Books on HK Film

There are more and more books out there on HK film. If you are looking on information on old school kick flix then you won't have too much luck, but more and more is becoming available about the recent industry.
The Best Example in my book is:

The Essential Guide to Hong Kong Movies
Rick Baker, Toby Russel - Eastern Heroes Publications - ISBN 1-899252-00-2
One of the best. Oh yeah, it has its flaws: missing movies, missing people but it has the best arrangement and the personalities directory in the back was worth the price of the book alone. And you can tell its written by people who like these films as much as you do.
Unfortunately this is out of print, although I have recently heard a rumor it was on its way back into print. Maybe if enough people nag Amazon.com they will carry it. No question, this is the best book of the list!

The rest of the pack...

From Bruce Lee to the Ninjas: Martial Arts Movies
Richard Meyers, Amy Harib, Bill and Karen Palmer - Citidel Press - ISBN 0-8065-1009-9
Decent overviews but... A lot of pages on Bruce Lee and Japanese Samuri stuff. Goodly amount of pictures and info but I found lots of mistakes and the literary emphasis is on cinematic development rather than who is in what and when.
Currently this book is out of print but to check if they have gotten it in stock, Click on the Amazon Logo.
Hong Kong Babylon: An Insider's Guide to the Hollywood of the East
Fredric Dannen, Barry Long - Miramax -
Hardback

Paperback
The book is interviews,lists, capsule profiles of HK film figures, filmographies, plot summaries, and a recommended viewing guide. There is a critics discussion etc.
Asian Cult Cinema
Thomas Weisser - Bolevard Books - ISBN 1-57297-228-9
What a piece of junk. It had excellent potential and I was excited to get it. Then I started reading...Picture captions are wrong, plot synopsis are wrong, people are listed in the wrong films...I'm going page by page for corrections and I'm not half done the book yet...The only saving grace is that the old school stuff in the back is not too terribly wrong... Avoid this at all costs!
Hong Kong Action Cinema
Bey Logan - The OverlookPress -ISBN 0-87951-663-1
Nice overview. Not in depth and not meant to be. I like it alot.
To Order it from Amazon, Click on the cover
Sex and Zen and a Bullet in the Head
Stefan Hammond & Mike Wilkins - Simon & Schuster - ISBN 0-684-80341-0
Not a bad book as such. This book is good to pick out rental stuff to watch. I don't always agree with them but hey at least their technical info is right!
To Order it from Amazon, Click on the cover
Oriental Cinema Magazine
Damon Foster - Draculina Publishing
An intermittent and irregular publication. He finds some amazing stuff. You may not agree with him, but there's lots of info in these if you can find them.
They actually have a website!!!Info on OC#14!
Asian Trash Cinema Magazine
Craig Ledbetter and Tom Weisser - ?
I don't know if they are still doing it in this form. I like this better than the book, although I still see lots of mistakes.
Coming Soon! Great Martial Arts Movies : From Bruce Lee to Jackie Chan and More
by Richard Meyers - Citadel Press - ISBN: 0806520264
To be out in January 2000.
Eastern Heroes Magazine
Rick Baker, Toby Russel - Eastern Heroes Publications
Do yourself a favor and find as many of these as you can. They are a drag to get outside the UK but the effort is worth it. The "Best of Eastern Heroes" ISBN 1-89-925201-0 is excellent!
Hong Kong Cinema : The Extra Dimensions
by Stephen Teo - British Film Inst; ISBN: 0851705146
Very Scholarly and dry. The thought of Chow Sing Chi as a post modernist hero was amusing but all in all not for the beginner and not for beach reading.
To Order it from Amazon, Click on the cover
Wong Kar Wai
by Jean-Marc Lalanne, David Martinez, Ackbar Abbas, Jimmy Ngai - Distributed Art Publishers; ISBN: 2906571679
Wong Kar Wai, the master of the HK "art" film. I haven't read this but I am not a real Wong Kar Wai fan so I'm not qualified to judge.
To Order it from Amazon, Click on the Amazon logo
Hollywood East: Hong Kong Movies and the People Who Make Them
by Stefan Hammond, Michelle Yeoh - Contemporary Books; ISBN: 0809225816
Stefan knows where of he speaks. Lots of fun reading. Not for the novice, really but the chapter titles alone are worth reading.
To order it from Amazon, Click on the cover
At the Hong Kong Movies: 600 Reviews from 1988 Till the Handover
by Paul Fonoroff - Odyssey Publications; ISBN: 9622176410
From the Amazon site..."Paul Fonoroff, one of Hong Kong's leading movie critics, has compiled 600 of his highly personal reviews from the last golden age of Hong Kong cinema into this easy-to-use volume for scholars, movie buffs and Hong Kong film aficionados alike."... Well Paul has his opinions alright. While it may seem like he hates everything, he really doesn't. His complaints are valid and his take on the movies is fairly different from the average fan. A good read.
To order it from Amazon, Click on the cover
City on Fire: Hong Kong Cinema
by Lisa Odham Stokes, Michael Hoover - Verso Books - ISBN: 1859842038
From the Amazon site "Donnie Yen, actor/director of Ballistic Kiss and Shangai Affairs As Hong Kong cinema has grown more popular worldwide, it's been the subject of various books. However, Lisa and Michael's is the first one to examine the phenomenon within a social and political context, and as such it's a very valuable and timely contribution to the subject. "
To order it from Amazon, Click on the cover

If you want to look for more Martial Arts Movie Books at Amazon.com

Author: Black Tauna blktauna @ shawstudios . com
Last Updated: 1-31 2001