Yuen Woo Ping's Wing Chun (The new Hong Kong cinema series)

Yuen Woo Ping's kung fu comedy based on the legendary female character Wing Chun is a landmark of action choreography and heroic womanhood in Chinese cinema. This book explores Wing Chun's narrative representation of femininity and the martial arts genre, its history, traditions and cultural influences. While studio-made Hong Kong genre cinema has stressed action over narrative, Wing Chun offers a more egalitarian gender imaginary rooted in Daoist and Buddhist thought. The book provides new insights on the non-linear cinematic storytelling of the film. This is the first in-depth study of the work of Yuen Woo Ping, the well-known Hong Kong film director and action choreographer who achieved international recognition as an action choreographer of films such as The Matrix; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; and Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Volumes 1 & 2. Wing Chun_contents Yuen Woo Ping’s Wing Chun 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Series Preface 8 Acknowledgements 12 1. Yuen Woo Ping and the Art of Empowering Female Characters 14 2. Structuring the Narrative: Becoming “Wing Chun” 36 3. The Power of Female Action 54 4. The Universe of Yuen Woo Ping 80 5. Re-thinking Conceptual Tools, Re-framing Imaginary Solutions 122 Notes 134 Filmography 146 Bibliography 150