Diskino's World Cinema Library / MLIFE Series

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

The source for the series, Shuang Xuetao's novella "Moses on the Plain", was also the source for a 2021 Chinese film on my "to see" list, Zhang Ji's Fire on the Plain, also exec produced by Diao Yinan.

The scuttlebutt is that this movie (which dropped out of sight after a few festival bookings) was rejected by the Film Bureau over "subject-matter issues" and written off by the producers, implying it's been banned outright and no amount of recutting could save it. If it sounds odd that a webseries based on the same subject matter could be released, online series are overseen by a different agency and generally held to less restrictive standards than movies.

[yoshimori]

Thanks for the update. Makes me more eager (and less likely) to see the film version.

[qw0aszx]

Three new titles from Shanghai Film Studio were announced:
Xie Jin's Legend of Tianyun Mountain (1981) & The Herdsman (1982), as well as Shen Yaoting's amazing film-noir Murder in 405 (1980). All restored in 2K.

[swo17]

I just noticed group buys are open for Touch of Zen, Dragon Inn, and Dislocation. The King Hu films have been up since last month. I don't know how much longer they'll stay open

[qw0aszx]

Pre-order for OLD WELL is up, detailed specs:
2K restoration from the original materials by Xi'an Film Studio, with additional corrections and adjustments done by Disk Kino in 2023
Original Mandarin track in LPCM Mono
Brand new Tony Rayns interview on OLD WELL (HD, 52 minutes)
1989 documentary NEW CHINESE CINEMA directed by Tony Rayns, with a brand new transfer from the original non-subtitled tape (54 minutes)
Newly edited Wu Tian'ming interview, shot in 1987 for Tony Rayns' documentary NEW CHINESE CINEMA (21 minutes)

Disk Kino also announced some new titles:
A Moment of Romance (1990) in UHD
After Separation (1992)
The Sword Identity (2011)
One and Four (2021)
Across the Furious Sea (2023)

[moriam]

The source for the series, Shuang Xuetao's novella "Moses on the Plain", was also the source for a 2021 Chinese film on my "to see" list, Zhang Ji's Fire on the Plain, also exec produced by Diao Yinan.

A March 2nd profile of Shuang Xuetao in The New York Times ("Murder and Magic Realism: A Rising Literary Star Mines China’s Rust Belt") implies this will finally be released: 'A movie adaptation of “Moses on the Plain,” slated to premier in China in 2020, was delayed without explanation. It is now expected this year, with a more secular title: “Fire on the Plain."'

[yoshimori]

Great news. Thanks, moriam.

[Finch]

I might be in for a group buy if there was sufficient interest in the A Moment of Romance 4K or any of the other new announcements. Now that Eureka announced Valiant Ones on 4K and BD, we can probably expect 4Ks of Touch of Zen and Dragon Inn so I would forego importing those two.

[qw0aszx]

Cao Baoping's Across the Furious Sea will be the next release from Disk Kino, coming soon on April 29th. The extras will be EPK materials and an exclusive audio commentary with director Cao Baoping and director of cinematography Li Ran.

In the meantime, Disk Kino announced their upcoming UHD releases of 4K restored Hong Kong films from Fortune Star, they are:
A Better Tomorrow (1986) by John Woo
Once a Thief (1991) by John Woo
An Autumn's Tale (1987) by Mabel Cheung
Throw Down (2004) by Johnnie To
Miracles: The Canton Godfather (1989) by Jackie Chan

[tenia]

In the meantime, Disk Kino announced their upcoming UHD releases of 4K restored Hong Kong films from Fortune Star, they are:
A Better Tomorrow (1986) by John Woo
Once a Thief (1991) by John Woo
An Autumn's Tale (1987) by Mabel Cheung
Throw Down (2004) by Johnnie To
Miracles: The Canton Godfather (1989) by Jackie Chan

That's quite an interesting slate.