The Dragon Painter is a rare Hollywood silent-era film to feature an almost entirely Asian cast, including Japanese lead Sessue Hayakawa, who became a bona fide superstar after his turn in Cecil B. DeMille’s The Cheat. Produced by Hayakawa’s production company, outdoor scenes were shot on location in California’s spectacular Yosemite National Park.
This new 4K restoration features recently discovered additional footage located at Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam that greatly enhances the storyline of Ume-Ko, portrayed by Hayakawa’s real-life wife Tsuru Aoki. Restoring the film today with modern restoration tools enabled an additional level of cleaning and repair resulting in a final version that more closely resembles the original appearance.
