Chinese martial arts cinema is held to be a synthesis drawing on artistic conventions of traditional Chinese theatre. Film sound and music perform as the legitimate heirs of some of the aesthetic ideas and norms of traditional Chinese theatre. This book critically examines the history of this under-explored field of inquiry from a theoretically comparative perspective, demonstrating that the musical codes drawn from traditional theatre are a constantly changing component integral to Chinese martial arts cinema. It explores the interaction between traditional Chinese theatre and Chinese martial arts cinema in how the musical codes of the former have shaped the aesthetics of the latter uniquely. This departs from conventional existing studies that focus on “adaptation.” The book’s historical and theoretical approach connects film, theatre and music, and re-defines the status of distinctive domains of filmic expression, grounding theatre as the pivot – or “hinge” – of film aesthetics. The book proffers this unique angle of research to rethink and re-imagine film sound and audiovisual synchronisation. Primarily intended for scholars in Chinese cinema, film music, Chinese theatre and visual culture, this monograph also presents introductory and comprehensive material for undergraduate and graduate-level courses in film and media studies, film music, Chinese cinema, and Chinese theatre.
Author(s): Shuang Wang
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 165
City: Singapore
Acknowledgements
Contents
1 Introduction
Abstract
Where Sounds Fail, Opera Starts…
Interdisciplinary Approaches in Chinese Cinema Studies
Chapter Divisions
Conclusion
References
2 Musicking the Chinese Martial Arts Cinema
Abstract
The Establishment of “Silent Screen Opera”
Peking Opera and Its Hybridization with Hong Kong’s Martial Arts Cinema
The “New Wuxia Century” Movement and the Influence of Peking Opera
References
3 Operatic Film Songs and Cross-Media Composing in Cantonese Martial Arts Cinema
Abstract
Pre-existing Music in Early Cantonese Martial Arts Films
Poon Cheuk and his Original Operatic Film Songs
References
4 Hearing the Theatre Through Four Moods (喜怒哀樂) (1970)
Abstract
An Examination of the Anger Episode
Transformation and Interaction: Storytelling, Literature and Theatre
Storytelling by Mimicry and Synchronization: The Legacy of Kouji
San Cha Kou: From Theatre to Cinema
Luo Gu Dian Zi in Synchronization—On Screen and On Stage
References
5 Buddhism Manifested in Operatic Percussion in King Hu’s Raining in the Mountain (空山靈雨) (1979)
Abstract
Introduction
King Hu as the “Auteur”
The Blurred Distinction—Narrative Versus Additive
Musicking the Buddhist Philosophy
Journeying as Redemption, Body as Allegory
The Thieves’ Journey to the Dead End
Qiu Ming: The Incarnation of Xia
Buddhist Salvation and Musically Glorified Body
Conclusion
References
6 Operatic Tradition and Its Transnational Refashioning: A Case Study of The Banquet (2006)
Abstract
Introduction
The Bamboo Forest: Audiovisual Magic and Romanticized Violence
Music as an Expression of Slow Motion
Hearing Suspense
The Climactic Fighting
The Operatic Design of Percussive Sound
Contextualized Non-diegetic Percussive Sound
Conclusion
References
Epilogue
References
