Zhang Yimou's Raise the Red Lantern Relights in 4K for UK Cinemas
Central City Media is bringing Zhang Yimou's 1991 drama Raise the Red Lantern back to UK cinemas from Friday 6 November in a 4K restoration, for its 35th anniversary.
In UK cinemas Fri 6 Nov
Zhang Yimou's Raise the Red Lantern returns to UK cinemas from Friday 6 November, in a 4K restoration that Central City Media is releasing for the film's 35th anniversary.
Gong Li plays Songlian, a 19-year-old student who gives up her studies after her father's death and becomes the fourth wife of the wealthy Master Chen, who is never seen. Each night, red lanterns are lit outside the rooms of the wife he chooses to visit, and the women of the house fight over that light. The film won the Silver Lion at Venice in 1991 and the BAFTA for Best Film not in the English Language in 1993.
According to Central City Media, the restoration was carried out for the 26th Udine Far East Film Festival, working from the original image and sound negatives under Zhang's supervision. A print shown at Venice in 1991 and kept in the Venice Biennale's archive served as the colour reference. L'Immagine Ritrovata did the work in 2024.
The ICA in London has the opening run, with screenings from 6 to 12 November. Central City's list also takes in the Garden Cinema and Curzon Bloomsbury in London, HOME in Manchester, FACT Liverpool and the Cameo in Edinburgh, plus single screenings at The Light cinemas on 16 November. The Prince Charles Cinema has it on 30 December.
In North America, Film Movement Classics opens the same restoration at Film Forum in New York on 6 November and at TIFF Lightbox in Toronto from 7 November, with more cities booked through the month.
The Oscar nomination came as Hong Kong's entry for Best Foreign Language Film.
