Questions and Topics We Can Help You Answering; 

Films screened in class in entirety:
Fist of Fury (Dir. Lo Wei, starring Bruce Lee, 1972)
Rumble in the Bronx (Dir. Stanley Tong, starring Jackie Chan, 1995)
A Better Tomorrow (Dir. John Woo, starring Chow Yun-fat, 1986)
Infernal Affairs (Dir. Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, starring Andy Lau and Tony Leung Chiu-wai, 2002)


Additional list (film clips shown in class):
Dragon Gate Inn (Dir. King Hu, 1967)
One-Armed Swordsman (Dir. Chang Cheh, 1967)
Enter the Dragon (Dir. Robert Clouse, starring Bruce Lee, 1972)
Drunken Master (Dir. Yuen Woo-ping, starring Jackie Chan, 1978)
Once upon a Time in China (Dir. Tsui Hark, starring Jet Li, 1991)
Supercop (Dir. Stanley Tong, starring Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh, 1992)
Wing Chun (Dir. Yuen Woo-ping, starring Michelle Yeoh, 1994)
Ip Man (Dir. Wilson Yip, starring Donnie Yen, 2008)
Hero (Dir. Zhang Yimou, 2002)
The Killer (Dir. John Woo, starring Chow Yun-fat, 1989)
Hard-Boiled (Dir. John Woo, starring Chow Yun-fat, 1992)

Choose and focus on three films from the above lists, or from films that are analyzed in your textbook Planet Hong Kong written by David Bordwell.  Discuss and compare the generic characteristics and historical evolution of Hong Kong martial arts films and action films in terms of theme, plot, and/or style.  The minimum length of the paper should be 5 full pages, double-space, font size 12 (preferred script: Times New Roman).  If you wish to choose any film from outside the above lists, please let me know first.  You should not write about the films of one particular star or director only.

Avoid simple generalization.  Please refer to specific elements and details of the films.  You might wish to consider such formal and stylistic features: characters, scenes, cinematography, lighting, sound, music, and pacing (rhythm). You may consult assigned reading materials, or do some additional research outside the class.  Please always acknowledge your sources.  Do not use the words and ideas of a publication or online source without appropriate citations. 

The course partially fulfills your writing requirement.  You writing is expected to reflect college-level competence and in form and content.  Both what you write and how you write will be evaluated.  Relevant aspects of writing will be looked at as usual: coherence, organization, argument, elegance, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and so on.

At the end of the paper, you should indicate the manner, source, time, and place of viewing the films that you have chosen to discuss.  Failure to do so means that you did not watch the films and merely copied information from other sources.  That would be regarded as academic dishonesty.



must need three film from list