Some pictures of the Criterion Collection 4K blu-ray set and its contents for Chen Kaige’s Farewell My Concubine (霸王别姬 / 1993), starring the late Leslie Cheung, Zhang Fengyi and Gong Li. The film was the first Chinese movie to ever win the Palme d’Or at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival, as well as Golden Globe and BAFTA awards.

Truth be told, I remember very little about the film, other than the fact that the cinematography is fantastic. A quick check on my Letterboxd ( I am now so grateful for documenting all the films I ever watched since the early 2000s ) revealed that the first & last time I saw the movie was way back in 2005, a full 2 decades ago.

It is not an easy movie to watch, especially the first act which portrays the excruciatingly painful training required for Chinese opera performers. But the film weaves such a realistic, and dare I say fascinating picture of China’s most tumultuous era ( The Cultural Revolution ) that it fully grips my attention once I started, and together with the aforementioned exuberance of its photography, makes for some truly spectacular cinema.

This 2 disc Criterion releases includes a 4K UHD presentation as well as a regular SD blu-ray, with supplementary materials found on the latter. I’ll talk a little more about the picture quality further below.

Film synopsis – A breathtakingly intimate romance unfolds against a sweeping backdrop of social upheaval in renowned director Chen Kaige’s sumptuous saga of passion, fate, and the transcendent possibilities of art. Spanning fifty years of twentieth-century Chinese history, Farewell My Concubine follows aspiring actors Cheng Dieyi (a heartbreaking Leslie Cheung) and Duan Xiaolou (Zhang Fengyi) as they emerge from a childhood of brutal training to become Beijing-opera stars, with life mirroring art as Dieyi’s unrequited love for Xiaolou and the country’s changing political tides engulf them in their own personal tragedies of jealousy and betrayal. The first Chinese film to win the Palme d’Or is epic filmmaking of the highest order—visually and emotionally ravishing from frame to exquisite frame.

4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

– New 4K digital restoration of the original director’s cut, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
– One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
– New conversation between Chinese cultural studies scholar Michael Berry and film producer Janet Yang
– Documentary from 2003 on the making of the film
– Interview from 1993 with director Chen Kaige conducted by journalist Charlie Rose
– Trailer
– New English subtitle translation
– PLUS: An essay by author and scholar Pauline Chen

I always give this small little disclaimer before I talk about the image/video quality of the 4K UHD presenation; I’m not a professional movie reviewer and so my take is purely for reference only and based on my own industry experience as a working visual effects artist. Shot on 35mm Eastman Kodak film, the look of the movie is decidedly for lack of a better word, ‘filmic’, with the ever present grain in the picture that is to me a very sharp jolt from most of the squeaky clean, almost cream like texture of productions we seen on streaming services these days.

The new 4K restoration is excellent and imho the very best way to enjoy this film short of a print presentation at a theater. For the making of features, both the included 2003 documentary as well as the conversation between Michael Berry and film producer Janet Yang gave me new insights into both the film as well as the film industry during the 90s. I tried watching the interview with the director and Charlie Rose but I personally did not enjoy the methods of the interviewer and so could not finish.

The biggest strength of this new release by Criterion is certainly the very handsome 4K version of the film, and the making of extras are really just icing on the cake. Recommended.

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