| A Century Of Light And Shadow recorded the entire 100 year development of China's movie industry. Near 200 well-known movie industry personnel were invited as hosts and guests which was unprecedented. Priceless episodes were compiled from over 300 movies including musicals, action movies, comedies, Mandarin and Cantonese films, and new wave movies. The light and shadow, time, place and characters in every frame belong to the collective memories of everyone in Hong Kong and make it a valuable collection. It is a rare gem no matter whether you are a loyal fan of Chinese movies or not.
Episodes 1 & 2: Dream Factory Revisited
These two episodes are an overview of the milestones Hong Kong film history. The Hong Kong film industry started from the mainland China filmmakers moved south to Hong Kong during the Sino-Japanese War and Civil War.
Episode 3: Song And Dance Through The Century
This episode mainly gives an overview of the various genres of Chinese musicals: Cantonese operas, Putonghua musical and Huangmei diao opera.
Episode 4: A Tale Of Two Tongues
Hong Kong and the Mainland have close ties in every aspect, this episode studies the rise and fall of Cantonese and Putonghua films; the difference in production quality of each and the leftist and rightist films of these genres.
Episode 5: Heroes Have Many Faces
Every society needs heroes and so does Hong Kong especially in the movies. Regardless of the genre, martial arts movies, nationalistic movies, triad movies, all have heroes and heroines.
Episode 6: The World Of Comedy
Comedy is an everlasting genre in Hong Kong. It depicts the struggling of grassroots people in the 50s to the rhapsody of the working class in the 70s as illustrated by the Hui Brothers.
Episode 7: The Rise And Fall Of Local Culture
From 1978 to 2003, the local movies have been renamed from Cantonese movies to Hong Kong movies which witnesses the rise and fall of local culture. This episode highlights the emergence of the local culture in movies.
Episode 8: Filmmakers Without Frontiers
The Hong Kong films were influenced by various cultural factors - in the early days, the Mainland, the local culture in the 50s. Nowdays movie making in Hong Kong is an international business with talents and financing from Japan, Korea, US, Europe, mainland China etc. With the fusion of these international elements there is an impact and influence on the style of Hong Kong films. Can it be consider a gain or loss?
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