THE NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL
The 42nd New York Film Festival:
Elegance, Passion, and Cold Hard Steel:
A Tribute to Shaw Brothers Studios
Oct 2 - 13, 2004
THE 42ND NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL IS SPONSORED BY DIET COKE, HSBC BANK USA, N.A., & THE NEW YORK TIMES
above: Heroes Two
A Special sidebar of the 42nd New York Film Festival.
This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art
Additional support from the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office.
We are very proud to present a tribute to the legendary Shaw Brothers film studio, the institution which more than any other established the styles, developed the genres, and created the major stars of Hong Kong cinema. Founded in the early 1930s by a trio of brothers from Shanghai, Shaw Brothers became Hong Kong's largest film studio by the early 50s. With its experience in successfully marketing films to overseas Chinese communities, Shaw Brothers was key in making Hong Kong cinema a truly international phenomenon. Although known especially for their extraordinary martial arts films, it offered a range of genres and film styles, from historical epics to contemporary comedies, from adaptations of operas to Hollywood-style musicals. The Film Society's Shaw Brothers tribute will offer a range of key films produced from the 50s to the 70s that will give evidence of the extraordinary richness of Hong Kong cinema in these crucial, formative years. A special feature of this program will be four films by the legendary Li Han-hsiang, a major talent (and mentor to King Hu) whose work is only now being discovered by western scholars, critics and audiences. From October 18 to 28, a series of films produced in Hong Kong since 2000 will complement the Shaw Brothers tribute.
We are very grateful to Celestial Pictures for making this program available to us. Special thanks to W.J. Deutsch & Sons, Ltd.
THE LOVE ETERNE / LIANG SHANBO YU ZHU YINGTAI
Li Han-hsiang, 1962; 123m Restored print
"Every time I see this movie, I cry·.I think that for every movie I make,
I always try to duplicate that feeling of purity and innocence that I
got when I saw this movie." - Ang Lee, as told to The New York Times
One of the undisputed classics of Chinese cinema, The Love Eterne
continues to delight both major filmmakers and regular audiences alike.
Based on a folktale, the film begins as a headstrong young woman tries
to convince her parents to allow her to go to school - a privilege reserved
for men in fourth century China. Dressing as a man, she's able to fool
even her parents, and thus gets their consent for her studies.
Sat Oct 2: 7:30; Sun Oct 3: 4:30; Mon Oct 4: 4 & 8:40
VERMILLION DOOR / HONG LING LEI
Lo Chen, 1964; 126m
This classic love triangle has long been a great favorite with Chinese
audiences, and the story has been adapted many times to the screen. Director
Lo Chen brings the tumultuous, lawless period of the early Republic to
vibrant life, creating the sense of a society in which all the old rules
and conventions no longer have any meaning. As Han-tang, the long-suffering
actor who sees the woman he loves give herself to another in order to
keep him alive, heartthrob Kwan Shan gave his finest performance.
Sun Oct 3: 12 noon; Tue Oct 5: 4 & 8:30
THE KINGDOM AND THE BEAUTY / JIANGSHAN MEIREN
Li Han-hsiang, 1958: 99m Restored print
Bored with his studies, the young emperor Cheng-te (Chao Le) decides to
accompany the commander of the Imperial Guards on a trip to southern China.
Traveling incognito, the Emperor falls in love with a young girl. Exquisitely
photographed, The Kingdom and the Beauty remains a popular revival
for Chinese audiences, with many of its songs now considered classics.
Sun Oct 3: 2:30; Tue Oct 5: 6:30; Wed Oct 6: 4
THE HOUSE OF 72 TENANTS / QISHI'ERJIA FANGKE
Chu Yuan, 1973; 98m
A hilarious time capsule of old Hong Kong, The House of 72 Tenants
broke all box office records when released in 1973, eclipsing even Bruce
Lee. The film also triggered a revival of films in Cantonese, and within
a few years most Hong Kong productions would be in the actual spoken language
of the city. Hugely entertaining, the film also served as a kind of nostalgic
reminder of a Hong Kong that was by then fast being transformed into a
postmodern metropolis of glass, steel and light.
