A lucky discovery for $3.50

Filmbrain was in Chinatown the other day, seeking out the latest Ozu releases on cheapie Hong Kong label Panorama (An Inn in Tokyo, What Did the Lady Forget, There Was a Father, and the wonderful Passing Fancy). While the quality of the Panorama Ozus is hit or miss, they are (currently) the only available option if one wishes to see these classics (with english subtitles). In one of the stores, Filmbrain spotted a basket of DVDs of classic Chinese films from the first half of the 20th century. He grabbed a handful of the $3.50 discs, even though there wasn't a word of English on any of them -- the cover photos looked interesting enough, and it would be an opportunity to put Alexander Mackendrick's theory to the test -- that one should be able to understand 60-80% of a film without subtitles. As luck should have it, the first film in the bunch happened to be the 1937 classic, Street Angel, directed by Yuan Muzhi. (Filmbrain figured this out with Google and a halfway-decent understanding of kanji.) Considered one of the greatest Chinese films of all times, it was one that he had heard of, but never seen. Digging a little deeper on the net revealed this, a set of subtitles as translated by Andrew F. Jones. Pages in hand, Filmbrain sat down and watched the film. Street Angel is certainly worthy of all its accolades. This Maoist melodrama (made shortly before the Japanese shut down most Shanghai studios) is an absolute wonder to behold, and director Yuan Muzhi was clearly influenced by American, European and Russian cinema of the time. The opening credits montage of extravagant Shanghai nightlife, with its rapid dissolves and skewed angles would have made the surrealists proud. The film itself, set in the slums of Shanghai and focusing on the lower classes, can be considered a precursor to the Italian neorealism movement. The film tells of two sisters who wind up in Shanghai after fleeing from Japanese-occupied Manchuria. Bought by an unscrupulous couple (he's a musician, she's a madam), the sisters are forced to work for their owners -- one as a tea-house singer (Zhou Xuan), and the other as a prostitute. Chen, a poverty-stricken trumpet player, falls in love with the singer, yet is crushed upon learning that her owner is about to sell her to a wealthy gangster. Enlisting the help of his fellow street friends (with whom he has signed a sworn oath of brotherhood), they devise a plan to help the sisters escape their enslavement. Of course, this ragtag team (which includes a newspaper salesman and a barber) is no match for the forces of capitalism, and the tragic ending comes as no surprise. Far less propagandistic than later Chinese cinema, it has an almost Capra-esque feel to it -- with its members of the poorest of the poor banding together to help the two sisters in spite of their own personal hardships. The depiction of the wealthy class (including a lawyer whose office is in a skyscraper that resembles Rockefeller Plaza) is hardly the stuff of revolution -- it's a far cry from Eisenstein. And though its narrative method may have been influenced by Hollywood (some claim it was inspired by the Frank Borzage film of the same name), its constantly moving camera, high contrast lighting, and fast-paced editing gives it an almost experimental feel. Street Angel is a truly a masterpiece of early Chinese cinema, and it's a shame it's not better known (in the States, at least). If you're in NYC, head down to the Bowery and pick up the DVD -- only $3.50, and region-free. On a related note, Filmbrain found a list of the 100 greatest Chinese films of the 20th Century, as selected by film professors, archivists, and critics from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Some great films on there, and many unheard of. Filmbrain's goal is to see them all. What are some of your favorites?

Comments

[John R]

So happy for the subtitle tip --- I've been freaking out about this for days since it came in from Yesasia.com . Can't wait to re-watch with the subtitles (although it's fairly easy to folow - especially the bouncing ball) with none. Maybe there's an .srt file out there somewhere...

Thanks again!

[edamame]

Maoist???

This was still Republican-era Shanghai, the 30s during which prostitutes are used to symbolize all that's wrong with china by male directors (plus loads of Ruan Lingyu's roles.)

Zhao Dan and Zhou Xuan rock HARD in this, as do their costars -- their life and humor leap offscreen at ya.