Premiering 30 years ago this year, Chen Kaige’s enchanting, Palme d’Or-winning, and Oscar-nominated drama Farewell My Concubine is finally returning in its original cut, stunningly restored in 4K. Starring Leslie Cheung, Fengyi Zhang, and Gong Li, the drama was cut by 20 minutes after Harvey Scissorhands had his way with it. Now restored to its original glory and set for a September 22 release beginning at Film Forum from Film Movement Classics, the new trailer has arrived.
Here’s the synopsis: “In Chen Kaige’s adaptation of the Lilian Lee novel, Cheng Dieyi (Leslie Cheung) and Duan Xiaolou (Zhang Fengyi) grow up enduring the harsh training of the Peking Opera Academy, where instructors regularly beat the students to instill in them the discipline needed to master the complex physical and vocal techniques of this ancient art. As the two boys mature, they develop complementary talents: Dieyi, with his fine, delicate features, assumes the female roles while Xiaolou plays masculine warlords. Their dramatic identities become real for Dieyi when he falls in love with Xiaolou, who fails to fully reciprocate Dieyi’s affections and marries a courtesan, Juxian (Gong Li), creating a dangerous, jealousy-filled romantic triangle. Spanning 50 years from the early 20th century to the tumultuous Cultural Revolution, Kaige’s passionate, exquisitely shot film captures the vast historical scope of a changing country (and the mesmerizing pageantry of the opera) while also revealing the intimate and touching details of a unique, tender, heartrending love story.”
“Farewell My Concubine is truly one of the most influential films of the 20th Century,” says Michael Rosenberg, President of Film Movement. “We are pleased to bring one of the landmark achievements of China’s Fifth Generation filmmaking movement to the big screen in this this incredible 4K restoration which not only brings the lavish sets and costumes to rich life as never before, but also restores Kaige’s original, unedited vision for his film.”
Also starring Lu Qi, Ying Da, Ge You, Lei Han, and Tong Di, see the trailer and poster below.
Farewell My Concubine opens on September 22 at Film Forum and will expand.