| East Asian cinema |
|---|
|
The history of Chinese-language cinema has three separate threads of development: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China and Cinema of Taiwan. East Asian cinema is a term used to refer to the Film industry and films produced in and/or by natives of East Asia. The Chinese-language cinema has three distinct historical threads Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the Cinema of China The cinema of Japan (日本映画 Korean cinema encompasses the motion picture industries of North Korea and South Korea. The Cinema of Mongolia has been strongly influenced by the Cinema of Russia, which differentiates it from cinematic developments in the rest of Asia The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the Cinema of China The Chinese-language cinema has three distinct historical threads Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. Taiwanese cinema grew up outside of the Hong Kong mainstream and the censorship of the People's Republic of China. Taiwan ( Taiwanese: Tâi-oân/Tāi-oân (historically 大灣/台員/大員/台圓/大圓/台窩灣 is an Island in East Asia. Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES
Taiwanese cinema is deeply rooted in the island's unique and rapidly changing history. This article discusses the history of Taiwan (including the Pescadores) Since its introduction to Taiwan in 1901, cinema has developed in Taiwan through several distinct stages. Year 1901 ( MCMI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting
Contents |
Early cinema, 1900 – 1970s
From 1900 to 1937, Taiwanese cinema was strongly influenced by the Japanese. This was during the Japanese colonial era, and many conventions in Japanese films were adopted by the Taiwanese filmmakers. For example, the use of a benshi (narrator of silent films), which was a very important component of the film-going experience in Japan, was adopted and renamed benzi by the Taiwanese. Benshi (弁士 in Japanese) or Katsudō-Benshi (活動弁士 were Japanese performers who provided live narration for Silent films This narrator was very different from its equivalent in the Western world. It rapidly evolved into a star system. Actually, people would go to see the very same film dommented by different benshi, to hear the other benshi's interpretation. Benshi (弁士 in Japanese) or Katsudō-Benshi (活動弁士 were Japanese performers who provided live narration for Silent films A romance could become a comedy or a drama, depending on the narrator's style and skills. Lu, a famous actor and benshi in Taiwan wrote the best reference book on Taiwan cinema. Benshi (弁士 in Japanese) or Katsudō-Benshi (活動弁士 were Japanese performers who provided live narration for Silent films
The first Taiwanese benshi master was a musician and composer named Wang Yung-feng, who had played on a regular basis for the orchestra at the Fang Nai Ting Theatre in Taipei. He was also the composer of the music for the Chinese film Tao hua qi xue ji (China, Peach girl, 1921) in Shanghai.
Other famous Taiwanese benshi masters were Lu Su-Shang and Zhan Tian-Ma. Lu Su-shang, will not be primarily remembered for his benshi performances, but mainly because he wrote the inestimable History of cinema and drama in Taiwan, the bible of Taiwanese film history. The most famous of all was Zhan Tian-ma, whose story is told in a recent Taiwanese biographical film, March of happiness (Taiwan, 1999, dir: Lin Sheng-shing).
Benshi masters were intellectuals: they spoke Japanese, had often travelled to Japan and/or China, and were poets writing their own libretto for each film. Since 1910, films had been distributed with a script, but these poets of the darkness would rather explore their personal style. Notable films during this period include The Eyes of Buddha (1922) and Whose Fault Is It (1925). Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1925 ( MCMXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Then, with the Second Sino-Japanese War came the Japanization era and Taiwan was restricted to playing Japanese repertoire only. The Second Sino-Japanese War ( July 7, 1937 to September 9, 1945) was a major war fought between the Republic of China and the Japanese strove to transform the locals into Japanese citizen, giving them Japanese names, a Japanese education, encouraging them to wear Japanese clothes and asking the men to cut their long hair. Hou Hsiao-Hsien's film, "The Puppetmaster" (1993), witnesses vividly this moment of history. Hou Hsiao-Hsien ( (born April 8, 1947) is an award-winning film director and a leading figure of Taiwan 's New Wave cinema movement.
In 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War interrupted the movie industry, and virtually nothing was produced until after the National government took over Taiwan in 1945. The Second Sino-Japanese War ( July 7, 1937 to September 9, 1945) was a major war fought between the Republic of China and the Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar
To read more concerning the Japanese rule period, see: "Dancing shadows of film exhibition: Taiwan and the Japanese influence", by Jeanne Deslandes : <http://www.latrobe.edu.au/www/screeningthepast/current/cc1100.html>.
Taiwanese cinema grew again after 1949, when the end of the Chinese civil war brought many filmmakers sympathetic to the Nationalists to Taiwan. Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The term nationalism can refer to an Ideology, a sentiment, a form of Culture, or a Social movement that focuses on the Nation During this era, the primary films produced were Mandarin films officially sanctioned by the government. As the government was attempting to unify the country by declaring Mandarin as the official language, the use of other dialects was controlled, and non-Mandarin films (e. g. Taiwanese language films) gradually declined.
