Tickets for the highly anticipated "French Classic Film Restoration Exhibition" will officially go on sale at 12:00 on October 10. This film festival, directed by Shanghai Film Group and hosted by Shanghai Film Technology Factory, will be exclusively presented at Shanghai Cinema SHO from October 24 to November 2. Eight restored masterpieces by French film masters will be on display, adding another surprise to the cultural life of the film city in the golden autumn.
French classic film restoration exhibition poster
The eight works selected for this film festival are all 4K or 2K digital restoration versions that took a French restoration team several years to polish. They cover a variety of genres such as romance, crime, thriller, documentary, etc. Each one carries unique film historical significance. Almost every film on the list is at the level of a "legendary masterpiece" and is worth going to the cinema to "catch up on."
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg movie poster
"The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" (1964) is a musical romance directed by Jacques Delon. It not only won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, but also became a classic in film history with its innovative "singing from beginning to end" format.
This 4K restoration recreates the love story of Julie, played by Catherine Deneuve, and her lover with vibrant colors and melodies, with embedded Chinese and English subtitles allowing viewers to seamlessly experience French romance. It's worth noting that the film, the fruit of the love affair between directors Jacques Delon and Agnès Varda, was restored using original footage provided by the Varda Foundation, ensuring a meticulous restoration.
A Man and a Woman movie poster
"A Man and a Woman" (1966), Claude Lelouch's masterpiece, won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards, and became the inspiration for the official poster of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
The 2K restored version retains the film's iconic alternating black and white and color images. The subtitles will be presented manually on site through a Chinese subtitle machine, replicating the classic viewing experience and making the "cross-class love" of Jean-Louis Trintignant and Anouk Aimée more contagious.
Movie Poster
"The Wrath of the Sea" is a crime thriller adapted from "The Brainchild of Mr. Ripley". The 25-year-old Alain Delon plays a charming criminal. The contrast between his handsome appearance and complex human nature is still a classic image in film history.
The 4K restored version clearly restores the blue sea view and suspenseful atmosphere of the Mediterranean. The beautiful women and scenery have been newly restored. I can’t wait to see it on the big screen.
"Red Circle" movie poster
"The Red Circle" (1970), Jean-Pierre Melville's pinnacle crime film, stars Yves Montand, Alain Delon, Bourville, and Gian-Maria Volonté. Its 30-minute, dialogue-free jewel heist, captured with exquisite camerawork and atmospheric composition, has earned it the distinction of being considered a "textbook of immersive crime scenes." The 4K restoration will further enhance the visual quality, allowing viewers to more directly experience Melville's unwavering coolness.
"Eyes Without a Face" movie poster
The horror thriller "Eyes Without a Face" (1960), a masterpiece by French film master Georges Franchux, uses a narrative as precise as a scalpel to dissect the madness and cruelty beneath the cloak of "fatherly love."
The film tells the horrifying story of surgeon Gérard, who, in order to repair his daughter Christiane's face, was disfigured in a car accident, resorts to kidnapping an innocent girl to remove her skin. The white frosted mask the heroine wears year after year has become a cinematic icon, directly inspiring Leo Carax's design for the heroine in "Holy Motors" and becoming a key visual motif in later Gothic aesthetics. This 4K restoration will clearly capture the film's Gothic aesthetic details, making its dark atmosphere and exploration of human nature even more impactful on the big screen.
"The Big Blue" movie poster
"The Big Blue" (1988) is another classic masterpiece that's truly worth seeing on the big screen. Luc Besson's romantic adventure stars Jean Reno and others, each of whom embody their profound yearning for the sea. The azure color scheme and deep-sea diving scenes are even more stunning in the 4K restored Director's Cut Extended Edition. The embedded Chinese subtitles fully convey the characters' pursuit of "freedom and love."
It is worth mentioning that the "Big Blue" screened this time is not the 132-minute theatrical version, but the 168-minute director's extended version edited by Luc Besson himself, and has undergone the latest 4K digital restoration.
The Hole movie poster
"The Hole" (1960), with a Douban score of 9.2, secures its place as the "Best Prison Break Film of All Time." Jacques Becker's final film, the film is based on the true 1947 escape from the Santé Prison in Paris. It focuses on the five inmates' months-long quest to dig a hole for their escape, only to be thwarted by human suspicion just before their success.
Unlike the idealistic "The Shawshank Redemption," "The Hole" uses a chilling, almost documentary-like perspective to reveal the complex spectrum of human nature in desperate situations—from trust in collaboration to betrayal in the face of profit. The 4K restoration accurately recreates every detail of the prison break, and the calm and restrained narrative style on the big screen will leave audiences breathless.
"Fake" movie poster
"Fake" (1973) is also a posthumous work, directed by Orson Welles, who enlightened the entire process of film history.
The film breaks the boundaries between documentary and fiction: from its claim of being "entirely based on real footage" to the director's own personal experiences, the film's editing entangles the audience in mystery, highlighting the essence of cinema. The narrative, interwoven with English and French dialogue, is restored in 4K, showcasing the master's deconstruction of "fiction and truth" with even greater clarity.
Film Festival Schedule
Shanghai, with its weekly film festivals, continues to be abuzz with excitement, from the selection of films to the quality of restorations and the cinematic experience. This year's French Classic Film Restoration Exhibition has already had many fans eagerly anticipating it. Whether it's to bask in the beauty of Alain Delon at his peak or to listen to a masterclass from Orson Welles, every weekend in October offers an irresistible reason to visit the cinema.
