The second part of the cult classic franchise of Jeffery Lau, based loosely on “Journey to the West,” an ancient Chinese classic, would be shown again in theaters across China beginning on April 13, Thursday. The Western Movie Group added 11 minutes to the movie.
10 Hours of Unused Footage
The additional scenes come from unreleased materials from the 1994 fantasy film. These scenes come from 10 hours of unused footage that Western Movie Group, the copyright owner of the movie, discovered in a warehouse, China.org reported.
The officials of Western Movie Group held a discussion about the discovery and decided to re-edit the film to create an extended version that was retitled “A Chinese Odyssey Part Two – Cinderella.” The extended version of the film provided new characters and new angles for the new generation of moviegoers. At the same time, it pays tribute to the original film and pleased fans nostalgic for the 1990s film.
High-Definition 2K Resolution
Western Movie Group went beyond adding 11 minutes but also restored the rest of the film by enhancing its 150,000 in high-definition 2K resolution. But Lau and Stephen Chow did not participate in the re-release since the original movie bombed at the box office when it was shown in 1994-95, while Chow’s movie company, which collaborated with Lau, had gone bankrupt.
Chow, along with Ng Man Tat, Karen Mok and Athena Cu, starred in the two-part “A Chinese Odyssey” which Lau directed. It cost HK$60 million to produce, but its Hong Kong box office was only HK$45 million, while it earned 20 million yuan in China.
The two later made their own versions of the ancient classic story. Chow directed in 2013 “Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons” which earned $203.5 million in China and produced “Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back” which grossed $240.9 million when it was shown during the 2017 Spring Festival.
However, movie critics describe the re-release as a boring film which haphazardly recycled big chunks of dialogue, songs and plot lines from the 1994 production made by the cash-hungry copyright owner.