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Motion pictures were introduced to China in 1896, but the film industry was not started until 1917. During the 1920s film technicians from the United States trained Chinese technicians in Shanghai, an early filmmaking center, and American influence continued to be felt there for the next two decades. In the 1930s and 1940s, several socially and politically important films were produced.
The film industry continued to develop after 1949. In the 17 years between the founding of the People's Republic of China and the Cultural Revolution, 603 feature films and 8,342 reels of documentaries and newsreels were produced, sponsored as Communist propaganda by the government. The first wide-screen film was produced in 1960. Animated films using a variety of folk arts, such as papercuts, shadow plays, puppetry, and traditional paintings, also were very popular for entertaining and educating children.
During the Cultural Revolution, the film industry was severely restricted. Most previous films were banned, and only a few new ones were produced. In the years immediately following the Cultural Revolution, the film industry again flourished as a medium of popular entertainment. Domestically produced films played to large audiences, and tickets for foreign film festivalA film festival is a mostly annual festival showcasing films, usually of a recent date, sometimes with a focus on a specific genre (e. animation) or subject (e. gay and lesbian film festivals). The world's first major film festival was held in Venice in 1s sold quickly.
In the 1980sMillennia: 1st millennium 2nd millennium 3rd millennium Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s Years: 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Events and trends the film industry fell on hard times, faced with the dual problems of competition from other forms of entertainment and concern on the part of the authorities that many of the popular thriller and martial artHawaiian State Grappling Championships. Martial arts also known as fighting systems are bodies of codified practices or traditions of unarmed and armed combat, usually without the use of guns and other modern weapons. They are often taught for various reas films were socially unacceptable. In January 1986 the film industry was transferred from the Ministry of Culture to the newly formed Ministry of Radio, Cinema, and Television to bring it under "stricter control and management" and to "strengthen supervision over production."
Beginning in the mid-late 1980s, the rise of the so-called fifth generation of Chinese filmmakers brought increased popularity of Chinese cinema abroad. Directors such as Chen KaigeChen Kaige ( Wade-Giles: Ch'en K'ai-ko, b. August 12, 1952) in Beijing is a famous Chinese film director. He is one of the most prominent of the Fifth-Generation directors from China. Filmography Yellow Earth (, 1984) The Big Parade (, 1986) King of Child and Zhang YimouZhang Yimou ( born November 14, 1950) is a Chinese filmmaker and cinematographer who made his directorial debut in 1987 with the film Red Sorghum''. An overaged student who was accepted only after extensive appeals, Zhang graduated from the Beijing Film A produced works such as Farewell My ConcubineFarewell My Concubine ( pinyin: Bawang Bie Ji is a 1993 Hong Kong movie directed by Chen Kaige written by Lillian Lee (II) and Wei Lu starring Leslie Cheung, Zhang Fengyi, Gong Li, and Ge You. Awards and nominations Won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film F and Raise the Red LanternRaise the Red Lantern ( literal meaning: "Raise the Big Red Lantern(s) High High Up") is a 1991 Chinese film, directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Gong Li. It was adapted by Ni Zhen from the novel by Su Tong. The film was nominated for an Academy Award fo which were not only acclaimed by Chinese cinema-goers but by the Western arthouse audience.
In 1999, the multi-national production Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon achieved massive success at the Western box office despite being disregarded by Chinese cinema-goers as pandering to Western tastes. Nevertheless, it provided an introduction to Chinese cinema for many and increased the popularity of many Chinese films among Westerners which may have otherwise been relatively unknown.
In 2002, Hero was made as a second attempt to produce a Chinese film with the international appeal of Crouching Tiger, Hiden Dragon. The cast and crew featured many of the most famous Chinese actors who were also known to some extent in the West, including Jet Li, Zhang Ziyi, Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung and Zhang Yimou. The film was a phenomenal success in most of Asia and topped the U.S. box office for two weeks, making enough in the U.S. alone to cover the production costs.
The recent era has seen the "return of the amateur filmmaker"( Jia Zhangke , director of Xiao Wu and Unknown Pleasures) as state censorship policies has produced an edgy underground film movement loosely referred to as the sixth generation (from the number of generations since the '49 revolution). These films are shot quickly and cheaply which produces a documentary feel: long takes, hand held camera, ambient sound (see cinema verite). Many films are joint ventures and projects with international investment.