Tsui Hark’s Shanghai Blues is a vibrant, screwball romantic comedy that is a must-see on the big screen, especially when he oversaw the 4K restoration.
Please check local listings for a showtime near you.
When Tsui Hark oversaw the restoration of Shanghai Blues, I’m sure fans will want to see this film again on the big screen. This ambitious film is a screwball romantic comedy set during the late 30s, where a lonely soldier boy and a young woman meet and hope to reunite. Their first encounter long ago under a bridge, during a raid where they couldn’t see each other’s faces, was fated, but finding each other again will be a problem!
As fate would have it, they end up living in the same building, unbeknownst to each other. Through a series of mishaps, he mistakes her ingénue roommate for his love interest, and a wacky love triangle hijinks ensue.
Watching this film again was a joy, and the nostalgia trip was more connected with the music used. The restoration looks gorgeous, and I’m certainly wanting to see it again in the environment that it’s meant for–the big screen! Preview copies of the film on 4K at home on a monitor is one thing, but a region one release is not yet available. Aside from some minor grain here and there, I simply need to look at it proper. Continue reading “Tsui Hark’s Shanghai Blues Returns to The Big Screen and Why You Must See It”
Legendary filmmaker Tsui Hark is one busy man! And we got a recap on what to expect soon in theatres. Not only can we get to revisit the classics, but also expect his trademark style in two upcoming projects.
Release Date: June 20, 2025
Shanghai Blues has been updated to 4K and unlike other releases, Tsui Hark knows that audiences have to experience this classic on the big screen instead of just releasing it to disc! This film is one part comedy and another romance. As for what’s next on this auteur’s plate, fans can look forward to the release of Legends of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants sometime this year, and in pre-production is Shih, Queen of the Sea. The former is a new take on a fond tale and the latter concerns one of the meanest pirates to sail the Asiatic seas! Both are equally ambitious works, and we’re glad this filmmaker is not retiring soon.
Shanghai Blues Plot Synopsis
In 1937, after The Second Sino-Japanese War breaks out, a soldier and a young woman have an awkward meet cute in darkness under a bridge as they seek refuge during a bomb raid. Although they can’t see each other’s faces, they promise to meet again after the dust settles. Ten years later, the soldier, now a burgeoning songwriter and tuba-player in a marching band, is back in town desperately searching for his would-be soulmate. As fate would have it they end up living in the same building unbeknownst to each other. Through a series of mishaps he mistakes her new ingénue roommate for his love interest and wacky love triangle hijinks ensue.
Shanghai Blues in 4K (sample image)
Consummate auteur Tsui Hark almost single-handedly reinvented Hong Kong cinema in the 80s and 90s with uber-kinetic genre opuses, amping up cinematic spectacle whether with special effects or sheer unbridled energy. This Hong Kong styled homage to the screwball comedies of yesteryear features black belt level slapstick and delightfully droll romcom shenanigans. With striking mise en scène and inspired production design Shanghai Blues, “…luscious, loving and a lot of fun…one of Tsui Hark’s most enjoyable works” — Richard James Havis, South China Morning Post.
The 4K restoration of SHANGHAI BLUES was supervised from the original negative by Tsui Hark with L’Immagine Ritrovata and the soundtrack remixed by One Cool Sound.
Tsui Hark Biography
This filmmaker is widely regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers in Hong Kong cinema, known for his innovative style and pushing the boundaries of filmmaking. He emerged as a key figure during the 1980s Hong Kong New Wave, challenging genre conventions and censorship restrictions with films like Butterfly Murders and Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind. And with his film series Once Upon a Time in China and Detective Dee turning into major commercial successes, Tsui remains of the highest-grossing filmmakers in Chinese-language cinema.
In 1984, Tsui co-founded Film Workshop, leading to a series of commercially successful films that defined the golden era of Hong Kong cinema. Works such as A Chinese Ghost Story, Swordsman, and Once Upon a Time in China solidified his dominance in Asia. After directing films in Hollywood, Tsui returned to Hong Kong in the mid-1990s and expanded his reach globally with films like Iron Monkey and Time and Tide, which reinvented the Hong Kong action genre for international audiences.
From 2011, Tsui ventured into 3D filmmaking with films like Flying Swords of Dragon Gate and Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon. His film The Taking of Tiger Mountain 3D earned him the Best Director award at the Golden Rooster Awards and the Hong Kong Film Awards.
Other notable achievements were co-directing and co-producing The Battle at Lake Changjin, a record-breaking Chinese film that garnered Best Directors and Best Film awards at the Golden Rooster Film Awards. Most recently, his film Septet: The Story of Hong Kong, was an Official Selection for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, and his adaptation of the classic Jin Yong novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes was released in 2025.
Please check local listings for a showtime near you.
Release Date: June 20, 2025
This filmmaker is widely regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers in Hong Kong cinema, known for his innovative style and pushing the boundaries of filmmaking. He emerged as a key figure during the 1980s Hong Kong New Wave, challenging genre conventions and censorship restrictions with films like Butterfly Murders and Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind. And with his film series Once Upon a Time in China and Detective Dee turning into major commercial successes, Tsui remains of the highest-grossing filmmakers in Chinese-language cinema.