Dear Colleagues,
Cambria Press is proud to announce the publication of The Sinophone Cinema of Hou Hsiao-hsien: Culture, Style, Voice, and Motion by Christopher Lupke (Washington State University). Dr. Lupke was one of the few allowed on the set of The Assassin, and he covers this latest film of Hou’s in his book.
This book is in the Cambria Sinophone World Series, headed by Dr. Victor Mair (University of Pennsylvania), and the Cambria Contemporary Global Performing Arts Series, headed by Dr. John Clum (Duke University).
“Taiwanese film director Hou Hsiao-hsien’s body of work is marked by innovation, understated beauty, and the wonder and mystery of film art in its truest sense. Featuring rare interviews and sophisticated analysis, The Sinophone Cinema of Hou Hsiao-hsien by Christopher Lupke sheds light on Hou’s narrative innovations and aesthetic triumphs while, along the way, unlocking some of the mysteries lurking behind one of the greatest bodies of cinematic work ever produced.” – Michael Berry, Professor of Modern and Contemporary Chinese Cultural Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara; and author of A History of Pain and Speaking in Images
“The Sinophone Cinema of Hou Hsiao-Hsien provides comprehensive coverage, detailed contextualization, and insightful analysis from Hou’s earliest works to his most recent accomplishment. The narrative is particularly compelling because it weaves cultural and social contexts and filmic texts together, and it brings various formal elements (image, editing, language, music) to bear upon one another. The book also includes careful comparison with another East Asian auteur Ozu as well as delineating the creative synergy between Hou and his long-term collaborator, famed Taiwan writer, Zhu Tianwen. All done in a clear and accessible prose, Lupke’s book is a significant addition to the world of Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s cinema that will continue to fascinate and illuminate us for many years to come.” – Guo-juin Hong, Associate Professor of Chinese and Cinema Studies, Duke University; and author of Taiwan Cinema: A Contested Nation on Screen
“Lupke’s comprehensive and original study … excavates the literary inspirations of Hou’s filmmaking, showing how Wu Nianzhen, Shen Congwen, and especially Zhu Tianwen shape his philosophy and aesthetic. Lupke also compares Hou Hsiao-hsien with Ozu Yasujiro, illuminating the distinct ethical and stylistic attributes of these two major Asian directors. In Lupke’s convincing account, the anti-filial behaviors of their characters, which have attracted little critical attention, are the key to understanding their shared concern for the visible dissolution of the family in the modern world. In addition to its lucid analysis, this book contextualizes the filmmaking history of Hou in ways that illustrate the cultural and political significance of studying Taiwan Cinema in a global context. Written in a fluent, eloquent, and jargon-free style, Lupke’s book will appeal to general readers as well as East Asian Studies and film students interested in Sinophone cinema.” – Hsiu-Chuang Deppman, Associate Professor of Chinese and Cinema Studies, Oberlin College; and author of Adapted for the Screen: The Cultural Politics of Modern Chinese Fiction and Film
”The Sinophone Cinema of Hou Hsiao-hsien is an informative, engaging, and insightful exploration of the cinema of one of the world’s greatest living film directors. Serving both as an excellent comprehensive introduction to the filmmaker and as a series of in-depth readings, this book covers the full range of Hou’s work, focusing in particular on some of his landmark films from each stage of his career. Writing clearly and elegantly, Christopher Lupke strikes a careful balance between explicating Hou’s stylistic innovations and providing detailed context for his films’ stories and themes from Chinese and Taiwanese cultural and political history. Lupke perceptively relates Hou’s films to both literary and cinematic antecedents.” – Jason McGrath, Associate Professor of Chinese and Cinema Studies, University of Minnesota; and author of Postsocialist Modernity: Chinese Cinema, Literature, and Criticism in the Market Age
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Note on Romanization
Chapter 1. The Odyssey of Hou Hsiao-hsien: An Overview
Chapter 2. Zhu Tianwen and the Sotto Voce of Gendered Expression in Summer at Grandpa’s
Chapter 3. Comparing Hou Hsiao-hsien and Ozu Yasujiro: Anti-Filial Conduct and the Emergence of Individual Identity
Chapter 4. The Muted Interstices of Testimony: A City of Sadness and the Predicament of Multiculturalism
Chapter 5. Time and Teleology in Hou’s Films of Quest and Disillusionment
Chapter 6. What is Said and Left Unsaid in Hou Hsiao-hsien’s Period Adaptations: Flowers of Shanghai and The Assassin
Chapter 7. Interviews and Dialogues with Hou Hsiao-hsien
Chinese Character Glossary
Filmography
Bibliography
Index
Read excerpts from the book and the author interview.
This book will be launched at this week’s AAS conference in Seattle. See the book at the Cambria Press booth (#600) in the book exhibit hall. Dr. Christopher Lupke will be speaking at the Cambria Sinophone World Series event on Saturday (April 2) at 7:30 p.m.. Buy the book from Amazon, which is offering free shipping.