After 40 years, what is the significance of the re-release of Jet Li’s famous work Shaolin Temple?
Special feature of 1905 film network After a lapse of 40 years, the 4K restored version was re-released in Japan on April 15th. As soon as the news came out, it immediately attracted a hot discussion on the Internet. As a famous work of China Kung Fu superstar, the 82nd edition of Shaolin Temple is a collective memory of a generation. When "Shaolin Shaolin" in the lyrics of the theme song sounded, the classic pictures in the movie began to flash in front of people.
On March 16, 2022, the 4K restored version of the trilogy was re-released in France, which also attracted many people’s attention. Earlier, classic domestic old films were also shown in Southeast Asia, North America and other overseas regions. This can’t help but make people ask, what is the significance of these films being shown overseas? What are the intersections between them?
Business and emotional value coexist.
"I’m so looking forward to it." After learning the news of the re-release of Shaolin Temple, a Japanese netizen commented, "Jet Li’s martial arts actions have a dance-like aesthetic feeling. I want to engrave the’ dance’ that became clearer after 4K repair in my heart. " On January 21st and February 1st, 1982, "Shaolin Temple" was released in China, Hongkong and China, respectively, which set off a nationwide movie-watching frenzy. In the same year, when the film was released in Japan, it also caused a sensation. At that time, it set a box office score of 4 billion yen.
This time, the film will be shown in Japan, which is bound to have certain commercial value considerations. "If it is to be issued overseas, I think it still has certain commercial value, and there must be capital behind it." An industry insider with many years of experience in restoring old movies said so. At present, the restoration of old movies is divided into two ways: manual and AI. In the process of repair, the higher the proportion of labor, the higher the repair cost. For the film side, repairing the master tape has invested a certain cost, and it is bound to have certain expectations for the box office. As for the final box office of the film, it depends on the specific schedule environment and other factors. According to statistics, as of April 7, 2022, the Korean box office of "The True Color of Heroes" and the French box office of Infernal Affairs 1 were 74,000 US dollars and 621,000 US dollars respectively.
"Because there is 4K to fix this thing, it has an excellent opportunity and new value for re-release, just like it was re-released 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 of great significance for the re-release of Shaolin Temple in 2022. The generation of viewers 40 years ago has grown old. For young viewers, the re-release of the restored version is actually equivalent to the premiere. "
In addition to commercial value, the film provides many viewers with the sentimental value of revisiting the classics. For the vast majority of overseas domestic films, besides box office revenue, the latter is more important. As the saying goes, "Classics will not fade with time, but will become more and more precious". "The cost of doing this is very high. 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, believes that such re-released films need more market attention. Previously, the color version of founding ceremony, which the company participated in the restoration, was shown in the mainland in 2021.
In addition to cinema screening, many old films will be shown overseas by participating in international film festivals. In 2019 and 2020, the director’s "horse thief" and the director’s 4K restored version were shown in the classic unit of 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 China Film Archive, the film "horse thief" shown in Cannes is a 4K48 frame version. In the restoration of "horse thief", China Film Archive adopted high frame rate production technology, which achieved more detailed image performance and more realistic visual effects.
Replay keywords overseas
In recent years, the number of overseas reruns of domestic films has been increasing. 4K repair version, high reputation, geography, etc., have become the key words for this kind of film. Whether it is Shaolin Temple, Infernal Affairs trilogy, Farewell My Concubine and other overseas replayed domestic films, the title of the film is usually followed by the word "4K restored version". This is one of their important group characteristics.
On the mainstream scoring platforms such as Douban, high reputation has become another remarkable feature of such works. Among them, there are many high-profile movies with Douban score above 9. The number of people scoring these film platforms ranges from 100,000 to more than 3 million, and the content quality has been tested by the public. Art has no borders, and film, as one of its branches, is the same. The universal values and the brilliant display of human nature in excellent big-screen works often convey warmth and delicate feelings that transcend the gap between language and culture.
In terms of genre, this kind of films are mainly action films, police films and literary films. Among them, many films have obvious oriental characteristics. In terms of gangster films, most of them are China and Hongkong films. In the first episode of the classic Korean drama "Please Answer 1988", five protagonists gathered in Azeri’s room to watch the Hong Kong film "The True Color of Heroes". According to public information, this film was shown in Korea for many times on May 23rd, 1987 and August 8th, 2008, and even made into a film.
In the overseas replays of domestic old films, most of them are in Southeast Asia. Based on the geographical cultural exchange, this kind of old films have a high awareness in this area. "Shaolin Temple is definitely a classic in action-type films; The biggest international market for films with the theme of the Three Kingdoms is Japan. " Luo San said that based on the cultural influence of geographical location, such films are more popular and recognizable in Southeast Asia. Kung Fu movies, especially those starring Jet Li and others. In addition, based on the higher awareness of these areas, it can also save a lot of money on the cost of film publicity. The film can put more energy and money into a higher standard of repair quality.
It is worth mentioning that many domestic audiences have inquired about the release time of the restored version in mainland China when they heard the news of the overseas re-release of Shaolin Temple. Many young viewers are looking forward to watching this film on the big screen in China. No matter whether the new and old films "go out to sea", they all shoulder the heavy responsibility of Chinese excellent culture and reflect the rapid development of China society. In the future, overseas audiences will meet more excellent film and television dramas made in China.