2K RESTORATION
Original Title: 紅樓夢醒 (又名: 新潮紅樓夢)
Director: Chiu Kang-chien
Runtime: 96 mins
Country: Singapore
Language: Mandarin with English Subtitles
Rating: NC16 (Some Coarse Language)

Synopsis

Set against the backdrop of the wealthy Jia clan’s slow financial decline, Jia Bao-yu falls in love with his cousin Lin Dai-yu, newly arrived from Taiwan. Their growing mutual affection gets derailed when their family’s materialistic interests and another cousin from the United States comes between them.

Considered one of the four great masterworks of Chinese literature, Chiu’s adaptation reimagines this classical saga by transposing it to 1970s Singapore. It features a largely local cast and weaves various popular idiosyncratic film tropes of the time. In this rare rediscovery, Dream of the Red Chamber offers a unique glimpse into early independent and transnational filmmaking in a rapidly developing post-independence Singapore.

Restoration notes

The restoration of the film was made possible using the digital scans of the sole surviving 35mm print preserved by the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (TFAI). Owing to the print’s severe deterioration, less than 10% of its original colour information remained. Together with the burnt-in subtitles on the print, a colour restoration using current technology was deemed technically and aesthetically non-viable. This led to the decision to restore the film in black and white to recover greater tonal depth and image detail. The 2K digital restoration, completed in 2025 by L’Immagine Ritrovata, involved approximately 1,000 hours of work, encompassing image stabilisation, scratch removal, deflickering, and extensive sound restoration using specialised audio extraction and spectral repair techniques.

For more screenings of Dream of the Red Chamber (1977) please click here. 

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Important Notice:

Do note that Oldham Theatre operates on a free seating arrangement. Doors will open 20 minutes before showtime so arrive early to choose a seat and avoid disrupting the screenings as AFA does not play ads and screenings will start promptly.

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