Farewell, My Concubine

It's beautiful

I saw it back in 1994 and loved it. But isn't there a Director's Cut?

R2, this is the original director's cut - not the censored Western version. (With English subtitles.)

Thanks, r3. I wish they would issue this on Blu-Ray.

This is what I said to Stormy the last time I saw her

One of the best movies I’ve seen in my life. Just gorgeous and heartbreaking. Leslie Cheung was a beautiful beautiful man and his acting in this role was exceptional.

So sad...

Farewell, My Porcupine

I think the remasteted director's cut was released on bluray in the UK not long ago.

Was it distributed in the US by that hideous company Miramax who was notorious for shortening their foreign films to gratify the whims and fancies of Harvey? It's karma that that piece of shit is in prison now.

Leslie Cheung was supposed to win the best actor at Cannes, along with the Palme d’Or for the film that year, but lost by one vote because one juror thought Leslie was an actress.

[quote]This is what I said to Stormy the last time I saw her

No--it's what I said to Sandra Lee.

me no likee

What is it about? Geishas?

R10, is this true? That the Cannes judge thought Leslie was a female? Wow.

I think Leslie Cheung must have liked that.

He was also amazing in Wong Kar-Wai's "Happy Together". It's so tragic that he died like that

R14 It's true but Leslie can't be said as happy with that. He was hoping to win the award since he had given up his successful singing career in the early 90s when the toxic Hong Kong fan culture constantly pit him against Alan Tam (though he later started singing again), and Farewell My Concubine was his first try at going beyond the city's local film industry, as well as his first gay role. As the only Cantonese-speaking actor in the film, he also acted in Mandarin for the first time. Though the director Chen Kaige still had most of Leslie's dialogues dubbed by a native Beijing actor in the final version, many people (me included) would say that Leslie was and still is the best Mandarin-speaker among the Hong Kong actors.

BTW, Zhang Fengyi is a closet case. His ex-wife Lü Liping became an outright homophobe because of this.

R15, WHAT? Is this true about the closet case? Oh my god! I would never have guessed. Thank you so much for this information! More about the actors, please, if you know anything! Especially about Leslie. Did he sing his own operatic parts?

I saw it when it came out and cried so much at the end, I’ve never dared watch it again.

Gong Li is an extraordinary actress and one of my favorites.

R16 Leslie learned Peking opera for half a year in preparation for the role, and sang his own parts in the shooting, but all of them were dubbed by the Beijing actor named Yang Lixin, who is also an avid Peking opera fan, at the suggestion of Ying Da, who plays Na Kun in the film. US-educated Ying is the son of China's former vice minister of culture, as well as the creator of China's first sitcom I Love My Family, in which Yang and Ying's then wife Song Dandan play a couple. Ying then had an acrimonious divorce with Song and his estranged son, Ba Tu (born Ying Batu but soon dropped his father's name), is probably gay. Song's stepdaughter is Chloé Zhao, the director of Frances McDormand's Oscar-baiting Nomadland.

I cried the day Leslie committed suicide.

Doesn't Cannes have some strange rule which says no movie can with both Palme d'Or and the Best Actor/Actress award at the same time?

R21 Yes, apparently there's an unwritten rule that Cannes would think twice about giving one film two big awards. But Chen Kaige, among others, went on record saying that there was a Cannes judge voted Leslie for "best actress." Many said it was Claudia Cardinale.

Gong Li snatched wigs left and right from the leads in this. She was the acting highlight, not to take away from Leslie's fine performance. His best gay performance was in Happy Together though.

Thank you so much for the dish, R19.

Personally, I think all performances were absolutely top-notch, including those of the children. A painful film to watch for sure, but it enriches me and brings me back to my true self every time I see it.

I highly recommend it to everyone. Here's a trailer.

R24 You're welcome. I talked more about Leslie in another thread about him.

Chinese opera and opera singing is not easy for us but by the end of the film, I was beginning to get it.

I don’t think that trailer is very good r24.

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[quote]most laughable decisions by the Academy.

They're not 'decisions'--all they do is count members' votes.

Reminds me of Mulan.

R28 I think it has to do with him being openly gay. He was exceptionally talented and was the only artist in HK who famously excelled in both music and film industries. He was considered the King of Pop in the 80s.

He jumped to his death in 2003

Seems interesting. I may have a new gay movie to watch!

You absolutely have a gay movie to watch, R33. It's so well made, you'll feel sad about the state of today's film industry.