China Forever: The Shaw Brothers and Diasporic Cinema

whitesnake · 10-21-2008, 06:40 PM

Has there been any discussion yet on the book, China Forever: The Shaw Brothers and Diasporic Cinema? The author is Poshek Fu, publisher is University of Illinois Press, published in July 2008 in trade pb. The price on Amazon is pretty good, $16.50. Amazon website also includes an in-depth review by Shawn McKenna. I have this on order, haven't had a chance to read it yet.

masterofoneinchpunch · 10-21-2008, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whitesnake

Has there been any discussion yet on the book, China Forever: The Shaw Brothers and Diasporic Cinema? The author is Poshek Fu, publisher is University of Illinois Press, published in July 2008 in trade pb. The price on Amazon is pretty good, $16.50. Amazon website also includes an in-depth review by Shawn McKenna. I have this on order, haven't had a chance to read it yet.

Well, what did you think of my review? Apparently I'm the only one who reviewed it.

whitesnake · 10-22-2008, 01:20 AM

With your thorough, insightful review on Amazon, you probably intimidate anyone else from contributing a review of this book. Anyway, no more reviews are needed. You convinced me to order it. I mentioned it in the forum, because I hadn't even heard of it until last week, and wondered how many other Shaw fans were unfamiliar with it as well. The only other book that I remember having a lot of info about SB movies was Verina Glaessner's Kung Fu: Cinema of Vengeance.

masterofoneinchpunch · 10-23-2008, 08:41 PM

I haven't read Kung Fu: Cinema of Vengeance, I see that it is a bit old (1974). How is the information in it? There are no reviews, but is it worth reading?

In this book (which I mention in my review) there are a few questionable chapters (not quite that good) so tell me what you think about them after reading.

lightning hopkins · 10-23-2008, 10:40 PM

Verina Glaessner's "Kung Fu: Cinema of Vengeance" is an uneven read, but worth a look.

Published in the waning days of the global kung fu craze of the early '70s, "Cinema of Vengeance" often has the feel of a quick-buck coffee-table book intended to cash in on whatever was left of the martial arts audience. It's filled with great illustrations, but dated and occasionally inaccurate; in one of her more notorious moments, Glaessner claims during her essay on Bruce Lee that WAY OF THE DRAGON was intended as the first in a series of films in which Lee would reprise his role as Tang Lung, introducing a myth that still occasionally circulates today courtesy of the internet.

On the other hand, Glaessner also gives some nice little insights behind the scenes at the Shaw Brothers studios during their heyday, such as when Chu Yuan admits his reluctance to include fight scenes in INTIMATE CONFESSIONS OF A CHINESE COURTESAN ("But the boss said, we must have kung fu...it was possible to sell a film on kung fu then...so we had kung fu. The boss makes kung fu films for money. The director makes them because he has to eat.") For a quick-buck survery, Glaessner's essays are incredibly perceptive as well, touching on a lot of topics that might otherwise go overooked in a mass-market book, such as the socio-economic dimensions of life in Hong Kong and their influence on the martial arts movie industry (kung fu films as "poverty row cinema").

As a straightforward source of information, the reader would do better to look elsewhere. As one of the earliest and best western glimpses into the golden age of martial arts cinema, "Cinema of Vengeance" is invaluable.

masterofoneinchpunch · 10-24-2008, 06:18 PM

Thanks for the info on that book (nice write up). I'm going to look into getting it. So many books on HK film have inaccuracies (actually try finding one that does not; some, of course, are worse than others :D -- you know which one I'm talking about).

FYI: my review of this (the topic) book: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1UPI0R..._cr_old_cmt_rd (I can post it here if anyone is interested)

lightning hopkins · 10-24-2008, 09:33 PM

Thanks...I'm always happy to help a fellow fu enthusiast.

One thing I neglected to mention -- in the past, used copies of "Cinema of Vengeance" turned up pretty frequently on amazon.com and similar sites for only a couple bucks, which certainly didn't hurt in making the book look like a better buy...I think I paid $3 for mine. Cheaper (until recently, at least) than a gallon of gas... can't beat that!

10-21-2008, 06:40 PM	#1
whitesnake Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Sacramento Posts: 108	China Forever: The Shaw Brothers and Diasporic Cinema Has there been any discussion yet on the book, China Forever: The Shaw Brothers and Diasporic Cinema? The author is Poshek Fu, publisher is University of Illinois Press, published in July 2008 in trade pb. The price on Amazon is pretty good, $16.50. Amazon website also includes an in-depth review by Shawn McKenna. I have this on order, haven't had a chance to read it yet.

10-23-2008, 08:41 PM	#4
masterofoneinchpunch Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Modesto, CA Posts: 951	I haven't read Kung Fu: Cinema of Vengeance, I see that it is a bit old (1974). How is the information in it? There are no reviews, but is it worth reading? In this book (which I mention in my review) there are a few questionable chapters (not quite that good) so tell me what you think about them after reading. __________________ “…if you are slain in battle, you should be resolved to have your corpse facing the enemy.” -- Hagakure (The Book of the Samurai) by Yamamoto Tsunetomo

10-24-2008, 06:18 PM	#6
masterofoneinchpunch Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Modesto, CA Posts: 951	Thanks for the info on that book (nice write up). I'm going to look into getting it. So many books on HK film have inaccuracies (actually try finding one that does not; some, of course, are worse than others :D -- you know which one I'm talking about). FYI: my review of this (the topic) book: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1UPI0R..._cr_old_cmt_rd (I can post it here if anyone is interested) __________________ “…if you are slain in battle, you should be resolved to have your corpse facing the enemy.” -- Hagakure (The Book of the Samurai) by Yamamoto Tsunetomo

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10-22-2008, 01:20 AM	#3
whitesnake Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Sacramento Posts: 108	With your thorough, insightful review on Amazon, you probably intimidate anyone else from contributing a review of this book. Anyway, no more reviews are needed. You convinced me to order it. I mentioned it in the forum, because I hadn't even heard of it until last week, and wondered how many other Shaw fans were unfamiliar with it as well. The only other book that I remember having a lot of info about SB movies was Verina Glaessner's Kung Fu: Cinema of Vengeance.

10-23-2008, 10:40 PM	#5
lightning hopkins Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 69	Verina Glaessner's "Kung Fu: Cinema of Vengeance" is an uneven read, but worth a look. Published in the waning days of the global kung fu craze of the early '70s, "Cinema of Vengeance" often has the feel of a quick-buck coffee-table book intended to cash in on whatever was left of the martial arts audience. It's filled with great illustrations, but dated and occasionally inaccurate; in one of her more notorious moments, Glaessner claims during her essay on Bruce Lee that WAY OF THE DRAGON was intended as the first in a series of films in which Lee would reprise his role as Tang Lung, introducing a myth that still occasionally circulates today courtesy of the internet. On the other hand, Glaessner also gives some nice little insights behind the scenes at the Shaw Brothers studios during their heyday, such as when Chu Yuan admits his reluctance to include fight scenes in INTIMATE CONFESSIONS OF A CHINESE COURTESAN ("But the boss said, we must have kung fu...it was possible to sell a film on kung fu then...so we had kung fu. The boss makes kung fu films for money. The director makes them because he has to eat.") For a quick-buck survery, Glaessner's essays are incredibly perceptive as well, touching on a lot of topics that might otherwise go overooked in a mass-market book, such as the socio-economic dimensions of life in Hong Kong and their influence on the martial arts movie industry (kung fu films as "poverty row cinema"). As a straightforward source of information, the reader would do better to look elsewhere. As one of the earliest and best western glimpses into the golden age of martial arts cinema, "Cinema of Vengeance" is invaluable.

10-24-2008, 09:33 PM	#7
lightning hopkins Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 69	Thanks...I'm always happy to help a fellow fu enthusiast. One thing I neglected to mention -- in the past, used copies of "Cinema of Vengeance" turned up pretty frequently on amazon.com and similar sites for only a couple bucks, which certainly didn't hurt in making the book look like a better buy...I think I paid $3 for mine. Cheaper (until recently, at least) than a gallon of gas... can't beat that!