Anna May Wong documentary premiere in London
February 7th, 2008 by Lu Pin
Anna May Wong (黄柳霜), a thrid generation Chinese-Amercian, was the most admired Asian actor in western cinema, starring in a number of films both in Hollywood and Europe, from 1920s to 1960s. A new documentary about her, Frosted Yellow Willows - Anna May Wong, Her Life, Times and Legend, made by Elaine Mae Woo (胡美金), will be shown at National Portrait Gallery on Friday 8th Feb (020-7312 2463) and at BFI Southbank on Saturday 9th Feb (020-7928 3232).
Mattew Sweet writes about Anna Way Wong’s life on the Guardian: Snakes, salves and seduction:
In 1933, Doris Mackie of Film Weekly magazine visited Ealing studios to observe the shooting of a sweaty tropical melodrama called Tiger Bay, and found its star railing against cinema in general and Hollywood in particular. “Why is it that the screen Chinese is nearly always the villain?” asked Wong. “And so crude a villain. Murderous, treacherous, a snake in the grass. We are not like that. How should we be, with a civilisation that is so many times older than that of the west?”
From LinkChinese UK News
I caught this documentary last week in Austin, Texas, and I was very impressed with it.
The film focused on Anna May Wong’s family life and career. Director Elaine Woo dug up tons of newspaper articles, lobby cards, stills, and of course film clips to illustrate her career. The film also illustrated the difficulties of a person of Chinese heritage living in the USA (especially California) during the first half of the last century. It details Ms. Wong’s tireless efforts to aid the Chinese after Japan invaded China in the late 1930s. Every Cinephile needs to make an effort to see this film.
The one thing that really impressed me was her performances in the German film Hai-Tang (1930). Not only did she speak German in the original version, but she played the same role speaking French in the French version and speaking English in the English version.
During the Q&A session afterward, Ms. Woo said that no DVD release is planned so far. She is working on a large book featuring many photos of Ms. Wong, plus many, many interviews of people who knew or worked with her. She was negotiating with TCM to have the documentary shown there.
I was famaliar with AMW, having seen several of her silent films like Toll of the Sea and Thief of Baghdad, but you will really want to seek out her films after seeing this documentary. Ms. Woo said that she chose not to cover Wong’s personal life (except for her family’s life) because she didn’t want to overload the uninitiated with information. She also said that it is really just a modern issue to want to know about an historic person’s vices and personal troubles.
The score by Jon Mirsalis was very nice. There are already three Anna May Wong biographies out and I’ll have to read at least one of them before Ms. Woo’s book project is released.
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