Recent Film Restorations

[Lowry_Sam]

Partners Of The Tide 4k restoration by SFFP.

Also,

Our restoration of Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans makes its Latin American debut on October 23 at São Paolo International Film Festival! Gustavo Petri will conduct Orquestra Brazil Jazz Sinfônica performing Timothy Brock’s score for the film, commissioned specifically for this new restoration.

[Stefan Andersson]

Once Upon a Time in Harlem, co-photographed by William Greaves in 1972
https://www.onceuponatimeinharlemfilm.com/

More on the restoration:
https://thefilmstage.com/i-couldnt-see- ... m-to-life/

[Stefan Andersson]

Details on restoring Pakeezah:
https://filmheritagefoundation.co.in/4k ... ezah-1972/

More info:
https://cinetra.in/articles/how-film-he ... d-pakeezah
https://www.instagram.com/p/Delyl1BD7Tp/?hl=en (before/after restoration video)
https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/revisit ... entrapment
https://variety.com/2026/film/festivals ... 236909987/

[Stefan Andersson]

Film Heritage Foundation plans to restore "John Abraham’s “Agraharathil Kazhuthai” (“Donkey in a Brahmin Village”) and Aribam Syam Sharma’s “Imagi Ningthem” (“My Son, My Precious”). The Abraham film will be the foundation’s first Tamil-language restoration."
https://variety.com/2026/film/festivals ... 236909987/

News from 2025 - restoring "Badnam Basti" (1970):
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ent ... 910575.cms
https://www.arsenal-berlin.de/en/archiv ... nam-basti/
https://www.academymuseum.org/programs/ ... 0d11770214
https://worm.org/production/badnam-basti/

[Stefan Andersson]

Osmanthus Alley (Chen Kun-hou, Taiwan, 1987), 4K with original Taiwanese soundtrack:
https://variety.com/2026/film/markets-f ... 236909913/

Wording in the article is unclear, but it seems that Hou Hsiao-hsien dubbed actor Tuo Tsung-hua. Hou and Chen Kun-hou often collaborated.

https://focustaiwan.tw/culture/202610130008
https://www.festival-lumiere.org/film/l ... -osmanthes
https://www.tfai.org.tw/en/event/detail ... 4899860092

[Stefan Andersson]

Film Heritage Foundation plans to restore “Piravi” /../ Shaji N. Karun’s Cannes winner /.../ for which only subtitled prints survive."
https://variety.com/2026/film/festivals ... 236909987/

[Lowry_Sam]

BAMPFA has been screening some HK restorations, some of which I don't think have been mentioned:

The Arch, Shushuen, (1968)
Out Sister Hedy, Ching (1957)
Colorful Youth, Wan (1966)
The Secret, Hui (1979)
Just Like Weather, Fong (1986)

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

The Hong Kong Film Archive released The Secret restoration on Blu in 2019, and it was also in Carlotta's Hui box from earlier this year. The HKFA disc (which has English subs) is available from a few international sources (including eBay), though at a hefty markup. The HKFA also released the Colorful Youth restoration, including an extended version with additional footage sourced from a VHS tape, but on DVD only.

The restorations of The Arch and Just Like Weather are part of the M+ Restoration initiative, which has also restored Peter Yung's The System and Patrick Tam's Love Massacre. The series will eventually include The Butterfly Murders (Tsui), The Story of Woo Viet (Hui), Homecoming (Yim), Cageman (Cheung), and Durian Durian (Chan). AFAIK none of these restorations have been commercially released yet, but Kani will be putting out Cageman and Just Like Weather in the U.S. Les Blank (who was the film's editor) acquired the U.S. rights to The Arch at some point and his company still sells it on their site, but in a dreadful old transfer.

[Mr Sausage]

This is great news. The Secret, Butterfly Murders, The Story of Woo Viet, and Homecoming are terrific HK films. The last one in particular needs rescuing: I saw it on a fullscreen LD rip that looked just miserable. But more Ann Hui is also wonderful. She's sadly overlooked, I think because HK fans tend to love the zany stuff, less so her quiet, sensitive dramas. But The Secret ought to appeal for its genre trappings and experimentalist New Wave editing techniques.

I hope these all get excellent releases.

