Action movie

Action movie

Action movies, or sometimes known as actioners, usually involve a fairly straightforward story of good guys versus bad guys, where most disputes are resolved by using physical force. Action films are largely derived from crime films and thrillers, by way of westerns and to some extent war films. Modern Hollywood examples of the genre are usually "high concept" films where the whole movie can be easily summarized (eg. "a scientist brings dinosaurs back to life only to find them trying to dominate earth, again" for Jurassic Park). Who exactly the good guys are differs from film to film, but in Hollywood films they usually are patriotic and rather conservative (though not die-hard) Americans, whereas the bad guys are usually either criminals or agents of foreign powers. In the 1950's and '60s, they were very often Communists, which bring some action films fairly close to propaganda films. Starting in the 1970s, Communists were seen less as the predominant villains (although they were still widely present until the late '80s), and the focus turned instead to drug lords, terrorists, or some other criminal element. Action movies also tend to have a single heroic protagonist and often portray institutions such as the military or police as incompetent and limited by rules and regulations, which the protagonist has no regard for. This creates the stereotypical conflict between an action hero and the establishment.

The genre, although popular since the '50s, did not become one of the most dominant forms in Hollywood until the 1980s and 1990s, when actors such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone popularized it. The 1988 film Die Hard was particularly influential on the development of the genre in the following decade. In the movie Bruce Willis plays a New York police detective who inadvertently becomes embroiled in a terrorist take-over of a Los Angeles office block. The film set a pattern for a host of imitators, which often just used the same formula in a different setting. Examples included Under Siege, Passenger 57, Executive Decision, Con Air and Air Force One.

Action films tend to be expensive requiring big budget special effects and stunt work. Action films have mainly become a mostly-American genre, although there have been a significant number of action films from Hong Kong which are primarily modern variations of the martial arts film. Because of these roots, Hong Kong action films typically center on acrobatics by the protagonist while American action films typically feature big explosions and modern technology.

Current trends in action film include a development toward more elaborate fight scenes, perhaps because of the success of Asian martial arts elements, such as kung fu and karate, in Western film. Actors in action movies are now much more skilled in the art and aesthetic of fighting than they have been in the past, apart from a few acknowledged fighters like Steven Seagal. Now, a distinction can be made between films that lean toward physical agile fighting, such as The Transporter, and those that lean toward other common action film conventions, like explosions and plenty of gunfire, such as Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever or Lethal Weapon, although most action movies employ elements of both.

Several of the common action film conventions saw their birth in the release of James Bond series (containing many of the original elements of spy movies still seen today). One popular element is the car chase, a feature that is almost standard in action films. Bullit and The French Connection were among the earliest films to present a car chase as an action set piece. At present, many action films culminate in a suspenseful climax centered around a Mexican standoff between two leading characters.

Action films also constitute very good examples for feminist film theory, because in them, the separation between the physical male who controls the scene and the look and the female, who is almost always the object of the look is very clear. Although female characters in most action films are nothing more than objects, a prize for the winner, hostages, loving wives and the like, there has been a move towards stronger female characters. James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow maybe best exemplify these in works.
Due to their widespread appeal, many of the following films have also spawned one or more sequels.

Martial arts film
Martial arts film is a film genre that originated in the Pacific Rim. This genre of film is one kind of action film characterized by extensive fighting scenes employing various types of martial arts. This genre is no longer limited to Asian films -- there are many action movies starring well known western martial artists such as Steven Seagal, Chuck Norris, Wesley Snipes, and Jean Claude Van Damme.

Martial Arts film stars can be classified in two types, namely genuine martial artists who pursued a filming career, versus regular actors who acted in martial arts film under the directions of choreographers.

