Hong Kong New Wave
Encyclopedia
Cinema of Hong Kong
The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China, and the cinema of Taiwan...
of the late 1970s and 1980s, many trained in overseas film programs and with experience in the territory's thriving television drama scene. Among the most notable members are Tsui Hark
Tsui Hark
Tsui Hark , born Tsui Man-kong, is a Hong Kong New Wave film director and producer. He is viewed as a major figure in the Golden Age of Hong Kong cinema .-Early life:...
, Ann Hui
Ann Hui
Ann Hui On-Wah is a Hong Kong film director, film producer and occasional screenwriter, one of the most critically acclaimed amongst the Hong Kong New Wave.-Early life:...
, Patrick Tam
Patrick Tam
Patrick Tam Kar Ming is a Hong Kong film director and film editor. He directed the 1987 film Final Victory, scripted by Wong Kar-wai.He edited Wong Kar-wai's Days of Being Wild, contributing the cameo appearance of Tony Leung Chiu-Wai in the last scene, and Ashes of Time, as well as Johnnie To's...
, Yim Ho
Yim Ho
Yim Ho is one of the most famous Hong Kong directors of the 1980s, and a leader of Hong Kong New Wave.He began his career in television production making television programs for RTHK, then became a film director in 1980....
and Allen Fong
Allen Fong
Allen Fong Yuk-ping is a film director and one of the leaders of the Hong Kong New Wave of the late 1970s and early 1980s. His cinematic style is highly influenced by Italian neorealism...
.
The New Wave was a major factor in the creation of a cinema with a contemporary Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
identity and in the Cantonese dialect of most residents - between World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the '70s, the industry had been led by transplanted mainland Chinese filmmakers
Cinema of China
The Chinese-language cinema has three distinct historical threads: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. Since 1949 the cinema of mainland China has operated under restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and...
who continued the traditions they brought with them, largely in Mandarin dialect films.
New Wavers were technically audacious compared with the mainstream Hong Kong cinema of the time. They furthered the use of location shooting
Location shooting
Location shooting is the practice of filming in an actual setting rather than on a sound stage or back lot. In filmmaking a location is any place where a film crew will be filming actors and recording their dialog. A location where dialog is not recorded may be considered as a second unit...
and sync sound
Sync sound
Sync sound refers to sound recorded at the time of the filming of movies, and has been widely used in movies since the birth of sound movies.-History:...
recording and explored a grittier, rougher look and feel. The vivid use, in Hong Kong film since then, of authentic locations in the bustling, cramped urban space is one of their legacies.
The New Wave filmmakers were particularly given to revisionist explorations of popular genres, like the thriller (Hui's 1979 The Secret, Tam's 1981 Love Massacre), martial arts (Tsui's 1979 The Butterfly Murders, Tam's 1980 The Sword) and crime (Alex Cheung's 1979 Cops and Robbers, Yim's 1980 The Happenings). The latter category was particularly friendly to their experiments with realism, and their tactic of wrapping social commentary in genre trappings.
But the New Wave also produced personal dramas about relationships, domesticity and family (Fong's 1981 Father and Son, Yim's 1984 Homecoming) and hard-hitting political comment - Hui's 1982 Boat People
Boat People (film)
Boat People is an award-winning Hong Kong film directed by Ann Hui, first shown in theaters in 1982. The film stars George Lam, Andy Lau, Cora Miao, and Season Ma. At the second Hong Kong Film Awards, Boat People won awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best New Performer, Best Screenplay,...
presented a brutal portrait of communist Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, but was widely viewed as an allegory of Hong Kong's anxieties regarding communist China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
(Teo, 1997).
The New Wave helped carve out a small niche for art films in Hong Kong's populist cinema, although most were absorbed into the mainstream to one extent or another (Bordwell, 2000).
Major Figures
- Tsui HarkTsui HarkTsui Hark , born Tsui Man-kong, is a Hong Kong New Wave film director and producer. He is viewed as a major figure in the Golden Age of Hong Kong cinema .-Early life:...
(徐克) - Ann HuiAnn HuiAnn Hui On-Wah is a Hong Kong film director, film producer and occasional screenwriter, one of the most critically acclaimed amongst the Hong Kong New Wave.-Early life:...
(許鞍華) - Yim HoYim HoYim Ho is one of the most famous Hong Kong directors of the 1980s, and a leader of Hong Kong New Wave.He began his career in television production making television programs for RTHK, then became a film director in 1980....
(嚴浩) - Patrick TamPatrick TamPatrick Tam Kar Ming is a Hong Kong film director and film editor. He directed the 1987 film Final Victory, scripted by Wong Kar-wai.He edited Wong Kar-wai's Days of Being Wild, contributing the cameo appearance of Tony Leung Chiu-Wai in the last scene, and Ashes of Time, as well as Johnnie To's...
(譚家明) - Allen FongAllen FongAllen Fong Yuk-ping is a film director and one of the leaders of the Hong Kong New Wave of the late 1970s and early 1980s. His cinematic style is highly influenced by Italian neorealism...
(方育平) - Dennis YuDennis YuDennis Yu Yun-kong Dennis Yu Yun-kong Dennis Yu Yun-kong (余允抗_ is a Hong Kong film director active in the 1980s, and a crucial member of Hong Kong New Wave. He is most famous for directing horror movies. The Imp (兇榜, 1981), Yu's horror movie with strong influence of Roman Polanski, is widely...
(余允抗) - Kirk WongKirk WongKirk Wong Chi Keung is a Hong Kong based film director and actor. He is probably most famous for directing the John Woo produced action comedy The Big Hit.-Filmography as director:...
(黃志強) - Terry Tong (唐基明)
- Lau Shing Hon (劉成漢)
- Alex Cheung (章國明)
- Peter Yung (翁維全)
- Clifford Choi (蔡繼光)
- John WooJohn WooJohn Woo Yu-Sen SBS is a Hong Kong-based film director and producer. Recognized for his stylised films of highly choreographed action sequences, Mexican standoffs, and use of slow-motion, Woo has directed several notable Hong Kong action films, among them, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Hard...
(吳宇森) - Wong Kar-waiWong Kar-waiWong Kar-wai BBS is a Hong Kong Second Wave filmmaker, internationally renowned as an auteur for his visually unique, highly stylized, emotionally resonant work, including Days of Being Wild , Ashes of Time , Chungking Express , Fallen Angels , Happy Together and 2046...
(王家衛) - Siu-wan Ng (吳小雲)