Dream of the Red Chamber, one of the big four of classic Chinese novels, has been adapted for film and television dozens of times over the past decades. Yet this sui generis Great Wall production daringly transposes the setting to modern-day 1950s. The contemporised story revolves nonetheless around the love triangle between Jia Baoyu and his two cousins. Both girls love him but his heart belongs to only one. The ending, however, is remarkably changed to separation of the lovers as a result of war—the war that was surely still haunting the minds of the filmmakers at the time when the film was made. Not only did Great Wall pour money into building extravagant sets just so to recreate down to the smallest detail the grandeur of the legendary Jia mansion, but the film also boasted of its lavish costume designs for the diverse female cast. (From Hong Kong Film Archive)
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Cast
18 people
Li Li-Hua
林黛玉
Also in
Rape of the Sword
Vermilion Door
Yan Jun
贾宝玉
Also in
Misleading Track
The Magnificent Concubine
Ou-Yang Sha-Fei
薛宝钗
Known for
Dragon Fist
A Chinese Ghost Story II
Luo Lan
Also in
The Stormy Night
Wang Yuan-Long
贾政
Also in
Four Heroes of the Wang Family
The Thirteen Grand Tutors
Gong Qiuxia
贾母
Also in
Old and New Shanghai
Three Charming Smiles
Ping Fan
薛蟠
Also in
Return of The Four
The Jade Bow
Xu Li
Also in
Sorrows of the Forbidden City
Spring
Chen Qi
Also in
The Fatal Throwing Sword
Sorrows of the Forbidden City
Hsia Meng
Also in
The Eternal Love
Garden of Repose
Chen Juan-Juan
晴雯
Also in
The Painted Skin
New Women
Kau Ping
Also in
Three Charming Smiles
Nightmare
Griffin Yueh Feng Director · Cao Xueqin Story 蘇燕生 Costume designer
First release January 26, 1952 · Produced in Hong Kong SAR China · Original title 新紅樓夢
Production
The Great Wall Movie Enterprises Ltd.
Production
Hong Kong SAR China
Produced in
Languages
Original title
新紅樓夢
Original language
Chinese
Spoken on screen
Chinese
Release dates
Hong Kong SAR China · January 26, 1952
Theatrical
No release date listed for United States.
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