Planet Hong Kong, 2nd edition: Popular Cinema and the Art of Entertainment

First published in 2000, Planet Hong Kong is acclaimed as the best book on this vibrant, unpredictable cinema. It surveys the history, its rise to international renown, the dominant genres and stars, and its unique contributions to world cinema. Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, John Woo, Tsui Hark, Chang Cheh, Lau Kar-leung, and Wong Kar-wai are among the major figures discussed. This second edition, completely updated, includes new chapters on the massive changes in the film industry since 1997, the emerging artistic trends, the Infernal Affairs trilogy (the source for The Departed), and on figures like Stephen Chow (Shaolin Soccer), Wong Kar-wai (In the Mood for Love), and Johnnie To Kei-fung (The Mission). There is also a new bibliography. Unlike the 1st edition, this edition contains over 400 color illustrations on deluxe paper. "David Bordwell is the most valuable and readable film scholar in America. He makes a persuasive case for Hong Kong movies as great entertainment and sometimes great art." Roger Ebert "David Bordwell unpacks the shameless delights of Hong Kong cinema with one eye on the vitality of pop culture and the other on surprises and discoveries which redraw the map of film form and grammar. Here, the road of excess really does lead to the palace of wisdom." Tony Rayns, critic, Sight and Sound "David Bordwell is a scholar who writes as a fan. He is in love with the crazy, rip-roaring, vulgar confusion that is Hong Kong cinema, but he also knows how and why it works and explains it in words the layman can understand." The Economist