The Wenhua Film Company, one of the two important production companies formed by left-leaning film-makers in the city, also contributed some of the masterpieces of the era. The Spring River Flows East, a three-hour-long two-parter which depicts the struggles of ordinary Chinese folks during the Sino-Japanese war, was immensely popular during its time, making social and political references to the period. Myriads of Lights (1948), Crows and Sparrows (1949), San Mao (1949), and, most importantly, The Spring River Flows East (1947) are the classics produced during this period. Many showed the disillusionment with the oppressive rule of Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist Party. A major Chinese production house, the Lianhua Company, re-established itself in Shanghai after the war and once again became the basis for leftist directors. The film industry continued to develop after 1945. The Second Golden Age: the late 1940s, and the Communist Era All production companies except Xinhua closed shop, and many of the filmmakers fled Shanghai, relocating in Hong Kong, Communist- and Nationalist-controlled regions, and elsewhere. The Japanese invasion of China, in particular their occupation of Shanghai, ended this golden run in Chinese cinema. Other major films of the period include Song of the Fishermen (1934), Crossroads (1937), and Street Angel (1937). The period also produced the first big Chinese movie stars, namely Hu Die, Ruan Lingyu, Zhou Xuan, and Jin Yan. The post-1930 era is called the first "golden period" of Chinese cinema, where several talented directors, mainly leftist, worked. During this time the Kuomintang struggled for power and control over the major studios, and their influence can be seen in the ensuing films produced. The first truly important Chinese films were produced starting from the 1930s, when the "progressive" or "left-wing" films were made, like Cheng Bugao's Spring Silkworms (1933), Sun Yu's The Big Road (1935), and Wu Yonggang's The Goddess (1934). For the next decade the production companies were mainly foreign-owned, and the domestic film industry did not start in earnest until 1916, centering around Shanghai, a thriving entrepot center and the largest city in the Far East then.ĭuring the 1920s film technicians from the United States trained Chinese technicians in Shanghai, and American influence continued to be felt there for the next two decades. The first Chinese film, a recording of the Beijing Opera, The Battle of Dingjunshan, was made in November 1905. The first recorded screening of a motion picture in China occurred in Shanghai on August 11, 1896, as an "act" on a variety bill. Motion pictures were introduced to China in 1896. The cinema of Mainland China after 1949 has grown up somewhat suppressed by the Communist regime until recent times, although certain Chinese films are still being routinely censored or banned there but allowed to be played abroad. While an increase in overseas box office revenue generated by Chinese movies has been noted, there is a vast margin of difference between the revenues generated in the homeland compared to abroad.The history of Chinese film has three separate threads of development: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. This was relatively higher than previous years when imported movies made up for a considerable share of box office revenues. Of the overall box office revenue earned within China in 2022, domestic productions accounted for 85 percent. The number of film tickets sold across China has grossed over one billion in pre-pandemic time but shrinked to 712 million in 2022. The leading movie theatre chains in China received over a hundred million visitors every year. As of 2021, about 82 thousand cinema screens were housed in over 12 thousand movie theatres across the nation. Much like the United States, China has a booming film industry that in 2021 was ranked the largest in the world in terms of gross box office revenue. Wanda Cinema Line was leading the market with a box office revenue of almost 5.2 billion yuan in 2022, followed by China Digifilm Cinemas with 2.4 billion yuan. China has invested heavily in its film and cinema industry to cater to the needs of movie buffs and before the pandemic in 2019, there were about 50 theater chains in China. Watching films is a widely enjoyed form of recreation with several technological advancements having occurred over the years.
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