alt.culture

Hong Kong movies have played a giant role in shaping the pop culture of the world.  We'll take a look at the history of Hong Kong and its movies through the lenses of its most popular genres.

In the first of this four part series, we'll take an overall look at the formation of Hong Kong, the growth of the movie industry. The focus will be on the Kungfu genre. We'll look at the legends of the genre. We'll explore the history behind the martial arts and their schools, and how Kungfu took the world by storm.

Movies cited:

The Big Boss, 1971

Some great resources:

Accented Cinema: https://www.youtube.com/@AccentedCinema

Madness and Terror!

Do you dare listen, to subject your ears to awful tales of murder and brutality? If the whispers lure you in,  you will discover in the dark labyrinth of the mind such fearsome figures as:

- The most murdered woman in the world.

 You are about to listen to a story of a simple theater. A simple theater whose carnival of blood has driven mad the creative arts, whose long tentacles slowly, silently, creep with sinister intent all over the soul of cinema. Only the bravest will remain unscathed, for the wise have long left for safer places. 

Disclaimer: This podcast is not responsible for any fainting that occurs while listening to this episode.

Further Reading:

Grand Guignol: The French Theatre of Horror; Michael Wilson, Richard J Hand

A genre popular in Japan once upon a time suddenly gains worldwide notoriety decades after it's been forgotten. Music and technology, cultural shifts, the nature of nostalgia- and more!

Notes:

Taeko Onuki Red Bull Muiscal Academy Interview  https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2017/12/taeko-onuki-interview

Yamashita Tatsuro Interview  http://kumomi.org/2021/09/28/yamashita-tatsuro-interview-2016/

Chocomusic History of City Pop:  https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2017/12/taeko-onuki-interview

Japanese City Pop and the Rise of Future Funk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Althvag63pw

VisualPolitik How Did Japan's Great Financial Bubble Develop and Burst?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUu2qmOXYnI

“A naked woman sits before a portrait of Stalin and smokes marijuana.”

This was how one critic described the movies of the late 80s. Obviously something drastic has happened. The state of cinema shifted dramatically in such a few short years. We'll see the seismic changes that rocked the last few years of the Soviet Union, and its impact on film and the film industries. 

Find out how anti-war film, Mikhail Romm's students, the search for Tarkovsky's heir, "dark" movies, rock music and corpses informed the movies of the late Soviet era, perestroika.

Movies discussed:

After the death of Stalin, the Union went through a dramatic series of transformations. This was felt in the movie industry as well. This episode will deal with the rollercoaster rise and falls of the 30 years after. 

In this episode you'll find out:

- How youth became central to the movie industry.

And we'll meet perhaps the most well-known director of the era.

Movies discussed

The 1930s and 40s were a tumultuous period for the Soviet Union. The Stalinist regime and five year plans transformed the political and cultural structure of the country, and the second World War was looming. Cinema felt these seismic shifts. How would the directors of the era, the ones used to the creative freedoms of the avant-garde 1920s, respond to the challenges?

Movies Discussed:

Enthusiasm: Dziga Vertov, 1931

How did cinema develop its own language? In this episode we'll discuss the development of cinema in the early days of the Soviet Union, and the directors who theorized the cinematic techniques that are still used to this day.

We'll talk about:

And much more.

Tune in to part 1 of 4, of the History of Soviet Cinema!