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sabotai · 07-26-2008, 06:47 PM

西廂記 (1927)
English: Romance of the Western Chamber

Directed by: Minwei Li, Hou Yao
Starring: Cigang Ge, Chichang Hu
Length: 49 minutes
Genre: Romance / Action

Base on: Play by Yuan Dynasty playwright Wang Shifu

After the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, there was a major push for modernization, which included film. Movie making in China started in 1919 or 1920, and by 1925, there were dozens of production companies in Shanghai.

The story is that of a couple who fall in love, but due to social status, with one being the daughter of the prime minister and the other a peasant, they could not be together. Lucky for them, a bandit shows up and demands the prime minister's daughter. The prime minister says he'll promise his daughter to anyone whoever can help get rid of the bandits. The peasant calls on the help of General White Horse, who helps to save the day.

Only being 49 minutes long, it only focused on the main plot of the play, and left out the subplots. The plot was boring, and for the most part, the same as every romance plot of every american romance film. However, unlike the american romance films, this film also featured a lot of action, which became a big part of Chinese cinema very quickly.

Historically, I don't think this film was very different than many other films. The big one, The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple, was released in 1928. It was 27 hours long, and released as a series of 18 feature length movies from 1928 to 1931. The first part released in 1928 completely smashed box office records for China, completely sold out for weeks, and was the reason for a massive push for building and explanding the movie industry in China.

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple is available anywhere.

Entertainment Rating: 6/10
Historical Rating: 5/10

07-26-2008, 06:47 PM	#150
sabotai General Manager Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Satellite of Love	西廂記 (1927) English: Romance of the Western Chamber Directed by: Minwei Li, Hou Yao Starring: Cigang Ge, Chichang Hu Length: 49 minutes Genre: Romance / Action Base on: Play by Yuan Dynasty playwright Wang Shifu After the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, there was a major push for modernization, which included film. Movie making in China started in 1919 or 1920, and by 1925, there were dozens of production companies in Shanghai. The story is that of a couple who fall in love, but due to social status, with one being the daughter of the prime minister and the other a peasant, they could not be together. Lucky for them, a bandit shows up and demands the prime minister's daughter. The prime minister says he'll promise his daughter to anyone whoever can help get rid of the bandits. The peasant calls on the help of General White Horse, who helps to save the day. Only being 49 minutes long, it only focused on the main plot of the play, and left out the subplots. The plot was boring, and for the most part, the same as every romance plot of every american romance film. However, unlike the american romance films, this film also featured a lot of action, which became a big part of Chinese cinema very quickly. Historically, I don't think this film was very different than many other films. The big one, The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple, was released in 1928. It was 27 hours long, and released as a series of 18 feature length movies from 1928 to 1931. The first part released in 1928 completely smashed box office records for China, completely sold out for weeks, and was the reason for a massive push for building and explanding the movie industry in China. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple is available anywhere. Entertainment Rating: 6/10 Historical Rating: 5/10 Last edited by sabotai : 07-26-2008 at 06:50 PM.