Qin Xianglian(1964)

The Stage(zh)

During the Republican era, wars and conflicts were frequent. On stage, the "Overlord" sings with resounding passion, while below, the absurd spectacle of life unfolds. They must both secure the opera troupe's livelihood and appease the audience in their seats. Once the curtain rises, how should this play be performed?

M. Butterfly(en)

In 1960s China, French diplomat Rene Gallimard falls in love with an opera singer, Song Liling – but Song is not at all who Gallimard thinks.

Farewell My Concubine(zh)

In an epic tale of theater, gender, love and class, two Beijing opera actors navigate political turmoil as their friendship evolves over decades.

A Night at the Opera(en)

The Marx Brothers take on high society and the opera world to bring two lovers together. A sly business manager and two wacky friends of two opera singers help them achieve success while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies.

Dangerous Liaisons(zh)

Dangerous Liaisons is a Chinese film by Hur Jin-ho based on the novel with the same title by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos.

One Second(zh)

A movie fan escapes from a labour camp during the Chinese Cultural Revolution and strikes up a relationship with a homeless female vagabond.

B for Busy(zh)

A divorced, retired painting teacher from Shanghai falls in love with a woman who is also divorced. The involvement of his ex-wife and a student of his makes the whole thing complicated.

Buddha Mountain(zh)

In Chengdu, China, a retired female opera singer named Master Chang takes in a trio of young tenants into her boarding home. The tenants include a rock singer and a college student who has run away from home.

Bride & Prejudice(en)

Mrs. Bakshi is eager to find suitors for her four unmarried daughters when a family friend introduces them to handsome American Will Darcy. A Bollywood-style modern adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel.

The Good Earth(en)

China, during the rule of the Qing Dynasty. The arranged marriage between Wang Lung, a humble farmer, and O-Lan, a domestic slave, will endure the many hardships of life over the years; but the temptations of a fragile prosperity will endanger their love and the survival of their entire family.

The World of Suzie Wong(en)

A Hong Kong prostitute tries modeling and falls for the artist who's painting her.

The Golden Era(zh)

The story of writer Xiao Hong comes alive through memories of her great love affair, literary influence and escape from China during World War II.

The Hand(zh)

Hong Kong, 1960s. Zhang, a shy tailor's assistant, is riveted by his imperious client Miss Hua. Upon meeting her, she seduces him to make sure he will truly remember her when designing her garments. After this intimate first encounter, a rapport develops between the two. Entry is for the theatrically released extended version, not the segment from the Eros anthology.

Northanger Abbey(en)

A young woman's penchant for sensational Gothic novels leads to misunderstandings in the matters of the heart.

The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom(zh)

In the twilight of the Ming Dynasty, the Imperial court is plagued by corruption as tyrants rule over the land. With the Manchurians preying on a weakened empire, war is imminent. To save the victims from their suffering, sorceress Jade Raksha fights the soldiers that oppress people for their own gain. As payback, local government officials decide to pin the murder of Governor Zhuo Zhonglian on Jade, turning her and the members of her cult into wanted fugitives for a crime they didn't commit.

Hibiscus Town(zh)

Based on a novel by the same name written by Gu Hua, a melodrama about the life and travails of a young woman who lives through the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution.

Cousins(en)

When Larry and Maria learn that their respective spouses are cheating on them, they try to turn the tables on them by pretending to have an affair. However, they soon find themselves falling in love.

The King of Masks(zh)

Wang Bianlian is an aging street performer known as the King of Mask for his mastery of Sichuan Change Art in a true story. His wife left him with and infant son over 30 years ago. The son died from illness at age 10. This left Wang a melancholy loner aching for a male descendent to learn his rare and dying art.

The Unforgivable(en)

A woman is released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent crime and re-enters a society that refuses to forgive her past.

Step Up: Year of the Dance(zh)

Two young people from different social classes put aside their differences and come together to form a dance group and win a championship in China.

The Courtesan and the Female Scholar(zh)

Cross-dressed as a man, the young scholar did not anticipate catching the eye of a beautiful courtesan, nor the bond that they form together. But will her long-standing deception create a rift between the two of them?

Ah Beng: Mission Impossible(cn)

During Chinese New Year, security guard Ah Beng (Jack Lim) receives a call from his company. He is asked to cancel his Lunar New Year holiday for a simple mission, which infuriates him. However, Ah Beng immediately changes his mind knowing that the mission promises a handsome reward of RM1 million.

Amahl and the Night Visitors(en)

A destitute, crippled child and his mother are visited late one night by three traveling strangers who claim to be following a star so that they may bring gifts to a newborn king. The yearly live telecasts of Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors were a cherished Christmas tradition throughout the 1950s. In addition, since its premiere in 1951, Amahl has been performed regularly by community groups and small opera companies throughout the US, making it the single most popular American opera. This production, staged by the composer himself and originally telecast on Christmas Day, 1955, is a testament to the work’s enduring power to move the heart and stir the soul. Starring Rosemary Kuhlmann as the Mother and Bill McIver as Amahl. Members of the Symphony of the Air are under the direction of Thomas Schippers.

The Caged Canary(zh)

Years of trying to fit in with the high society as the Gu family's foster daughter, Gu Shuyi meets headstrong & charming, Bai Yuwei. These two women grow fond of each other. With their new found trust and support, they try to break free from the constraints of patriarchy and embrace modernity.

The Fox Spirit and The Little Priest(zh)

She has waited 300 years for the other to be born again. Can their relationship find a new start when one is a fox spirit, and the other a priestess?

