City on Fire: Hong Kong Cinema [Hardcover]

Michael Hoover (Author), Lisa Odham Stokes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1999

Uncertainty about the post-handover era accelerated Hong Kong's race for economic growth, and found expression in cinema's depictions of a city on fire. This book reviews the directors and films that have established Hong Kong cinema's reputation.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The world first took notice of Hong Kong cinema in the 1970s, when Bruce Lee's Fists of Fury and Enter the Dragon brought a new level of psychological realism to the "chop socky" movies being made up until that point. But it wasn't until the 1980s that a new generation of directors and stars--a moviemaking system, in fact--reached its boiling point, and American audiences began to hear about John Woo's "heroic bloodshed" films and Jackie Chan's Chaplinesque martial arts action movies. City on Fire is the authoritative account of that system, and authors Stokes and Hoover--a pair of community college teachers from central Florida--have traced the industry back to the early decades of the century when Shanghai-financed films first gave way to local productions like Rouge, Li Minwei's story of courtesans. The remaining bulk of the book is given over to the go-go '80s when record attendance at local movie houses fueled the industry and gave large-as-life careers to the likes of Chow Yun-Fat, Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, and Maggie Cheung, and to directors like Woo, Ann Hui, Stanley Tong, and (Quentin Tarantino's favorite) Kar-Wei Wong. As the authors tell it, it was in the '80s when Hong Kong moviemaking most resembled the early days of Hollywood, when money flowed and movies rolled out from sketchy scripts and a few rat-a-tat weeks in the editing room (complete with a "dark underbelly" of exploitation too). The final, encyclopedic chapters detail American productions like Rumble in the Bronx and Face/Off, and international successes like Peter Chan's Comrades: Almost a Love Story. But it's really the years from 1978 to 1995 that the authors are sweet on, and anyone interested in--or in love with--Hong Kong cinema will find themselves feeling the same way, paging through this fascinating title. --Lyall Bush --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Publishers Weekly

The Hong Kong film industry of the '80s and early '90s produced a treasure trove of films. It made matinee idols of (among others) Chow Yun-Fat, Jackie Chan and Maggie Cheung, reinvented genres with style and generally beat the Hollywood dream factory at its own game with an "anything goes" attitudeAdespite tiny budgets and brief production schedules. Hoover and Stokes rightly consider the anxiety produced by the ticking clock to the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China as the key to this period of frenetic creativity. In the most serious study to date of Hong Kong cinema, the authors dutifully ground their account with social, political, economic and historical analysis. Sometimes they get a bit carried away, however: comparing a Harold Lloyd stunt to a Jackie Chan variant, the Lloyd version becomes emblematic of the ideal of upward mobility in the American 1920s, and Chan's tumble reflects how "Hong Kong's dollar fell during a run on the colony's currency in 1983." The abundance of quotes from Marx and Engels at times makes a cinema noted for its pure entertainment value sound dull and allegorical. Still, the book's extensive interviews with major HK playersAand detailed coverage of the comedies and romances that have enjoyed less international exposure than the now famous action films of Chan and John WooAare of outstanding interest. So tantalizing is the treatment of many of these obscure films that readers will scurry to the neighborhood video store in search of such charmingly translated titles as Tom, Dick, and Hairy and Shogun and Little Kitchen. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Verso (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1859847161
• ISBN-13: 978-1859847169
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 8.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,113,132 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Necessary for any Hong Kong film fan..., November 5, 1999

By 

David Yun - See all my reviews

This review is from: City on Fire: Hong Kong Cinema (Paperback)

Honestly, I didn't think it was quite as good as the industry reviews above made it out to be. However, it must be said that there simply aren't many significant works on this topic, and as far as I can tell, this is THE benchmark work on the subject. The research was thorough enough, covering all major genres of Hong Kong cinema, and not just the actioners which made their way Stateside. If you are a Hong Kong film fan looking for a resource to guide your next purchase or rental, this is worth the investment.One complaint though: the authors tie EVERYthing to the 1997 return of Hong Kong from Great Britain back to China; I realize that the impending handover contributed strongly to the atmosphere of HK filmmaking (the point of the title), but some of the connections they made seem to stretch credulity.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great analsys of contemporary Hong Kong cinema., November 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: City on Fire: Hong Kong Cinema (Paperback)

City on Fire: Hong Kong Cimema is an excellent reference for studying the political and social structures of recent Hong Kong films. The book provides many insightful thoughts linking together the encoaching fear of the 1997 handover and Hong Kong capitalism to the film industy's increasing energy. As an added benefit I learned much about Hong Kong culture and society. Highly Recommended!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful exploration into Hong Kong films, January 25, 2001

By 

Andrew C. (State College PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: City on Fire: Hong Kong Cinema (Paperback)

I truly enjoyed reading this book. The authors are obviously very literate people. The book is written as an in-depth introduction to some very good HK films. Each film reviewed is broken down; its characters are studied, as is the overall theme of each film. I recommend this book over ones like Sex and Zen and a Bullet in the Head, because City on Fire treats the films with understanding and respect. HK films aren't all just kung-fu and category 3 (similar to NC-17 in the U.S.) There are some fine dramas and action films that need to be treated with respect, because some of the finest films ever made come from Hong Kong and this book gives those films the respect they deserve.