Legendary rock star David Bowie appears in a war movie. He plays a British army major who becomes a prisoner of the Japanese during World War II. Ryuichi Sakamoto, a famous Japanese composer who died last year, plays a Japanese army captain with the intense gaze of a samurai. Actor, director, and comedian Takeshi Kitano also appears as a Japanese army sergeant who beats his prisoners violently. The scene where David Bowie “kisses” Ryuichi Sakamoto is jaw-dropping. The melody of the theme song “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence” plays soulfully, leaving a lingering feeling.

“Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence,” directed by Nagisa Oshima, was released on November 20. It is a masterpiece that few Korean audiences have had the chance to see. Despite being a 1983 movie shot on 3mm film, the screen was clear. There was almost no noise, flicker, or shaking of the old film. Rather, the unique texture and warm colors of the film were captivating. This is thanks to the technology of digital remastering. The original film is scanned, transferred to digital pixels, color-corrected, and made in high definition. It can also restore damaged sound or enhance sound quality.

Recently, a number of digitally remastered classics have been released in theaters. In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, when theater attendance has plummeted, classic films that have proven their worth have been enjoying “quiet box office success. In June, Shinji Somai's “Typhoon Club” (1985) was released for the first time in 39 years. In August, Andrei Tarkovsky's “The Sacrifice” (1986) was re-released after 29 years. In September, Krzysztof Kieslowski's “Three Colors” trilogy was released: “Blue (1993),” “White (1994),” and “Red (1994).” In particular, “Sacrifice” attracted 100,000 moviegoers in Korea in 1995. This year, it has exceeded 15,000 viewers at 51 theaters nationwide.

The movie industry believes that if a film is good, there is a demand to feel the 'cinematic experience' on the big screen, even at the expense of effort and money. Art Nine, a theater dedicated to art films operated by film importer and distributor “at9 Film,” selects and screens classic films. Nowadays, more audiences are looking for classics than new movies. At one point, the ratio of classics to new movies was as high as 8 to 2.

Audiences in their 20s and 30s have emerged as a new core audience for classic movies. CGV's “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence” had an overwhelmingly high percentage of moviegoers in their 20s (43.5 percent) and 30s (23.4 percent). Movie companies are designing posters to appeal to younger audiences and promoting them through social networking services (SNS). For the film “Sacrifice,” at9 Nine Film created a poster with a tree that the protagonist cares for painted in bright red.

“We don't just want to show old movies; we want to show new movies that are relevant today,” said Ju Hee, director of at9 Films. “There are more first-time moviegoers in their 20s and 30s than those in their 50s and 60s who are looking for nostalgia,” says Ju, “and the younger generation accepts works that are difficult to understand as part of various cultures in a fresh way.”

Classic movies don't necessarily guarantee success. In general, the publishing rights to classics are often more expensive than new movies, but the contract period for screening them is shorter than for new movies. In addition, if additional distribution rights are excluded, such as cable broadcasting, the movie has to earn money solely from theatrical screenings. However, they have the advantage of maintaining high seat occupancy rates for a long period of time because the box office spark is not easily extinguished. If it's a well-known movie or a re-release, you can save a lot of money on promotional costs to raise public awareness.

Recently, multiplex theaters have been releasing classic films exclusively as a “content differentiation” strategy. In May, Megabox released Frank Darabont's “The Shawshank Redemption (1995)” to commemorate its 30th anniversary, and in June, Lotte Cinema released Kang Je-kyu's “Waving the Korean Flag (2004),” which surpassed 10 million viewers.