River of Fundament(en)

Visionary artist Matthew Barney returns to cinema with this 3-part epic, a radical reinvention of Norman Mailer’s novel Ancient Evenings. In collaboration with composer Jonathan Bepler, Barney combines traditional modes of narrative cinema with filmed elements of performance, sculpture, and opera, reconstructing Mailer’s hypersexual story of Egyptian gods and the seven stages of reincarnation, alongside the rise and fall of the American car industry.

Einstein on the Beach: The Changing Image of Opera(en)

The creative processes of avant-garde composer Philip Glass and progressive director/designer Robert Wilson are examined in this film. It documents their collaboration on this tradition breaking opera.

Shanghai Noon(en)

Chon Wang, a clumsy imperial guard, trails Princess Pei Pei when she's kidnapped from the Forbidden City and transported to America. Wang follows her captors to Nevada, where he teams up with an unlikely partner, outcast outlaw Roy O'Bannon, and tries to spring the princess from her imprisonment.

Tosca - Teatru tal-Opra Aurora(it)

Tosca returns to the Teatru tal-Opra Aurora in a completely new production, under the direction of the renowned Vivien Hewitt, following the recent successes of 2011 (Aurora's own production) and 2014 (a Gaulitanus chorus production). Attracting the greatest names in the opera world since its first performance in Rome in 1900, Tosca 2011 brought the Aurora its largest ever international cast, featuring soprano Michele Crider, tenor Neil Schicoff, and baritone Juan Pons. This time, the Aurora has made a point of enhancing the star-quality element in the cast beyond just the three leading roles. It is with pleasure, and a good dose of enthusiasm, that we announce our stellar cast, composed of Amarilli Nizza (Tosca), Stefano La Colla (Cavaradossi), Marco Vratogna (Scarpia), Frano Lufi (Angelotti), Matteo Peirone (Sacristan), Cliff Zammit Stevens (Spoletta), Joseph Lia (Sciarrone), and our own Mattia Grech (Shepherd Boy).

Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At!(fr)

During World War II, two French civilians and a downed British Bomber Crew set out from Paris to cross the demarcation line between Nazi-occupied Northern France and the South. From there they will be able to escape to England. First, they must avoid German troops – and the consequences of their own blunders.

Die Walküre(de)

The gorgeous and evocative Otto Schenk/Günther Schneider-Siemssen production continues with this second opera in Wagner’s Ring cycle. Hildegard Behrens brings deep empathy to Brünnhilde, the favorite daughter of the god Wotan (James Morris) who nevertheless defies him. Morris’s portrayal of Wotan is deservedly legendary, as is Christa Ludwig, as Fricka. Jessye Norman and Gary Lakes are Sieglinde and Siegmund, and Kurt Moll is the threatening Hunding. James Levine and the Met orchestra provide astonishing color and drama. (Performed April 8, 1989)

Siegfried(de)

Siegfried is the third of the four operas that constitute Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), by Richard Wagner.

Master of the Drunken Fist: Beggar So(zh)

Due to a conspiracy, the wealthy So Chan loses everything but is saved by the Beggars' Sect. He learns the long lost martial art - Drunken Fist, to defeat the person who framed him.

Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat: Sagwa's Storybook World(en)

Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat is an Chinese and Canadian-American animated television series based on a 1994 novel by Amy Tan which aired on PBS Kids. Set c. 1840, during the Qing Dynasty, the young Sagwa and her siblings have fun in her their day-to-day lives while learning and teaching valuable life lessons. This single DVD contains two full-length programs: Cat Nights, Flights, and Delights including the episodes "Firefly Nights," "Fu-Fu's Full Moon Flight" and "Shei-Hu's Secret" Feline Frenzy including the episodes "Explorer's Club," "Treasure Hunters," and "Sick Day"

Night Plane from Chungking(en)

Without lights and in a driving rain, a bus is lumbering along the muddy Assam Road en route from Chunking to the Indian border. Passengers include a European of unknown nationality, a missionary a French officer, and a White Russian. There is also an ancient Chinese lady on an important diplomatic mission to Indian and her traveling companion. The trip is halted when Japanese planes bomb the road and hit a munitions truck and kill many Chinese soldiers. The Chinese commander puts the wounded soldiers on the bus and directs it to a nearby secret airport where the officer in charge is an American attached to the Chinese Air Force.

Two Belles in Love(zh)

She smells her fragrance, she sees her talent... The ancient love story of Cui Jianyun and Cao Yuhua. The plight of these two women is told as they fall in love due to the admiration for each other's stunning beauty and literary craft. Adapted from the Kunqu opera & story by Li Yu, "Fragrant Companion/Lianxiang Companion", this short film includes a parallel between the play and "reality." The ending has been altered from the original play.

Maria Callas Sings Tosca, Act II(en)

At the beginning of 1964, the music world experiences something completely unexpected. Maria Callas returns to the opera stage as the prima donna. Her “Tosca” at the Royal Opera House becomes a sensation. Maria Callas wants to show everyone once again that she deserves the title of “prima donna assoluta.” On the condition that star director Franco Zeffirelli take over the direction, the exceptional singer agrees to sing the role of Tosca. The BBC recorded the 2nd act of the opera for television. It is one of the most dramatic acts in opera history: in order to free the painter Cavaradossi from the hands of torturers, Tosca ends up murdering the police chief Scarpia. The film footage is one of the rare opportunities to see Maria Callas in an opera performance and to experience her highly emotional performance art and vocal abilities...

The Womaniser(en)

Yan Hongwei is in distress because the first three girlfriends he had have all left and he nearly died of a broken heart. Even more unfortunately, he was unemployed and when cornered , his friend introduced him to the Water Yang which was a business deal. The deal was as long as he 's within a month to the lovelorn girl he can earn 100,000 yuan. To obtain the good things of beauty and money , Yan Hongwei has to learn let go.

Opera Gala - Live from Baden Baden(de)

The Phantom of the Opera(en)

The deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House causes murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star.