The Cinema of East Asia refers to the film industries of countries located in East Asia. The most significant film industries that are categorized as East Asian cinema are the industries of Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. The term is sometimes confused with Southeast Asian cinema, as the cinematic traditions between the two Asian sub-regions have their own uniquely distinct markers that are often conflated and incorrectly referred to as such, which include the likes of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines.
East Asian cinema is responsible for several genres distinct from the cinema of other regions. These genres include Martial arts films and Anime. While East Asian cinema was initially relegated to local audiences, its global influence steadily increased. Each country included in East Asian cinema has its own prominent directors, actors, and actresses.
Styles and genres The scope of East Asian cinema is huge and covers a vast array of different film styles and genres, as the region's rich cinematic traditions are particularly well-known internationally for its production of the following types of genres:
Martial arts films — including Hong Kong martial arts films (such as period kung fu films, chopsocky, Bruceploitation and Wuxia) and Japanese martial arts films (including ninja films) Hong Kong action cinema —including martial arts, stunt action, action comedy, gun fu, and girls with guns Jidaigeki — Japanese period films, including Samurai cinema (chanbara) and ninja films Horror films — including Japanese horror and Korean horror Anime — Japanese animation Drama films — including Korean drama (Korean-style telenovela and soap opera film) and Dorama (Japanese drama) Gangster films — including heroic bloodshed films (Hong Kong action crime films, usually centered on Chinese Triad crime organisations) and Japanese gangster films (Yakuza films and punk films) Japanese science fiction — including Tokusatsu (such as Kaiju monster films and superhero films), Japanese cyberpunk, and steampunk
History 1890s–1950s Even as Hollywood began dominating cinemas worldwide, receiving 80% of its revenue from screenings abroad, East Asian film industries were largely able to hold their own against foreign imports. Local audiences tended to favor domestic films over glamorous Hollywood products, allowing East Asian producers to develop their own forms of artistic expression. Japan, for example, had grown a vibrant film industry by the Roaring 20s, despite its first film production studio only opening in 1909. The popularity of East Asian films and directors rarely extended beyond the region itself, with films seldom exported. In this relative isolation, several distinctive genres and styles developed, such as the growth of martial arts movies in 1930s-40s Hong Kong.
1950s: global influence East Asian cinema has—to widely varying degrees from nation to nation—had a global audience since at least the 1950s. At the beginning of the decade, Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon (1950) and Kenji Mizoguchi's Ugetsu (1953) both captured prizes at the Venice Film Festival and elsewhere, and by the middle of the decade Teinosuke Kinugasa's Gate of Hell (1953) and the first part of Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy (1954) had won Oscars. Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954) became a global success; Japanese cinema had burst into international consciousness.
By the end of the decade, several critics associated with French journal Cahiers du cinéma published some of the first Western studies on Japanese film; many of those critics went on to become founding members of the French nouvelle vague, which began simultaneously with the Japanese New Wave.
1960s and 1970s By the late 60s and early 70s, Japanese cinema had begun to become seriously affected by the collapse of the studio system, with audiences decreasing from 1.2 billion to 0.2 billion from 1960 to 1980. As Japanese cinema slipped into a period of relative low visibility, the cinema of Hong Kong entered a dramatic renaissance of its own, largely a side effect of the development of the wuxia blending of action, history, and spiritual concerns. Several major figures emerged in Hong Kong at this time, including King Hu, whose 1966 Come Drink With Me was a key influence upon many subsequent Hong Kong cinematic developments. Shortly thereafter, the American and Hong Kong actor Bruce Lee became a global icon, beginning a new wave of popularity for martial arts movies. However, the 1970s were also the death knell of Cantonese cinema, with the Hong Kong film industry switching to larger, commercialized Mandarin films. The Korean film industry also experienced a golden age during the 1960s, producing iconic films such as The Housemaid, Aimless Bullet, and The Devil's Stairway.
Influence and impact As the popularity of East Asian films has endured, it is unsurprising that members of the Western film industry would cite their influences (notably George Lucas, Robert Altman and Martin Scorsese citing Akira Kurosawa; and Jim Jarmusch and Paul Schrader's similar mentions of Yasujirō Ozu), and—on occasion—work to introduce less well-known filmmakers to Western audiences (such as the growing number of Eastern films released with the endorsement "Quentin Tarantino Presents").
Remakes: East and West Another sign of the increasing influence of East Asian film in the West is the number of East Asian films that have been remade in Hollywood and European cinema, a tradition extending at least as far back as Western remakes of Akira Kurosawa films, such as John Sturges' 1960 The Magnificent Seven (based on Seven Samurai, 1954), and Martin Ritt's 1964 The Outrage (based on Rashomon, 1950), continuing through present-day remakes of J-Horror films like Ring (1998) and Ju-on: The Grudge (2002). Other movies have also been remade such as The Departed (based on Infernal Affairs, 2002), The Lake House (film) (based on Il Mare, 2000), Tortilla Soup (based on Eat Drink Man Woman, 1994) etc.
The influence also goes the other way. A number of East Asian films have also been based upon Western source material as varied as the quickie Hong Kong film remakes of Hollywood hits as well as Kurosawa's adaptations of works by William Shakespeare (The Bad Sleep Well, Throne of Blood, and Ran), Maxim Gorky (The Lower Depths), and Ed McBain (High and Low).
