Adaptational differences and Yang Yiyun as
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang; the inclusion of a
Cantonese opera was new to the film
Two Stars in the Milky Way was adapted from the eponymous novel by Zhang Henshui, a popular writer with the
Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies school. As with earlier adaptations of novels in Chinese cinema, modifications were made during the process. Unlike in the novel, which began in
Beijing, the film depicted its main characters as originating from southern China. This departure, underscored through the performance of the
Cantonese-language song "Raindrops on a Banana Leaf" in the opening as well as other Cantonese music, capitalized on the popularity of the genre in contemporary China. It was also influenced by
Luo Mingyou, the Hong Kong-born co-founder of UPS, as well as the touring experiences of the Lis' Bright Moon Troupe. Wong was herself Cantonese.
Two Stars in the Milky Way also departed from its source material in its framing. Where the novel had presented Li Yueying as coming from Beijing and drawing inspiration from popular media, the film has her discovered during
location shooting in a rural area. This, Kristine Harris writes in her exploration of
Two Stars in the Milky Way as a
metafilm, emphasized the character's innate talent; the feminist scholar Qilun Han notes that it also allowed the film to draw from the cultural notions associated with these locales. At the same time, although the rural setting was more naturalistic, elements of foreign culture remain present, including a piano and a bust of
Ludwig van Beethoven. A
chorus line of
majorettes led by
Li Lili paired with an Egyptian-style dance, collectively replacing the novel's immortal fairy maiden performance, further highlights the
cosmopolitanism of the setting. Such elements, the film scholar Bo Cheng writes, reflect a general tendency in early Chinese cinema to Europeanize novels during the adaptation process. The types of films featured in
Two Stars in the Milky Way also differed in the adaptation. Whereas the novel had depicted Li Yueying starring in modern melodramas, the film adaptation centred around the production of a
Cantonese opera, scenes of which occupy ten minutes of the film's runtime. Such an adaptation, Harris notes, allowed the film to capitalize on the popularity of costume dramas while still maintaining its emphasis on modernity. It also offered the benefit of incorporating opera, a popular performance genre that was showcased in early Chinese sound films. The adapted opera, a romance based on the story of Emperor Xuanzong, had been widely performed in the two decades prior to the film's production, including by Wong during her time as a stage performer, and contemporary audiences would have recognized the parallels between Consort Mei and Li Yueying. As with the novel,
Two Stars in the Milky Way centred on its female protagonist and maintained her as a sympathetic figure. The stories differed, however, in their treatment of the male protagonist Yang Yiyun, who is depicted not as a philandering womanizer but rather as a man burdened by his moral obligations. This is emphasized, according to the film historian Qijun Han, by the inclusion of an
arranged marriage that Yang must maintain which under the tenets of
filial piety, despite not having any romantic interest in his wife. Rather than take Li as his second wife, he spurns her, pushing her away to protect her despite his true feelings. Such adaptations, according to Harris, not only allowed the film to better meet the expectations of censors but also ensured that all characters were presented sympathetically.
Self-reflexivity and metafilm Two Stars in the Milky Way has been described as a "movie about moviedom". Such films had been produced in
the United States since at least 1908, and contemporary productions such as
Show People (1928) and
Showgirl in Hollywood (1930) had been imported to the
Republic of China. Similar productions had been made locally by
Mingxing (
A Passionate Actress, 1926;
An Amorous History of the Silver Screen, 1931) and
Tianyi (
The Female Movie Star, 1926;
A Female Star, 1933). The link between
Two Stars in the Milky Way and
Show People was drawn explicitly, with UPS identifying its film as "China's
Show People".
Two Stars in the Milky Way thus included a level of
self-reflexivity. Harris notes parallels between the film's protagonists and the fatherdaughter team of Li Jinhui and Li Minghui, who had gained prominence in 1920s Shanghai through their collaborations on stage and in recordings. Further reflexivity is evident in the film's
cameos, which included not only the UPS directors
Cai Chusheng,
Sun Yu, and Wang Cilong, but also the actresses
Chen Yanyan, Li Lili, Tang Tianxiu, and
Wang Renmei. The film scholar Anne Kerlan describes
Two Stars in the Milky Way as providing "a visual manifesto" for UPS. The film included a scene wherein the board of directors announces, "We in the film industry have a mission to fulfill, that of propagating the virtues of our people and of imparting knowledge to the public through the screen". UPS's fictional corollary, Milky Way, is presented as modern through its communication technologies while still maintaining traditional morals and
Confucian values. Through such presentations, Kerlan argues, UPS offered itself as a "perfect world" wherein "professionalism and modern spirit [are combined] with a sense of duty and respect for cultural traditions". Harris notes that, through the narrative, UPS also emphasized its own nationalism, as seen in its dedication to social transformation as well as its depiction of majorettes.
Sound and music Two Stars in the Milky Way placed great emphasis on its musical performances. Advertisements described the film with phrases such as "Dance and Sound Mega-Film", and although the soundtrack has been lost, reviews of contemporary coverage have allowed a reconstruction. The film is known to have included six musical interludes. Its first song is "Raindrops on a Banana Leaf", performed by Yueying for her father in the comfort of their home. A later sequence, in which the Milky Way crew attend a
revue, includes a march set to the tune of Li Jinhui's "Strive" () and performed by the Follies, which is followed immediately by Yueying's Egyptian-style dance. Static shots in long takes are used, intermixed with
cross-cuts to the ecstatic crew. A fourth sequence is a five-minute solo performed by Yueying as Consort Mei, shot in takes that last up to eighty seconds. The fifth sequence, the tango, is presented in the film as being conducted by
Nie Er and interspersed with cross-cuts to UPS crew and talent. The final sequence occurs towards the end of the film, in which an aged Yueying reprises "Rain on a Banana Leaf", unknowingly overheard by Yiyun. The film scholar Jean Ma describes
Two Stars in the Milky Way as using explicitly staged musical performances as "a compelling diegetic pretext for the inclusion of musical attractions". Viewers are at times transported to the opera and the revue stage, providing a varied
mise-en-scène that highlights the film's
intermedia characteristics. Conversely, the first "Raindrops on a Banana Leaf" sequence employs dynamic shots that alternate between inside and outside the Li family home. At the same time, it is set apart by its effects, as it "literally stops the two actors in their tracks and thus brings to a halt the film shoot that is in process." Such sequences are expanded by depictions of sound media, including
phonographs and radio broadcasts, and further enhanced by the rhythmic physicality of visual activities such as footsteps and a rocking chair. As the sound-on-disc technology used for
Two Stars in the Milky Way required the manual synchronization of the film and its soundtrack, audience experiences would have varied between venues and showings. To facilitate synchronization, the recorded music and vocals were compressed from 78
rpm to 33⅓ rpm equivalent to the 24
fps of film projection though this came with a loss of audio quality. Nonetheless, true synchronization could not be guaranteed, and thus none of the singing scenes were shot as
close-ups. ==Release and reception==