Download or read book The Encyclopedia of Martial Arts Movies written by Bill Palmer and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 1995 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Encyclopedia covers the genre from 1920 to 1994. The genre, however, can be very confusing: films often have several titles, and many of the stars have more than one pseudonym. In an effort to clarify some of the confusion, the authors have included all the information available to them on almost 3,300 films. Each entry includes a listing of the production company, the cast and crew, distributors, running times, reviews with star ratings whenever possible, and alternate film titles. A list of film series and one of the stars' pseudonyms, in addition to a 7,900 name index, are also included. Illustrated.
Download or read book Films of Fury written by Ric Meyers and published by Eirini Press. This book was released on 2011-03-22 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Bruce Lee to James Bond, Jackie Chan to Jet Li, Enter the Dragon to Kung Fu Panda, kung fu films remain a thrilling part of movie-lovers' lives. Now the acknowledged pioneer in the genre presents his magnum opus on the subject, incorporating information and revelations never before seen in America. From the ancient Peking Opera origins to its superhero-powered future, Ric Meyers reveals the loony, the legendary, and everything in between. This vivid, action-packed book may delight, surprise, fascinate, and even enlighten you with a personal V.I.P. tour through the wondrous world of the most ridiculously exhilarating movies ever made.
Download or read book Great Martial Arts Movies written by Richard Meyers and published by Citadel Press. This book was released on 2001-01-01 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Meyers offers an "up-to-date, authoritative kick-butt book" detailing the best movies and where to find them. Color photos.
Download or read book Women in Chinese Martial Arts Films of the New Millennium written by Ya-chen Chen and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2012-04-12 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Women and Gender in Chinese Martial Arts Films of the New Millennium, by Ya-chen Chen, is an excavation of underexposed gender issues focusing mainly on contradictory and troubled feminism in the film narratives. In the cinematic world of martial arts films, one can easily find representations of women of Ancient China released from the constraints of patriarchal social order to revel in a dreamlike space of their own. They can develop themselves, protect themselves, and even defeat or conquer men. This world not only frees women from the convention of foot-binding, but it also "unbinds" them in terms of education, critical thinking, talent, ambition, opportunities to socialize with different men, and the freedom or right to both choose their spouse and decide their own fate. Chen calls this phenomenon "Chinese cinematic martial arts feminism." The liberation is never sustaining or complete, however; Chen reveals the presence of a glass ceiling marking the maximal exercise of feminism and women's rights which the patriarchal order is willing to accept. As such, these films are not to be seen as celebrations of feminist liberation, but as enunciations of the patriarchal authority that suffuses "Chinese cinematic martial arts feminism." The film narratives under examination include Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (directed by Ang Lee); Hero (Zhang Yimou); House of the Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou); Seven Swords (Tsui Hark); The Promise (Chen Kaige); The Banquet (Feng Xiaogang); and Curst of the Golden Flower (Zhang Yimou). Chen also touches upon the plots of two of the earliest award-winning Chinese martial arts films, A Touch of Zen and Legend of the Mountain, both directed by King Hu.
Download or read book Martial Arts Movies written by Jim Ollhoff and published by ABDO. This book was released on 2008-01-01 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores martial arts movies, weaving together history, culture, geography and politics.
Download or read book The American Martial Arts Film written by M. Ray Lott and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2004-01-01 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This history of American martial arts films, from major features to direct-to-video releases, begins with an overview of the martial arts in America, then moves on to discuss early trend-setting movies; the influence of Chinese kung fu film imports; martial arts on television; the explosive growth of the genre in the 80s; and recent releases, trends, and the direction of English-language martial arts movies. There is a selected filmography of 300 movies."--BOOK JACKET.