Sun Oct 3: 7; Wed Oct 6: 6; Thurs Oct 7: 4:15
THE EMPRESS DOWAGER / QINGGUO QINGCHENG
Li Han-hsiang, 1975; 107m Restored print
To see The Empress Dowager is to revel in the glory that was studio-based
filmmaking: sumptuous sets and costumes, top-flight performances, and
a clear, literate screenplay that brilliantly weaves personal stories
into well-known historical events. One feels the hand of director Li Han-hsiang
in every frame, orchestrating each element to create this powerful portrait
of a regime.
Sun Oct 3: 9; Mon Oct 4: 6:30
INTIMATE CONFESSIONS OF A CHINESE COURTESAN / AI NU
Chu Yuan, 1972; 86m Restored print
Lily Ho is an aristocratic maiden abducted and sold to the Four Seasons
Brothel, where she quickly gets caught up in a web of sex, murder and
intrigue. When released in 1972, Intimate Confessions of a Chinese
Courtesan shocked audiences, and even today continues to exert a kind
of raw power.
Thurs Oct 7: 6:15; Fri Oct 8: 9; Sat Oct 9: 5:30
HONG KONG NOCTURNE / XIANGJIANG HUA YUE YE
Inoue Umetsugu, 1966; 128m A lavish musical extravaganza that featured
the talents of three of Shaw Brothers' top female stars - Lily Ho, Chin
Ping, and the great Cheng Pei-pei (Come Drink With Me, Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon) - Hong Kong Nocturne presents a backstage view
of the lives and loves, dreams and cruel realities of show biz, with a
healthy sampling of what goes onstage as well. Along the way there are
plenty of songs and dance numbers, giving a taste of Hong Kong's answer
to that most popular of Hollywood genres, the musical.
Thurs Oct 7: 8:15; Fri Oct 8: 4; Sat Oct 9: 12:45
LOVE WITHOUT END / BU LIAO QING
Doe Chin, 1961; 117m
Shot in beautiful black and white, Love Without End follows a young
girl from the country trying to make it in Hong Kong. Thanks to the help
of a boy from a good family just returned from studies abroad, she gets
to sing in a nightclub. They soon fall in love, but then his father dies,
leaving a mountain of debt. Desperate to help him, she agrees to go on
a world tour·.
Fri Oct 8: 6:30; Mon Oct 11: 4:30
CLANS OF INTRIGUE A.K.A. KILLER CLANS / LIUXING HUDIE JIAN
Chu Yuan, 1976; 91m
This swordfighting parable of treachery and betrayal brilliantly translates
to the screen the Taiwan author's nourish propensity for solitary heroes
caught in complex webs of intrigue. An assassin is sent to murder a famed
martial arts patriarch, but as he sets about infiltrating his prey's inner
sanctums, the killer with the clinical touch finds himself increasingly
willing to be diverted from his mission.
Sat Oct 9: 11am; Wed Oct 13: 6:15
HEROES TWO / FANG SHIYU YU HONG XIGUAN
Zhang Che, 1973; 93m
Heroes Two begins soon after the Shao Lin monastery is burned down
by Qing government soldiers; Hung, one of Shao Lin's disciples, manages
to escape, and is soon being chased by emissaries from the Qing general.
After Hung is caught and imprisoned, a group of underground Shao Lin sympathizers,
devise a bold plot to free him.
Sat Oct 9: 3:10; Tue Oct 12: 6:30
BLOOD BROTHERS / CI MA
Zhang Che, Hong Kong, 1973; 118m Restored print
This widescreen epic of love, loyalty and betrayal is based on actual
events surrounding the assassination of a general. This retelling finds
the bandit brothers befriending a mercenary warrior after trying to rob
him. The stage is set for tragedy when the warrior falls for one of the
bandit's neglected wives.
Tue Oct 12: 4 & 8:45
THE LAST TEMPEST / YINGTAI QI XUE
Li Han-hsiang, 1975; 118m
Aided by some young government ministers influenced by Western ideas and
models, the Emperor sets about trying to rid China of its traditional
bureaucracy and feudal structures. But the Empress Dowager knows of the
Emperor's weakness for his concubine Chen, and thus sets about to strike
at him by using the woman he loves. Variety called the film "lavish
and the script tightly packed."
Wed Oct 13: 4 & 8:10
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