Korean Cinema: The New Hong Kong (Paperback)

by Anthony Leong (Author)
Key Phrases: gingko bed, netizen funds, homegrown film industry, Hong Kong, South Korea, Cinema Service (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
You don't have to look very far these days to see the influence that the film industry of Hong Kong has had on moviemaking around the world. Hong Kong film stars, such as Jackie Chan, Chow Yun-fat, Jet Li, and Michelle Yeoh, have become household names headlining Hollywood blockbusters, while directors such as John Woo, Tsui Hark, and Wong Kar-wai are closing deals in Tinseltown and developing huge international followings.

Despite achieving such recognition abroad, the luster on Hong Kong's homegrown film industry has faded quite a bit over the past decade. However, many Hong Kong cinema aficionados, who passionately followed the rise of the 'Hong Kong New Wave' during the Eighties and early Nineties, only to become increasingly disenchanted since then, are now looking to South Korea for Asia's boldest and most innovative films.

    Since 1998, South Korea's local film industry has undergone a remarkable transformation. A new generation of Korean moviemakers is revitalizing the industry with bold arthouse productions, big-budget actioners, thought-provoking dramas, and subversive satires. In some circles, South Korea is even being likened to the new 'Hong Kong', with its film industry on the verge of exploding onto the world stage, similar to how the 'Hong Kong New Wave' catapulted the former British colony and its groundbreaking films into the international spotlight. Already, some Korean films have found success in the North American market arthouse circuit, while Korean directors are being courted by major Hollywood studios for lucrative U.S. remake rights.

    "Korean Cinema: The New Hong Kong" is a guidebook for exploring this new and exciting treasure trove of cinema. It is the first book of its kind, covering this emerging cinematic powerhouse in an easy-to-read and leisure-focused fashion, bringing all the sought-after information on Korean cinema into one convenient package. Within the pages of Korean Cinema: The New Hong Kong, you will find:

* A brief history of South Korea and its film industry, which will help you understand the reasons behind the revolutionary changes in Korean cinema and what is influencing the country's directors

* A look at the present state of Korea's filmmaking industry and how it resembles the dot-com era (with the only difference being that these companies are actually making money, and lots of it)

* An examination of the characteristics, themes, and dominant genres of the films in this newest 'Korean New Wave'

* In-depth reviews and commentary of the top ten must-see films of this latest 'Korean New Wave'

* An overview of the top genres of Korean cinema, with reviews, commentary, and notes on availability for the good, the bad, and the ugly

* A look at the stars of Korean cinema, such as the Korean equivalents to Tom Cruise (Han Suk-kyu) and Julia Roberts (Shim Eun-ha).

* How moviegoers can go about seeing Korean flicks (with English subtitles too!)

    So sit back, relax, and get ready to be introduced to Korean Cinema: The New Hong Kong!

About the Author
    In addition to being a licensed pharmacist and management consultant, Anthony Leong has been a part-time film critic since 1997. Many of his 750+ film reviews and articles have appeared in books, magazines, and entertainment portals all around the world, as well as on his own entertainment web site, MediaCircus.net. After watching his very first Korean film, "Shiri", Mr. Leong became hopelessly hooked and made a vow to write the very first guidebook to this new and exciting world cinema phenomenon, the results of which you now hold in your hand.

Product Details

• Paperback: 276 pages
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing (July 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1553954610
• ISBN-13: 978-1553954613
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #447,883 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book on Korean film without the academic posturing, July 8, 2003

By	Martin (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

Korean Cinema: The New Hong Kong is a refreshing change of pace from other texts on the subject in that it avoids the dense and very dry tone of academia and is thankfully free of pretension. As a result, it is very accessible to the average reader and provides a good basis for understanding the underpinnings of the growing success of South Korea's film industry.

The book is comprised of two distinct parts. The opening chapters provide some background on South Korea and the current state of its film industry, and though this may be something that some readers may wish to skip, it provides context for readers in understanding what makes Korean films special. Also, the author's style keeps the read light and interesting, so it is actually fun to read.

The second part consists of a number of reviews (I counted at least 80) of recent Korean films grouped by genre. One thing I liked about the author is his digressions into related topics in his reviews, such as how he discusses the alternate history genre in science fiction in his review of 2009 Lost Memories, or how he dabbles in guerrilla journalism in taking apart less-than-worthy films.

Whether you have developed an interest in Korean film or have been watching them for a few years, this book is an excellent companion and will help you build your DVD collection. For the author, I would suggest that he think about expanding the book in the future to include interviews with some Korean filmmakers and add more reviews (with the number of Korean films being released on DVD growing day by day).

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally a book for the rest of us, May 7, 2003

By	"monica1130" (Montreal) - See all my reviews

It's about time that someone wrote a book about Korean cinema from recent years. Up until now, the only books available were about films before the early 90s and read more like textbooks. Korean Cinema is an easy read and has a good balance between insight and irreverence, such as how the author makes a parallel between Korea right now and Hong Kong ten years ago, his thoughts on all those time travel romances, and how he shreds absolutely horrible movies like Dream of a Warrior to pieces. This one is a keeper!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good primer to recent Korean Cinema, November 18, 2005

By	Jared M (Hamilton New Zealand) - See all my reviews

I have been interested in Korean cinema ever since I worked in Korea as an ESL teacher. My first Korean DVD purchases were Shiri and JSA, which I brought more for novelty and and as a momento of Korea than anything else, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised at the production values of both these movies. As a result, I have become a firm fan of Korean movies, and have added a number of titles to my DVD collection. This book will help me select some more good titles to add to the collection.

"Korean Cinema" fulfills a useful niche as it is basically a primer for Korean movies from 1998 to 2002 for newcomers to Korean cinema. The author reviews and rates a number of the movies made in this time span, from "Attack the Gas Station" through to "2009: Lost Memories", plus a couple of titles a couple of years older. The author also rates and discusses 10 Korean movies from that time period which he rates as must sees. It would be a good start for building a DVD collection. There is also a section devoted to the major personalities of the Korean movie industry, actors and directors. It is illustrated but only in black and white, any many of the pictures are of poor quality.

Ignore the low rating reviews of this book - the reviewers obviously brought this book expecting a serious textbook of Korean cinema, which if you actually read the advertising blurb for the book, it is most certainly not. There are books out there discussing the full history of Korean cinema, but make no mistake, this book is not one of them. It is strictly for the newcomers to the genre, and who has little knowledge of the Korean movie industry. It does have a chapter on the history of the industry in Korea, but it is only superficial, and it isn't the reason I brought the book anyway.

Especially ignore the twit who is critical of the author basing his movie reviews on english subtitles. Korean is a particularly difficult language to learn and to become sufficiently competent in the language to be able to follow a Korean movie without english subtitles is beyond the abilities of all but the most dedicated of people. The author of "Korean Cinema" does make it quite clear he is only a recent convert, and thus a beginner, in Korean movies.

This book would lend itself to an update every 3 or 4 years or so. There has been some considerably significant Korean movie releases since this book was first published, not least of which is "Tae-Guk-Gi". I also recommend checking out the website www.koreanfilm.org which has movie reviews, talent profiles and other useful informative articles. The author of the site, Darcy Paquet, is listed in the bibliography of "Korean Cinema" a number of times.