ABSTRACT

Examining Hong Kong cinema from its inception in 1913 to the end of the colonial era, this work explains the key areas of production, market, film products and critical traditions. Hong Kong Cinema considers the different political formations of Hong Kong's culture as seen through the cinema, and deals with the historical, political, economic and cultural relations between Hong Kong cinema and other Chinese film industries on the mainland, as well as in Taiwan and South-East Asia. Discussion covers the concept of 'national cinema' in the context of Hong Kong's status as a quasi-nation with strong links to both the 'motherland' (China) and the 'coloniser' (Britain), and also argues that Hong Kong cinema is a national cinema only in an incomplete and ambiguous sense.

chapter 4|14 pages

Hong Kong films: the cultural specificity of quasi-national film

The cultural specificity of a quasi-national film

chapter 5|14 pages

Hong Kong films

Cinematic constructions of Hong Kong history and territory

chapter 6|28 pages

Hong Kong films

Cinematic constructions of Hong Kong’s quasi-national identity

chapter 7|15 pages

Hong Kong cinema after 1997