C H I N A
L A N G U A G E S : M A N D A R I N C H I N E S E | C A N T O N E S E
G E N R E S : A C T I O N | H I S T O R I C A L | D R A M A | F A N T A S Y
G E N R E S : A C T I O N | H I S T O R I C A L | D R A M A | F A N T A S Y
W A T C H O U T , H O L L Y W O O D !
Especially in recent years, the emergence of Chinese cinema has been taking the world by storm. Even though more and more films are being made on a daily basis, the financial growth has been seemingly small due to a significant economic unbalance in China's economy and a sluggish stock market. Despite these conditions, however, Chinese films have been widely popular on an international level (although the hype hasn’t quite yet reached the United States). As likewise for India, China has the benefit of having a large population that accumulates such a high number of audience viewings. In fact, many film reporters claim that China’s audience size will exceed that of the United States in merely four years.
It should be noted that the ever so popular Hollywood film industry has taken notice of China's new, emerging branch of cinema as well. The most recent collaborations of both industries has led to the production of blockbusters that appeal to Chinese audiences just as much as it does American ones.
Now, one might wonder why I should even bother mentioning the new animated film Kung Fu Panda 3, especially since it’s strictly an American-made one – but that assumption is entirely false. It’s considered a "local film”, meaning that at least one third of the lead cast members are Chinese. Theoretically, two separate versions of the production were created, one in English and one in Mandarin Chinese, and were animated simultaneously in California and Shanghai. What I find most interesting about this is that both versions were tailored specifically to their respective language, which is something that has not been attempted before in the filmmaking world. Dubbing, yes – but re-animating lip movement? Oriental DreamWorks animator James Fong explains the process as “re-animating everything around the mouth and the throat, so when you look at a Chinese version of the movie, you no longer have a misalignment between the voices and the lip movement.” In the U.S. version, the characters look as though they’re speaking English, whereas in the Chinese version, it appears as if they are speaking Chinese. I find that to be a very impressive feat to achieve. G O V E R N M E N T C E N S O R S H I PDuring the 1980s and 1990s, the Chinese government had supreme control over what films could be made and screened; and with that said, only propaganda films flourished due to the strict Communist ideals that were sweeping the nation. The film market deteriorated, with audience attendance decreasing by a whopping 79% between 1982 and 1991.
So, you may be wondering, how did China reach its current heights after having been at the lowest of the low? Upon researching a multitude of different sources, I was unexpectedly surprised that a foreign film, of all things, was the salvation of its film industry. In 1994, China bought its first foreign film – The Fugitive, which just so happens to be one of my favorite Harrison Ford movies. Because of both the success in revenue and audience attention it summoned, China began to import more and more films from other countries. Not only did this decision revive investments in films, they revived creativity – thus inspiring the country to make productions of their own. As the years have evolved, the burden of censorship has begun to lift. However, the Chinese government has maintained its own quota system, which only allows 34 foreign films to be welcomed into the country per year. |
标 志 性 的D I R E C T O R S
Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige Ang Lee A C T O R S Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Jet-Li Andy Lau, Donnie Yen A C T R E S S E S Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li Fan Bingbing, Zhou Xun |
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