2014 marks the fourth consecutive year of celebrated Swiss watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre’s partnership with the Shanghai International Film Festival to restore Chinese cinema classics and promote the development of the film industry. This year, the two have applied their joint efforts towards restoring their first colour film, Wu Tai Jie Mei (Two Stage Sisters), using the latest 4K restoration technology. When the curtains rise at the start of the 17th annual Shanghai International Film Festival, the opening feature film will be the fully restored Wu Tai Jie Mei. This occasion also marks the world premiere of the 4K-restored Wu Tai Jie Mei. The leading actors from the film, including Xie Fang and Cao Yindi, will be in attendance at the inaugural screening.
Wu Tai Jie Mei was directed by renowned filmmaker Xie Jin. Its cast of stars includes Xie Fang, Cao Yindi and Shangguan Yunzhu. This colour film, which caused quite a stir when it was first shown to the public in 1965, has since been recognised as one of director Xie Jin’s masterpieces. Employing a range of visual styles, the film’s melding of traditional opera and cinematic aesthetics, framed against the events of the national stage, offers a rare example of successful innovation. The film’s emotional depth and structural excellence make it a masterpiece of Chinese cinema of the 1950s and 1960s.
To better preserve this classic Chinese film for future generations, Jaeger-LeCoultre partnered with the Shanghai International Film Festival and the Cineteca di Bologna’s film restoration laboratory, acclaimed as “the high temple of film restoration,” to complete a full colour restoration of Master Xie Jin’s iconic production using the latest 4K technology. Of the many classic films being restored at the lab, this was the first to employ 4K restoration. Thanks to the painstaking effort of more than six months of collaboration among the two teams’ 80 members based in Shanghai and Bologna, the digital edition of this classic film, offering a brand new visual experience, is finally ready to be released to the public.
The process of restoring a film entails restoration of the physical reel, 4K scanning, digital restoration, soundtrack restoration, colour correction and many other complex procedures. This detailed process begins with the restoration of the film reel. Every frame and frame line must be diligently restored before the reel can undergo scanning.
To ensure that nothing is lost, the scanning process takes place at 4K resolution at the lowest possible speed. After scanning is complete, the time-consuming process of digital restoration begins. This process not only requires the elimination of all scratches and any traces of dirt or dust, but also the removal of speckles. While the frames are restored, effort must also be put towards restoring the soundtrack, which is subsequently digitally remastered using specialised technology. Then comes the final and most important step: during the colour correction process, specialists compare the reel against the film’s original colours and do their best to preserve the film’s details and respect its original appearance. Once all the work has been done, the digital version of Wu Tai Jie Mei may be released, giving the film new life on the silver screen.
Jaeger-LeCoultre and the Shanghai International Film Festival officially began their partnership in 2011. Among the most important projects they have undertaken in the years since the formal announcement of their collaboration is the restoration of a number of Chinese cinema classics. Fully committed in its efforts to save China’s rich cinematographic heritage, Jaeger-LeCoultre is the first private company to participate in such film restoration work in China. Within the past three years, Jaeger-LeCoultre has contributed to the restoration of six Chinese cinema classics, including both parts of Yi Jiang Chun Shui Xiang Dong Liu (The Spring River Flows East), Ba Qian Li Lu Yun He Yue (Eight Thousand Li of Cloud and Moon), Shi Zi Jie Tou (Crossroads), Wu Ya Yu Ma Que (Crows and Sparrows) and Li Ren Xing (Three Girls). In 2014, Jaeger-LeCoultre and the Shanghai International Film Festival teamed up to use 4K technology for the first time to restore the colour film Wu Tai Jie Mei (Two Stage Sisters). In 2015, restoration efforts will focus on Wu Yusen (aka, John Woo) with the director’s magnum opus Ying Xiong Ben Se (A Better Tomorrow).
Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre. The Inventors from the Vallée de Joux.
A major player in watchmaking history since 1833 based in the Vallée de Joux (Switzerland), the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre currently houses the 180 skills required to entirely develop and produce the most prestigious timepieces. Driven by a uniquely inventive spirit, Jaeger-LeCoultre perpetuates the tradition of Grand Complication models illustrated by extraordinary creations and legendary watches such as the Reverso, the 101 watch, the Geophysic, the Memovox, the Master Control, the Gyrotourbillon, as well as the Atmos clock. Building on a vast heritage comprising 1,249 mechanical calibres and around 413 registered patents, Jaeger-LeCoultre remains the reference in the field of Fine Watchmaking.
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