“The dazzling mise en scène embraces elements of backstage musical, thriller, courtroom drama and political morality. Great colour....” --National Film Theatre.
Two Stage Sisters was a resounding critical success when it was screened at the National Film Theatre in London, where it was voted the best film to premiere there in 1980, and was the highlight of the Spring 1981 “Electric Shadows” retrospective of the San Francisco International Film Festival.
“The rise of two women from ragtag itinerant players to Shaoxing Opera stars in 1940s Shanghai, and the separate paths they take there before being reunited in the end, is told against the backdrop of a turbulent 15-year period (1935-1950) in Chinese history. The film displays a remarkably mature visual style and meticulous period detail all the more noteworthy since this was one of the last films made in the Shanghai studios before the Cultural Revolution halted all production.
“Director Xie Jin claims that two-thirds of the way through filming he sensed the changing political climate and sharpened the film's revolutionary thrust. Nevertheless, the film came under attack in early 1966, especially for its portrayal of Yuehong, the ‘bad' sister, as a character deserving of some sympathy and understanding, rather than as a one-dimensional ‘negative type.' Apparently, the picturesque riverside stage seen in the opening and closing scenes was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution because of its association with the film.
“Director Xie Jin, one of the outstanding talents in the Chinese cinema, gained acclaim when his Red Detachment of Women (not the Revolutionary ballet version known to the West) won the first 100 Flowers Award (China's Oscar) for Best Picture of 1961. He is directing once again and his recently completed Legend of Tianyun Mountain has been highly acclaimed by the Chinese press.” --Stephen Horowitz, San Francisco International Film Festival