Screen/Society--"A Chinese Ghost Story" (Ching Siu-tung, 1987) | new 4K restoration

Experience this Hong Kong Cinema Classic in a new 4K restoration!

"A Chinese Ghost Story" (Ching Siu-tung, 1987, 96 min, Hong Kong, Cantonese with English subtitles, DCP)

"Otherworldly antics ensue when a hapless tax collector resolves to free his ghostly paramour from her demonic captor. Operating in about six genres at once, this wonderfully bonkers cult classic produced by Hong Kong legend Tsui Hark has it all: romance, stop-motion skeletons, gravity-defying martial arts, musical numbers, a huge prehensile tongue, and much more madness!⁠" -- Bryn Mawr Film Institute

A CHINESE GHOST STORY is the landmark collaboration between director Ching Siu-tung and producer Tsui Hark, whose creative partnership would continue with two sequels. Loosely adapted from Pu Songling's STRANGE TALES FROM A CHINESE STUDIO, the film reimagines a classic ghost story through an exhilarating blend of romance, horror, fantasy, action, and comedy.

Its dreamlike visual style, innovative special effects, and haunting atmosphere remain as captivating today as ever. Leslie Cheung's unforgettable theme song and Joey Wang's enchanting performance as the ghost Nie Xiaoqian helped cement the film's enduring legacy.

When the timid scholar Ning Choi-san (Leslie Cheung) seeks refuge in a deserted temple, he encounters the mysterious and beautiful Nie Xiaoqian (Joey Wang) and quickly falls in love. Unbeknownst to him, she is a ghost enslaved by a sinister tree demon and forced to lure men to their deaths. With the help of a wandering Taoist swordsman (Wu Ma), Ning sets out to free her from her supernatural fate, giving rise to a poignant love story suspended between the worlds of the living and the dead.

"One of the most popular and beloved movies of Hong Kong's '80s golden age... Newly remastered and retranslated by Shout Factory, this classic has never looked or sounded better." -- Vidiots

"A CHINESE GHOST STORY is one of the best Asian films ever. Indeed, it's one of the best anything films ever. This one film, wirework, chiffon, crumbling buildings and all, is worth a good dozen of any explosion-and-car-chase-filled spectaculars. It's also responsible for the conversion of a good many people to a passionate love for Asian film. I haven't met anyone, either in cyberspace or in meatspace, who doesn't love this film, so see it on the big screen while you can, and find out what we're all raving about." -- Heroic-Cinema.com