A few posts back, I promised that I’d spend a few minutes talking about my favorite movies to come out of the PRC. First, let’s get the obvious out of the way:
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
House of Flying Daggers
Hero
You’d simply have to be born without a soul not to be completely captivated by the beauty of these movies. Like the plot or not, you could turn off the sound on these films and just be entranced with their visuals. And, just out of curiosity, when did Chinese people forget how to fly?! You’d think that would be a skill you’d hang onto, you know?
As a useless bit of trivia, the line “那是谁?” in HOFD was the first complete sentence in Mandarin I understood without subtitles. I nearly did cartwheels.
My second round of obvious choices are:
2046
In the Mood for Love
Chungking Express
Farewell, My Concubine
All right. Those are the obvious choices. Those are the ones you’ve heard of, you’ve seen, you’ve forced upon those friends who don’t share your obsession for all things Chinese. How about these?
Full-time Killer
Infernal Affairs
Gorgeous
Chances are you’ve seen at least one of these already, and you already know that Hollywood’s latest Oscar nomination-laden film, The Departed, is a remake of Infernal Affairs. Full-time Killer might have dipped under your radar, but Andy Lau does a fantastic job in it, as does the beautiful Kelly Lin.
“But, Frank,” I hear you say, “Gorgeous?”
Yes, Gorgeous. I’m a huge Jackie Chan fan. He wasn’t a kid anymore when he did this film, and when most martial art stars his age are phoning it in *cough*walkertexasranger*cough*, Jackie’s still bringing his “A” game.
And hey, we can all watch these great movies and chalk them up to “homework.” There’s no substitute for hearing the language spoken at normal speed to get used to the music of it. Not all of us have the luxury of living in Shanghai!
Okay, I’ve done my part. What have I missed? What movie is not on my list that I absolutely must sell body parts to obtain?
Technorati Tags: chinesepod
Frank, I hate to say it, but how could you miss ESSSENTIALS (sorry to shout, but I easily get carried away with movies, they are worth any international conflict): Da hong deng long gao gao gua / Raise the Red Lantern, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101640/ - and speaking of red and Zhang Yimou: Hong gao liang / Red Sorghum, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093206/ (how come you name the tacky late Zhang Yimou films, but not those early beauties?). Oh there’s another recent one that I almost forgot about: Riding alone for a thousand miles, Qian li zou dan qi (can’t I put hyperlinks in this comment section… dear… looks like C++ coding, sorry).
AND (I get passionate again, but … you know): Cheun gwong tsa sit / Happy Together by Wong Kar-Wai, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118845/.
And (calming down): “Isabella” by Ho-Cheung Pang, beautiful Macao film (http://www.information-society.de/Cine-Blog/2006/08/isabella-cherrylane-aug-12-2006.html) .
May I ask for the worst Chinese film ever? I have a suggestion: WuJi / The Promise (http://www.information-society.de/Cine-Blog/2006/02/wuji-promise-febr-12-2006-cherrylane.html). Oustandingly poor.
I thoroughly enjoy your postings!
Thomas
胭脂扣by 张国荣Leslie Cheung and 梅艳芳anita mui ！
Well I know it isn’t exactly fine art, but I’m a huge fan of Steven Chou, he’s along the lines of Jackie Chan, but more Chinese. Last year he did a movie called Kung-Fu (same name in English and Chinese) that had me rolling on the ground.
So bewildered by these “Chinese” names…
I have only figured out several of them. Not a star-fan myself, I cannot make out more after I click on the link:)
Of the ones—I can scarcely get this plural marker on:)—, I would back your choice of Chungking Express:)
Besides, I back 正在看牡丹!:)
正在看牡丹 - How do you pronounce your name? Help me out here.
Chris - Steven Chuo is awesome! (He’s Stephen Chow here.) I saw Kung Fu (called Kung Fu Hustle here) and you’re right! It was a hoot!
Elizabeth - You’re not alone! I’m still a Newbie/Ele myself!
正zheng4 在zai4 看kan4 牡mu3 丹dan1
hehe, 牡丹means peony, literally my name means “watching the peony”, but it has another meaning: reading Peony Pavilon, a famous traditional drama. Beautiful lines.
Strongly recommend it!
Ang Lee’s Eat, Drink, Man, Woman 饮食男女 is another excellent movie. I get hungry for excellent Chinese food every time I see the movie.
I really liked Seven Swords with Donnie Yen (of Hero fame) and Stephen Chou’s Kung Fu Hustle is like Asterix and Obelix for Chinese. Very funny.
A Chinese Ghost Story is an oldie with Leslie Cheung and I don’t know if it comes in Mandarin as well as Cantonese, but it’s a very entertaining film.
Wow, A Chinese Ghost Story with Leslie Cheung! Do you mean 《倩女幽魂》?! Wow, — but yes, it’s not very good, but it’s absolutely worth watching, for the two main actors!：）
Bobbie, this film is originally in Cantonese, but you can find it in Mandarin also.
By the way, I don’t like the translation of the film title.:)
By the way again:), I love the song with the same name with the film sung by Leslie Cheung. It has not only veeeeeeeeeeeery good music but also woooooooooooooooonderful lyrics.
Such awesome recommendations from everyone! Xie xie! I’m going to go to Netflix right now and see if I can get my hands on some of these.
I found watching movies invaluable for my Chinese studies. My personal favorites were the 70’s to 80’s kung-fu films of the Shaw Brothers. (Look for a superman like symbol with SB in the middle and you know you’ve got a gem!) Some of the language is more classical and poetic, but a majority of it is in fairly understandable everyday speech. Even as a beginner, I’m sure you can hear some words you’ll know. The best part is they have been re-releasing these classics formated in beautiful widescreen with clear audio and great menus and subtitles. (Some of the original dubs were notorious for their bad translations!) A few of the classics are 5 Deadly Venoms, Shaolin Avengers (think of Sam Peckinpah in China) and (it may not be as well know, but my personal favorite) The Treasure Hunters.
Just google ‘Shaw Brothers’ and I’m sure you’ll find some good websites. Happy viewing!
I thought Raise the red lantern (well the begining of it anyway), was good, but just really slow. House of flying daggers and Hidden tiger crouching tiger were also quite moving love stories. I love Steven Chow, especially Million Dollar Man, which was just so hilarious. Qian li zou dan qi, also striked a cord in my heart. There are also other great asian (Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese) films out there as well.