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China Film
Sep 14, 2020

‘Kill Bill’ at the Beijing Film Studio  

In 2002, Quentin Tarantino filmed parts of Kill Bill at the historic Beijing Film Studio. The House of Blue Leaves, where Beatrix “The Bride” Kiddo (Uma Thurman) has a blood-splattering showdown with the Crazy 88, was constructed on a soundstage here. But the only scene to use exterior sets on the studio’s back lot was cut from the final edit. In this now infamous scene, Michael Jai White (with fake New Zealand accent) and his gang confront Bill (David Carradine) while he is out for a casual stroll with his disciple. Bill begrudgingly accepts the challenge while Kiddo watches from […]

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China Film
Feb 25, 2020

Farewell My Film Studio  

The Beijing Film Studio was created in 1949 as one of the primary state-run film production facilities. The studio was responsible for classic films such as New Year’s Sacrifice (1956) and Song of Youth (1959). Later, the studio constructed a traditional Chinese streetscape on a backlot near the university district in Beijing, reportedly used for 1982 films Rickshaw Boy and Teahouse. It also became the first studio to open up to international co-productions with Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor in 1987, which also received permission to film within the Forbidden City. In the early 1980s, former Taiwanese film star Feng […]

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China Film
Dec 25, 2019

The Beijing Film Studio  

While little actual film production takes place in Beijing these days, the capital area remains an important center for the film industry, home to the Beijing Film School, the China Film Archive, the National Film Museum, and the central government’s film and television administration. The old Beijing Film Studio in central Beijing, now largely abandoned, was used for classic films such as The Last Emperor (1987) and Farewell, My Concubine (1993). The remaining warehouses and back lot have been slated for demolition. I visited last year to photograph the surviving set pieces, a few small clusters of traditional wooden shops […]

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