"King of Comedy" Stephen Chow's old classic "A Chinese Odyssey" will be re-released in Chinese theaters on Thursday night with previously unreleased materials.
The 1994 fantasy film is actually the second part of Jeffery Lau's cult classic franchise which is loosely based on Chinese ancient classic "Journey to the West." There are more than 11 minutes of new materials added to the original "A Chinese Odyssey Part Two - Cinderella" this time.
Western Movie Group, which owns the copyright, said there is about 10 hours of unused footage from the film's shooting in the 1990s, which was discovered in a warehouse. After internal discussion, the film company decided to re-edit the film and make it into an extended version.
A spokesman for the film company said it will provide new angles and new characters for a new generation while paying tribute to the original and pleasing nostalgic fans. Besides adding unreleased footages, the company also had technicians delicately restore and enhance the full movie's 150,000 frames in high-definition 2K resolution in 105 days.
However, neither Lau nor Chow, as well as other actors will participate in the re-release project. The original "A Chinese Odyssey" failed at Chinese box offices in 1994-1995 and Chow’s own collaborating film company then went bankrupt. Now Western Movie Group (formerly Xi'an Film Studios) holds the sole copyright in mainland.
This is not the first time "A Chinese Odyssey" has been re-released. In 2014, the two parts of the film were released for their 20th anniversary. The two parts grossed 25 million yuan in the Chinese market in a 10-day limited run.
The two parts of "A Chinese Odyssey," directed by Lau and starring Chow, Ng Man Tat, Karen Mok and Athena Chu, cost 60 million HKD to make. It didn't perform well at box offices in 1994-1995, earning only 45 million HKD in Hong Kong and 20 million yuan on the Chinese mainland.
But they later found a new life, ironically on TV, VHS, VCD and mostly in pirated copies and illegal online downloads after 1996. The films are now regarded as a timeless classic since a new generation of young people has found resonance with the movie's characters and its story of lost love. Many lines from the movie became catchy phrases on the internet later in the 2000s, defining a new generations' vocabulary.
A particular monologue from the film about regret for love has become a golden line recited by fans and university students millions of times again and again.
"There was a sincere love before me, but I didn't treasure her. When I lost her, I fell regretful. It is the most painful matter in this world. If God could give me one more chance, I will say three words to her - I love you. If you have to give a time limit to ensure this love, I hope it should be 10,000 years."
Chow and Lau went on to make their own "A Chinese Odyssey" style films after "A Chinese Odyssey."
Chow directed "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons," starring Hsu Chi, Huang Bo and Wen Zhang in 2013. The movie grossed 1.244 billion yuan (US$203.5 million) on the Chinese mainland alone and ranks as one of the highest grossing Chinese films ever. Chow then wrote and produced the second installment "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back," directed by wuxia legend Tsui Hark, and the sequel grossed 1.66 billion yuan (US$240.9 million) during 2017 Spring Festival.
Chow's films somewhat continued his tragicomic style and kept the tune of the ever-familiar classic "Love in a Life Time" by Lowell Lo, who composed the song and scores for "A Chinese Odyssey."
Lau also directed "A Chinese Odyssey: Part III" and released it in 2016. The film was badly reviewed but grossed 366 million yuan (US$53.12 million) in the Chinese market. The original leading actors Chow and Chu didn't reprise their roles. Lau recruited new actors Han Geng and Tang Yan to replace them. Actress Karen Mok is the only one from the old cast that returned to the franchise.
As of yet, Chow is not willing to act in new films and prefers directing, the re-release of "A Chinese Odyssey" is a chance for fans to see him on big screen again, while Western Movie Group said it is the last time for them to re-release the film in theaters.
Source: china.org by zhang rui
