The Development of Chinese Cinema

A major Chinese production house, the Lianhua Company, re-established itself in Shanghai after the war and once again became the basis for leftist directors. Many showed the disillusionment with the oppressive rule of Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist Party.

The Spring River Flows East, a three-hour-long two-parter which depicts the struggles of ordinary Chinese folks during the Sino-Japanese war, was immensely popular during its time, making social and political references to the period. The Wenhua Film Company, one of the two important production companies formed by left-leaning film-makers in the city, also contributed some of the masterpieces of the era.

A film by Shanghainese director Fei Mu, Springtime in a Small Town or Spring in a Small Town , which was produced in Shanghai prior to the revolution, is often considered by Chinese film critics as the best Chinese film of all time, and certainly one of the most influential. The number of movie-viewers increased sharply, from 47 million in to 4. In the 17 years between the founding of the People's Republic of China and the Cultural Revolution, feature films and 8, reels of documentaries and newsreels were produced, sponsored as Communist Party of China by the government.

Chinese filmmakers were sent to Moscow to study Soviet filmmaking. In , the Beijing Film Academy was opened.

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The first wide-screen Chinese film was produced in The thawing of censorship in and the early s led to more indigeneous Chinese films being made which were less reliant on their Soviet counterparts. The most prominent filmmaker of this era is Xie Jin, whose two films in particular, The Red Detachment of Women and Two Stage Sisters , exemplify the growing expertise China has in the craft of motion pictures. Almost all previous films were banned, and only a few new ones were produced, the most notable being a ballet version of the revolutionary opera The Red Detachment of Women.

Feature film production came almost to a standstill in the early years from to In the years immediately following the Cultural Revolution, the film industry again flourished as a medium of popular entertainment. Domestically produced films played to large audiences, and tickets for foreign film festivals sold quickly. The industry tried to revive crowds by making more innovative and "exploratory" films which take in ideas from the West. In the s the film industry fell on hard times, faced with the dual problems of competition from other forms of entertainment and concern on the part of the authorities that many of the popular thriller and martial arts films were socially unacceptable.

In January the film industry was transferred from the Ministry of Culture to the newly formed Ministry of Radio, Cinema, and Television to bring it under "stricter control and management" and to "strengthen supervision over production.

The rise of the Fifth Generation Beginning in the mid-late s, the rise of the so-called Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers brought increased popularity of Chinese cinema abroad. The first generation of filmmakers to produce Chinese films since the Cultural Revolution, they jettisioned traditional methods of storytelling and opted for a more free and liberal approach.

Yellow Earth , directed by Chen Kaige and photographed by Zhang Yimou, in particular was taken to mark the beginnings of the Fifth Generation. Tian Zhuangzhuang's films, though less well-known by Western viewers, were well-noted by directors such as Martin Scorsese. The Fourth Generation also returned to prominence. Given their label after the rise of the Fifth Generation, these were directors whose careers were stalled by the Cultural Revolution and who were professionally trained prior to Wu Tianming, in particular, made outstanding contributions by helping to finance major Fifth Generation directors under the auspices of the Xi'an Film Studio.

With roughly 10 movie screens popping up around the country per day, their estimates are easy to believe. You could only work with state-run studios.

Now it is natural, there are private producers and funds to help you make films…In a big country, change takes time. Chinese film Chinese cinema Chinese film industry. Tell us a little about yourself so we can customize your site experience.

All comments are subject to moderation by eChinacities. Because we wish to encourage healthy and productive dialogue we ask that all comments remain polite, free of profanity or name calling, and relevant to the original post and subsequent discussion. Comments will not be deleted because of the viewpoints they express, only if the mode of expression itself is inappropriate.

Please login to add a comment. Click here to login immediately. Oct 03, I think the debate is heavily in Travellers favor here No mention in the article that the Chinese seized chinese profits from foreign films from the last years They stole the box office from countless American blockbusters and then "bought" American influence with it Yeah, good luck with that The Chinese industry sure is giving the USA a "run for it's money" BUT in terms of artistry, there always has been interesting and beautiful things going on in Chinese cinema I am always willing to advocate exceptional work such as Zhang Meng's "Steel Piano"..

Horde mentality is how you make quick, easy profits also an easy way to get people to build an insulating population to throw themselves into the front cannon fire Just like Traveller is quick to point out The Chinese distributors know they can't compete with Americans with that dime, so they skewer the odds Oct 26, Traveler, you are cynical about many things and often with good reason. It is sad to see the negative replies you get always come from 'Guest', anonymous I mean.

So to those Guests I say: If you want to defend China, show us you're not a coward to begin with. Oct 25, Read article with smartphone.

Over a Hundred Years of Cinema: Development of the Chinese Film Industry. Oct 25, By Valerie Tudor , eChinacities. Filmmaking under the PRC The newly created PRC recognized the importance of film in building a new nation, particularly after nearly 15 years of constant war.

Economic liberalization and the rise of the fifth generation Films by the fifth generation brought Chinese cinema to the attention of international audiences and their movies became favorites of art house cinema. Disillusionment of the s: The sixth generation State censorship of the s helped to create an underground movement of filmmakers that can often be identified by their camera work and unromantic subject matter.