Open AccessMainstream Film Production in a Country on the Cusp of Change
Author(s) -
Julian Ward
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of the british association for chinese studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2048-0601
DOI - 10.51661/bjocs.v8i2.7
Subject(s) - filmmaking , studio , context (archaeology) , china , history , narrative , criticism , media studies , film studies , movie theater , literature , art history , art , visual arts , sociology , archaeology
In June 1984, the journal Dianying pingjie (Film Criticism) published a short article titled “An Open letter to the August First Film Studio”, written by an army officer called Xu Gewei, in which he described The Colourful Night, The Last Military Salute and Star of the Battleground, three of the studio’s recent productions, as mediocre, inept and crudely made. This paper will look at the three films in the context of the early 1980s, a period in the history of filmmaking in Communist China, which, in spite of being critical for the subsequent development of the Chinese film industry, still receives comparatively little attention. The paper will show how, although the films rely for the most part on out-moded techniques and narrative forms, there are moments that display an interest in new film techniques and reveal an understanding of the evolving world of China in the early 1980s.
At time of publication of this article, the journal operated under the old name. When quoting please refer to the citation on the left using British Journal of Chinese Studies. The pdf of the article still reflects the old journal name; issue number and page range are consistent.