The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Department of Cultural and Religious Studies

CURE2030/UGEC2241
Hong Kong Cinema
香港電影
(Tentative)
Lecturer Dr. Li Mei-ting
Contact Room 311, Leung Kau Kui Building
Tel: 3943-5483
E-mail:meitingli@cuhk.edu.hk (consultation is by
appointment)
Time slot Thursday 10:30 am – 12:15 pm
Venue Lecture –LSK 302
T01 –LSK 302; T02–LSK 206

Course Description

This course aims to introduce students to a wide range of films from Hong Kong cinema
through comprehensive study from three major perspectives: aesthetics, industrial production,
and cultural politics. This course concerns how Hong Kong cinema illuminates the way we
understand cinema as both an art form and a cultural product on the one hand, and the way
these films intersect cultural politics in different socio-cultural contexts on the other.

It takes a decolonizing approach and uses a range of critical frameworks to understand how the
study of Hong Kong cinema can enchant the understanding of the intersection between Hong
Kong cinema and other regional films; the structure and development of the film industry of
Hong Kong and its cultural production; the representation politics and the practice of everyday
life; and the constitution of cultural identities that problematize norms.

Learning Outcomes
• Trace and Recognise the historical and theoretical development of a wide range of
Hong Kong cinemas
• Understand and analysis the cinematic articulation and representation of film in terms
of film aesthetic, representation politics, production contexts, and cultural politics
• Employ a range of theoretical tools and methodologies to critically engage with
contemporary debates and issues in film studies and critical theory
• Critically reflect on and theorise the film culture of Hong Kong in contemporary
socio-cultural circumstances.

Course Components & Learning activities

• Lectures
• Discussion panel and screening
• Tutorials

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Course Content

Part 1 Introduction: Mapping Hong Kong Cinema

Lesson 1 –3

Readings: • Bordwell and Kristin (2013), Chapter 4 “the Power of Mise-

en-scene”
• Stuart Hall, “The Work of Representation”
• Sheldon Lu. “Commentary: Dimensions of Hong Kong
Cinema,” in A Companion to Hong Kong Cinema. Newark:
John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2015, pp. 116–120.
• Fan, Victor. “What Is Hong Kong Cinema?”
Extraterritoriality: Locating Hong Kong Cinema and Media,
Edinburgh University Press, 2019, pp. 36–69.
Selected films:
• In the Face of Demolition 危樓春曉 (Li Tie, 1953)
• The Love Eterne 梁山伯與祝英台 (LI Han-Hsiang, 1963)
• Tragedy of the Poet King 李後主 (Lee Sun Fung, 1968)
• Gragon Inn 龍門客棧 (King Hu, 1967)

Part 2 Hong Kong Cinema by Genres: Representation and Cultural politics

Lesson 4 –9
Wuxia and Kungfu

Required Reading: David Desser, “Making Movies Male,” (Pang & Wong 2005)
葉曼丰：〈身體符號學〉、〈男性神話〉，見葉曼丰著、譚以諾
譯：《武俠電影與香港現代性》，香港：手民出版社，2020 年。

Selected films:《獨臂刀》／《黃飛鴻》

Crime and Gangsters

Required Reading: Tony Williams, “Space, Place, and Spectacle: The Crisis Cinema of
John Woo” Cinema Journal 36, no. 2 (1997): 67–84.
Stephen Teo, “Nucleus of the Milky Way,” Director in Action: Johnnie
To and the Hong Kong Action Film, pp. 65-100.

Selected films:《英雄本色》／《三人行》

The City Maze and the Hong Kong Horror

Required Reading: Cheung, Esther M.K. “The Urban Maze.” A Companion to Hong Kong
Cinema. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2015. 51–70.
Huang, Erin Y. “Post-Socialism in Hong Kong: Zone Urbanism and
Marxist Phenomenology.” Urban Horror. United States: Duke
University Press, 2020.

