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Summary: A serious look at the Hong Kong film industry
Comment: Since John Woo and Jackie Chan hit it big in North America, there have been a ton of books on the Hong Kong film industry. Most of them are either poorly written or poorly presented. Or, worst of all, only focus on the figures (Woo & Chan) that people here in North America would recognized.Bordwell's book is a significant improvement as he goes into great detail on the origins of the HK film industry (painstakingly documenting the rise of the Shaw brothers) and examines how it rose to prominence. This is a very well-written book that straddles the line between being an academic study and utilizing a more mainstream approach. It's a good mix that will keep you interested. I did find some of the economical stuff to be a bit on the dull side but it is few and far between.
Best of all, Bordwell covers all the usual suspects (i.e. Woo, Chan, Wong Kar-Wai) and others as well. This is a great introduction into Hong Kong films, what makes them work and why they've become so popular world-wide.
Bordwell is obviously a fan but he is also critical as well. This is not a fawning love letter by some slobbering fanboy but a sobering account of HK films. The man has obviously done his homework. Highly recommended!
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Summary: Best popular-film book ever?
Comment: Not just the best book about Hong Kong cinema but the best ever written about a popular commercial movie industry. It is a model of practicality, fresh observation, and original on-site research in an academic field dominated by received ideology and sociological condescension. Bordwell pays tribute to the highly specialized film craftsmen of Kowloon, world-class experts in delivering intense pleasure to a large audience. We hope that he plans to write many sequels. Are you ready for "Planet Bollywood"?
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Summary: The best book on Hong Kong cinema yet
Comment: For the history of Hong Kong cinema, Stephen Teo's HONG KONG CINEMA : THE EXTRA DIMENSION can't be topped; but this impressive book is far and away the best yet to examine this vital art film from the aesthetic angle. Bordwell also covers some of the financial makeup of the Hong Kong film industry, and even devotes space to the often-ridiculed Wong Jing. His chapters on Hong Kong editing styles are not just informative, they're absolutely inspiring. This book should be required reading for every film student!
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Summary: Insightful, original, accessible
Comment: Bordwell's book manages to balance the enthusiasm of a fan with the sharp analysis of a trained film scholar. Of all the books on Hong Kong film in English that I've read, this is the one that I keep returning to--it's chock full of original criticism (his shot by shot breakdowns of classic HK flicks are superb), that is well written and accessible (even if you don't have a PhD in cultural studies). Planet Hong Kong has led me to at least a dozen wonderful films I might otherwise have overlooked.
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Summary: Great work with limitations
Comment: A great book about HK film. A detailed and convincing analysis of the technical aspect of HK movies and of what makes them good. Bordwell is limited, however, by his not knowing the language and the culture. But this seems to be very common among film critics, who mostly just rely on subtitles. For European movies this may not be a problem, but for Hong Kong movies that often have such comically and memorably bad subtitles, it's a great disadvantage to the critic.
