M+ Restored M+修復
M+ Restored is a new initiative which aims to increase visibility of Hong Kong’s rich cinematic heritage by presenting and leading the restoration of nine feature-length films.
M+修復透過推動修復和展出九部劇情長片,增加觀眾對香港豐富的電影文化遺產的認識。
About the Initiative 項目介紹
M+ Restored is a new initiative which aims to increase visibility of Hong Kong's rich cinematic heritage by presenting and leading the restoration of nine feature-length films. Launched as part of a three-year partnership between M+ and CHANEL in July 2023, this project highlights the creative experimentation and technical innovation of the Hong Kong New Wave cinema that emerged from 1979. Characterized by a stylistic and thematic shift from mainstream films, the Hong Kong New Wave has come to be defined by its many influential figures—such as Patrick Tam, Peter Yung, Ann Hui, Yim Ho, and Allen Fong—and a transnational spectrum of cinematic influences drawn from European art cinema and Hollywood productions, as well as American independent films. Gleaning from archival research, interviews with filmmakers, and analysis of extant film and video materials, M+ Restored offers a new opportunity to reevaluate the impact of the Hong Kong New Wave on the development of the local film industry and its lasting legacy in the formation of our collective cinephilia.
The Arch (1968)
Premiering at the 1968 San Francisco Film Festival, The Arch was one of the earliest art house films and independent productions from Hong Kong. Adapting a Chinese folktale about a widow torn between her passion and moral obligations, the film examines gender roles in traditional Chinese society and reflects on the human condition. Madam Tung (Lisa Lu), a devoted widow, is to be honored by the court with the establishment of a chastity archway in her name. However, she finds herself developing feelings for Captain Yang (Roy Chiao), who is staying in her study, for whom her daughter (Hilda Chou Hsuan) also harbours affection.
Shot in luminous black and white cinematography, it represents a bold and successful experiment in synthesizing traditional Chinese aesthetics with modern European film style, including techniques such as film dissolves, superimpositions, freeze frames, and unconventional repetition of actions. The crew, assembled by director T’ang Shushuen from diverse backgrounds, includes actors from the United States and Hong Kong, editing by American maverick independent filmmaker Les Blank, cinematographers Subrata Mitra from Satyajit Ray’s team, and Chi Ho Che from Taiwan for interior and exterior shots, respectively.
The film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival and subsequently received art house distribution in France in 1969, to much critical acclaim, before its release in Hong Kong the next year. However, it was hastily withdrawn due to the circumspect distribution culture of the time. It won three awards at the 9th Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan.
T’ang Shushuen. The Arch, 1968 in the US, 1970 in Hong Kong. Photo: Courtesy of T’ang Shushuen
T’ang Shushuen. The Arch, 1968 in the US, 1970 in Hong Kong. Photo: Courtesy of T’ang Shushuen
T’ang Shushuen. The Arch, 1968 in the US, 1970 in Hong Kong. Photo: Courtesy of T’ang Shushuen
T’ang Shushuen. The Arch, 1968 in the US, 1970 in Hong Kong. Photo: Courtesy of T’ang Shushuen
T’ang Shushuen. The Arch, 1968 in the US, 1970 in Hong Kong. Photo: Courtesy of T’ang Shushuen
T’ang Shushuen. The Arch, 1968 in the US, 1970 in Hong Kong. Photo: Courtesy of T’ang Shushuen
T’ang Shushuen. The Arch, 1968 in the US, 1970 in Hong Kong. Photo: Courtesy of T’ang Shushuen
T’ang Shushuen. The Arch, 1968 in the US, 1970 in Hong Kong. Photo: Courtesy of T’ang Shushuen
T’ang Shushuen. The Arch, 1968 in the US, 1970 in Hong Kong. Photo: Courtesy of T’ang Shushuen
T’ang Shushuen. The Arch, 1968 in the US, 1970 in Hong Kong. Photo: Courtesy of T’ang Shushuen
T’ang Shushuen. The Arch, 1968 in the US, 1970 in Hong Kong. Photo: Courtesy of T’ang Shushuen
T’ang Shushuen. The Arch, 1968 in the US, 1970 in Hong Kong. Photo: Courtesy of T’ang Shushuen
T’ang Shushuen. The Arch, 1968 in the US, 1970 in Hong Kong. Photo: Courtesy of T’ang Shushuen
T’ang Shushuen. The Arch, 1968 in the US, 1970 in Hong Kong. Photo: Courtesy of T’ang Shushuen
About the Director
T’ang Shushuen (b. 1938, Hong Kong) grew up in Hong Kong and graduated from the University of Southern California. Her first feature, The Arch (1968), was the first film made outside the industry and independently released in Hong Kong. It was also the first Hong Kong film that, after its European premiere and appearance in the Feature Competition Section at the Locarno International Film Festival, garnered critical acclaim and enjoyed a commercial release in France for several months. She made three more films, China Behind (1974), Sup Sap Bup Dup (1975), and The Hong Kong Tycoon (1979), and founded the film publication Close Up Magazine from 1975 to its closing in 1978. She moved to the United States in 1979.