Selected films:《瘋劫》／《三更 2 之餃子》／《殭屍》

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Gendered Script and Queer Cinema

Required Reading: 游靜：〈東方不敗與金枝玉葉的性及性別政治〉，《性／別光影：

香港電影中的性與性別文化研究》，香港：香港電影評論學會，
2005 年。
林松輝：〈旅行中的性相：王家衛的《春光乍洩》〉，載林松輝
著、陳瑄譯：《膠卷同志：當代中華電影中之男同性戀再現》
（香港：手民出版社，2021 年），頁 163－199。
Zoran Lee Pecic, “Crossing Time and Space: Female Desire in Yan
Yan Mak’s Butterfly,” New Queer Sinophone Cinema, London:
Palgrave Macmillan, 2016, pp. 43-62.

Selected films:《蝴蝶》／《春光乍洩》

Positioning and independent film I: Independent films

Required Reading: Kenny K.K. Ng, “Introduction Hong Kong Independent Cinema in the
Post-Handover Era,” Ex-position (Taipei), 2019.12, pp.71 – 74.
Nicole Kempton, “Performing the Margins: Locating Independent
Cinema in Hong Kong” (Cheung, Marchetti & Tan, 2011)

Selected film:《哭喪女》／《大藍湖》

Positioning and independent film II: Documentary

Required Reading: Chris Berry, “Hong Kong Watcher: Tammy Cheung and the Hong
Kong Documentary” (Louie 2010)
彭麗君：〈雨傘電影：香港電影再定義〉，《黃昏未晚：後九七香
港電影（增訂本）》，香港：香港中文大學出版社，頁 233-251。

Selected film:《中學》、《風景》

Part 3 (Re)Thinking film production: discourses and industry

Week 10 –13

From the Hong Kong New Wave to 1997

Required Reading: 卓伯棠：《香港新浪潮電影》（香港：天地圖書，2003 年），頁

1-28。
彭麗君：〈陳果電影的香港主體〉，《黃昏未晚：後九七香港電影
（增訂本）》，香港：香港中文大學出版社，頁 21-42。

Selected films:《烈火青春》／《香港製造》

Post-1997 I: Nostalgia and melodrama

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 Required Reading: Natalia Chan Sui Hung, “Rewriting History: Hong Kong Nostalgia
Cinema and Its Social Practice” (Fu & Desser 2000)
Ewa Mazierska and Laura Rascaroli, “Trapped in the Present: Time in
the Films of Wong Kar-Wai,” Film Criticism, 25, no. 2
(Winter2000/2001): 2-20.

Selected films:《重慶森林》／《文雀》／《歲月神偷》

Post-1997 II: CEPA and Co-production

Required Reading: Emilie Yueh-yu Yeh and Shi-yan Chao, “Policy and Creative
Strategies: Hong Kong CEPA Films in the China Market”
Yiu-Wai Chu, Stephen. “Introduction: Main(Land) Melody Films
and Hong Kong Directors.” Main Melody Films. Edinburgh:
Edinburgh University Press, 2022. 1–28.

Selected films: 《桃姐》／《春嬌與志明》／《湄公河行動》／《九龍城寨之圍城》

Hong Kong Cinema as World Cinema?

Required Reading: Raechel Dumas, “Kung Fu Production for Global Consumption: The
Depoliticization of Kung Fu in Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle”
Style 43, no. 1, (Sp 2009): 65–85.
Leung, Grace L. K.. “Chapter 6: Hong Kong cinema: its story of
globalization,” Innovative and Creative Industries in Hong Kong : A
Global City in China and Asia, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018

Selected films: 《無間道》

、《功夫》

Assessment methods (scoring rubrics will be provided separately)

