Katalog der Bibliothek des Instituts für Sinologie (LMU)

Includes bibliographical references (p [243]-246 and indexes.

"This book is a pioneering study of the genesis and films of the fifth-generation of Chinese filmmakers who emerged in the 1980s with films of startling originality. The making and meaning of films such as Ju Dou, Raise the Red Lantern, and Farewell, My Concubine are the central focus. Through this generation and its films changes in Chinese society over several decades are brought into vivid relief." "In the first of three parts, the stories of ten filmmakers prior to entering film school in 1978 are told in the form of a shared or group biography. They include directors like Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou, and Tian Zhuangzhuang, who won international praise for their work. But they also include less well-known figures such as Liu Miaomiao. This mix of the famous and the obscure derives from the purpose to construct a history of the broad dynamics of Chinese cultural change. In the middle section of the book, the students' crucial four years together at film school are outlined. The main part discusses the work of each of the filmmakers until the 1990s, tracing remarkable social and political changes through the continuing histories of these talented and determined individuals. This part ends by introducing other members of this generation, who did not attend film school with them, and outlines their impact on older filmmakers." "Based on extensive research as well as first-hand information obtained from long acquaintance with the filmmakers, Clark gives an account of the fifth-generation filmmakers and their films, which reflect the nature of change of China in the second half of the twentieth century."--BOOK JACKET.