Planet Hong Kong
Popular Cinema and the Art of Entertainment
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Since the 1970s, Hong Kong has been home to arguably the world's most energetic, imaginative mass-market film industry. at its peak it surpassed nearly all western countries in number of films released, ruled th e east Asian market, and produced movies (ranging from John Woo's action pictures to the comic adventures of Jackie Chan) that have thrilled global audiences an attained cult status in the West. This book offers an informed and engaging look at how Hong Kong cinema has become one of the success stories of film history, and how it has influenced international film culture and the development of film as a medium. As sentimental and outrageous as Hong Kong can be, David Bordwell demonstrates that they are not merely crowd-pleasing; they harbour remarkable inventiveness and careful craftsmanship and in many cases rise to the level of a rich and delightful art. The author surveys the historical conditions that fuelled the rise of this cinema: the high output, shrewd entrepreneurship, changing world tastes, and a unique skill in action genres that cross cultural boundaries. Considering both the movies themselves and the bigger picture, he moves from deft and detailed analyses of many classics of this tradition to a broader assessment of the basic strategies and impulses of mass entertainment.
> From the same author:
Perplexing Plots (2023)
Popular Storytelling and the Poetics of Murder
Film History (2021)
An Introduction
by Kristin Thompson, David Bordwell and Jeff Smith
Subject: History of Cinema
Reinventing Hollywood (2017)
How 1940s Filmmakers Changed Movie Storytelling
Subject: History of Cinema
The Classical Hollywood Cinema (2015)
Film Style and Mode of Production to 1960
Minding Movies (2011)
Observations on the Art, Craft, and Business of Filmmaking
by David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson
Subject: General
> On a related topic:
The Colonial Screen (2025)
Early Cinema in Hong Kong
New Essential Guide to Hong Kong Movies (2024)
by Rick Baker and Ken Miller
Hong Kong Crime Films (2023)
Criminal Realism, Censorship and Society, 1947-1986
Experts in Action (2021)
Transnational Hong Kong-Style Stunt Work and Performance
The Other Side of Glamour (2020)
The Left-Wing Studio Network in Hong Kong Cinema in the Cold War Era and Beyond
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