Spring in a small town film society of lincoln center. It was only after the end of the cultural revolution and the beginning of chinas new openness to the west that the chinese film community rediscovered spring in a small town and deemed it a masterpiece. Director fei mus spring in a small town 1948 has been hailed as one of the greatest if not the greatest chinese films ever made. Find release information for spring in a small town 1948 mu fei, fei mu on allmovie. Spring in a small town is a highly appraised chinese movie from the 1940s. Ive heard nothing but showers of praise towards spring in a small town considering how it is frequently regarded as one of the greatest films from the history of chinese cinema. The film is presented on a singlelayer disc in ntsc format and is not region encoded. Married to a depressed, chronically ill man, housewife yuwen wei wei is quietly suffocating in a provincial village when an old flame unexpectedly walks back into her life.
Dvd spring in a small town is released in the usa by cinema epoch. Spring in a small town is a film directed by fei mu with li wei, li wei, shi yu, zhang hongmei, year. Regarded as the finest work from the first great era of chinese filmmaking, fei mus quiet, piercingly poignant study of adulterous desire and guiltridden despair. In a time when most films were colored by the politics of the time, spring in a. Spring in a small town came out at a weird point in chinese filmmaking history. The husband and patriarch, dai liyan, is ill and spends his days in the courtyard. This is the time during which fei mus film takes place. In my mind, the film had a wonderful visual, such as stylish costumes, well footage countryside, realistic production designing done by ning che and dexiong zhu and shengewe lis decent monochrome cinematography. Taking place in a ruined family compound after the sinojapanese war, the film tells the story of the once prosperous dai family. May be if all films were like springtime in a small town, life would be a tad boring. Spring in a small town uses this schematic to build a tight, emotionally tense triangular drama that questions fidelity, suppressed emotions and the balance of love and responsibility. Spring in a small town 1948 dai liyan, the crippled patriarch of the once prosperous dai family, lives in his ruined family compound with his wife, liyan. Wei wei plays a woman who lives a lonely life, shackled by her care for her gentle, but ill.
Spring in a small town 1948 mu fei, fei mu releases. I did not like the camera fading into black because it looked. Film notes spring in a small town university at albany. Spring in a small town letterboxd your life in film. The film is a remake of director fei mus 1948 film and its original screenwriter is li tianji chinese. S ince we know so little in this country about pre80s mainland chinese cinema, you would think the recently released dvd of spring in a small town ranked by the hong kong film awards in 2005 as the greatest chinese movie ever madewould warrant more coverage from film journalists than it has received. For decades it was almost impossible to see chinese films here in the west so directors like mu fei meant little to us but if spring in a small town had been the only film hed made his place in cinematic history would still be assured. If it is not directly related, or has only temporary contents, or requires registration or payment to view the contents, the link may not be accepted. The film is in black and white and its screenwriter is li tianji. Taking place in a ruined family compound after the war, the film tells the story of the once prosperous dai family. Released 1948, spring in a small town stars cui chaoming, wei li, yu shi, wei wei the movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 25 min, and received a score of out of 100 on metacritic, which put. The film s early neglect was presumably due to its supposed eschewal of gritty socialist realism which was the dominant art culture among socialist countries in those days and for its pursual instead of sentimental melodrama 2.
In a time when most films were colored by the politics of the time, spring in a small town is a story of a woman with a love dilemma. In fei mus spring in a small town, the passion of former teenage sweethearts zhou yuwen wei wei and zhang zhichen li wei, thrown together ten years after they parted, is extratorturous because yuwens hypochondriacal husband, dai liyan shi yu, is. Spring in a small town rent movies and tv shows on dvd and bluray. Because it uses a limited number of interior sets for most of the story, it gave me the feeling i was watching a stage play that had been expanded for the screen.
