The Dream of the Red Chamber (1977)

The Dream of the Red Chamber is based on the great medieval Chinese novel of the same title, and has also been turned into a much longer TV series. It is a love story about the noble Bao family, whose young son Bao Yu is in love with a childhood friend, Lin, from another wealthy family. But Lin is sickly, so Bao Yu's family wants him to marry his cousin instead, and sets up a wedding where Bao Yu thinks he is being married to Lin, but is in fact being married to his cousin. Much lamenting ensues, performed in the Huangmei musical genre, which is characterized by lightly comical and stylized acting and singing mixed with serious drama.This story is interesting in terms of gender history because it is almost entirely about women, which is unexpected for a tale of the medieval Asian aristocracy. Even the one major male part is played by a woman in the various film productions.This version of the tale from 1977 is not quite as good as the previous version from 1962, although the two versions are much alike. The storytelling and the dramatic acting is of higher quality in the '62 version, and the songs are longer and in a more classical style. The two movies seem to follow almost identical scripts, although there are a few scenes that have been changed (the whole episode with the naughty book is cut out of the newer version). In general, the character relationships, esp. that between Lin and Bao Yu, are much more clear and elaborated upon in the '62 version, while much of the storyline in this '77 version seems rushed, even to the extent of being confusing to viewers if they weren't already familiar with the previous version. Repeatedly, various scenes and details of the plot which were shown better in the previous movie are cut short. Here, too, Lin isn't shown to be all that sick (at least not until the end, where it is mainly out of love), while in the '62 version her obvious sickness and frailty greatly contribute to the tragical situations. The drama in the '62 version is significantly more heightened and stylized (but also caricatured) than in this version, probably because the actors and producers were more used to this sort of material. It must be admitted that the dramatic end sequence of this version is very effective, however. Some scenes are modeled very closely according to the '62 version, while the lamentation of Bao Yu after Lin's death is in a more modern, explicit and convincingly anguished style than the older version, which is very moving. Ultimately, though, I feel that the 1977 version gives the impression of being a largely unnecessary remake of the 1962 movie. This is the last hurrah of this genre; a late-comer and an also-ran which doesn't quite live up to the peak productions of the '60s. But of course it is warranted in that it treats us to the delectable looks of Brigitte Lin, Sylvia Chang, Kara Hui and several other beautiful actresses, and also because, being from 1977, it is perhaps easier to restore for DVD than the '62 version, the available DVD of which is of inferior crispness.I rate the '62 version 8 - possibly 9 - stars out of 10, while this '77 version gets 7 stars. It certainly has very good sequences, but on the whole it is not as good as the version from 15 years before.

I have been reading the original story, so naturally I am curious about this adaptation. By the third scene my heart is swimming in tears.What an amazing actress Miss Lin is, to be able to wrench such emotions from the audience. A truly stunning performance. Visually the film is a feast most astonishing, bringing an ancient Chinese style of illustration into a livid life form. The scene where Jia Baoyu visits the memorial to his true counterpart had the most sublime impact which I cannot describe. Small wonder that I read that this is Miss Lin's favourite film. Whilst the depth and nature of the other major characters was not fully explored, the cinematographic depiction of the reality of the world inhabited by Jia Baoyu and his true counterpart provided a most interesting and soul satisfying focus for any students of the original work. The capture of this essence by the director is a supreme achievement.

The last Huangmei offering from Shaw studio is finally here! It was a very shrewd decision to cast Brigitte Lin, the reigning queen of the 70s Qiong Yao romances as Pao Yu and under the meticulous direction of Li Han Hsiang, she managed to pull it off and made this version of Pau Yu uniquely her own. Sylvia Chang has the esteemed role of Dai Yu but seemed miscast and tried too hard to make herself a tragic figure. In the hectic rush to complete the film for premiere ahead of the other competing version from Taiwan by Ivy Ling Po, many locations and scenes were skipped as evidenced by a few unfilmed tracks from the EMI original soundtrack release. Basically a one man/woman show for Brigitte Lin as other characters are under developed or completely left out and what a shame even the singer who dubbed all the songs was not mentioned. Applaud for the musical arrangements by Wang Fook Ling, which stand the test of time and still pull all the heart strings after 30 years!

Love discovered and lost is but one of the themes of this lavish Shaw Brothers' rendition of an old Chinese tale.Western audiences might find it confusing to find that the male romantic lead, Jia Baoyu, is played by a female-- but this is merely to show an excessive of sensitivity and tenderness, as well as a childlike innocence. And, while it might take a little getting used to, Brigitte Lin does a successful job in pulling it off.The movie plays like an opera. And, indeed, it does share a number of the characteristics of both Western and Chinese opera-- again with great success, but the plot moves along through both dialogue and song. The depths of the emotions chartered here are quite dramatic, and maybe a touch melodramatic, but that is a good representation of human nature, particularly in matters of the heart. There is an invariable drama to love which supersedes all reason. The primary plot of the slow realization of a first, true love is nicely set off by the secondary plot of jealousy and deceit among the family and its servants. It might almost seem heavy-handed, but a strong cast, boasting strong performances cares it off flawlessly.Newly remastered in lavish colors, this film is a true treasure in every sense of the word. Clearly, one of the Shaw Brothers' best.