Hong Kong Cinema: A Cross-Cultural View - Hardcover

Law Kar; Frank Bren

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0810849860 ISBN 13: 9780810849860

Publisher: Scarecrow Press, 2004

Synopsis

Starting with the first "Western shadow plays" shown in the late 1890s, motion pictures have played a significant role in China's cultural existence for more than a century. Initially centered in Shanghai, Chinese cinema boomed in Hong Kong in the 1930s, aided by the advent of talkies and the influx of talent and investment from mainland China, Southeast Asia, and America. From the late 1940s, the territory supplanted Shanghai as the "Hollywood of China."

In Hong Kong Cinema: A Cross-Cultural View, authors Law Kar and Frank Bren follow the story from Hong Kong's early silent, Chuang Tsi Tests His Wife, through the martial arts craze of the 1970s, to the medium's continued appeal to contemporary international audiences. Rather than provide a sweeping history, the authors focus on the impact of individual personalities, particularly local filmmakers and movie stars. They also consider Eastern and Western influences and examine major developments, including the changing role of women. By profiling key figures and events of the 20th century, this overview is the perfect introduction for anyone interested in Hong Kong's contribution to world cinema.

Illustrated with photos.

About this title

About the Author

Law Kar is a programmer for the Hong Kong Film Archive. He has been a film critic, editor, and writer for stage, film, and television. Frank Bren is the author of a history of Polish cinema as well as various studies of Chinese modern history and drama for several international publications.

Review

Focusing on the impact of individual personalities, Kar...and Bren...introduce readers to Hong Kong's contribution to world cinema across the 20th century. In particular they explore the period from the beginning of cinema itself in the 1890s to roughly the 1970s, because' it's the source of what is produced in Hong Kong today. Their work is less a formal history than a view and review of the Hong Kong story, told through the pioneers, film workers, studio tycoons, Cantonese opera superstar, and others who shaped it. (Reference and Research Book News)

...a readable and informative collaboration that explores Eastern and Western influences on Hong Kong cinema and Hong Kong's interaction with its markets in China and Southeast Asia....Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals. (CHOICE)

Law Kar and Frank Bren's Hong Kong Cinema: A Cross-Cultural View is a detailed historical overview of cinema in Hong Kong. Placing Hong Kong cinema in the larger Chinese and regional context, this book moves from the earliest appearances of cinema in China to the 1970s, or the period in which contemporary Hong Kong cinema was in gestation. The lists of archives and libraries consulted and newspapers scoured, along with the appendices of detail and fact attest to the authors' commitment to primary research. At the same time, the engaging narrative that they produce demonstrates their genuine enthusiasm for a cinema they clearly love very deeply. For scholars of Hong Kong cinema, this will be a most useful mine of information....this engagingly written and meticulously produced work does not deserve to be overlooked, and I am sure that those who turn to it will find it very rewarding. (China Quarterly)

A highly readable account, Hong Kong Cinema is as enjoyable for the non-specialized general reader as it is for those in the film industry looking to flesh out their knowledge of the Hong Kong film industry. (The Bookwatch)

Edition details

• Publisher: Scarecrow Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0810849860
• ISBN 13: 9780810849860
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 400