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Film restoration is an essential part of the Hong Kong Film Archive (HKFA)'s work. Two of the archive's newly restored films, Patrick Tam's "Love Massacre" and Chor Yuen's "Cold Blade" will be screened in "Restored Treasures" from April 1 to 9 at the Cinema of Film Archive.
Starring Brigitte Lin and Charlie Chin, the stylised thriller "Love Massacre" (1981) is considered one of the best works of New Wave director Patrick Tam. He is perhaps the most formalistic director of Hong Kong cinema. His latest film "After this, Our Exile" (2006) won the Best Feature Film prize in the 43rd Golden Horse Awards as well as the Best Artistic Contribution and the Best Asian Film awards in the 19th Tokyo International Film Festival.
Of the several different versions of "Love Massacre" existing today, none is considered as good as the one originally shown in Hong Kong. The Conservation Unit of the HKFA is able to use a print with a Mandarin soundtrack and another source in Cantonese came up with a print much closer to the form as it was first shown.
Chor Yuen is a director of many talents. In a long and eventful career that stretched from the 1950s to the 1990s, he excelled in many different genres, such as social realist drama, erotic mysteries, and also martial arts films in the form of romantic swordplay movies. Many of them were adapted from the best-selling novels by Gu Long. His rarely seen swordplay film "Cold Blade" (1970) will be screened this time.
HKFA discovered a copy of "Cold Blade" a few years ago, but a segment of the print was without sound. Another print with a complete soundtrack was later found in France. Though the lengths of the two prints do not match, the Conservation Unit of the Archive was able to restore the film to a condition much closer to that of the original.
Ms Marie-Claire Quiquemelle, the print owner from France, and Edward Tse, head of the HKFA's Conservation Unit, will appear after the screenings to share their experience in safeguarding and restoring films. The talk will be conducted in Cantonese, Mandarin and English.
"Love Massacre" is in Cantonese and "Cold Blade" in Mandarin. Both have Chinese and English subtitles.
Tickets priced at $30 are available at all URBTIX outlets. Half-price tickets are available for senior citizens, people with disabilities, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients. There will a 10% discount for Friends of LCSD venues. Reservations can be made by phone on 2734 9009, credit card telephone booking on 2111 5999 or on the internet at www.urbtix.hk.
Detailed programme information is available in the "ProFolio 36" distributed at all performance venues of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department or call 2734 2900, 2739 2139 or browse the websites: www.lcsd.gov.hk/fp.
Ends/Friday, March 2, 2007
Issued at HKT 16:08
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