Films Restored By The Film Foundation !!install!! Jun 2026

Kurosawa’s directorial debut was thought to exist only in poor, censored, 16mm copies. The original 35mm negative was lost. In the 1990s, TFF partnered with the National Film Center of Tokyo to scour private collectors. They found a surviving nitrate print. The restoration removed Japanese wartime propaganda inter-titles that had been forced into the film, bringing back Kurosawa’s original, more humanist vision of judo. Why it matters: This highlights TFF’s role as a detective. Without this effort, the starting point of one of cinema's greatest careers would remain a distorted ghost.

, 1970): A 4K restoration of Satyajit Ray’s masterpiece, recently showcased at the New York Film Festival and the Kolkata International Film Festival [2, 3]. Chess of the Wind Shatranj-e baad films restored by the film foundation

The goal is never to make an old film look "new." It is to make it look as it did on its opening night—authentic, vibrant, and alive. Kurosawa’s directorial debut was thought to exist only

— The Film Foundation is a nonprofit powerhouse dedicated to protecting motion picture history. To date, it has helped preserve and restore over from every era and genre. Why Restoration Matters They found a surviving nitrate print