If all the east-Asian counterparts of these Cinema Epoch releases were English friendly, then that would've been the way to go in terms of price. John mentioned a couple of them in a thread. Quality isn't an issue if one's interest level is high.

But looking ahead, ten early Chinese films were digitally restored by the Venice Biennale Cinema as part of the "Secret History of Asian Cinema" project in '05: Spring in a Small Town, The Peach Girl, The Big Road, Plunder of Peach and Plum, New Woman, Crossroads, Street Angel, The Princess of Iron Fan, An Orphan on the Streets, and Crows and Sparrows. They have been showcased on high-definition video at a number of festivals and retros.