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A Preliminary Study of Shaws' Huangmei Diao Film Author: Edwin W. Chen Translated by: Stephen Teo (Note: The article has been cut to included only what I see as significant to the Huangmei genre and its relation to Ling Po) |
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The huangmei diao film is one of the most distinctive genres in Chinese cinema. Beginning from the late 1950s, it created a craze that lasted for some ten years in the Chinese film market comprised of Hong Kong, Taiwan, various Southeast Asian countries and the Chinese diasporas around the world. The huangmei diao film had its aesthetic roots in traditional stage art, integrating contemporary cinematic techniques, singing styles and performance methods with the original theatricality, which ofered an opportunity for filmmarkers - especially the exiles from the mainland after the war - to create the 'dreamlike, greater China' on celluloid. It went on to play an instrumental role in Chinese cinema's globalisation that duringthe Cold War ear of the 1960s, some of the huangmei diao films were regarded as a prototype of Chinese cinema at its best, a reputation that gained its exposure in important international film festivals. At the peak of its popularity, the two main studios producing huangmei diao films were the Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd and Motion Picture and General Investment Co Ltd (Dianmao, hereinafter called MP & GI). From the late 1950s to the early 1980s, Shaws outnumbered other studios in the production of outstanding huangmei diao films, and it is the one studio with the most consistent record and complete evolvement of the genre. [SITE OWNER'S COMMENTS: I thought Shaws' last huangmei diao film was 'The Three Smiles' in 1969? How come this article stated that it extended until early 1980s?] From 1958's Diau Charn/Diao Chan to 1977's The Dream of the Red Chamber/Jin Yu Liangyuang Hong Lou Meng, Shaws produced over 30 huangmei diao films, or three-fifths of the total output in Hong Kong and Taiwan. [SITE OWNER'S COMMENTS: I won't consider 1977's The Dream of the Red Chamber/Jin Yu Liangyuang Hong Lou Meng to be a huangmei diao film since it was based on the musical style of Shaoxing opera.] Shaw not only defined the aesthetic style of the genre, it also cogently sketched the chronology of the genre's development in the history of the cinema. Phases in the History of Shaws' Huangmei Diao Films To analyse Shaws' huangmei diao film, I have roughly divided its development into six historical periods, with a seventh added as a coda. The criteria for this classification are based mainly on the maturity of the presentation and artistic values achieved by the personnel involved. Li and his repertory company reached a new height with a quarter of films - Return of the Phoenix/Feng Huang Chao (1963), The Adulteress/Yang Naiwu Yu Xiao Baicai (1963), The Story of Su San/Yu Tangchun (1964), and the unfinished Hung Niang/Hong Niang. [SITE OWNER'S COMMENTS: What a pity for Ling Po's fans...the incompleted "Hung Niang" left us short of one great film to view as well as for future collection.] The Love Eterne/Liang Shanbo Yu Zhu Yingtai (1963) marks the peak of the genre.1 During the second classical period, Kao Li made a series of moderate successes such as The Mermaid/Yu Meiren (1965); Yue Feng's Lady General Hu Mu Lan/Hua Mulan (1964) and The West Chamber/Xixiang Ji (1965) stood out as box office hits, and Yan Jun directed The Grand Substitution/Wan Gu Liu Fang (1965), which won the Best Picture Award at the 12th Asian Film Festival. [SITE OWNER'S COMMENTS: The film titles mentioned above featured Ling Po in leading roles. Of all Shaws' stars at the time, Ling Po is the most significant actress of this genre. It can be said that the success of huangmei diao owes it to her. While it was directors like Li Han-hsiang, who transformed their imaginations into existence on the big screen, it is Ling Po who brought the sparks and liveliness out of these films to the audience. It was the uniqueness in her singing as well as her astonishing performances in those cross-dressing roles that drew the attention of movie-goers at the time and guaranteed their continuous returns upon each new release.] Between the first and the second classical periods (from the second half of 1962 to mid-1963), there emerged huangmei diao films of a different classical fibre. These films experimented with the presentation of the music, choreography and postures of performers: Three Sinners/Yan Xijjao (1963) and The Crimson Palm/Xue Shouyin (1964) borrowed the snging styles from Peking opera. The Female Prince/Shuang Feng Qi Yuan (1964) was adapted from the huangmei opera The Emperor's Female Son-in-Law and retained certain movements of the stage. A Maid From Heaven/Qi Xiannu (1963) was Shaws' attempt to subvert Li Han-hsiang's Taiwan operations with the same genre that Li himself had built. From this simple analysis of the historical periods, one cannot fail to discover that the director with the most significant (and prolific) contributions to the genre is Li Han-hsiang. Historical Development of Huangmei Diao Film |
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1) Return of the Phoenix, The Adulteress, The Story of Su San, and Hung Niang were estimated to begin preparation and shooting in 1962. The Love Eterne began shooting after these four films had started, probably at then end of 1962, but it was completed before them. The film utilises some of the sets of the other films, such as the living room scene of the Zhu family, which was shot on the mansion of Phoenix; the temple scene for the 'Eighteen Farewells' sequence was borrowed from Hung Niang. The Love Eterne was released in April 1963 in Hong Kong and Taiwan. 2) Ivy Ling Po was originally cast to play the young Chenxiang in The Lotus Lamp but stepped aside when Linda Lin Dai decided to play the role. Ling's vocal performance became the 'dubbing voice'. [SITE OWNER'S COMMENTS: It's a pity that certain people just don't realize that they are not talented like others. Linda Lin Dai never impressed me as an actress, how she was a 4-time Movie Queen at the Asian Festival Film Awards is beyond my knowledge. Further I can't comprehend the fact that many had praised this actress for her acting and beauty. Yet, in my eyes, she never came across as an amazing performer or a beautiful actress. Betty Lok Tih was much better. In conclusion, I'll pass "The Lotus Lamp" since it will be too sad to hear Ivy's voice but yet seeing Linda in that male role.] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||