Photo/Illutration A scene from “Kagero-za” where the water surface is covered with bladder cherries (Provided by Little More Co.)

Special screenings of Seijun Suzuki’s films are being held nationwide to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the famed director's birth, who died in 2017 at age 93.

The “Seijun Returns in 4K” event brings back three of his representative works remastered in 4K, including “Zigeunerweisen” (1980), which received Honorable Mention at the Berlin International Film Festival, “Kagero-za” (1981) and “Yumeji” (1991).

With each title set in the Taisho Era (1912-1926), the three films are collectively known as the “Taisho Roman” trilogy.

Rendered in lavish colors and featuring fantastical stories, the three movies influenced cinema enthusiasts at home and abroad.

It cost nearly 10 million yen ($67,700) to remaster all three titles, according to Sun Chia-pang, president of publisher Little More Co.

“Film deteriorates faster and is more troublesome than other forms of art. And they need to be repaired while staff members who know how they were shot are healthy,” Sun said. “Films cannot be passed down through the generations unless we show them to the next generation. We have that responsibility.”

The company would have incurred losses if it had begun the 4K remastering process from cleaning the sound and visual components for solely the theatrical release.

It therefore raised funds for the project with an eye for secondary uses such as streaming and broadcasting.

The textures of the costumes and other details were returned to their original state.

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Director Seijun Suzuki (Provided by Little More Co.)

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