Chinese Film Classics, 1922-1949 by Christopher Rea

Abstract

Reviewed by: Chinese Film Classics, 1922-1949 by Christopher Rea Ling Zhang (bio) Christopher Rea. Chinese Film Classics, 1922-1949. New York: Columbia University Press, 2021. xvi, 381 pp. Hardcover $120.00, isbn 9780231188128. Paperback $30.00, isbn 9781231188135. Christopher Rea's Chinese Film Classics, 1922-1949 is a timely introduction to extant Chinese fiction films made before 1949. Rea analyzes fourteen films according to their "artistic accomplishment, critical reception, historical significance, and availability" (p. 4), situating them in relation to their broader tumultuous historical, sociopolitical, and cultural context. Differing from but building on previous significant scholarship about early Chinese cinema, such as Zhang Zhen's An Amorous History of the Silver Screen: Shanghai Cinema, 1896-1937 (2005) and Weihong Bao's Fiery Cinema: The Emergence of an Affective Medium in China, 1915-1945 (2015), Chinese Film Classics is a valuable addition to the field that makes early Chinese film history and analysis accessible, and familiarizes general readers with the diverse styles and creative vitality of early Chinese filmmakers. The book is divided into two parts, with each of the fourteen chapters offering production information, a synopsis, and analysis of one film. The films [End Page 130] are discussed in chronological order, and Rea focuses on each work's "artistic accomplishment and cultural significance" (p. 1). Therefore, unlike conventional academic books, Chinese Film Classics does not feature an overarching argument, though certain motifs recur from chapter to chapter. Rea's attention to themes such as slapstick comedy, play fulness, and gags in his analysis also reflects a continuity with his previous book, The Age of Irreverence: A New History of Laughter in China (2015). A list of further reading and viewing material at the end of each chapter contextualizes these analyses vis-à-vis relevant academic discussions and provides a bibliography for readers new to the field. The first part of the book, which addresses silent films, contains six chapters and focuses on silent and partial-sound films made between 1922 and 1935—including the earliest extant Chinese film, Laborer's Love (laogong zhi aiqing, Zhang Shichuan, 1922) and three films by the accomplished filmmaker Sun Yu (1900-1990): Little Toys (Xiaowanyi, 1933), Queen of Sports (Tiyu huanghou, 1934), and The Great Road (Dalu, 1934). The latter is a partial-sound film with added sound effects and interlude songs. Two other chapters examine Wu Yonggang's acclaimed silent film Goddess (Shennv, 1934) and Cai Chusheng's post-dubbed New Women (Xin nv xing, 1935). In the next eight chapters, Rea turns to sound films made between 1937 and 1949, including three produced in the late 1930s: Ma-Xu Weibang's Song at Midnight (Yeban gesheng, 1937), a horror film with strong political messaging; Yuan Muzhi's sarcastic urban tragicomedy Street Angels (Malu tianshi, 1937); and Bu Wancang's costume drama Hua Mulan (Mulan congjun, 1939). Five films from the 1940s illustrate the situation of chaos and anguish after the War of Resistance against Japanese invasion (1937-1945), with the pathos of the civil war (1945-1949) looming large. These include the urban family comedy based on writer Eileen Chang's screenplay, Long Live the Missus! (Taitai wansui, Sang Hu, 1947); the epic melodrama depicting Chinese people's collective trauma produced by the Japanese occupation and spirit of resistance, Spring River Flows East (Yijiang chunshui xiangdongliu, Cai Chusheng and Zheng Junli, 1947); the melancholic masterpiece Spring in a Small Town (Xiaocheng zhichun, Fei Mu, 1948); as well as two social realist films made during the 1949 regime transformation, Wandering of Three-Hairs the Orphan (Sanmao liulangji, Zhao Ming and Yan Gong, 1949) and Crows and Sparrows (Wuya yu maque, Zheng Junli, 1949). Rea has been developing this project for several years through various media platforms and has translated these films' intertitles and subtitles into English, making the subtitled versions freely accessible on YouTube. He and his team have also launched the website chinesefilmclassics.org, which contains an open-access, self-paced course on early Chinese cinema that complements this book (p. 2). As Rea mentions early on, he envisions Chinese Film Classics as [End Page 131] "a film-viewing companion for multiple readerships, especially people new to Chinese cinema history or to...