A year ago I was honored with the rare opportunity to provide some new original artwork for one of my absolute favorite films, Tsui Hark's 1986 genre-bending masterpeice PEKING OPERA BLUES.
My love for this movie, which I have exhaustingly chronicled here, has not waned over the decades. So I was thrilled for the priveldge to be involved with the much anticipated and long overdue restoration and revitalization of the film on 4K and Blu-ray.
Given my normal "4-day turnaround" (I typically only have a few days to complete each peice) I usually spend most of the first day watching the film a couple times (I know, hard work) and jotting down some layout ideas. It can be challenging to distill the essense of the movie into a single frame that is at least somewhat representative of the 2-hour experience. I attempted to capture and convey the vibrant energy, colorful pageantry, and vivid characters that Hark and his talented team crafted.
Asked to do it again I would probably do something quite different, but this is the first design that came out. And I used my full alotted time. I don't enjoy the luxury of test studies. Everything is the "first take", and move on.
Were the film's matte paintings seemless? Not entirely.
Did they re-use the same (only slightly redressed) street set? Yep. If you looked closely.
Are the general's luscious sideburns and ridiculous eyebrows over-the-top? Absolutely! And I wouldn't have my archetypal Chinese movie villians any other way.
Did that spoil any of the cine-magic? Heck no!
Hark's (along with Poon Han Sang, his director of photography) were successfully able to cinematically realize a fully immersive fictional world with limited resources through the use of frugal blocking and constructing only what was needed for the camera to see. Two or three-walled rooms accomplished the illusion. The result is a gauzy, romanticised 1913 China. Where the characters are not overpowered by expansive ornate sets, but rather they are constantly the focus of attention. And with gorgeous stars like Sally Yeh, Brigitte Lin, Cherie Chung and Mark Cheng, why would you look anywhere else?
The film spools out at a breathless pace with plots and subplots piling up like a jenga tower. Each one interlocking, building higher and higher to its inevitable thrilling conclusion.
For this US release, by SHOUT FACTORY, I also contributed an extensive image gallery in addition to my menu artwork.
Because of the later deadline for the UK release, by ARROW, I was able to add even more content to the image gallery.
And for the Australian IMPRINT release, I had even more time, so that image gallery is the largest of the three. They also commissioned me to write a 2500 word essay on the film's production and legacy. And I also produced a 20 minute featurette on the film's marketing materials and other collectible memorabilia.
My hope is that Tsui Hark's masterpiece can now find a home in the hearts of a whole new generation of cinema fans. And the work can have the longevity any work of art deserves.
Next up... Bruce Lee's body double finally gets the spotlight.
