4K RESTORATION｜Huang Jianxin and Ni Ni Celebrate Together the Timeless Charm of EARLY SPRING

On June 10, FILM PANORAMA of the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) presented the world premiere of Sun Daolin’s classic work EARLY SPRING at the Shanghai Grand Theatre after 4K restoration, with director Huang Jianxin and actress Ni Ni as guests. The film is also the 16th Chinese film restored since SIFF and the renowned Swiss watch brand Jaeger-LeCoultre joined forces in the “Classic Film Restoration Project”. Ni Ni exclaimed that the restoration of classic films “is something to be admired and respected. It brings back to life the film and restores the classic images authentically.”

Sun Daolin, Xie Fang and Shangguan Yunzhu’s film EARLY SPRING is adapted from Rou Shi’s novel February. It is the story of Xiao Jianqiu, an intellectual young man who was at a loss in his search for the revolutionary truth. Being awakened by chance, he finally resolutely threw himself into the torrent of the times with the confidence that “we will have a bright future awaiting us”.

The film was written and directed by Xie Tieli, with key revisions to the script by Xia Yan, and was officially released in 1963. Sun Daolin played the dignified role of Xiao Jianqiu, while Xie Fang and Shangguan Yunzhu played the progressive Tao Lan and the miserable Sister Wen, respectively. The wonderful interaction in acting between the three is as classical as the overall tone of the film, which, both refined and melancholy, is informed of classical flavor. The film won the Chinese Film Century Award for the top ten films and the top ten directors in 1995. Sixty years on, audiences watching this masterpiece will still be deeply moved by the genuine and unassuming plots, the delicate and touching emotions, and the helplessness and sadness of the characters’ stuck by fate.

In 2023, SIFF and Jaeger-LeCoultre commissioned the China Film Archive to carry out a 4k digital restoration of the film. The restored film is a surprise on the big screen. While the basic image quality has been improved greatly to be clearer, the entire film’s lighting, color and character emotions have been rendered in greater detail in the restored version, essentially restoring the outstanding texture given to the film by director Xie Tieli and other creators, and allowing the audience to better feel the creative intent of the creators.

Director Huang Jianxin said at the pre-screening session that while cinema has now entered the digital age, the films of the past still have an irreplaceable artistic charm, and the significance of restoring classic films is to allow the audience to experience the initial charm of classic films in a more profound way as time elapses.

In 2014, SIFF launched the 4k RESTORATION section. With the concept of showcasing the highest technology and latest achievements in the world of film restoration, 4k RESTORATION has introduced a number of restored masterpieces to Chinese audiences over the years. And this section, while becoming one of the most popular sections at SIFF, has also received professional acclaim from the film preservation and restoration community.