›A Touch of Zen‹, TW 1970, Direction: King Hu
Copyright: Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute
A Touch of Zen
Si̇nema Transtopia
The young scholar Gu lives near a haunted fort when he befriends Yang, a mysterious woman in hiding. After a night of passion, she reveals that her father was executed by the powerful eunuch Wei, and that she is fleeing his agents. When the agents attack, Gu’s cunning saves the day. Yang becomes a Buddhist nun but rushes to rescue Gu upon hearing that he is in danger, leading to an inevitable confrontation with Wei. As the first Mandarin film to win at a major European film festival, its iconic bamboo forest duel inspired directors like Ang Lee, Zhang Yimou and Tsui Hark.
TW 1970, King Hu, 180 min, OV with EN subtitles
Introduction: Howard Hao-Chun Yang (Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute)
In English
| Tickets | €9 |
| When | Fri 24.10.25, 17:00 |
| Where |
Si̇nema Transtopia |
Zusatzinfos im Slider
Film details
Film data
D & SP: King Hu
DoP: Hua Hui-ying
E: King Hu, Wing Chin-chen
M: Wu Ta-chiang, Lo Ming-tao
C: Hsu Feng, Shih Chun, Bai Ying, Tien Peng, Roy Chiao
P: Hsia Wu Ling-fung
Original format: 35 mm, 1:2.35, color
Screening print: 4K DCP, 180 min, Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute
Restoration info
The restoration materials consisted of the original 35 mm camera negative and optical sound negative, with a 35 mm print used as a visual reference. Due to the frequent rapid editing in the film, there were a considerable number of splices between shots. The most critical issue was a 15-frame scratch appearing in a night scene, which required meticulous frame-by-frame digital restoration.
Howard Hao-Chun Yang
is a film curator at the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute. He holds a master’s degree in Film Studies from King’s College London and has served as the Institute’s International Coordinator (2015–2018) and Head of Programming & Cooperation (2021–2022). His work focuses on East Asian and Taiwanese cinemas, as well as international film cultures and festivals. He has contributed to various festivals and publications in Taiwan and currently serves on the board of the Taiwan Film Critics Society.