Hong Kong New Wave


The Hong Kong New Wave is a film movement in Chinese-language Hong Kong cinema that emerged in the late 1970s and lasted through the early 2000s until the present time.

Origins of the movement

The Hong Kong New Wave started in 1979 with the release of numerous notable films. During the 1980s, the Hong Kong film industry began to flourish. Film emerged as the most popular form of entertainment in Hong Kong, in part because many Chinese households did not have a TV at the time. Many of the New Wave directors had a Western-style education and were influenced by western filmmaking and culture. The films of the Hong Kong New Wave were not stylistically homogenous, rather the term was used to mark the distinction of a new generation of filmmakers. Films of the Hong Kong New Wave utilized new technology and techniques such as synchronous sound, new editing techniques, and filming movies on location.

First Wave and Second Wave

The Hong Kong New Wave is considered to have two distinct periods. The first period, also called the "Hong Kong New Wave" or alternatively called the "First Wave", began in the late 1970s and lasted into the mid to late 1980s. The second period, called the "Second New Wave", is considered to have begun in 1984. Directors of the Second New Wave include Stanley Kwan, Wong Kar-wai, Mabel Cheung, Alex Law, Fruit Chan, Peter Chan, and Tammy Cheung.

''First Wave''

Cops and Robbers The Secret The Butterfly Murders The Spooky Bunch We're Going to Eat You Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind The Sword Father and Son Love Massacre The Club All the Wrong Clues for the Right Solution The Story of Woo Viet The Imp Boat People Lonely Fifteen Nomad Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain Health Warning Ah Ying Hong Kong, Hong Kong Homecoming Love in a Fallen City

''Second Wave''

The Illegal Immigrant A Better Tomorrow Love Unto Waste An Autumn's Tale Rouge As Tears Go By Days of Being Wild Cageman Chungking Express Fallen Angels Happy Together Made in Hong Kong

Notable directors