Prominent directors Some of the most accomplished directors of East Asian cinema include:
China Cai Chusheng (1906–1968) — Influential Chinese director of the 1930s and 1940s. Best known for his film Spring River Flows East, which is frequently regarded as one of the masterpieces of Chinese cinema. Chen Kaige (born 1952) — Fifth-Generation Chinese film director known for films such as Farewell My Concubine, The Emperor and the Assassin, and Yellow Earth (one of the first Chinese films to compete in international film festivals after the Cultural Revolution). Jiang Wen (born 1963) — Famous Chinese actor turned director. Best known for In the Heat of the Sun and Devils on the Doorstep, which won the Grand Prize of the Jury at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. Jia Zhangke (born 1970) — One of the most prominent Sixth-Generation Chinese film directors. His most renowned works includes the highly acclaimed Platform, Unknown Pleasures, and The World. Fei Mu (1906–1951) — Pioneering Chinese director in the 1940s. Best known for the film Spring in a Small Town, which is considered by many to be the best Chinese film ever made. Lou Ye (born 1965) — Sixth-Generation film director of Purple Butterfly, Summer Palace, and Suzhou River. Lu Chuan (born 1970) — Sixth-Generation Chinese film director. Best known for The Missing Gun and the award-winning Kekexili: Mountain Patrol. Tian Zhuangzhuang (born 1952) — One of the most prominent Fifth-Generation film directors. Known for films such as The Blue Kite and The Horse Thief. Wang Xiaoshuai (born 1966) — Award-winning Sixth-Generation Chinese film director. Wu Yonggang (1907–1982) — Chinese director of the 1930s best known for his work with the actress Ruan Lingyu, such as The Goddess. Xie Jin (1923–2008) — Well-known Chinese director during the Cultural Revolution. Notable works includes: The Red Detachment of Women, Two Stage Sisters. Yuan Muzhi (1909–1978) — Chinese director best known for the film Street Angel starring actress Zhou Xuan. Zhang Yimou (born 1950) — Fifth-Generation film director known for his sumptuous visual styles and allegorical story-tellings. Notable films: Red Sorghum, Raise the Red Lantern, To Live, and Hero. Zhang Yuan (born 1963) — Sixth-Generation Chinese film director best known for the film East Palace, West Palace. Zhu Shilin (1899–1967) — Influential Chinese director of the early sound era.
Hong Kong Jackie Chan (born 1954). Stephen Chow (born 1962) — Director, actor and comedian, best known in the West for the films Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle. Ringo Lam (born 1954) — Best known for the film City on Fire starring Chow Yun-fat; has also worked with Jean-Claude Van Damme. Tsui Hark (born 1950) — Major commercial Hong Kong director; Hark attended film school in the U.S. Best known for Zu, the Once Upon A Time In China series, and Green Snake, among many other films. Ann Hui (born 1947) — Hui emerged from the late 1970s Hong Kong new wave, gaining attention for Spooky Bunch and Boat People. Sammo Hung (born 1952) — Director, actor and stuntman of Hong Kong action cinema, famed for starring, directing and choreographing Kung Fu martial arts films for over 40 years, as well as his association with fellow stars Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao and the hit US television series Martial Law. Stanley Kwan (born 1957) — Director of Rouge, Center Stage and Lan Yu. Kwan is notable as one of a small number of directors who have successfully blurred the boundaries between "art" and "popular" cinema. Clara Law (born 1957) — Law was one of the key figures in the late 1970s Hong Kong new wave, well known for Autumn Moon and Temptation of a Monk. Johnnie To (born 1955) — Internationally acclaimed director of genre films, known for All About Ah Long (1989), Fulltime Killer (2001), Election 2 (a.k.a. Triad Election ) (2006) and Exiled (2006). He is a darling of film festivals, from Cannes Film Festival to Venice Film Festival. Lo Wei (1918–1996). Wong Kar-wai (born 1958) — Internationally influential director known for his expressive stylishness. In the Mood For Love and Chungking Express are among his best-known films. John Woo (born 1946) — One of the best known East Asian directors to Western audiences, his domestic output includes the Chow Yun-fat films The Killer and Hard Boiled and his Western movies include Mission: Impossible 2, Broken Arrow, Face/Off and Paycheck Yuen Woo-ping (born 1945) — Director of classic kung fu films including the Drunken Master (starring Jackie Chan) and Magnificent Butcher (starring Sammo Hung). In his later years his expertise as a martial arts choreographer has been sought by Western directors and he has worked on films including The Matrix series, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill.
Japan Kinji Fukasaku (1930–2003) — Director known for his groundbreaking yakuza films, including Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1973), as well as Battle Royale (2000). Susumu Hani (born 1928) — Prominent independent filmmaker during the 1960s Japanese new wave, known for She and He and Nanami, First Love. After a retreat from feature filmmaking in the 1970s, Hani subsequently gained renown as a nature documentarian. Ishirō Honda (1911–1993) — Known primarily for his tokusatsu and kaiju monster films, particularly for bringing the first Godzilla film, Godzilla (1954) to audiences. His many other films include Mothra (1961), King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) and Destroy All Monsters (1968).