[andyli]

Yes the M+ restorations are fantastic. They'd been mentioned multiple times on this forum as the project went along, but very few people took notice. I remember there were posts about seeking out Love, Massacre in a watchable copy. The 4K restoration should generate some renewed interest.

[Mr Sausage]

Patrick Tam movies especially need decent restorations given how carefully he works out the colour designs.

[Stefan Andersson]

"David Bowie "Stage" - restored, never shown concert footage; premieres in Berlin, Feb. 2027:
https://www.berlinale.de/en/2027/news-p ... 78862.html

"recently discovered and restored footage from the 1978 Isolar II World Tour, during which Bowie performed material from /.../ “Heroes”. /.../ documentary filmmaker Brett Morgen first discovered the original camera negatives while working on his/.../ film Moonage Daydream. /.../ a specially created sound mix from Academy Award winner Paul Massey (Bohemian Rhapsody, Michael, Moonage Daydream). Using state-of-the-art 7.1 surround technology and spatial audio design"

[Stefan Andersson]

Swoon, Tom Kalin "restored by the Academy Film Archive and UCLA Film & Television Archive in collaboration with Frameline, Strand Releasing, and Sundance Institute in 4K from the original 16 mm A/B camera negatives, 35 mm interpositive, 35 mm dupe negative, and 35 mm magnetic track. The restoration was supervised by Tom Kalin and Ellen Kuras at Roundabout Entertainment, Inc. and Deluxe Audio Services. Restoration funding was provided by the Academy Film Archive and UCLA Film & Television Archive with additional support from Frameline, Ellen Kuras, Strand Releasing, and Sundance Institute."

"the Sundance Institute Collection at UCLA /../ has participated in restorations of Hoop Dreams, River of Grass, Mysterious Skin, Doom Generation, Just Another Girl on the IRT, High Art, Go Fish, Three Seasons, Paris Is Burning, Superstar, Unzipped, The Hours and Times, SLAM, and, this year, Better Luck Tomorrow and Swoon."

https://deadline.com/2026/10/sundance-2 ... 237207060/

[criterionsnob]

Excellent news about Swoon! Hopefully this means a Criterion release down the line, since they've released several Strand titles lately.

[Stefan Andersson]

Malá mořská víla (The Little Mermaid). 1976. Czechoslovakia. Karel Kachyňa. world premiere of a new 4K scan.
https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/11839

Postřižiny (Cutting It Short). 1980. Czechoslovakia. Jiří Menzel. 4K.
https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/11840

Dívka na koštěti (The Girl on the Broomstick). 1971. Czechoslovakia. Václav Vorlíček. 4K.
https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/11844

Ať žijí duchové! (Long Live Ghosts!). 1977. Czechoslovakia. Oldřich Lipský. 4K.
https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/11846

Full lineup:
https://www.moma.org/calendar/film/5945

[hearthesilence]

"David Bowie "Stage" - restored, never shown concert footage; premieres in Berlin, Feb. 2027:
https://www.berlinale.de/en/2027/news-p ... 78862.html

"recently discovered and restored footage from the 1978 Isolar II World Tour, during which Bowie performed material from /.../ “Heroes”. /.../ documentary filmmaker Brett Morgen first discovered the original camera negatives while working on his/.../ film Moonage Daydream. /.../ a specially created sound mix from Academy Award winner Paul Massey (Bohemian Rhapsody, Michael, Moonage Daydream). Using state-of-the-art 7.1 surround technology and spatial audio design"

This is possibly the last genuine "holy grail" release for me from David Bowie. Back in April 2018, Bowie's estate released a double-CD called Welcome to the Blackout (Live London '78) taken from the same two Earls Court shows that were filmed, and it's magnificent, far better than the 1978 live album Stage (or any of its later remixed and expanded incarnations). There's no shortage of great live recordings from Bowie's golden era, but it's baffling why they all took a backseat to underwhelming releases like David Live and Stage among others - like the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, later archival releases like Welcome to the Blackout put the vintage live albums to shame. I wish the film had come out sooner, but if there's one saving grace of the belated release, it's that new digital tools are now available to greatly improve any underexposed imagery, something that was on glorious display on the recent restoration of Ziggy Stardust.