city on fire
review
6 degrees
by JUSTIN BOWYER
November 1999
CITY ON FIRE: Hong Kong Cinema
By Lisa Odham Stokes
and Michael Hoover
Verso, 372 pages
City on Fire is that rare thing: a study of a specialist sub-genre that
is both fascinatingly detailed and yet broad enough to make it a good
introductory read for those less familiar with the territory.
In fact "introductory" probably doesnt do it enough justice.
As one who only has a passing acquaintance with the Hong Kong action
film (but have genuinely enjoyed most of what I have seen) City on Fire
made me positively ravenous for more.
After a foreword by director Peter Chan, the book really gets going with
Mapping the Territory, an exhaustive socio-political history of the
region which puts everything firmly in context. So well-written is this
chapter that it wouldnt look out of place on the reading list of a
history/politics under-grad. It is a refreshing surprise to find it
heading up a book on what could easily have been dismissed as a
trainspotters guide to chop-socky high octane movies. This is really the
authors greatest strength they take their subject seriously, without
ever taking it too seriously. They treat both the genre and the readers
with equal respect and credit both with some intelligence for a change.
Reeling in the Years takes a look at the sub-genre roots that developed
out of operatic traditions and how the Cantonese and Mandarin dialect
films grew in parallel. Great nuggets of information pepper each
chapter. For example after 1936, British Law required that all films be
subtitled in Chinese and English but made no stipulation that the
subtitles should make any sense!
And so the book continues, each chapter adding layer upon layer of
insight into the fascinatingly complex traditions of Hong Kong cinema.
All the usual suspects are present from Bruce Lee and Ringo Lam to John
Woo and the Chinese Ghost Story traditions.
There are plenty of original quotes and interviews (including Peter
Chan, Ronny Yu, John Woo, etc.). In addition the whole book is
elaborately footnoted and referenced and there is even a comprehensive
index (rarer than you might think in film books).
There are only a handful of pictures, all black and white, but thats no
great criticism because the films themselves should be watched for the
full impact of the imagery and no still could really do them justice. In
a book this well-written it would seem a little churlish to complain
about the lack of eye candy.
This is a must read book for fans of the genre and I would also hope
that those less familiar with Hong Kong filmmaking would also give it a
go. Im certain it will win you over and bring a whole new level of
enjoyment to films you may have, unjustly, written off.
City on Fire: Hong Kong Cinema Published by Verso. ISBN 1-85984-716-1
(ISBN 1-85984-203-8 (pbk)) www.versobooks.com
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