Blu-ray, DVD Release: Center Stage (1991)

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: June 8, 2021
Price: DVD $22.99, Blu-ray $29.99
Studio: Film Movement


Maggie Cheung stars as tragic silent screen siren Ruan Lingyu (known as the “Greta Garbo of China”) in the 1991 drama Center Stage by Hong Kong New Wave master Stanley Kwan.
Praised for her moving and emotive onscreen presence, Ruan’s private life, which was frequent fodder for the vicious Shanghai tabloids, began to mirror the melodramas which brought her fame, culminating in her suicide at age 24.
Kwan’s unconventional take on the actress’s story blends lush period drama, archival footage, and documentary sequences of Cheung reflecting on Ruan’s lasting legacy.
Film Movement’s digitally restored editions of the film (which is making is North American Blu-ray debut) includes the following bonus features:
  • New introduction by Stanley Kwan
  • Interview with Stanley Kwan
  • Interview with Hong Kong cinema expert Paul Fonoroff (Blu-ray only)
  • 16-page booklet with a new essay by Aliza Ma, Head of Programming at Metrograph

Buy or Rent Center Stage (1991)

About Laurence

Founder and editor Laurence Lerman saw Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest when he was 13 years old and that’s all it took. He has been writing about film and video for more than a quarter of a century for magazines, anthologies, websites and most recently, Video Business magazine, where he served as the Reviews Editor for 15 years.