foreign film
Australia’s film industry has always been a little unstable. From the decline of Australian-made films in the inter-war period to the increased arts funding by the liberal government of John Gorton, the industry seems to travel in peaks and troughs much more than the American industry. Indeed, the fierce competition from American-made movies no doubt contributes to the infrequency of big-selling Aussie flicks.
This is a continuation of “Beyond Hollywood’s Mafia” with more great gangster films from around the world. There’s a rich tapestry in this field to draw from, as films influence filmmakers, writers and directors making more and more fascinating movies about crime. Some directors may have already appeared in the first list, but all these titles are new and differ, one way or another from the first installment, enjoy!
Nowadays it’s fair to say “gangster films” are in a league of their own, no longer thought of as sub-genre of the action film. Thus freeing them to operate on an entirely new frequency in the model created by earlier classics such as The Godfather or Goodfellas. These movies are indeed classic but have you ever thought about organized crime outside of the United States?
The Hong Kong New Wave of the late 1970’s had diverted, and the benefit of this diversion was the short-lived, but prolific Cinema City in 1980. Founded by comedians Alan Mak and Wong Jin, Cinema City would be the jumping point for some of Hong Kong’s most prestigious directors. John Woo, Ringo Lam, Tsui Hark, Eric Tsang, Ronny Yu, and Johnnie To found their way into the film business through Cinema City; these filmmakers would make some of the most innovative and energetic films ever.
This article is part of a series on the history of Hong Kong action cinema – find the other parts here. The 1960’s and 70’s are probably the most pivotal time regarding the growth of Hong Kong action films. The Martial Arts craze would take shape as the Shaw Brothers become the foremost authority regarding the kung-fu craze that would follow in the wake of their massive quantity of quality movies.
One question that I am always trying to answer throughout this series is “what makes Hong Kong cinema so distinctive and great?”. Well, this stage of Hong Kong’s cultural evolution is vital concerning the film business and its multifaceted ability to make highly entertaining movies.
Around the 1930s, Hong Kong was going through a period of change during the devastating war years and Japanese occupation. In this installment of the History of Hong Kong Action Cinema series, we won’t be digging into that many movies, but this time marks a serious change in the blossoming movie business in Hong Kong. As a result the deflation of the Shanghai-based studios and their film crews migration would prove to be a tremendous asset to Hong Kong’s future as one of the leading film markets in years to come.
When I was young my Uncle Fred was our gateway to cool movies at a young age. He would babysit my brother and I, and going to the video store (yes, VHS) was the high point of the evening. After running the gamut of classic R rated action, and horror films we landed on the iconic movies of Bruce Lee.
Every time you look for new horror movies the same ten titles show up. The Shining, Jaws, The Exorcist, The Haunting, Psycho, Nightmare on Elm Street, Alien, Halloween, The Ring, and Night of the Living Dead. Not to say that these aren’t great films, they’re on the best lists for a reason; they’re classics!
There are a million great films outside the U.S, it’s just you haven’t seen them. Good fortune smiles on you today because I’m here to show 15 foreign flicks you should have seen a long time ago.