Farewell My Concubine 4K Ultra HD Review

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

The 1993 Chinese epic from director Chen Kaige, Farewell My Concubine, based on the novel by Lee Pik-Wah, charts the tumultuous 50-year relationship between two men, Cheng Dieyi (Leslie Cheung) and Duan Xiaolou (Zhang Fengyi), who meet as boys at the training facility of a Peking Opera master and grow to become two of the greatest performers of the classic Peking Opera Farewell My Concubine, the tragic story of a Chu king who loses his kingdom to the Han king and is left with nothing but one horse and one concubine. Over the span of their relationship, the two see the invasion of China by Japan, the rise and fall of the Manchu, the rise of the People’s Liberation Army, the communists, and the Cultural Revolution.

Farewell My Concubine is an epic exploration of artists’ dedication to their work in the worst of circumstances (at one point, Dieyi who plays the Concubine, is forced to give himself to a male opera patron, dredging up terrible memories of when he was a boy raped by an old man from the empress’ court who patronized the opera). It also scrutinizes the meaning of sexuality and friendship. Again, Dieyi is made from the time he is young to take on feminine attributes to play the perfect concubine, but in one of the most stunning turns in the last act of the film, chastised and humiliated for being someone suspected to be gay.

The battle, push and pull, between the less refined Xiaolou and Dieyi, especially once the latter finally marries a prostitute (Gong Li) from a famous Peking brothel is the driving force in Farewell My Concubine. These two men thrown together through the most unfortunate of circumstances (Dieyi was abandoned to the training house by his mother, who was herself a prostitute) are seemingly unalike in every way, but it is the dedication to the art form of the opera, ingrained in them by their very strict, very brutal tutor, and their sense of brotherhood that keeps them together.

The production in the film is awe-inspiring, from the traditional Chinese garments that play an almost unspoken role in the film, to the traditional music and the sound design that helps tell the mood and time the story has shifted to. Chen keeps what could have been an unwieldy film together and makes it feel almost effortless, while the actors keep us enthralled in their on-screen saga.

Purchase Farewell My Concubine 4K Ultra HD Combo (Criterion Collection) on Amazon.com

The Video

The 4K restoration of Farewell My Concubine was undertaken by Hiventy in France from the 35mm original camera negative, with a 35mm release print used for color reference. The film is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio in a HEVC 2160p (4K UHD) SDR encodement. Even without HDR, this 4K release from the Criterion Collection reveals rich, vibrant colors, especially those primary colors like the reds in the elaborate costumes. The film grain is sumptuous and organic, yielding lots of crisp detail. We can see the layers of makeup on the actors’ faces in their opera costumes, lots of stitching in cloth, and nuance in the shadows.

The Audio

The 5.1 soundtrack was also remastered at Hiventy and presented in a Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio track. The sound is dynamic and ambient with focus on the front channels and atmospherics in the surrounds. The low-end is not much of a factor, but enough to bolster some of the score and other sound effects. The stereo spread across the front is wide and similar to the spacious, wide panning of the 2.0 mix on the 2016 UK Blu-ray release from BFI.

The Supplements

• The Making of “Farewell My Concubine” (1080i; 00:22:39) – This 2003 documentary on the making of Farewell My Concubine features production footage as well as interviews with director Chen Kaige and actors Leslie Cheung, Gong LI, ang Zhang Fengyi
• Michael Berry and Janet Yang (1080p; 00:35:37) – In this conversation, recorded for the Criterion collection in 2024, Michael Berry – author and professor of contemporary Chinese cultural studies at UCLA – talks with film producer Janet Yang, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The two discuss both the novel and the film versions of Farewell My Concubine, the work of director Chen Kaige, Fifth Generation cinema, and the Chinese film industry.
• Chen Kaige and Charlie Rose (1080i; 00:18:06) – When Farewell My Concubine was released in the U.S., director Chen Kaige appeared on the PBS talk show Charlie Rose on October 18, 1993. That interview is presented here.
• Trailer (1080p; 00:01:36)
• Essay by author and scholar Pauline Chen

The Final Assessment

A magnificent film that offers us a look into several of China’s most tumultuous decades through the lens of the traditional art form of the Peking Opera and its dedicated performers, Farewell My Concubine is one of the early, New Chinese Cinema classics, along with Raise the Red Lantern, that helped to elevate Chinese filmmaking. This 4K restoration as presented by the Criterion Collection on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray is a treat for the senses and must for film enthusiasts.

Farewell My Concubine is out on 4K Ultra HD Combo July 23, 2024 from the Criterion Collection

Purchase Farewell My Concubine 4K Ultra HD Combo (Criterion Collection) on Amazon.com

• Rating Certificate: R (for language and strong depiction of thematic material)
• Studios & Distributors: Beijing Film Studio | Tomson Films | China Film Co-Production Corporation | The Criterion Collection
• Director: Chen Kaige
• Written By: Lee Pik-Wah | Lu Wei
• Run Time: 171 Mins.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Video Format: HEVC 2160p (4K UHD)
• HDR Format: SDR
• Primary Audio: Mandarin DTS-HD MA 5.1
• Subtitles: English
• Street Date: 23 July 2024