Overview

"After graduating from the Beijing Film Academy in 1982, directors like Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou revolutionized Chinese cinema with Red Sorghum, Farewell My Concubine, Yellow Earth, Raise the Red Lantern, and other international successes. Memoirs from the Beijing Film Academy tells the riveting story of this class of 1982, China's famous ""Fifth Generation"" of filmmakers. It is the first insider's account of this renowned cohort to appear in English. Covering these directors' formative experiences during China's tumultuous Cultural Revolution and later at the Beijing Film Academy, Ni Zhen--who was both their screenwriter and teacher--provides unique insights into the origins of the Fifth Generation's creativity. Memoirs from the Beijing Film Academy illuminates the Fifth Generation in light of the social and political history of contemporary China. While it addresses the collective identity of the filmmakers, most of whom were born in the late forties or early fifties, it also examines how they view themselves and relate to one another. Ni Zhen has supplemented his personal knowledge of these directors with new interviews conducted for this volume.Intervening in current debates, he argues against mistaken ""postcolonial"" criticisms which allege that these filmmakers marketed an exotic image of China to Western audiences. He also demonstrates the diversity of the Fifth Generation, commenting on the breadth of styles and themes explored by its members, and introducing a range of male and female directors, cinematographers, and production designers famous in China but less well-known internationally. The book contains vivid descriptions of the production processes of two pioneering films--One and Eight and Yellow Earth. Memoirs from the Beijing Film Academy will be essential reading for international film enthusiasts as well as scholars of contemporary Chinese culture."

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9780822329701

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Reviews

... a rich compendium of information to be found nowhere else. It is not often one has such access to successful film directors during their school days. And it is rare indeed that one is given such important documents as Zhang's notes on the visual style of Yellow Earth. The book-- an indispensable guide for the Western Student of contemporary Chinese cinema-- also includes character lists for Chinese names and film titles, as well as full notes and index. --Donald Richie, Times Higher Education Supplement, 18 June 2004 Readers need not be familiar with Chinese film and history; via the fascinating and often amusing tales of their youth and academy exploits, they will be engaged. An excellent introduction to the Fifth Generation ... --Library Journal A thoroughly enjoyable combination of memoir entwined with film, social and political history by a professor from the prestigious Beijing Film Academy, which graduated the 1982 class known as the Fifth Generation. --Terry Hong, Push> (NAATA newsletter) Memoirs of the Beijing Film Academy is about an untold history, about why and how a generation of young men and women were able to produce an impressive repertoire. The book is delightful and informative; Ni Zhen tells the story as if it were about his own children and friends. The translator of the book, Chris Berry, is a well-known scholar of new Chinese cinema who spent several years in China as a translator for China Screen before teaching in Australia and then at Berkeley. It is obvious that the pleasure he gleaned from reading the book carried over into his translation, for he has made the English version as enchanting as the Chinese original. --S. Louisa Wei, Persimmon [A] welcome account ... [with] a wealth of historical detail provided on what is, in the English language, an underdocumented group of filmmakers. --Richard James Havis, Cineaste [E]xtremely valuable... Highly recommended. --J. M. Hargett, Choice Ni's detailed recollections of the early days offer illuminating insight into the foundations of Fifth Generation cinema and the beginnings of an artistic paradigm shift in China's fledgling post-Mao era. --Matthew Plouffe, Film Comment Sometimes poignant, sometimes sentimental, but ultimately triumphant, this colorfully written and elegantly translated book tells the stories of how the now famous Fifth Generation filmmakers began their respective journeys at the Beijing Film Academy (BFA). It bears witness to a crucial time of changes, transitions, and opportunities in recent Chinese history. It also eloquently frames this groundbreaking film movement in its political, cultural, and aesthetic contexts... Ni Zhen's writing is highly charged, engaging, personal, moving, and compelling. --Shujen Wang, Film Quarterly Ni Zhen's book provides us with an important document in studying the emergence of a movement whose historical significance will surely endure... --Mike Walsh, Metro Magazine [A] rich compendium of information to be found nowhere else. It is not often that one has such access to successful film directors during their school days. And it is rare indeed that one is given such important documents as Zhang's notes on the visual style of Yellow Earth... [A]n indispensable guide for the Western student of contemporary Chinese cinema. --Donald Richie, Japan Times [An] accessible and entertaining account of the backgrounds of these young filmmakers whose lives were altered by the Cultural Revolution. --Stephanie DeBoer, The China Journal The author's involvement in the process (the translator also worked in the Beijing film industry in the 1980s), his knowledge of the aesthetic politics of student shoots, his willingness to share detail, and his absolute support for the people involved commend the writing and the nature of this book. --Stephanie Hemelryk Donald, Asian Studies Review [F]ascinating... [A]n insider's view of the 'pre-history' of the most important development in Chinese cinema since the 1930s. Ni Zhen and Chris Berry should be congratulated on bringing this fascinating story to wider attention. --Paul Clark, The China Review [A] rich compendium of information to be found nowhere else... The book--an indispensable guide for the Western student of contemporary Chinese cinema--also includes character lists for Chinese names and film titles, as well as full notes and index. --Donald Richie, Times Higher Education Supplement This English translation of Ni's Memoirs is therefore a rich and much needed addition to the English-language field which, until now, has lacked a monograph on the Fifth Generation... Ni Zhen's unique memoirs are matched by a masterly translation. The translator, Chris Berry, is an outstanding western scholar of the Chinese cinema. [H]is translation ... communicates the readability, accessibility, accuracy and scholarship of the original... Memoirs from the Beijing Film Academy is mandatory reading for Chinese film scholars and students of the West and recommended reading for anyone interested in the field. --Mary Farquhar, Screening the Past Chris Berry was interviewed on KQED's Pacific Time about the book. The book was mentioned in the New York Times in an article on the legacy of the Beijing Film Academy. Listed in Asian Cinema Weekly, TLS Book Alert email, CHE, After Image, China Review International, Journal of Asian History. Reviewed in Italian in Marxismo Oggi

Ni Zhen was himself one of the educators of the Fifth Generation, so he has been able to give a full and accurate account of what happened then on the basis of his own first-hand evidence. He also gives a detailed scholarly analysis of the origins of the Fifth Generation and the particular conditions that produced this art movement. Reading his book not only gave me intellectual pleasure, but also took me back to those unforgettable times. -Chen Kaige, director of Farewell My Concubine and Yellow Earth Memoirs from the Beijing Film Academy: The Origins of China's Fifth Generation Filmmakers brings back memories for me. It tells the true story of how I moved from ignorance to full maturity along with a group of my peers. Everyone faces challenges of some sort in their youth. They become life's most beautiful memories. That means this is not just a book about film, but also a book about human life. Once youth is over it never returns, and so we treasure it in our hearts. Thank you, Professor Ni Zhen, for writing this inspiring book. -Zhang Yimou, director of Raise the Red Lantern, Ju Dou, and Not One Less

Author Information

Ni Zhen is a consultant to the Shanghai Film & TV Company and Visiting Professor at the Shanghai Theater Academy. He was Professor of Art Direction and Professor of Film Theory at the Beijing Film Academy, where he taught from 1980 to 2000. He has written screenplays for films including Raise the Red Lantern and Blush. Chris Berry is Associate Professor in the Program in Film Studies and the Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

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