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gEnRE eSSay; KuNG-fU fiLMs
INTRODUCTION.
The kung fu film burst onto national format just short of thirty years ago. ... These ‘new’ films showed no regard to film making rather expressing the makers creativity through choreography and flare. ... This was one of the many similarities the kung fu genre has with the musical genre.
The genre kung fu film induces recognition on many levels. When you here the term kung fu film you instantly have an idea of what the film will in-tail:
· It will contain at best a shallow badly constructed story line. ...
These films over time have inscribed them selves onto popular culture. ... Though Hong Kong cinema tries still to invoke influences from it’s pioneers the growing expectations to get better and better has led producers into an entirely new genre ‘anime’. ...
HISTORY & DEVELOPMENT
Kung fu films began to develop properly in about 1969. ... The birth of kung fu cinema came with the foremost moments of Chinas Cultural Revolution. ... While influential early examples (“The Moral And The Orthodox”) where much more historically orientated this was the birth of what was to become kung fu cinema.
As the genre began to develop in 1970 (‘The Chinese Boxer’)
Emphasis on bloody swordplay was toned down in favour of unarmed combat. ...
1971 marks the true birth of kung fu films with the release of a film called ‘Big Boss’. This was made by a man called Lo Wei who in my opinion was and is one of the biggest influences to kung fu cinema. ...
Bruce lee is the single most iconic figure in kung fu cinema. The term ‘kung-fu film’ actually came into being as a direct relation to Bruce Lee Films, until then they were known as Wu Xia Pian. Though Bruce lee is a true pioneer of the industry, later examples of a kung fu film owe more to the genre-tic structural influences of Low Wei than that of Bruce lee. ...
Bruce Lees death saw the genre evolve dramatically. ... This saw the genre being tweaked on the back burner as comedic elements were introduced from the Cantonese the mandarin directors introduced a lot more acrobatics and a more detailed approach to the fighting and. ... With too many minority audiences to please at once the industry craved a variable format to set the fashion for future films.
By 1975 the industry began a new approach, martial arts instructors and kung fu experts alike were employed as fighting directors almost indefinably crediting them selves as directors. ... It embarked on all influences available introducing comedy not just in parts but as shared genre, presenting a range of highly detailed tailored martial arts, reintroducing the typical sword-fighter and showcasing an almost camp choreographed performance. ... The majority of films that followed over the next five years have direct visual comparisons to the early Yuen Wing Poo films. ... After his debut he went on to make a range of films with Yuen including fearless hyena. He became the definitive kung fu icon and once again the industry was at a high. ... Budgets were increased dramatically and the actual point of the films -the fighting -became second to a range of tedious dated American story templates. ...
Jackie Chan had now essentially destroyed the genre Kung Fu film and created his own genre a ‘Jackie Chan film’.
Approximate Word count = 2703
Approximate Pages = 10.8
(250 words per page double spaced)
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