Dream of the Red Chamber

Dir: Yuan Qiufeng
Scr: Yi Fan
Orig Story: Cao Xueqin
Prod Co: Shaws Brothers
Co-starring: Pat Ting Hung, Grace Ting Ning, Jen Chieh, Margaret Tu Chuan, Hong Wei
1962 / Colour / D Beta / Mandarin / Chi & Eng subtitles / 107min

Lin Daiyu (Betty Loh Ti) has fallen ill after the death of her mother and is summoned to stay with her maternal grandmother at Rongguo Mansion where her ill-fated romance with Jia Baoyu (Jen Chieh) ensues. While it's no easy task to condense Cao Xueqin's richly detailed, intricately plotted epic into a film of much shorter length, this adaptation chooses to achieve dramatic impact by weaving together several important episodes and concluding the drama with the climatic scenes of Baochai taking Daiyu's place as the bride and Daiyu's tragic death. Hailed as the "Classic Beauty", Betty Loh Ti was the picture of graceful elegance, whether in looks and movements, or demeanours and aura – traits that permeated into her portrayal of Daiyu in the scenes of burying flowers and in the moments of innocent affections with Baoyu. So fully immersed was Loh in the role that she and Daiyu become one: delicate and ethereal.

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