 16, 2022, the 4K restored version of the "Infernal Affairs" trilogy was re-released in France, which also attracted the attention of many people. Earlier, classic domestic films such as "Farewell to the King", "The True Colors of Heroes", and "Horse Thieves" have also been re-screened in Southeast Asia, North America and other overseas regions. This also makes people wonder, what is the significance of the overseas re-screening of these films? What are the intersections between them?
Business and sentimental value coexist
"So much looking forward to it." After learning the news of the re-screening of "Shaolin Temple", a Japanese netizen commented, "Jet Li's martial arts movements have a dance-like beauty." I want to engrave in my heart the 'dance' that becomes clearer after the 4K restoration. On January 21 and February 1, 1982, "Shaolin Temple" was released in Hong Kong and Chinese mainland, China, setting off a nationwide movie-watching frenzy. In the same year, when the film was released in Japan, it also caused a sensation, and it had a box office record of 4 billion yen at that time.
This time, the film is re-released in Japan, which must have certain commercial value considerations. "If it is to be issued overseas, I think it still has a certain commercial value, and there must be capital behind it." An industry insider with many years of experience in the restoration of old movies said so. At present, the restoration of old movies is divided into two ways: artificial and AI. In the repair process, the higher the proportion of labor, the higher the repair cost. For the filmmakers, the repair of the master belt has invested a certain cost, and there must be certain expectations for the box office. As for the final box office of the film, it also depends on the specific schedule environment and other factors. According to statistics, as of April 7, 2022, the Korean box office of "The True Colors of Heroes" and the French box office of "Infernal Affairs 1" were 74,000 US dollars and 621,000 US dollars, respectively.
French poster of infernal affairs 4K restoration
"Because of the 4K fix, it has a great opportunity to re-release and a new value, just like the re-release of "The Pianist at Sea" in China more than two years ago." Luo San, executive deputy general manager of 1905 Film Industry, said frankly. In addition, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the release is also the significance of the re-release of "Shaolin Temple" in 2022. The generation of viewers 40 years ago is old, and for younger audiences, a restored re-release is actually the equivalent of a premiere. ”
In addition to its commercial value, the film also provides many viewers with the emotional value of reliving the classics. For the vast majority of domestic films re-screened overseas, in addition to box office revenue, the more important role is the latter. As the saying goes, "classics don't fade with time, but become more precious." "It's very expensive to do this, and if you don't pay attention to it, it will be difficult to do it later." Xiao Feng, who has participated in the restoration of old films such as "Yellow Land", believes that such re-screening films need more market attention. Previously, the color version of the "Founding Ceremony" that the company participated in the restoration was re-screened in the mainland in 2021.
In addition to theatrical screenings, many old films will also be re-screened overseas by participating in international film festival screenings. In 2019 and 2020, the "Horse Thief" directed by Tian Zhuangzhuang and the 4K restored version of "Fancy Years" directed by Wong Kar-wai were successively screened in the classic section of the Cannes International Film Festival. There are not a few old domestic films released overseas in this way.
According to Zuo Heng, deputy director of the Film Culture Research Office of the China Film Archive, the "Horse Thief" screened in Cannes is a 4K48 frame version. In the restoration of "Horse Thieves", the China Film Archive adopted high frame rate production technology to achieve more detailed image details and more realistic visual effects.
Overseas re-screening keywords
In recent years, the number of overseas re-screenings of domestic films has been increasing. 4K restored versions, high reputation, geopolitics, etc., have become the keywords of such films. Whether it is "Shaolin Temple", or the "Infernal Affairs" trilogy, or other overseas re-screening domestic films such as "Overlord Farewell", the title of the film is generally followed by the six words of "4K restored version". This is one of their important group portrait traits.
On mainstream film scoring platforms such as Douban, high word-of-mouth has become another significant feature of such works. Among them, there are many high-reputation movies with more than 9 points on Douban. The number of people scored by these film platforms ranges from as few as 100,000 to more than 3 million, and the quality of the content has been tested by the public. Art knows no borders, and cinema as one of its branches is no different. The universal values and the glorious display of human nature in excellent big-screen works often transcend the gap between language and culture.
In terms of genre, such films are mainly action movies, police films, and literary films. Among them, the oriental characteristic elements in many films are obvious. In terms of police films, most of them are mainly Films from Hong Kong, China. In the first episode of the classic Korean drama "Please Answer 1988", the five protagonists gathered in Aze's room to watch the Hong Kong film "The True Colors of Heroes" starring Zhang Guorong and Chow Yun-fat. According to public information, the film was re-screened in South Korea many times on May 23, 1987, August 8, 2008 and other time nodes, and was even remade into the film "The Bookless".
In the overseas re-screening of domestic old movies, most of them are mainly in Southeast Asia. Based on the geographical cultural exchange, such old films have a high degree of recognition in this area. "'Shaolin Temple' is definitely a classic in the action genre; the biggest market for three kingdoms films is Japan." Luo San said that based on the cultural influence of geographical location, such films are more popular and recognizable in Southeast Asia. In terms of kung fu movies, films starring Jackie Chan, Jet Li, And Donnie Yen are even more so. In addition, based on the high awareness of these regions, it can also save a lot of money in the cost of film promotion. The filmmakers were able to devote more energy and money to a higher standard of repair quality.
It is worth mentioning that many domestic audiences have inquired about the mainland release time of the restored version when they heard the news of the overseas re-release of "Shaolin Temple". Many young audiences are very much looking forward to watching this film on the big screen in China. Whether the new or old film "goes to sea", it shoulders the heavy responsibility of China's excellent culture and reflects the rapid development of Chinese society. In the future, overseas audiences will also encounter more excellent film and television drama works made in China.