THE WILD, WILD ROSE (YE MEI GUI ZHI LIAN)
Director: Wong Tin-lam. 134 minutes. HONG KONG. 1960. Language: Chinese mandarin. b&w. 4K restoration
The screening will be introduced by Professor Chris Berry.
One of the finest films in the history of Hong Kong cinema, a musical noir where cigarette smoke becomes a character itself. Director Wong Tin-lam’s expressionistic sets and high-contrast black-and-white cinematography, combined with a sophisticated use of music, revives the 1940s-50s songstress films with a modern edge. Jazz, blues and Western opera are woven into popular songs by Japanese composer Hattori R. Grace Chang stars as the tempestuous nightclub singer nicknamed ‘Wild Rose’ who seduces a pianist, falling fatally in love. Her sensual rendition of a song adapted from Bizet’s Carmen still mesmerizes.
(Notes: Hong Kong Film Archive)