Class participation – 10%
Students are required to attend lectures and tutorials. Constructive and critical responses
to the presentations of your classmates will also be assessed.
Reflective worksheet & Discussion panels – 20%
Lecturer and tutor will lead the discussion on the required films and readings. Each
student will be given time to share their thought on selected part of the required texts
and/or readings.
Group project – 30%
Students should form themselves in a group of 3-4 members to conduct the group
project. Each group should consult their tutor on their project in advance with a one-
page bullet-point outline which concisely describes your planning for the project and
concepts and ideas to be applied. The criticality of this group project is highly treasure,
each group need to cite at least 2 weekly readings and/or reference that listed in this
course outline.
Final Essay – 40%
Students are required to write a term essay on selected world cinema with no more
than 5000 words in Chinese or no more than 12 pages double line spacing in English.
The criticality of this final paper is highly treasure, please cite at least 3-5 weekly
readings and/or reference that listed in this course outline.

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Grade Descriptors

Grade Overall course

A Outstanding performance on all learning outcomes.
A- Generally outstanding performance on all (or almost all) learning outcomes.
B* Substantial performance on all learning outcomes, OR high performance on some learning
outcomes which compensates for less satisfactory performance on others, resulting in
overall substantial performance.
C* Satisfactory performance on the majority of learning outcomes, possibly with a few
weaknesses.
D* Barely satisfactory performance on a number of learning outcomes
F Unsatisfactory performance on a number of learning outcomes, OR failure to meet
specified assessment requirements.

Reference list
Abbas Hong Kong: Culture and the Politics of Disappearance, Hong Kong: HKU press, 1997.
Bettinson, Gary et al. Hong Kong Horror Cinema. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press,
2018.
Bordwell, David. Planet Hong Kong: Popular Cinema and The Art of Entertainment.
Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2000.
Cheung, Esther M. K, Marchetti, Gina, and Yau, Esther C. M. A Companion to Hong Kong
Cinema. Wiley Blackwell Companions to National Cinemas. Newark: John Wiley &
Sons, Incorporated, 2015.
Cheung, Esther M. K., et al. Hong Kong Screenscapes: From the New Wave to the Digital
Frontier. Hong Kong University Press, HKU, 2011.
Fan, Victor. Extraterritoriality: Locating Hong Kong Cinema and Media. Edinburgh University
Press, 2019.
Huang, Erin Y. (Erin Yu-Tien). Urban Horror : Neoliberal Post-Socialism and the Limits of
Visibility. Durham: Duke University Press, 2020.
Morris, Meaghan, et al., editors. Hong Kong Connections: Transnational Imagination in Action
Cinema. Hong Kong University Press, 2005
Pang, Laikwan and Day Wong (ed.) Masculinities and Hong Kong Cinema. Hong Kong: Hong
Kong University Press, 2005.
Stephen Teo, Director in Action: Johnnie To and the Hong Kong Action Films. Hong Kong: Hong
Kong University Press, 2007.
Stokes, Lisa Odham, and Michael Hoover. City on Fire: Hong Kong Cinema. London; New
York: Verso, 1999.
Yau, Esther C.M. (ed.) At Full Speed: Hong Kong Cinema in a Borderless World. Minneapolis:
University of Minnesota Press, 2001.
Yiu-Wai Chu, Stephen. Main Melody Films : Hong Kong Directors in Mainland China.
Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2022.
Stephen Chan Ching-Kiu, “The Fighting Condition in Hong Kong Cinema: Local Icons and
Cultural Antidotes for the Global Popular,” in Hong Kong Connections: Transnational
Imagination in Action Cinema, pp.63–80.
Shu-mei Shih, “After National Allegory” Visuality and identity: Sinophone articulations
across the Pacific. Berkeley: University of California Press. 2007.
Stephen Teo, “The ‘Missing’ Female Knight-errant in Hong Kong Action Cinema 1965–1971:
Back in Critical Action,” Journal of Chinese Cinemas 4, no. 2 (2010): 143–154.

