April DVD Spotlight: The Cinema of China and Hong Kong

For this month's DVD spotlight, we're heading across the globe to celebrate the cinematic output of China and Hong Kong.  While both mainland China and the former British colony of Hong Kong had distinctive film industries for much of the 20th century, it was only in recent decades that films from these industries gained international prominence.  The energy and style of directors like John Woo, Tsui Hark, and Wong Kar-Wai led to a boom in popularity among Hong Kong films in the 1980s and 1990s, while at the same time China's "Fifth Generation" of directors, such as Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige, drew global acclaim for their work.  We've got a wide variety of films from this period and later, spanning a range of genres.

Featured titles include:

Chungking Express (1994)
A pair of intertwined love stories unfold against the backdrop of a bustling Hong Kong shopping center in this celebrated gem from Wong Kar-Wai.

Farewell My Concubine (1993)
This exquisite historical drama follows two orphans who spend their lives as performers in the Peking Opera.

Hard Boiled (1992)
A die-hard Hong Kong cop teams up with an undercover agent to bring down a mob of smugglers in John Woo's influential shoot-'em-up classic, arguably the best action film ever made.

In the Mood for Love (2000)
This gorgeous, swooningly romantic period drama, directed by the great Wong Kar-Wai, chronicles the relationship between two neighbors who realize their spouses are having an extramarital affair.

Infernal Affairs (2002)
In this stylish thriller that inspired the Oscar-winning gangster film The Departed, a cat-and-mouse game ensues when an undercover cop infiltrates the mob, only to discover that the mob may have a mole within the police.

Shower (1999)
In this winning comedy, a successful businessman returns home and develops a new appreciation for the traditional bath house run by his family.

To Live (1994)
This sweeping historical epic, from acclaimed director Zhang Yimou, depicts a family's struggle to survive across four decades of tumult and social change in 20th-century China.

Stop by the library and check one out today!