Seen by many as the greatest chinese film ever, spring in a small town is different from other films of the era. As it is, the film is a fresh breeze in a stale room, which is also an apt metaphor for the story of a childhood friend and old flame reappearing in a small town, disrupting a dull, lifeless marriage. Spring in a small town is a fine movie with a cast of about five characters set in a dilapidated house and its immediate surroundings. At that stage, i could only get hold of the original on a fuzzy vhs copy. Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies. Spring in a small town is a chinese film released in 1948 and directed by fei mu, a director known for having great empathy for women and reflecting that in his. There is also a remake of it, springtime in a small town 2002, which i have not had the opportunity to watch. The film is a remake of director fei mus 1948 film and its original.
Great list, especially since spring in a small town has entered the public domain quite a while ago now. Spring in a small town 1948 the movie crash course. Spring in a small town, directed by fei mu in 1948, this film tells the story of a once prosperous family living in a ruined compound following the sinojapanese war annie. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing spring in a small town near you. Small town holiday romance the springs book 1 read online. One of the chinese communist partys acts upon their victory. Spring in a small town 1948 stream and watch online. Shanghai director fei mus final film spring in a small town appeared at the end of an era, coming out in 1948, a year before revolution engulfed china. Video there would appear to have been no real restoration done on the film, which is presented here in a quite poor quality print. The husband and patriarch, dai liyan is an invalid, and spends his days in the courtyard nostalgic for the past. In the ruins of his semidestroyed family home, dai.
Spring in a small town 1948 movie dvd rent download. The film is in black and white and its screenwriter is li tianji chinese. Spring in a small town 1948 chinese movie database. Spring in a small town, one of the masterpieces of chinese cinema, is an intimate drama of gestures and silences.
Spring in a small town is, for the most part, subtly acted, written, and directed and is not afraid to use symbolism when appropriate. Spring in a small town 1948 trailer bfi dvd youtube. Why spring in a small town is the one film you should watch this week video. Spring in a small town xiao3 cheng2 zhi1 chun1 1948 chinese movie database username password. Spring in a small town 1948 trailer bfi dvd fei mus piercingly poignant study of adulterous desire and guiltridden despair, newly restored by the china film archive, is a remarkable. Search results for spring in a small town dvd netflix. The remake of springtime in a small town does not suffer from the vanity of obsession. The film acquired a strange reputation and almost notoriety for being banned by the chinese government. Tian zhuangzhuangs film springtime in a small town.
Springtime in a small town marks the return of tian zhuangzhuang to the. While most films are banned for being too political one way or another, spring in a small town was banned for not being political enough. In the case of 2002 film springtime in a small town, tian zhuangzhuangs remake of the legendary 1948 film by fei mu, spring in a small town, the challenge. Ironically, the title of spring in a small town, which was made in 1948, may actually sound familiar, not because its been available here it hasnt, and until the bfis current release of the film, it has rarely screened in uk cinemas but because there was a release of a very beautiful 2002 remake, entitled springtime in a small town, by the dream team of director tian. Spring in a small town is a chinese film released in 1948 and directed by fei mu, a director known for having great empathy for women and reflecting that in his films. It was just after world war ii which itself had been folded into the much lengthier sinojapanese war but was just before mao zedongs ultimate victory in the communist revolution.
Spring is a 2014 american romantic body horror film directed by justin benson and aaron moorhead and starring lou taylor pucci and nadia hilker. Spring in a small town chinaunderground movie database. Watch spring in a small town now on your favorite device. The subsequent upheaval saw the director branded a rightist, or reactionary he fled to hong kong. Enjoy a rich lineup of tv shows and movies included with your prime membership. After eight years of marriage to liyan once rich but now sickly and almost. Yet when i came out, instead i found myself rather underwhelmed, but it most certainly is not a bad film. But it resurfaced in the 1980s, as the china film archive opened its doors and spring in a small town was championed, earning itself the spot of no 1 chinese film in 2005 at hong kong film. Often cited as the greatest chinese film ever, spring in a small town differs from other films of the era. Though the two movies are referred to by different english titles, they share the same title in chinese. Spring in a small town, 1948, directed by fei mu, casted by yu shi, li wei, wei wei.