China on Screen: Cinema and Nation (Film and Culture Series) [Paperback]

Christopher J. Berry (Author), Mary Ann Farquhar (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0231137079 | ISBN-13: 978-0231137072 | Publication Date: March 28, 2006

In China on Screen, Chris Berry and Mary Farquhar, leaders in the field of Chinese film studies, explore more than one hundred years of Chinese cinema and nation. Providing new perspectives on key movements, themes, and filmmakers, Berry and Farquhar analyze the films of a variety of directors and actors, including Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou, Hou Hsiao Hsien, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Gong Li, Wong Kar-wai, and Ang Lee. They argue for the abandonment of "national cinema" as an analytic tool and propose "cinema and the national" as a more productive framework. With this approach, they show how movies from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Chinese diaspora construct and contest different ideas of Chinese nation -- as empire, republic, or ethnicity, and complicated by gender, class, style, transnationalism, and more. Among the issues and themes covered are the tension between operatic and realist modes, male and female star images, transnational production and circulation of Chinese films, the image of the good foreigner -- all related to different ways of imagining nation. Comprehensive and provocative, China on Screen is a crucial work of film analysis.

(11/1/2006)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A quite thought-provoking and extensively researched academic study.

(Wisconsin Bookwatch No. 58)

Recommended.

(Choice Fall 2007)

[ China on Screen] will no doubt remain a standard reference for students of cinema studies and is eminently adoptable for the classroom.

(Haiyan Lee Nations & Nationalism 2007/4)

An important and exceedingly satisfying read.

(Carolyn M. Bloomer The China Journal )

It is well worth the read for those interested in learning more about this understudied area of film.

(Antoinette Winstead Film & History )

Clear and entertaining... This book is as suitable for people just entering the field as for specialized scholars.

(China Perspectives )

Review

Thoroughly engaged with the existing scholarship in their field and unfailingly thoughtful in their responses and questions, Chris Berry and Mary Farquhar offer a wide-ranging account of the mutating links among nation, transnationalism, and Chinese cinematic culture. An eminently readable book, written in the most generous of critical spirit.

(Rey Chow, Brown University July 2006)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (March 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231137079
• ISBN-13: 978-0231137072
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #463,636 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exploration of more than one hundred years of Chinese cinema and nation, July 3, 2006

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: China on Screen: Cinema and Nation (Film and Culture Series) (Paperback)

Chinese film studies experts Chris Berry and Mary Farquhar present China On Screen: Cinema And Nation, an exploration of more than one hundred years of Chinese cinema and nation. Revealing how movies from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Chinese diaspora create different ideas of Chinese nation, whether empire, republic, or ethnically based, China On Screen touches on such issues as male and female star images, transnational production, the image of the "good foreigner" among others. A quite thought-provoking and extensively researched academic study.