American and Hong Kong Action Films
When comparing the action films of Hong Kong to the typical action films of America, certain differences are clearly visible. The films from Hong Kong feature more melodrama, more fast-paced action scenes, and most noticeably, more graphic violence, than the action films released in the US. When looking at what these Hong Kong films were influenced by, especially the films of John Woo, it is surprising to see that many of these differences from American cinema are, in fact, inspired by American cinema. In John Woo's most critically acclaimed and popular films in both Asia and the US, he has drawn aspects from other works of fiction across the globe. He then takes these aspects and adds his own touches to them to make them something distinctly Hong Kong.
John Woo first made his mark as a director on Hong Kong audiences in 1986, with the epic crime-drama A Better Tomorrow. The film tells the story of two brothers, one an ex-con, the other an undercover cop, and how they eventually team-up to fight a common enemy. The film is foremost a drama about the love of family (both of blood and crime), but there are two scenes involving gunplay that helped redefine not only John Woo's career, but also the action genre itself in Hong Kong. It is interesting though, that both of these scenes draw heavily from scenes found in other films from other countries (Logan 124).
The first scene occurs early on in the film as mob enforcer Mark Gor (played by Chow Yun-Fat) kills a gang of criminals for revenge of a comrade's death. What made this scene so original and groundbreaking when compared to other action films in Hong Kong at the time was the way John Woo directed this gunfight, and the fact that it wa...
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... drawing upon. Now the same phenomenon is happening in America. The Wachowski brothers appropriated Woo's stylized shoot-out and added martial arts to it to make something entirely new for The Matrix. And even Tarantino had something new to give the genre, with his inclusion of quickly-delivered pop-culture referencing pastiche dialogue, something that is continually used today. This combination of appropriation and originality ensures the action and crime genres will constantly be able to reinvent itself, on both sides of the Pacific.
Works Cited
Logan, Bey. Hong Kong Action Cinema. Woodstock: Overlook, 1995.
Rodham Stokes, Lisa and Michael Hoover. City On Fire: Hong Kong Cinema. London: Verso, 1999.
Dannen, Fredric, and Barry Long. Hong Kong Babylon. New York: Hyperion, 1997.
Teo, Stephen. Hong Kong Cinema: The Extra Dimensions. Suffolk: BFI, 1997.
In “The Thematic Paradigm,” University of Florida professor of film studies, Robert Ray, defines two types of heroes pervading American films, the outlaw hero and the official hero. Often the two types are merged in a reconciliatory pattern, he argues. In fact, this
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While there are many different ways to classify a Neo-noir film, Roman Polanski’s, Chinatown captures many. The 1974 movie consists of many of these elements, including both thematic and stylistic devices. One of the main themes of neo-noir film that is constant throughout the film is the deceptive plot that questions the viewers’ ideas and perceptions of what is actually happening in the film. Every scene of Chinatown leads to a twist or another turn that challenges the practicability of the film’s reality. All of the never-ending surprises and revelations lead up to the significant themes the movie is trying to convey in the conclusion of the film.
Roman Polanski weaves together several aspects of literary design and film noir in his 1974 Chinatown in order to tell the film’s engaging story inspired by the California Water Wars. These include the film’s unique use of structure, constant jarring plot twists, the development and depth of the film’s many characters, and multiple symbols and motifs. Most clear of these is the film’s use of water as a motif to represent the constant power struggle between the film’s characters, and character flaws in Gittes and Evelyn that adds an element of humanity and empathy between the film and the viewer as well in addition to strengthening the depth and complexity of the relationship between the film’s main characters.
As a result, he learns an essential, inescapable fact about himself and human nature - there is no shame in being imperfect. The true test of Gawain's bravery was to bare his neck to the Green Knight and finish their trading of blows. Even with his 'magic' girdle, Gawain flinched the first time. The second and third times he was able to hold steady and accept fate. After the ordeal the Green Knight ridiculed him for his weakness and fear.
...Gawain’s time in the wilderness, living nature, and his acceptance of the lady’s offering of the green girdle teach him that though he may be the most chivalrous knight in the land, he is nevertheless human and capable of error.
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In Classical Hollywood Cinema, the plot moves forward mostly by the conflict between order and chaos. This is the case for most of the Film Noir movies, a popular genre that started in the 1940s. In The Big Sleep (1946) and Chinatown (1976), the two main characters, private investigators, are associated with order while all of the “femme fatale” characters bring chaos to the narrative of the films.
Friedman, L., Desser, D., Kozloff, S., Nichimson, M., & Prince, S. (2014). An introduction to film genres. New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company.
Sir Gawain shows his bravery the first moment he has the chance to, when the Green Knight enters King Arthur's Court. The Green Knight taunts with 'Anyone with the nerve to try it, take this ax, here. Hurry, I'm waiting! Take it and keep it, my gift forever, And give me a well-aimed stroke, and agree to accept another in payment, when my turn arrives.'; (I, 292) Sir Gawain took this burden and took the ax from the king who was prepared to do this deed. Gawain knows full well that he would receive a blow in return and would have to find the Green Knight in order to receive his blow. He accepts these terms and gives the Green Knight his blow with no haste. Time passes and it eventually is time for Sir Gawain to start to look for his fate and find the Green Knight and his chapel. Starting his crusade, Gawain was given a feast and many thought he would never return again, as some of the knights would comment, 'Better to have been more prudent, to have made him a duke before this could happen. He seemed a brilliant leader, and could have been.'; (II, 677) Gaw...
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