Butterfly Wu

Twin Sisters

Twin girls separated at birth are reunited when the one raised in poverty becomes a servant in the household of her sister, now the pampered wife of a warlord general.

Sing-Song Red Peony

The first Chinese sound film. It tells the story of Hong Pion (Red Peony), a singer-songwriter who, after her marriage to the depraved Faxiang Chen, not only tormented and suffered, but also endured the decline of her artistic career.

Rouge Tears

This sound film remake of The Goddess (1934) was headlined by Hu Die, who found stardom at the same time as Ruan Lingyu. Henry Lai Hang and Zhang Zhizhi reprised their roles from the earlier film. The first half of the story follows The Goddness but the second half references Bu Wanchang’s Love and Duty (1931) and King Vidor’s American film Stella Dallas (1937) with additional plots of the heroine’s post-prison story. After years of separation, she hesitates whether to reunite with her son. This new version poses a bigger challenge to a mother’s love and pushes towards the completion of her fate. The characters use dialogue to express their pain and connection, which strengthens the dramatic dilemma and makes the film more straightforward than its predecessor. Hu Die possesses a sort of allure that shows the sadness, shame, and will of a common woman from middle age to old age.

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Street Boys

A drama film by the Shaw Brothers studio.

Burning of the Red Lotus Monastery

After being defeated in a fight by a local gang, local official Lu Fengyang sends his weak and sickly son Lu Xiaoqing to study with a master of the Kunlun school of martial arts. Recovered and strong, he comes upon the Red Lotus Temple, and puts up there for the night. Unable to sleep, he begins looking around the palatial temple, and discovers a room decorated with many images of Buddhist demons, and an altar to worship them... Purposely destroyed serial film whose 19 full length chapters (averaging 86 minutes each) originally ran 27 hours in length.

Back Door

A middle-aged couple adopt a young girl.

Nobody's Child

Melodramatic film about a child prodigy.

Torrent

A primary school teacher rallies the citizens of a small town to resist the corruption of the local government and unite to build reinforcements against an oncoming flood.

The Classic for Girls

A hostess in Shanghai invites her secondary schoolmates to a reunion. They each reminisce about their lives, with some having difficulties in marriage or career. Some led destructive lives, while others contributed to the country.