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silentfilm
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Joined: 18 Dec 2007
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Location: Dallas, TX USA
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 Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 9:43 pm Post subject: Milestone to Release Sessue Hayakawa's Famed Silent Film THE |
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MILESTONE TO RELEASE SESSUE HAYAKAWA'S FAMED SILENT FILM
"THE DRAGON PAINTER"
ON DVD THIS MARCH 18TH
Dear friends,
Twenty years after a promise to the archivist and Asian cinema scholar Stephen Gong, working in collaboration with the wonderful people at the George Eastman House Film Department, and several years in the production of the DVD, I am very happy to announce the release of Sessue (The Bridge on the River Kwai) Hayakawa's silent masterpiece, THE DRAGON PAINTER. And of course, being Milestone, we even have bonus features for the bonus features including another extremely rare Hayakawa feature (produced by the legendary Thomas Ince!), still galleries, press kits and more! See below for details.
This is a great time for Sessue Hayakawa with the new biography by Daisuke Miyao, a major film retrospective touring the country, and the amazing discovery of “lost” Hayakawa films by our friends at the Nederlands Filmmuseum. (Please email to me if you want the Filmmuseum's press release.)
Best regards,
Dennis Doros, Milestone Film & Video, Harrington Park, NJ 07640
Phone: (800) 603-1104 or (201) 767-3117 Fax: (201) 767-3035
milefilms@aol.com
www.milestonefilms.com
THE MILESTONE CINEMATHEQUE PRESENTS
THE DRAGON PAINTER
Restored by the George Eastman House Motion Picture Department
New digital master featuring original tinting
New ensemble score by composer Mark Izu
Deluxe bonus features include full-length feature film:
Thomas Ince's THE WRATH OF THE GODS, starring Sessue Hayakawa
Press kits can be downloaded: http://www.milestonefilms.com/presskits.php
THE DRAGON PAINTER
CAT #: MILE00108
ISBN #: 978-1-933920-07-8
UPC #: 784148010847
SRP: $29.95
PREBOOK: February 13, 2008
STREET: March 18, 2008
SYNOPSIS:
Sessue Hayakawa was one of the great stars of the silent cinema. In many films he played a dashing, romantic lead - a rarity for Asian actors in Hollywood, even today. Hayakawa became so popular and powerful that he was able to start Haworth Pictures to control his own destiny. The Dragon Painter was the finest of the Haworth productions. Beautifully acted, gorgeously shot (with Yosemite Valley filling in for the Japanese landscape), and lovingly directed, the film is an absolute marvel.
Hayakawa plays Tatsu, an artist living as a hermit in the wilds of Japan. Thought mad by the local villagers, he believes that his princess fiancée has been captured by a dragon. His obsession leads to artistic inspiration. It isn't until a surveyor comes across Tatsu in the mountains that his genius is discovered. The surveyor informs the famed artist Kano Indara about his discovery. Kano is desperate to find a male heir to teach his art, but when Tatsu meets Kano's daughter (played by Hayakawa's wife, Tsuru Aoki) and sees only his lost princess, a clash of wills brings the household to the brink of disaster.
Long considered lost, The Dragon Painter was rediscovered in a French distribution print and brought to the George Eastman House for restoration with the original tints. The film survives today as a tribute to Hayakawa's great artistry and a shining example of Asian-American cinema.
_________________
Bruce Calvert
http://www.silentfilmstillarchive.com |
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James Bazen
Joined: 19 Dec 2007
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Location: Canton, Ohio
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Danny Burk
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Posts: 516
Location: South Bend, IN
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| Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 8:34 pm Post subject: |
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Speaking of Hayakawa, it appears that a lost feature and parts of two others have been turned up by the Amsterdam film museum:
http://www.criterionforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=162199#162199
Edit: I see that this was briefly mentioned in Dennis' post above. It was easy to miss! The above link gives further info. |
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rudyfan
Joined: 19 Dec 2007
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Location: San Fwancisco
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