Zhang Yimou’s Restored Oscar Nominated Film ‘JU DOU’ Returning To Theaters For 35th Anniversary

Film Movement Classics has announced Zhang Yimou’s restored Best Foreign Oscar nominated film, Ju Dou is re-releasing in theaters for 35th anniversary this Fall.

Ju Dou’s Synopsis (via Press Release)

The film that put director Zhang Yimou and star Gong Li on the international cinema map follows beautiful young Ju Dou as she is married off to an egregiously cruel, and also impotent, owner of a dye mill in the Chinese countryside in the early 20th century. When the boss’ nephew arrives on the scene they fall for each other with lustful abandon. Their impassioned affair soon leads to a son. After the clandestine couple convinces the despotic husband that he is the father, the boy is raised as his long-awaited heir. However the myriad complications of infidelity lead to a visceral and psychological melee between the lovers and their ruler with explosively dramatic turns. With its stunning mise en scène and sumptuous use of color, Ju Dou was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards® and has earned a reputation as one of the greatest Chinese films ever made.

SELECT FILM FESTIVALS/AWARDS

• Cannes Film Festival (1990) | Nominated, Palme d’Or

• Valladolid Int’l Film Festival (1990) | Winner, Best Film & Audience Award

• Chicago Int’l Film Festival (1990) | Winner, Best Feature

• Amanda Awards (Norway, 1991) | Winner, Best Foreign Feature Film

• Academy Awards (1991) | Nominated, Best Foreign Language Film

• Academy Award of Beijing Film Academy (1993) | Winner, Best Cinematography & Best Sound

Restoration effected at Hiventy Laboratory (Paris) by IMPEX Films with the support of ARTE, France.

Director Biography-Zhang Yimou (via Press Release)

One of the most important and influential filmmakers in China, and a core member of China’s “Fifth Generation” directors, Zhang Yimou started his career as a cinematographer and later became a director in 1987.

Zhang Yimou was the first Chinese filmmaker to receive Motion Picture Academy recognition, having been nominated for the Best Foreign Film Academy Award for Ju Dou in 1990, Raise the Red Lantern in 1992 and Hero in 2003. He has earned numerous top honors, including the Silver Lion at the 44th Venice International Film Festival for Raise the Red Lantern (1991), the Golden Lion at the 45th Venice International Film Festival for The Story of Qiu Ju (1992), the Grand Jury Prize at the 47th Cannes International Film Festival for To Live (1994), the Golden Lion at the 52nd Venice International Film Festival for Not One Less (1999), the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for The Road Home (1999) and the Alfred Bauer Prize for Hero (2003). Zhang Yimou’s box office hit House of Flying Daggers was the recipient of multiple international awards as well as BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations for Best Foreign Film.

Recent years have seen Zhang Yimou mastering new realms of creativity, directing Placido Domingo in the world premiere of composer Tan Dun’s original opera The First Emperor at New York’s Metropolitan Opera in December 2006, and acting as chief director of the spectacular opening and closing ceremonies of the 29th Olympic Games in Beijing, 2008.

Ju Dou will be re-released in celebration of 35th anniversary in theaters on October 3rd.