FROM STAGE TO SCREEN : the legacy of traditional chinese theatre in chinese martial arts cinema... soundtracks

Chinese martial arts cinema is held to be a synthesis drawing on artistic conventions of traditional Chinese theatre. Film sound and music perform as the legitimate heirs of some of the aesthetic ideas and norms of traditional Chinese theatre. This book critically examines the history of this under-explored field of inquiry from a theoretically comparative perspective, demonstrating that the musical codes drawn from traditional theatre are a constantly changing component integral to Chinese martial arts cinema. It explores the interaction between traditional Chinese theatre and Chinese martial arts cinema in how the musical codes of the former have shaped the aesthetics of the latter uniquely. This departs from conventional existing studies that focus on “adaptation.” The book’s historical and theoretical approach connects film, theatre and music, and re-defines the status of distinctive domains of filmic expression, grounding theatre as the pivot – or “hinge” – of film aesthetics. The book proffers this unique angle of research to rethink and re-imagine film sound and audiovisual synchronisation. Primarily intended for scholars in Chinese cinema, film music, Chinese theatre and visual culture, this monograph also presents introductory and comprehensive material for undergraduate and graduate-level courses in film and media studies, film music, Chinese cinema, and Chinese theatre. Acknowledgements Contents 1 Introduction Abstract Where Sounds Fail, Opera Starts... Interdisciplinary Approaches in Chinese Cinema Studies Chapter Divisions Conclusion References 2 Musicking the Chinese Martial Arts Cinema Abstract The Establishment of “Silent Screen Opera” Peking Opera and Its Hybridization with Hong Kong’s Martial Arts Cinema The “New Wuxia Century” Movement and the Influence of Peking Opera References 3 Operatic Film Songs and Cross-Media Composing in Cantonese Martial Arts Cinema Abstract Pre-existing Music in Early Cantonese Martial Arts Films Poon Cheuk and his Original Operatic Film Songs References 4 Hearing the Theatre Through Four Moods (喜怒哀樂) (1970) Abstract An Examination of the Anger Episode Transformation and Interaction: Storytelling, Literature and Theatre Storytelling by Mimicry and Synchronization: The Legacy of Kouji San Cha Kou: From Theatre to Cinema Luo Gu Dian Zi in Synchronization—On Screen and On Stage References 5 Buddhism Manifested in Operatic Percussion in King Hu’s Raining in the Mountain (空山靈雨) (1979) Abstract Introduction King Hu as the “Auteur” The Blurred Distinction—Narrative Versus Additive Musicking the Buddhist Philosophy Journeying as Redemption, Body as Allegory The Thieves’ Journey to the Dead End Qiu Ming: The Incarnation of Xia Buddhist Salvation and Musically Glorified Body Conclusion References 6 Operatic Tradition and Its Transnational Refashioning: A Case Study of The Banquet (2006) Abstract Introduction The Bamboo Forest: Audiovisual Magic and Romanticized Violence Music as an Expression of Slow Motion Hearing Suspense The Climactic Fighting The Operatic Design of Percussive Sound Contextualized Non-diegetic Percussive Sound Conclusion References Epilogue References