HOLLYWOOD CHINESE

Directed By Arthur Dong

Review By Shane Morton

Some films you should be forced to see.  Hollywood Chinese definitely falls into this category.  Under the direction of award winning Documentarian Arthur Dong, Hollywood Chinese enlightens us about the Chinese experience in film.  With interviews from Nancy Kwan, Amy Tan, James Hong, Joan Chen, Lisa Lu, David Henry Wang, Ang Lee and Justin Lin to name a few, speak about their good and bad experiences in the film industry as well as their take on what history has to say on film.  Christopher Lee and the amazing Luise Ranier contribute their experiences of playing “yellowface” on film.

Dong has unearthed some spectacular films, from the first Chinese-American made Asian film, CURSE OF QUON GWAN (1916) Directed by Marion Wong to THE GOOD EARTH, FLOWER DRUM SONG and THE JOY LUCK CLUB.  As well as clips from the 1900 early silent film THE BEHEADING OF THE CHINESE PRISONER, the exploitive FU MANCHU and CHARLIE CHAN series of films provide the other side of American Chinese filmmaking.

Look in our interview section shortly for an interview done with Arthur Dog at AFI-LA.  The interview was eye opening, as we spoke about Mickey Rooney’s turn in “yellowface” in the beloved film BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S.  And the reasons why he believes it has been perceived as OK by the Hollywood community for so long. 

These reasons are explored in the film also.  Dong, is a fantastic filmmaker and you could see that he truly enjoyed making this film.  It is a homecoming for him and well deserved.   Do yourself a favor and explore the subject with Dong.  You will truly love the experience!