Download or read book From Bruce Lee to the Ninjas written by Richard Meyers and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Chinese Martial Arts Cinema written by Stephen Teo and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2015-11-13 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first comprehensive, fully-researched account of the historical and contemporary development of the traditional martial arts genre in the Chinese cinema known as wuxia (literal translation: martial chivalry) - a genre which audiences around the world became familiar with through the phenomenal 'crossover' hit Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). The book unveils rich layers of the wuxia tradition as it developed in the early Shanghai cinema in the late 1920s, and from the 1950s onwards, in the Hong Kong and Taiwan film industries. Key attractions of the book are analyses of:*The history of the tradition as it began in the Shanghai cinema, its rise and popularity as a serialized form in the silent cinema of the late 1920s, and its eventual prohibition by the government in 1931.*The fantastic characteristics of the genre, their relationship with folklore, myth and religion, and their similarities and differences with the kung fu sub-genre of martial arts cinema.*The protagonists and heroes of the genre, in particular the figure of the female knight-errant.*The chief personalities and masterpieces of the genre - directors such as King Hu, Chu Yuan, Zhang Che, Ang Lee, Zhang Yimou, and films such as Come Drink With Me (1966), The One-Armed Swordsman (1967), A Touch of Zen (1970-71), Hero (2002), House of Flying Daggers (2004), and Curse of the Golden Flower (2006).
Download or read book Chinese Martial Arts Film and the Philosophy of Action written by Stephen Teo and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-03-30 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on the philosophy of Chinese martial arts film, arguing that philosophy provides a key to understanding the whole genre. It draws on Chinese philosophical ideas derived from, or based on, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and other schools of thought such as Mohism and Legalism, examines a cluster of recent Chinese martial arts films centering on the figure of the xia—the heroic protagonist, the Chinese equivalent of medieval Europe’s knight-errant—and outlines the philosophical principles and themes undergirding the actions of xia and their narratives. Overall, the author argues that the genre, apart from being an action-oriented entertainment medium, is inherently moral and ethical.
Download or read book The Martial Arts Cinema of the Chinese Diaspora written by Kin-Yan Szeto and published by SIU Press. This book was released on 2011-06-29 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Martial Arts Cinema of the Chinese Diaspora, Kin-Yan Szeto critically examines three of the most internationally famous martial arts film artists to arise out of the Chinese diaspora and travel far from their homelands to find commercial success in the world at large: Ang Lee, John Woo, and Jackie Chan. Positing the idea that these filmmakers' success is evidence of a "cosmopolitical awareness" arising from their cross-cultural ideological engagements and geopolitical displacements, Szeto demonstrates how this unique perspective allows these three filmmakers to develop and act in the transnational environment of media production, distribution, and consumption. Beginning with a historical retrospective on Chinese martial arts films as a diasporic film genre and the transnational styles and ideologies of the filmmakers themselves, Szeto uses case studies to explore in depth how the forces of colonialism, Chinese nationalism, and Western imperialism shaped the identities and work of Lee, Woo, and Chan. Addressed in the volume is the groundbreaking martial arts swordplay film that achieves global success-Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon- and its revelations about Hollywood representations of Asians, as well as concepts of male and female masculinity in the swordplay film tradition. Also investigated is the invigoration of contemporary gangster, thriller, and war films by John Woo, whose combination of artistic and historical contexts has contributed to his global success. Szeto then dissects Chan's mimetic representation of masculinity in his films, and the influences of his Chinese theater and martial arts training on his work. Szeto outlines the similarities and differences between the three artists' films, especially their treatments of gender, sexuality, and power. She concludes by analyzing their films as metaphors for their working conditions in the Chinese diaspora and Hollywood, and demonstrating how through their works, Lee, Woo, and Chan communicate not only with the rest of the world but also with each other. Far from a book simply about three filmmakers, The Martial Arts Cinema of the Chinese Diaspora investigates the transnational nature of films, the geopolitics of culture and race, and the depths of masculinity and power in movies. Szeto's interdisciplinary approach calls for nothing less than a paradigm shift in the study of Chinese diasporic filmmakers and the embodiment of cosmopolitical perspectives in the martial arts genre.
Download or read book Kung Fu Cult Masters written by Leon Hunt and published by Wallflower Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chinese Martial Arts films have captured audiences' imaginations around the world. In this wide-ranging study, Hunt looks at the mythic allure of the Shaolin Temple, the 'Clones' of Bruce Lee, gender-bending swordswomen, and the knockabout comedy of Sammo Hung, bringing new insights to a hugely popular and yet critically neglected genre. 12 photos.