The 1960s mark the beginning of Taiwan's rapid modernization. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 The government focused strongly on the economy, industrial development, and education, and in 1963 the Central Motion Picture Corporation (CMPC) introduced the "Health Realism" melodrama. Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. This film genre was proposed to help build traditional moral values, which were deemed important during the rapid transformation of the nation's socioeconomic structure. During this time, traditional kung-fu films as well as romantic melodramas were also quite popular. Kung fu and wushu are popular terms that have become synonymous with Chinese Martial arts. The author Qiong Yao is especially famous for the movies made in this time period which were based on her widely-read romantic novels. Chiung Yao (Wade-Giles system romanization or Qiong Yao (Pinyin romanization ( Traditional Chinese: 瓊瑤 Simplified Chinese: 琼瑶 qióngyáo (born
Taiwanese cinema of this period is related to censorship in the Republic of China and Propaganda in the Republic of China. Censorship in the Republic of China ( Taiwan) was eliminated in 1987 Propaganda has been an important tool of the Republic of China government since its inception in 1912
New Wave Cinema, 1982 – 1990
By the early 1980s, the popularity of home video made film-watching a wide-spread activity for the Taiwanese. The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. However, the Taiwanese film industry was under serious challenges, such as the entry of Hong Kong films, well-known for their entertainment quality, into the Taiwanese market. In order to compete with Hong Kong films, the CMPC began an initiative to support several fresh, young directors. In 1982, the film In Our Time (1982), which featured four young talented directors (Edward Yang, Tao De-chen, Ke I-jheng, and Jhang Yi), began what would be known as the rejuvenation of Taiwanese cinema: the New Wave Cinema. Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) Edward Yang ( November 6, 1947 – June 29, 2007) along with Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Tsai Ming Liang, was one of the
In contrast to the melodrama or kung-fu action films of the earlier decades, New Wave films are known for their realistic, down-to-earth, and sympathetic portrayals of Taiwanese life. These films sought to portray genuine stories of people living either in urban or rural Taiwan, and are often compared stylistically to the films of the Italian neorealism movement. Italian neorealism is a style of film characterized by stories set amongst the poor and Working class, filmed on location frequently using nonprofessional Actors This emphasis on realism was further enhanced by innovative narrative techniques. For example, the conventional narrative structure which builds the drama to a climax was abandoned. Rather, the story progressed at the pace as it would in real life.
Due to its honest portrayal of life, New Wave films examined many of the important issues facing Taiwan society at this time, such as urbanization, the struggle against poverty, and conflicts with political authority. For instance, Hou Hsiao-Hsien's A City of Sadness portrays the tensions and the conflicts between the local Taiwanese and the newly arrived Chinese Nationalist government after the end of the Japanese occupation. Hou Hsiao-Hsien ( (born April 8, 1947) is an award-winning film director and a leading figure of Taiwan 's New Wave cinema movement. A City of Sadness ( is a 1989 Taiwanese historical drama film by Hou Hsiao-hsien. Edward Yang's Taipei Story (1985) and A Confucian Confusion (1994) talk about the confusion of traditional values and modern materialism among young urbanites in the 1980s and 1990s. Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999 The New Wave Cinema films are, therefore, a fascinating chronicle of Taiwan's socio-economic and political transformation in modern times.
Second New Wave, 1990 – present
The New Wave gradually gave way to what could be informally called the Second New Wave, which are slightly less serious and more amenable to the populace, although just as committed to portraying the Taiwanese perspective.
For example, Tsai Ming-liang's Vive L'Amour, which won the Golden Lion at the 1994 Venice Film Festival, portrays the isolation, despair, and love of young adults living in the upscale apartments of Taipei. Tsai Ming-liang ( (born 1957) is one of the most celebrated "Second New Wave" Film directors of Taiwanese Cinema, along with earlier Vive L'Amour ( Chinese: 愛情萬歲 Aiqing wansui) is a 1994 Taiwanese New Wave film by Tsai Ming-liang. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) The Venice Film Festival is the oldest Film festival in the world Stan Lai's The Peach Blossom Land (1992) is a tragi-comedy involving two groups of actors rehearsing different plays on the same stage; the masterful juxtaposition and the depth of the play's political and psychological meanings helped it win recognition at festivals in Tokyo and Berlin. Stan Lai or Lai Sheng-chuan ( b 25 October 1954) is a highly influential award winning US born Taiwan based playwright and theater director Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar)
Ang Lee is perhaps the most well-known of the Second New Wave director. Ang Lee ( (born October 23, 1954) is an Academy Award -winning Film director from Taiwan. His early films Pushing Hands (1991), The Wedding Banquet (1993), and Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) focus on the generational and cultural conflicts confronting so many modern families. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) Eat Drink Man Woman ( is a Taiwanese film directed by Ang Lee and stars Sihung Lung, Yu-wen Wang, Chien-lien Wu, Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) His Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) revived the wuxia genre successfully. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon ( is a Chinese-language Film in the Wuxia ( chivalric and martial arts) style Wuxia or Wǔxiá ( Mandarin ùɕiɑ̌ Hanyu Pinyin: Wǔxiá, Cantonese Pinyin: mou5 hap6 Taiwanese/Hokkien bu hiap Although not in the tradition of New Wave or Second New Wave, it is a commercial success which placed Asian films firmly in the international domain.
Notable directors, actors and actresses
- Hou Hsiao-hsien
- Nien-Jen Wu
- King Hu
- Ang Lee
- Tsai Ming-liang
- Shu Qi
- Alec Su
- Ruby Lin
- Edward Yang
- Brigitte Lin
See also
External links
- (Chinese)Chinese Taipei film Archive
- Chinacinema.fr A french site on Chinese/Taiwanese cinema
- (Chinese)Database of Taiwan Cinema
- Asia Society: The Cinema Scene - Asia Society's regular podcast program containing news, reviews and interviews related to Asian Film
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic