Scene from ROMANCE OF THE WESTERN CHAMBER (1927).
Based on a 13th century play by Wang Shih-fu, this silent-era costume comedy concerns efforts by a young scholar in the Tang Dynasty to marry the girl of his dreams. Standing in his way is a bandit leader intent on kidnapping her, and the girl’s mother who disapproves of the union. The film still exists today and contains fight sequences that were innovatively shot and edited for their time. For instance, director Hou Yao was able to duplicate a small number of warriors onscreen to produce the illusion of much larger armies in battle. There is also a dueling sequence where combatants fight while on horseback and a humorous sequence where the scholar fantasizes about fighting the bandit with a giant calligraphy brush that he also uses as flying transport. ROMANCE OF THE WESTERN CHAMBER is produced by Minxin Film Company and stars Li Dandan, Lin Chuchu and Ge Cijiang. The 50-minute film was released on DVD from Cinema Epoch in 2007 with a score provided by Toshiyuki Hiraoka. It can also be found online at Chinese-language video sites without a score.
AKA: Tale of the Western Chamber, Xixiang ji, 西厢记