Download or read book The Martial Arts Films written by Marilyn D. Mintz and published by Tuttle Publishing. This book was released on 1983 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Martial Arts Cinema and Hong Kong Modernity written by Man-Fung Yip and published by Hong Kong University Press. This book was released on 2017-09-05 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the core of Martial Arts Cinema and Hong Kong Modernity: Aesthetics, Representation, Circulation is a fascinating paradox: the martial arts film, long regarded as a vehicle of Chinese cultural nationalism, can also be understood as a mass cultural expression of Hong Kong’s modern urban-industrial society. This important and popular genre, Man-Fung Yip argues, articulates the experiential qualities, the competing social subjectivities and gender discourses, as well as the heightened circulation of capital, people, goods, information, and technologies in Hong Kong of the 1960s and 1970s. In addition to providing a novel conceptual framework for the study of Hong Kong martial arts cinema and shedding light on the nexus between social change and cultural/aesthetic form, this book offers perceptive analyses of individual films, including not only the canonical works of King Hu, Chang Cheh, and Bruce Lee, but also many lesser-known ones by Lau Kar-leung and Chor Yuen, among others, that have not been adequately discussed before. Thoroughly researched and lucidly written, Yip’s stimulating study will ignite debates in new directions for both scholars and fans of Chinese-language martial arts cinema. “Yip subjects critical clichés to rigorous examination, moving beyond generalized notions of martial arts cinema’s appeal and offering up informed scrutiny of every facet of the genre. He has the ability to encapsulate these films’ particularities with cogent examples and, at the same time, demonstrate a thorough familiarity with the historical context in which this endlessly fascinating genre arose.” —David Desser, professor emeritus, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “Eschewing a reductive chronology, Yip offers a persuasive, detailed, and sophisticated excavation of martial arts cinema which is read through and in relation to rapid transformation of Hong Kong in the 1960s and 1970s. An exemplar of critical genre study, this book represents a significant contribution to the discipline.” —Yvonne Tasker, professor of film studies and dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of East Anglia
Download or read book Film Genre 2000 written by Wheeler W. Dixon and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 2000-02-24 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New essays by prominent film scholars address recent developments in American genre filmmaking.
Download or read book Chasing Dragons written by David West and published by Harvard Common Press. This book was released on 2006-10-09 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From post-World War Two Japan, to contemporary Hong Kong, the martial arts film remains one of cinema's most enduring and popular genres. 'Chasing Dragons' traces the form's origins and shows how the genre has adapted to changing social and political climates to satisfy the demands of an increasingly international audience.
Download or read book The Ultimate Guide to Martial Arts Movies of the 1970s written by Craig D. Reid and published by Black Belt Communications Incorporated. This book was released on 2010 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dynamic and entertaining, this movie guide brings depth to the martial arts films of the 1970s, with more than 2,000 titles from 14 countries broken down into lively reviews, detailed discussions, and meticulous references. With an engaging introduction to kung-fu cinema, this examination then launches into a collection of more than 500 martial arts reviews that include the movie name, time, and place of theatrical release, director name, list of principal actors, fight instructors, and interesting tidbits about the film. Each entry also includes statistics such as the number and length of training and fight sequences. Complete indexes are also featured, listing actors and movies by their English variations as well as countries of origin. Both a fun read and an accurate resource, this handbook is a must-have for movie fans and martial artists alike.
Download or read book Fighting without Fighting written by Luke White and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2022-07-11 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From classic Bruce Lee films to the comedies of Jackie Chan, a vibrant look at the enduring fascination with the kung fu cinema of Hong Kong. In the spring and summer of 1973, a wave of martial arts movies from Hong Kong—epitomized by Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon—smashed box-office records for foreign-language films in America and ignited a “kung fu craze” that swept the world. Fighting without Fighting explores this dramatic phenomenon, and it argues that, more than just a cinematic fad, the West’s sudden fascination with—and moral panic about—the Asian fighting arts left lasting legacies still present today. The book traces the background of the craze in the longer development of Hong Kong’s martial arts cinema. It discusses the key films in detail, as well as their popular reception and the debates they ignited, where kung fu challenged Western identities and raised anxieties about violence, both on and off-screen. And it examines the proliferation of ideas and images from these films in fields as diverse as popular music, superhero franchises, children’s cartoons, and contemporary art. Illuminating and accessible, Fighting without Fighting draws a vivid bridge between East and West.
