China's first color film?

China's first color film was the opera film Life and Death Hate, 1948 was shot in Shanghai. Produced by Huayi Film Company, directed by Fei Mu and starring Mei Lanfang. Huang Shaofen, a famous photographer, is the photography director and Li Shengwei is the photographer. The film is based on the stage play of the same name starring Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang, and the original script was deleted. It was shot with 16 mm color film and then copied to 35 mm. Although the color of the film is not ideal due to inexperience, it is the first color film in China. Since then, Chinese mainland has no record of making color films.

Until 1953, butterfly lovers, a colorful opera film directed by Sang Hu and filmed by Huang Shaofen, was released in Shanghai Film Studio (starring Yuan Xuefen and Fan Ruijuan). It is not only the first stage opera film shot in New China, but also the first color film shot in New China. The film retains the beautiful singing characteristics of Yue Opera, and at the same time gives full play to the advantages of color films. Photography and artistic processing pursue the unique artistic conception of China. After the film was released, it was not only welcomed by the audience, but also won the first prize of excellent stage art film awarded by the Ministry of Culture 1949- 1955, and 1954 won the Music Film Award of Kalovi Farley International Film Festival and the "Reflection Award" of Edinburgh International Film Festival. In the same year, during the Geneva International Conference, Premier Zhou Enlai screened this film for American movie star Chaplin, calling it "Romeo and Juliet in China".

1956, The Blessing, the first color feature film in New China, was also directed by Sang Hu and released by Beijing Film Studio. This film is adapted from Mao Dun's novel of the same name, starring Bai Yang and Wei Heling. The film won the special prize of 1957 Callaway Farley International Film Festival and the Silver Hat Award of 1958 Mexico International Film Festival.

These color films are all made with imported films. 1980, the thriller Gunfire of Secret Service, directed by Chang Yan and shot by Chang Ying, is the first feature film shot with domestic color movies. The film tells the story that after War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression's victory, the Kuomintang ruled Shanghai, and Liu Xiaochen, an underground worker of the * * * production party, was ordered to break into the Kuomintang Military Secrecy Bureau, and finally won. Another record created by this film is that the audience reached 600 million, a record that no one can break so far.