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My local affiliate actually aired this last week, but the "official" airing looks to be May 27th.
From the website:
The 90-minute film illuminates a century of Chinese American cinematic history, from rare silent classics such as Marion Wong’s The Curse of Quon Gwon (1916) to the contemporary critical and commercial success of Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain (2005). Timed for broadcast during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, American Masters: Hollywood Chinese premieres nationally Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at 9 p.m. (ET) on PBS (check local listings). The film features a treasure trove of clips, punctuated with personal accounts from the movie industry’s most accomplished Chinese and Chinese American talent.
Hollywood Chinese - Introduction | American Masters | PBS
He was one of those people who would be neither a follower nor a leader, but only an aspiring heart, impatient in the failing body which imprisoned it. -- T. H. White, "The Once and Future King"
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Re: PBS's American Masters: Hollywood Chinese
Thanks for the tip!
"How wonderful it will be to have a leader unburdened by the twin horrors of knowledge and experience." -- Mr. Wick
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Re: PBS's American Masters: Hollywood Chinese
Yeah, definitely come back and discuss! I'm especially curious about something that's mentioned toward the end.
He was one of those people who would be neither a follower nor a leader, but only an aspiring heart, impatient in the failing body which imprisoned it. -- T. H. White, "The Once and Future King"
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Re: PBS's American Masters: Hollywood Chinese
Shocking to think that MGM didn't believe Anna May Wong was right for The Good Earth even after a screen test.
I would like to see The Toll of the Sea (1922) sometime. That and the movie shot in Oakland and Niles Canyon (near where I live) in 1916 by the two sisters.
I enjoyed this documentary but I am surprised it took two years to get it on the air (it was made in '07).
"That suits me down to the ground."
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Re: PBS's American Masters: Hollywood Chinese
Cam, what was the specific comment you were thinking of?
I found Joan Chen's comments interesting. I seem to remember back in the '80s that she *was* poised to break out as a star, then sorta dropped out of sight until Twin Peaks. I wondered about that at the time. I didn't see that trashy-looking SF flick with Rutger Hauer that she did.
Also interesting was the fact that Asian stars like Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-Fat get leading man roles in Hollywood while Asian-American actors don't seem to get the same opportunities. (Actresses may have it a little different -- are there male equivalents to Ming-Na Wen and Lucy Liu? As an aside, why did Ming-Na drop the "Wen?") My Asian-American friends are definitely more sensitive about stereotypical movie portrayals than my wife, who came to the US from China in her twenties. I have ABC friends who are still bitter about Long Duk Dong from
Sixteen Candles, but I suspect that she would probably find him hilarious. She was surprised at the uproar over that photo of the Spanish basketball team from the Beijing Olympics (where they pulled the corners of their eyes to look Chinese).
The footage of the argument at the Sundance screening of
Better Luck Tomorrow was great. I keep meaning to see that movie -- I guess now would be a good time!
"How wonderful it will be to have a leader unburdened by the twin horrors of knowledge and experience." -- Mr. Wick
- Joined: May 2002
- Post Count: 6,931
Re: PBS's American Masters: Hollywood Chinese
I was intrigued by the idea that "imports" like Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat et al, who never had to contend with a minority experience, have a degree of success (or lack of professional struggle) that Chinese Americans haven't had. It's interesting to ponder how much of the minority experience plays into that (e.g. effects on one's confidence and ambition), though I am leery of making it an excuse.
That Joan Chen and Rutger Hauer movie is available on Netflix. It's got some decent reviews despite what it may look like.
A few years ago I saw a similar documentary called "The Slanted Screen", which looked more at Asian American males in film and television. I don't know if that is readily available - I saw it at a film festival.
He was one of those people who would be neither a follower nor a leader, but only an aspiring heart, impatient in the failing body which imprisoned it. -- T. H. White, "The Once and Future King"
