The History of Chinese Film free essay sample

History of Chinese Film The history of Chinese film has three separate threads of development: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. The cinema of Mainland China after 1949 has grown up somewhat suppressed by the Communist regime until now. The Beginnings: Shanghai as the Center Motion pictures were introduced to China in 1896. The first recorded screening of a motion picture in China occurred in Shanghai on August 11, 1896, as an act on a variety bill. The first Chinese film, a recording of the Beijing Opera, The Battle of Dingjunshan( ), was made in November 1905. For the next ten years the production companies were mainly foreign-owned, and the domestic film industry did not start in earnest until 1916, centering around Shanghai, a thriving entrepot center and the largest city in the Far East. During the 1920s, film technicians from the United States trained Chinese technicians in Shanghai, and American influence continued to be felt there for the next two decades. The first truly important Chinese films were produced starting from the 1930s, when the progressive or left-wing films were made, like Cheng Bugaos Spring Silkworms (1933), Sun Yus The Big Road (1935), and Wu Yonggangs The Goddess (1934). During this time the Kuomintang struggled for power and control over the major studios, and their influence can be seen in the ensuing films produced. The post-1930 era is called the first golden period of Chinese cinema, where several talented directors appeared, most of them are leftist. The period also produced the first big Chinese movie stars, namely Hu Die, Ruan Lingyu, Zhou Xuan, and Jin Yan. Other major films of the period include Song of the Fishermen (1934), Crossroads (1937), and Street Angel (1937). The Japanese invasion of China, in particular their occupation of Shanghai, ended this golden run in Chinese cinema. All production companies all closed except Xinhua company, and many of the filmmakers left Shanghai, relocating in Hong Kong, Communist- and Nationalist-controlled regions, and elsewhere. The Second Golden Age: the late 1940s, and the Communist Era The film industry continued to develop after 1945. A major Chinese production house, the Lianhua Company, re-established itself in Shanghai after the war and once again became the basis for leftist directors. Many showed the disillusionment with the oppressive rule of s Nationalist Party. There were many classics produced during this period, such as Myriads of Lights (1948), Crows and Sparrows (1949), San Mao (1949), and the most important one was, The Spring River Flows East (1947). The Spring River Flows East, is a three-hour-long film which describes the struggles of ordinary Chinese folks during the Sino-Japanese war, this film was immensely popular during that time, making social and political references to the period. The Wenhua Film Company, one of the two important production companies formed by left-leaning film-makers in the city, also contributed some of the masterpieces of the era. A film by Shanghainese director Fei Mu, Springtime in a Small Town 1948), which was produced in Shanghai before the revolution, is often considered by Chinese film critics as the best Chinese film of all time, and certainly one of the most influential. With the Communist takeover in 1949, the government saw motion pictures as an important mass production art form and propaganda. The number of movie-viewers increased sharply, from 47 million in 1949 to 4. 15 billion in 1959. In the 17 years between the founding of the Peoples Republic of China and the Cultural Revolution, 6 03 feature films and 8,342 reels of documentaries and newsreels were produced, sponsored as Communist Party of China by the government. Chinese filmmakers were sent to Moscow to study Soviet filmmaking. In 1956, the Beijing Film Academy was opened. The first wide-screen Chinese film was produced in 1960. Animated_films using a variety of folk arts, such as papercuts, shadow plays, puppetry, and traditional paintings, also were very popular for entertaining and educating children. The most prominent filmmaker of this era is Xie Jin, whose two films in particular, The Red Detachment of Women (1961) and Two Stage Sisters (1965), exemplify the growing expertise China has in the craft of motion pictures. The Cultural Revolution and its Aftermath During the Cultural Revolution, the film industry was severely restricted. Almost all previous films were banned, and only a few new ones were produced. Feature film production came almost to a standstill in the early years from 1966 to 1972. In the years immediately following the Cultural Revolution, the film industry again flourished as a medium of popular entertainment. Domestically produced films played to large audiences, and tickets for foreign film festivals sold quickly. The industry tried to revive crowds by making more innovative films which take in ideas from the West. In the 1980s the film industry fell on hard times, faced problems of competition from other forms of entertainment and concern on the part of the authorities that many of the popular thriller and martial arts films were socially unacceptable. In January 1986 the film industry was transferred from the Ministry of Culture to the newly formed Ministry of Radio, Cinema, and Television . The end of the Cultural Revolution brought the release of scar dramas, which described the emotional traumas left by this period. The most popular of these is probably Xie Jins Hibiscus Town (1986), although they could be seen as late as the 1990s with Tian Zhuangzhuangs The Blue Kite (1993). The rise of the Fifth Generation Beginning in the mid-late 1980s, the rise of the so-called Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers brought increased popularity of Chinese cinema abroad. The first generation of filmmakers to produce Chinese films since the Cultural Revolution, they made traditional methods of storytelling and used more free and liberal approach. Yellow Earth (1984), directed by Chen Kaige and photographed by Zhang Yimou, was taken to mark the beginnings of the Fifth Generation. Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou went on to produce works such as King of Children (1987), Farewell My Concubine (1993), Judou (1989), and Raise the Red Lantern (1991) . Other notable Fifth Generation directors include Wu Ziniu, Hu Mei, and Zhou Xiaowen. The Fifth Generation movement effectively ended in the Tiananmen_Square_protests in 1989. Sixth Generation and Beyond The recent era has seen the return of the amateur filmmaker as state censorship policies have produced an underground film movement loosely referred to as the Sixth Generation. These films are shot quickly and cheaply, which produces a documentary feel: long takes, hand-held cameras, ambient sound . Many films are joint ventures and projects with international investment. Some important Sixth Generation directors are Wang Xiaoshuai (The Days, Beijing Bicycle), Zhang Yuan (Beijing Bastards, East Palace West Palace), Jia Zhangke (Xiao Wu, Unknown Pleasures, Platform, The World), and Lou Ye (Suzhou River). Unlike the Fifth Generation, the Sixth Generation brings a more individualistic, anti-romantic life-view and pays more attention to contemporary urban life. A New Chinese International Cinema In 1999, the multi-national production lt;Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon gt; achieved success at the Western box. It provided an introduction to Chinese cinema to Westerners. In 2002, Hero (movie) was made as a second attempt to produce a Chinese film with the international appeal of Crouching Tiger, Hiden Dragon. The cast and crew featured many of the most famous Chinese actors who were also known in the West, including , , , , and . The film was a phenomenal success in most of Asia and topped the U. S. box office for two weeks. Its pretty much like this about chinese film history. And now my partner will introduced a typical film typeaction film.