Project Gutenberg (2018) is a highly acclaimed Hong Kong action thriller directed by Felix Chong, starring legendary actors Chow Yun-fat Aaron Kwok
. Here’s a summary of the film's premise and its major achievements:
The film follows Lee Man (Aaron Kwok), a talented artist extradited to Hong Kong for his involvement in a series of murders and robberies. Under interrogation, he reveals his past with a mysterious figure known only as "Painter" (Chow Yun-fat), the mastermind behind a sophisticated international counterfeiting ring. The plot is celebrated as an "action puzzle film" for its intricate twists and turns. Major Awards & Recognition 38th Hong Kong Film Awards (2019):
The film was a massive winner, nominated for a near-record 17 categories and taking home seven awards , including: Best Director Best Screenplay (Felix Chong) Best Cinematography (Jason Kwan) Best Art Direction Best Film Editing Best Costume & Makeup Design Hainan International Film Festival (2018): Aaron Kwok won Actor of the Year for his performance. Box Office:
It was the highest-grossing film during China's National Day holiday period in 2018. Key Cast & Crew Chow Yun-fat Aaron Kwok Director/Writer: Felix Chong , known for his work on the Infernal Affairs Supporting Cast: film project gutenberg
Includes Zhang Jingchu, who was also nominated for Best Actress for her role. Quick Facts Action / Crime / Thriller. Approx. 130 minutes. Interesting Detail:
While filming, Chow Yun-fat garnered international headlines for pledging to donate his entire net worth to charity. where to watch this film? AI responses may include mistakes. Learn more
Between 1895 and 1928, filmmaking exploded. Because copyright renewal was optional and many studios went bankrupt, roughly 80% of silent films are now believed to be in the public domain.
This is the low-hanging fruit of "Film Project Gutenberg." Project Gutenberg (2018) is a highly acclaimed Hong
Pro Tip for Filmmakers: If you are a video editor looking for "B-roll" or "stock footage," searching for silent films on the Film Project Gutenberg (via the Internet Archive) yields thousands of high-quality, legally free clips of 1920s city streets, trains, and crowds.
You might ask: Why isn't Disney's Snow White (1937) on Film Project Gutenberg? Because it is still under copyright (until 2033, as of current law). But there is a second category of film that is lost not to copyright, but to obsolescence: Orphan Films.
These are movies whose copyright holders cannot be found. They exist in legal limbo. No one can legally digitize and distribute them for fear of a lawsuit from a ghost. This is the tragedy that a true "Film Project Gutenberg" hopes to solve.
Organizations like the Center for the Study of the Public Domain argue that orphan films (circa 1940s-1960s B-movies, educational reels, home movies) should automatically revert to the public domain if the owner is untraceable after 20 years. Until that law changes, we are stuck with the hard 95-year rule. Worker Leaving the Lumière Factory (1895): The first
A true "Project Gutenberg for film" faces a brutal obstacle that text archives do not: Music rights.
Here is the trap that catches 90% of amateur archivists. A film from 1925 might have a public domain visual component, but the musical score attached to a DVD release might be copyrighted. Even worse, a silent film from 1922 (clearly public domain) might have a 1990s "director's commentary" or a modern electronic soundtrack.
Film Project Gutenberg collections must offer silent versions or public domain scores. For example, you can watch Charlie Chaplin's The Kid (1921) for free, but you cannot legally watch The Kid with the modern CD-remastered soundtrack without a license.