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胡金銓：《胡金銓武俠電影作法》，香港：正文社，1998 年。
羅卡、吳昊、卓伯棠：《香港電影類型論》，香港︰牛津大學出版社，1997 年。
陳耀成：《從新浪潮到後現代》，香港：香港電影評論學會，2001 年。
何思穎，何慧玲編：《劍嘯江湖 : 徐克與香港電影》，香港： 香港電影資料館，2002 年。
卓伯棠：《香港新浪潮電影》，香港：天地圖書，2003 年。
彭麗君：《黃昏未晚：後九七香港電影（增訂版） 》，香港：香港中文大學出版社，2018
年。
張偉雄、周思中：《製造香港：本土獨立紀錄片初探》，香港：香港電影評論學會，
2011 年。
游靜：《性／別光影：香港電影中的性與性別文化研究》，香港：香港電影評論學會，
2005 年。
游靜：《天堂春夢：二十世紀香港電影史論》，台灣：聯經出版社，2024 年。
張鐵樑、譚以諾編：《在地而立：香港獨立電影節 2008-2017》，香港：手民出版社，
2017 年。
譚以諾、李佩然、吳國坤：《香港獨立電影圖景：訪問評論集》，香港：手民出版社，
2018 年。
張美君著、蕭桓編：《幻魅都市：張美君博士香港電影研究論文集》，香港：手民出版
社，2022 年。
林松輝著、陳瑄譯：《膠卷同志：當代中華電影中之男同性戀再現》，香港：手民出版
社，2021 年。
葉曼丰著、譚以諾譯：《武俠電影與香港現代性》，香港：手民出版社，2020 年。
魏時煜：〈香港的獨立紀錄之旅〉，《製造香港──本土獨立紀錄片初探》，香港：香港電
影評論學會，頁 16-56。

Academic honesty and plagiarism

Attention is drawn to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to
the disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and
regulations. Details may be found at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/.

With each assignment, students will be required to submit a signed declaration that they are
aware of these policies, regulations, guidelines and procedures.

• In the case of group projects, all members of the group should be asked to sign the
declaration, each of whom is responsible and liable to disciplinary actions, irrespective
of whether he/she has signed the declaration and whether he/she has contributed,
directly or indirectly, to the problematic contents.

• For assignments in the form of a computer-generated document that is principally text-

based and submitted via VeriGuide, the statement, in the form of a receipt, will be
issued by the system upon students’ uploading of the soft copy of the assignment.

• Students are fully aware that their work may be investigated by AI content detection
software to determine originality.

• Students are fully aware of the AI approach(es) adopted in the course. In the case where
some AI tools are allowed, students have made proper acknowledgment and citations

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 as suggested by the course teacher.

Assignments without a properly signed declaration will not be graded by teachers.

Only the final version of the assignment should be submitted via VeriGuide.

The submission of a piece of work, or a part of a piece of work, for more than one purpose
(e.g. to satisfy the requirements in two different courses) without declaration to this effect
shall be regarded as having committed undeclared multiple submissions. It is common and
acceptable to reuse a turn of phrase or a sentence or two from one’s own work; but wholesale
reuse is problematic. In any case, agreement from the course teacher(s) concerned should be
obtained prior to the submission of the piece of work.

The copyright of the teaching materials, including lecture notes, assignments and examination
questions, etc., produced by staff members/ teachers of The Chinese University of Hong Kong
(CUHK) belongs to CUHK. Students may download the teaching materials produced by the
staff members/ teachers from the Learning Management Systems, e.g. Blackboard, adopted
by CUHK for their own educational use, but shall not distribute/ share/ copy the materials to
a third-party without seeking prior permission from the staff members/ teachers concerned.

All use of AI tools is prohibited in assignments and assessment tasks

For assignments and assessment tasks that count towards the final course grades, students are
not allowed to submit work which is produced with the collaboration of or supported by the
use of any generative AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT)*.

Any breach of the regulations will be considered an act of academic dishonesty and will be
handled according to the University’s Procedures for Handling Cases of Academic Dishonesty.
In case of queries, students should seek advice from the course teacher.