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E D I T O R I A L
Sunday, December 24: Wuxia Fantasies and the Black-and-White Western
While watching Stagecoach, the John Ford-directed Western from 1939, I started thinking about Hong Kong equivalents. And I couldn't think of any. And I realized that Wuxia fantasy films have no true American equivalents. The funny thing is that the genres have similarities in that both have been wildly popular at times, laid dormant for a time, then been reimagined and welcomed back by audiences.
In the case of Stagecoach, according to notes on the DVD itself, the Western had already been done to death in America by 1939. No studio wanted to make John Ford's latest effort, and no one thought John Wayne should be the (second-billed) male lead. Ford forged ahead, found financing, and made a film that stood out in that movie-mad year for Hollywood. Westerns became insanely popular again on American television in the 1950's and mid-1960's and then burned out until revisionist filmmakers took their turn at refashioning the genre from the late-1960's on to our day.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is the latest example of a filmmaker turning to a genre and trying to reinvent it all by himself -- and take all the credit, too! (No, I haven't seen the film yet. I thought it would play nationwide, and then discovered that Fort Worth is not considered a major city. I must undertake an expedition of 45 to 60 minutes one way to a tiny, unsuitable theater in Dallas. *sigh*) Ang Lee's comments about his desire to bring something "fresh" to what he evidently considers a stale genre are remarkably similar to what Ronny Yu said when deciding to make The Bride With White Hair (check the audio commentary on Tai Seng's DVD) in 1993. Instinctively, most filmmakers (and film critics) want to elevate themselves above the madding horde so they may educate and enlighten the popular audience. That is not necessarily a bad thing, of course. Just a cautionary note.
My week (most of it under the weather, so possibly under the influence of some over-the-counter drugs) consisted more of American than Hong Kong films. I thoroughly enjoyed Jiang Hu - "The Triad Zone" and look forward to watching it again. Not so for Love Paradox, despite the bewitching cover art. Many HK fans have soured on Jackie Chan, but his 1990 production of Miracles is well worth a look. And the Columbia/TriStar release for Region 1 has outstanding subtitles that are a vast improvement over what was previously available. That bodes well for their reissue of Once Upon a Time in China. Considering that the same company botched the Region 1 video releases of Gorgeous and Who Am I?, this is a commendable step up.
As usual, please feel free to send feedback, criticisms, etc.
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