Member DiP Posted June 12, 2012 Member Share Posted June 12, 2012 When Hong Kong Cinema declined in the late 1990s and most directors started lacking creativity and jumping trends, there was Johnnie To - known for doing a variety of genre films at the time - who showed up and gave a breath of fresh air to the film industry which in turn modernized and changed filmmaking in Hong Kong. More than 10 years have past in it's still amazing that he haven't slowed down and still goes strong and evolves. Amazingly, I'm beginning to notice a similar pattern with Peter Chan and his work. Although his most successful films have mainly been drama and romance films, Chan has crossed over to other genres lately such as comedy films (Golden Chicken), horror films (The Eye), musical films (Perhaps Love), crime films (Protege), and most recently war (The Warlords) as well as political (Bodyguards & Assassins) and martial arts films (Wu Xia). The Warlords (I didn't find it that great though) was a fine testament to his capabilities of making these kinds of films while Wu Xia secured and established his directing finesse. Now, he's coming out with The Guillotines (action) and other interesting projects like Queen's Road Ripper (thriller) and Jung Ku: The Man from 18th Hell (fantasy). What are your opinions? Is Peter Chan the new answer to saving Hong Kong films and can he bring something fresh and unique to the table making certain genre films like Johnnie To has done/is doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member massa_yoda Posted June 12, 2012 Member Share Posted June 12, 2012 What are your opinions? Is Peter Chan the new answer to saving Hong Kong films and can he bring something fresh and unique to the table making certain genre films like Johnnie To has/is doing? I pretty much like anything Peter Chan does, though I haven't seen all his films yet. He seems to know how to make a good character-driven films. Characters that I actually care about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Sheng Posted June 12, 2012 Member Share Posted June 12, 2012 Dunno about him “saving” HK cinema and a “new answer” he definitely ain’t… but Peter Chan Ho Sun has proved himself to be one of the most creative directors / producers of the last two decades and his interviews are always thought-provoking and eminently readable (or watchable for that matter; check the one on the BODYGUARDS & ASSASSINS Blu Ray). To me COMRADES – ALMOST A LOVE STORY is one of the greatest HK films of all times and almost all the old U.F.O. flicks are still worth tracking down. A crying shame that the Mainland box office for WU XIA was only a lukewarm one… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member CatNap Posted June 13, 2012 Member Share Posted June 13, 2012 Hong Kong cinema has been in the toilet since 2003. Peter Chan has been doing a great deal to help the industry get back on track - saving it though isn't a one person job. I can't say I cared much for his early work but I have been loving his work lately and he's fast becoming a favorite director of mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted June 13, 2012 Author Member Share Posted June 13, 2012 I probably should describe things differently as the thread isn't about saving Hong Kong Cinema in terms of putting out quantitative quality productions like the old days but more like another director bringing something new to the quality of HK productions by giving films a certain unique flavor to them like To has. But good feedback though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member masterofoneinchpunch Posted June 13, 2012 Member Share Posted June 13, 2012 Several of these I wouldn't call his films since he was producer* but not director like in Protege (Derek Yee Tung-Sing), Bodyguards and Assassins (Teddy Chen Tak-Sum) and The Guillotines (Andrew Lau Wai-Ke). I think it might be easier to say he has a knack for spotting talent, but I feel the directors mentioned above get less credit than they deserve. I'm also not sure what he has brought new to HK films in the past 10 years I'm a big fan of Johnnie To, but I will have to think about Hong Kong's second "best kept secret." Maybe Ann Hui? * Producers can be anywhere from hands off to completely dominating. When they are dominating critics tend to consider them more of an auteur . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Sheng Posted June 13, 2012 Member Share Posted June 13, 2012 Chan’s output certainly does have a unique flavour (witness the use of CGI in WU XIA for instance) and his production values are always impeccable, but he’s hardly been prolific as a director in this millennium. Apart from To and Milkyway, when I’m thinking about innovative quality films made in HK in the last decade or so I’d have the likes of Derek Yee, Sylvia Chang and Pan Ho Cheung on my radar first. Not to say that they’re always making great films, but never less than interesting, highly personal and emotionally compelling ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member CatNap Posted June 13, 2012 Member Share Posted June 13, 2012 I'm a big fan of Johnnie To, but I will have to think about Hong Kong's second "best kept secret." Maybe Ann Hui? Ann Hui is amazing - I really love a lot of her work. Her best in my opinion was "Eighteen Springs." I'm also a great admirer of Sylvia Chang for "Run Papa Run" and Jingle Xu who wrote and directed two of my favorites: "My Father and I" and "Letter from an Unknown Woman." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted June 16, 2012 Author Member Share Posted June 16, 2012 Several of these I wouldn't call his films since he was producer* but not director like in Protege (Derek Yee Tung-Sing), Bodyguards and Assassins (Teddy Chen Tak-Sum) and The Guillotines (Andrew Lau Wai-Ke). I think it might be easier to say he has a knack for spotting talent, but I feel the directors mentioned above get less credit than they deserve. Like you said, producers can be either from hands off to completely dominating so I think it depends on the situation. You're probably right about Golden Chicken, The Eye and Protege as these had other parties with absolutely more control and bigger influence due to the fact that the production companies responsible for financing the films were probably own by them. But it's all about control and influence. If you have much of those combined you can pretty much do anything, regardless of circumstances concerning who is doing what in a production. Therefore, I can't dismiss Bodyguards & Assassins and the rest because these are films that are produced by his own production company and they have that distinct flavor/style that is known in Peter Chan's directed films. They indicate that Chan has more than little to do with being involved with the directing and overall creative input. Look at Johnnie To and Milkyway Image. It's the same principle. The films that are credited to other people as director has that style/touch you can spot in a film To directs himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member derwood Posted June 16, 2012 Member Share Posted June 16, 2012 Definately get where you're coming from on the output & variety of Chans work Personally tho, Wu Xia was the only film I thoroughly enjoyed & have watched multiple times As others have pointed out, maybe his production status in some as opposed to directing had somehing to do with my impressions, tho the subject matter & genre was not always my cup of tea either When you look at the bigger picture tho, he is on par with the quality of film scale when u consider the likes of To or Hark and the volume of films up their sleves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member masterofoneinchpunch Posted June 18, 2012 Member Share Posted June 18, 2012 ... Look at Johnnie To and Milkyway Image. It's the same principle. The films that are credited to other people as director has that style/touch you can spot in a film To directs himself. With To it's a little different (unless Chan took over some filming in any of the above, please mention if he does, that would be interesting) , especially during the early Milkyway films because To would pretty much just take over if he did not like what he saw as in A Moment of Romance (Benny Chan), The Odd One Dies, The Longest Nite, Expect The Unexpected (poor Patrick Yau, though out of the last three mentioned he has stated he has had the most outcome on The Odd One Dies). It's always interesting to see the influence of producers and the good/bad that comes from it (especially ones like Val Lewton, Raymond Chow, I loved the fights between David O. Selznick and Alfred Hitchcock). I need to recheck the extras on Bodyguards & Assassins to see if there are any tells on Peter Chan's influence. What do you consider the Peter Chan auteur characteristics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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