Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009
Lose Yourself in Celluloid History
Hidden in a honeycomb of middle-class high-rises is the Hong Kong Film Archive, one of the Special Administrative Region's (and Asia's) greatest visual treasures. From the Edison Company's 1898 shorts of sedan chairs and other Hong Kong street scenes to the animated misadventures of the beloved cartoon pig McDull, the center has over 3,000 movies from the legendary Hong Kong film industry. You can peruse the collection at audiovisual booths for just $6.50 a day, or catch weekend screenings of rarely seen features like John Woo's gorgeous 1975 adaptation of the Cantonese opera Princess Chang Ping — who knew he had a soft side? There's more to Hong Kong cinema than triads and kung fu kicks. (O.K., we like those too.)
— By Tim Kindseth