This 1995 volume by Bey Logan presents a wide-ranging thematic and chronological survey of Hong Kong action cinema that looks beyond the usual suspects – Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan etc – to place them in a broader context.
Chapter one takes us to the establishment of the Shaw Brothers empire, introducing the importance of Peking Opera, culture hero Wong Fei Hung and, through various sidebar boxes, other less significant – though still worthy – players like Ng See Yuen, whose Seasonal films first broke Jackie Chan as a star with Snake in the Eagle's Shadow and Drunken Master .
Chapter two explores the Bruce Lee story – it has to be covered, even if the possibility for new insights is all but nil, even for an undoubted expert like Logan. Chapter three, which looks at the life and career of Lau Kar Leung, is thereby more interesting, Logan making a convincing case that his films as both performer and director over the decades deserve more attention and better distribution than they have received. (Through his industry connections perhaps Logan can do something to rectify this.)
The next chapter covers Jackie Chan. Again, there's nothing new that can really be said, so many fans will likely find the following chapter on Chan's Opera colleague and fellow hypenate actor-director-stuntman Samo Hung of more interest.
Chapter six is thematic, looking at the Chinese ghost story and fantasy film – Spooky Encounters , Zu Warriors , and the Mr Vampire and Chinese Ghost Story series. Again, the virues of Logan's narrative/sidebar format are apparent, with useful mini-profiles of "the Hong Kong Peter Cushing", Lam Ching Ying, and director/producer/impresario Tsui Hark.
Chapter seven looks at heroic bloodshed, noting the differences between the domestic and foreign reception of many of John Woo and Chow Yun Fat's collaborations and tracing the interplay of influences and cross-fertilisations such as Woo borrowing from Leone and Melville, or Tarantino lifting Reservoir Dogs lock, stock and barrel from Ringo Lam's City on Fire .
Chapter eight looks at comedy, providing a timely reminder in the light of the previous chapter that there are whole areas of Hong Kong cinema that don't travel beyond the boundaries of the territory and South East Asia and await the attentions of the curious or adventurous filmgoer. While some of the films described undoubtedly rely too much on cultural knowledge and the language to really work for the outsider, fans of Chan, Hung and Yuen Biao may well find the Aces Go Places and Lucky Stars series pique their curiosity.
The ninth chapter looks at fighting females, from 1960s star Cheng Pei Pei ( Come Drink With Me through Michelle Khan (AKA Yeoh) and Yukari Oshima in the mid-80s and beyond, tracing the differences between the styles of those who came to the films via a background in martial arts (Cynthia Rothrock) and dance (Yeoh), not to mention the beauty pageant types who really couldn't adapt to the genre, no matter how much the camera flattered to deceive. Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer will also find a sidebar about Sophia Crawford, the British punker who found a place doing stunts in Hong Kong actioners before becoming Sarah Michelle Gellar's double.
The final chapter looks to the future, with profiles of rising stars Donnie Yen and Jet Lee/Li, the nearly-was Conan Lee and The Golden Four – the Canto-pop singers turned actors who can sell a film in Hong Kong on their names alone but continue to mean next to nothing internationally – and some predictions for the future.
Reading the book a few years later, it's fascinating to see how these have panned out. Jackie Chan has broken through in the Hollywood market, while several others – Chow Yun Fat, Jet Li, Donnie Yen, Michelle Yeoh, Ronnie Yu, Yuen Woo Ping – have made inroads in one way or another. And while Samo Hung hasn't had the chance to direct stateside, at least Martial Law has helped establish who he is in the public eye.
A useful glossary and comprehensive index of titles round of this valuable reference nicely.
Dated and selective in places – Category III films like Sex and Zen and Dr Lamb receive little or no coverage – but sufficiently broad and informative, if light on theory (which may be a good thing if one is familiar with the excesses of the City on Fire volume, to deserve a place on the genre fans bookshelf.
Copyright © K H Brown 2002-2005
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