The rapid development of Hong Kong has occasioned the demolition of
buildings and landscapes of historic significance, but film acts as a
repository for memories of lost places, vanished vistas and material
objects. Location shoots in Hong Kong have preserved many disappearing
landmarks of the city, and the resulting films function as valuable
and irreplaceable archives of the city’s evolution.
Far more than a simple collection of movie locations, this book
delivers a rare glimpse into the history of film production practices
in Hong Kong. The locations described here are often not the most
iconic; rather, they are the anonymous streets and back alleys used by
local film studios in the 1960s and 70s. They are the garden cafes
with outdoor seating near the Chinese University of Hong Kong where
moments of conflict in romantic comedies erupt and dissipate. They are
the old Kai Tak Airport, which channels rage and desire, and the
tenement housing, which splits citizens into greedy landlords and the
diligent working class and embodies old-day communal values. Modern
Hong Kong horror films draw their power from the material character of
home-grown convenient stores, shopping arcades and lost mansions found
under modern high rises.
As in the films of Wong Kar-wai and Johnnie To, readers will drift and
dash through the streets of Central to the district’s periphery,
almost recklessly, automatically, or for the sheer pleasure of
roaming. The first of its kind in English, this book is more than a
city guide to Hong Kong through the medium of film; it is a unique
exploration of relationship between location and place and genre
innovations in Hong Kong cinema.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781783201051
Publisert
2016
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Vendor
Intellect Books
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok