Japanese and Hong Kong Film Industries by Yau Shuk-ting Kinnia;Shuk-Ting Yau;
Author:Yau, Shuk-ting, Kinnia;Shuk-Ting, Yau;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group
Published: 2011-02-01T00:00:00+00:00
The term âold-fashionedâ referred to those out-of-date costume actions characterized by a clear distinction between good and bad, with a didactic story as well as poor quality. The mainstream of Hong Kong martial arts films in the 1950s was the Cantonese Wong Fei-hung series. Most of them were directed by Wu Pang and the main cast included Kwan Tak-hing and Shek Kin. There were also many other poorly made Cantonese sword-fighting movies with supernatural plots and unsophisticated choreography. These old-fashioned works could no longer meet the demand of the younger generation in the 1960s.
The decline of the Cantonese martial arts industry at that time was also caused by the impact from outside. Both Western and Japanese action movies underwent big changes in the early 1960s. In the West, there were the James Bond series and the spaghetti westerns. In Japan, in addition to Kurosawaâs YÅjimbÅ (The Bodyguard) (1961) and Sanjuro, there were the Miyamoto Musashi series directed by Uchida Tomu and the ZatÅichi series starring Katsu ShintarÅ. Hong Kong audiences preferred these foreign actions, which were far more gorgeous, vigorous and exciting than the Cantonese ones. As a matter of fact, movie-goers at that time were mainly the new generation who were born and raised in Hong Kong. Compared with the older generation, these people were not as attached to Chinese traditions but were open to foreign cultures.
Shaw Brothers did not show obvious interest in martial arts filmmaking until the mid 1960s. The only ones it ever made were Ernü yingxiong zhuan (The Heroine) (1959/Li Han-hsiang), The Swallow Thief and Yuanye qixia zhuan (Revenge of a Swordswoman) (1963/Yue Feng). However, it joined in the competition at last for the sake of improving Hong Kong martial arts filmmaking. As mentioned above, Shaw Brothers had invested extensively in the making of colour palace epics. While such âDaiei-styleâ production strategy did bring international awards, it did not strengthen its competitiveness in the Western and Japanese markets. This was because huangmei opera films could only appeal to the Chinese audiences.53 Under such circumstances, it was necessary for Shaw Brothers to think of a new way to enter the global market. Chang Cheh further argues:
In order to make foreigners readily accept Chinese movies, it is not wise to rely on things which everyone has. Those occasional awards can only impress minority groups of intellectuals. We need to use Chinese kung fu to attract them; as was the case with the Japanese, who used jidaigeki to open the world. Kurosawa also made his name through jidaigeki. He was successful because he could make something that others could not.54
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
Cecilia; Or, Memoirs of an Heiress — Volume 1 by Fanny Burney(32022)
Cecilia; Or, Memoirs of an Heiress — Volume 3 by Fanny Burney(31436)
Cecilia; Or, Memoirs of an Heiress — Volume 2 by Fanny Burney(31380)
The Great Music City by Andrea Baker(30641)
We're Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union(18606)
All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda(14597)
Pimp by Iceberg Slim(13717)
Bombshells: Glamour Girls of a Lifetime by Sullivan Steve(13665)
Fifty Shades Freed by E L James(12886)
Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell(12814)
Norse Mythology by Gaiman Neil(12786)
For the Love of Europe by Rick Steves(11331)
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan(8860)
Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit by John E. Douglas & Mark Olshaker(8665)
The Lost Art of Listening by Michael P. Nichols(7125)
Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Steven Pinker(6852)
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz(6284)
Bad Blood by John Carreyrou(6255)
Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O'Neil(5801)
