Known during production as Mei Lanfang, the film's English title was changed in November 2008, shortly before its release, to Forever Enthralled.

[2] Forever Enthralled was produced on a budget of $15 million (US) by the China Film Group and Taiwan's China Magnetics Corporation Company (CMC Company), which had previously helped fund John Woo's Red Cliff and Alexi Tan's Blood Brothers.

[4] In an interview with Newsweek, director Chen Kaige stated that in contrast with his previous film about Beijing opera, "Farewell My Concubine is fiction" whereas "Mei Lanfang existed in history.

[11][12] The Hollywood Reporter describes the film as "traditional but elegantly mounted," and although less exotic than Farewell My Concubine, Chen "exhibits a firm grasp of subject, sympathetic characterization and a connoisseur's eye for the cultural milieu of 1930s-'40s China.

"[13] The review writes the film's art direction as "superb" and states "from splendidly lit interiors to authentic costumes and accessories, evoking the theater culture and literati scene of 1930s Beijing.