The System (1979)
The System, Peter Yung Wai Chuen's debut feature, is based on the connections and information he gathered while making Opium: The White Powder Opera (1976–1977), a documentary about the drug trade, years prior. The film intricately portrays the relationship between drug dealers, the police, and informants, earning high praise. Inspector Chan (Pak Ying) persuades drug lord Hung's assistant, Tam (Shek Kin), to cooperate and gather evidence against Hung. The operation, however, does not go smoothly and is sabotaged by another team within the police, further complicating the situation.
The film’s solid and detailed depiction of investigations and drug trafficking, combined with documentary techniques such as synchronised sound recording and handheld cinematography, captures a wealth of scenes on location without resorting to convenient dramatisation, allowing it to stand out among the many works of Hong Kong’s first wave of New Wave cinema. Its distinctive and cohesive style is not found in Yung’s subsequent works.
The film offers profound and contrasting portrayals of its two main characters, without a dichotomous portrayal of good and evil. Instead, it delicately explores their nuanced relationship as both adversaries and allies, highlighting their interdependence. Additionally, the film reveals the in-fighting within different anti-drug trafficking departments, illustrating how the entire drug trafficking and law enforcement system is inextricably linked through mutual interests. The film is filled with memorable scenes, particularly the police's undercover operations in street-level surveillance and Inspector Chan's solitary journey up the mountain to spend the night and observe birds at dawn.
Peter Yung. The System, 1979. Photo: Courtesy of Peter Yung
Peter Yung. The System, 1979. Photo: Courtesy of Peter Yung
Peter Yung. The System, 1979. Photo: Courtesy of Peter Yung
Peter Yung. The System, 1979. Photo: Courtesy of Peter Yung
Peter Yung. The System, 1979. Photo: Courtesy of Peter Yung
Peter Yung. The System, 1979. Photo: Courtesy of Peter Yung
Peter Yung. The System, 1979. Photo: Courtesy of Peter Yung
Peter Yung. The System, 1979. Photo: Courtesy of Peter Yung
Peter Yung. The System, 1979. Photo: Courtesy of Peter Yung
Peter Yung. The System, 1979. Photo: Courtesy of Peter Yung
Peter Yung. The System, 1979. Photo: Courtesy of Peter Yung
Peter Yung. The System, 1979. Photo: Courtesy of Peter Yung
Peter Yung. The System, 1979. Photo: Courtesy of Peter Yung
About the Director
Peter Yung Wai Chuen (b. Hong Kong, 1949) was already a renowned photographer when he came to specialise in making documentaries on the drug trade in the 1970s. The System is his debut feature on the same topic that has a strong documentarian influence in both form and content, unprecedented in its thorough understanding of the drug trade and its different players on a human level.
