Taiwan was able to solidly build and sustain a film industry only after
locally-produced Mandarin films secured markets in Hong Kong and
Southeast Asia during the 1960s and 1970s. Though only a small island
with a limited population, in its heyday, Taiwan was among the top-10
film producing countries/areas in the world, turning out hundreds of
martial arts kung fu films and romantic melodramas annually that were
screened in theaters across Southeast Asia and other areas
internationally. However, except for one acclaimed film by director King
Hu, Taiwan cinema was nearly invisible on the art cinema map until the
1980s, when the films of Hou Hsiao-hsien, Edward Yang, and other Taiwan
New Cinema directors gained recognition at international film festivals,
first in Europe, and later, throughout the world. Since then, many other
Taiwan directors have also become an important part of cinema history,
such as Ang Lee and Tsai Ming-liang. The Historical Dictionary of Taiwan
Cinema covers the history of cinema in Taiwan during both the Japanese
colonial period (1895-1945) and the Chinese Nationalist period
(1945-present). This is accomplished through a chronology highlighting
the main events during the long period and an introduction which
carefully analyses the progression. The bulk of the information,
however, appears in a dictionary section including over a hundred very
extensive entries on directors, producers, performers, films, film
studios and genres. Photos are also included in the dictionary section.
More information can be found through the bibliography. Taiwan cinema is
truly unique and this book is a good place to find out more about it,
whether you are a student, or teacher, or just a fan.
