Modern ‘Red Chamber Dream’

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)

Directed by Griffin Yueh Feng, Modern ‘Red Chamber Dream’ leans on a strong ensemble — Li Li-Hua, Yan Jun, Ou-Yang Sha-Fei — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about romance titles of 1952.