He is unique among his generation of Hong Kong filmmakers as a pioneer and an independent director who often produced his own films. In the history of Hong Kong cinema, The System is a unique example of merging tragic pathos and investigative journalism with a raw shooting style. His other works include Life After Life (1981) and The Rickshaw Boy (1982), as well as Warlords of the Golden Triangles (1987), the continuation of his exploration of drug-related themes.
Love Massacre (1981)
Set in San Francisco, Love Massacre follows college student Ivy (Brigitte Lin) who inadvertently becomes involved in an affair with Chu Chung (Chang Kuo-Chu), the bother of Joy (Tina Liu), while Joy falls into depression after a breakup. Chung suffers from a hereditary mental illness, which ultimately leads to a violent outburst as he breaks into Ivy’s dormitory and goes on a killing spree. The film relentlessly shifts genres—from drama and romance to thriller and slasher.
Director Patrick Tam successfully channels elements of European arthouse films and American thrillers in this unsetting and visually striking New Wave gem. The script was written by Joyce Chan, a long-term writing partner of Tam in his television dramas. This marked Tam’s first film that showcased the impressive modern sensibility he developed during his television period. The film, which was set in the United States to accommodate Brigitte Lin’s schedule, completely transformed Lin's previous image as the golden girl of Taiwanese romantic drama, allowing her to enter a new phase of her career in Hong Kong cinema.
The film is most notable for its captivating visuals, utilising bold colours to express emotions with an experimental spirit. Although the box office performance and critical reception at the time were unexceptional, this does not diminish its pioneering role in New Wave cinema. In his debut as art director, William Chang Suk Ping elevated the role to a level that does not go unnoticed.
Patrick Tam. Love Massacre, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of the rightsholder, reproduction provided by Hong Kong Film Archive, Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Patrick Tam. Love Massacre, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of the rightsholder, reproduction provided by Hong Kong Film Archive, Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Patrick Tam. Love Massacre, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of the rightsholder, reproduction provided by Hong Kong Film Archive, Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Patrick Tam. Love Massacre, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of the rightsholder, reproduction provided by Hong Kong Film Archive, Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Patrick Tam. Love Massacre, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of the rightsholder, reproduction provided by Hong Kong Film Archive, Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Patrick Tam. Love Massacre, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of the rightsholder, reproduction provided by Hong Kong Film Archive, Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Patrick Tam. Love Massacre, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of the rightsholder, reproduction provided by Hong Kong Film Archive, Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Patrick Tam. Love Massacre, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of the rightsholder, reproduction provided by Hong Kong Film Archive, Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Patrick Tam. Love Massacre, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of the rightsholder, reproduction provided by Hong Kong Film Archive, Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Patrick Tam. Love Massacre, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of the rightsholder, reproduction provided by Hong Kong Film Archive, Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Patrick Tam. Love Massacre, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of the rightsholder, reproduction provided by Hong Kong Film Archive, Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Patrick Tam. Love Massacre, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of the rightsholder, reproduction provided by Hong Kong Film Archive, Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Patrick Tam. Love Massacre, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of the rightsholder, reproduction provided by Hong Kong Film Archive, Leisure and Cultural Services Department
About the Director
Patrick Tam Ka Ming (b. 1948, Hong Kong) started his career in television at TVB. He directed his first feature film The Sword (1980), an innovative wuxia film that helped usher in the era of the Hong Kong New Wave. His knack for visual flair continued to flourish in Love Massacre (1981), Nomad (1982), and Final Victory (1987). He is also known for his work as an editor for films such as Wong Kar-Wai’s Days of Being Wild (1990) and Ashes of Time (1994). He was awarded Best Director and Best Screenplay at the Hong Kong Film Awards for After This Our Exile (2006).
Supported by 支持機構
Membership Benefits 會籍禮遇
- Access to the M+ Lounge with your guests
- Access to M+ Private Viewing on Sunday mornings
- Priority ticket purchase and member discounts
- Priority entry for General Admission only
- Free General Admission access and selected cinema screenings
... and much more
M+ Membership benefits list updated in March 2024