Martial arts film stars who are martial artists on their own merits:
• Kwan Tak-Hing was the original celluloid Wong Fei-Hung, starring as the legendary Hung Gar master in roughly 100 films from the late 1940s to the 1960s, possibly the most prolific movie series ever. Kwan himself was a master of Tibetan White Crane rather than Hung Gar and specialized in the use of the whip.
• Yu So Chow, is probably the best known martial artist and actress in the 50's and 60's and starred in over 170 martial arts films, still on the top record among all actresses.
• Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon (1973) was one of the films that brought the genre into mainstream Western acceptance. His fame also helped popularize Wing Chun, the martial art that he originally trained in, and Jeet Kune Do, the martial art that he later created and dismantled based on Wing Chun.
• Jackie Chan continued this crossover during the 80s and 90s, finally conquering the US market with Rumble in the Bronx (1995) and the two Rush Hour films. He is renowned for his blend of martial arts and slapstick comedy, but has directed, action directed and starred in over 50 films of almost all conceivable genres. Despite proper martial arts training from a Chinese opera school, Jackie often tells people that he is an actor, not a martial artist.
• Cynthia Rothrock, probably the best known woman in the genre and considered "Queen of Martial Arts films"
• Sammo Hung or Gumbo Hung was a fellow opera school student of Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao. He has directed, action directed and starred in numerous Hong Kong films, as well as playing the leading role in the American TV series Martial Law.
• Yuen Biao trained Peking Opera with Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan, and is the youngest of the three.
• Lam Ching Ying learned Peking Opera in Hong Kong.
• Jet Li won the Chinese national Wushu (Martial Arts) championships five times in a row before becoming a movie star, starting with the movie Shaolin Temple.
• Donnie Yen learned Wushu from a young age and trained in Beijing as well.
• Chuck Norris learned Tang Soo Do, a martial art similar to Taekwondo, while in Korea; Norris also trained together with Bruce Lee.
• Steven Seagal is indeed an aikido instructor, although quite a bit of controversy surrounds him in the aikido world.
• Jean Claude van Damme practiced karate in Europe.


History and Context

Earlier precedents
Wuxia stories have their roots in some early youxia and cike stories around 2nd to 3rd century BC, such as the assassination attempts of Jing Ke and Zhuan Zhu (专诸) listed in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian. In the section entitled "Assassins" (刺客列传), Sima Qian outlined a number of famed assassins in the Warring States who were entrusted with the (then considered noble) task of political assassination. These were usually shi ke (食客) who resided in the residences of feudal lords and nobilities, rendering services and loyalties much in the manner of Japanese samurais. In another section "Roaming Xia" (游侠列传) he detailed many embryonic features of the xia culture of his day. This popular phenomenon continues to be documented in historical annals like The Book of the Han (汉书) and The Later Book of the Han.

Xiake stories made a strong comeback in the Tang dynasty in the form of Chuanqi (literally "legendary") tales. Stories like Nie Yin Niang, The Slave of Kunlun, Jing Shi San Nian, Red String and The Bearded Warrior served as prototypes for modern wuxia stories, featuring fantastic, out-of-the-world protagonists, often loners, who performed daring heroic deeds.

The earliest novel that could be considered part of the genre was Water Margin, written in the Ming Dynasty, although some would classify parts of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms as a possible earlier antecedent. The former was a political criticism of the deplorable socio-economical state of the late Ming Dynasty, whilst the latter was an alternative historical retelling of the post-Han Dynasty's state of three kingdoms. Water Margin's championing of outlaws with a code of honor was especially influential in the development of Jianghu culture. Three Kingdoms contained many classic close combat descriptions, which were later borrowed by wuxia writers.

Many works in this vein during the Ming and Qing dynasties were lost due to prohibition by the government. The ethos of personal freedom and conflict-readiness of these novels were seen as seditious even in times of peace and stability. The departure from mainstream literature also meant that patronage of this genre was limited, and stifled some of its growth. Nonetheless, the genre continued to be enormously popular, with certain full-length novels such as The Strange Case of Shi Gong and The Romance of the Heroic Daughters and Sons cited as the clearest nascent wuxia novels. Justice Dee stories seen in San Xia Wu Yi and Xiao Wu Yi incorporated much of social justice themes of later wuxia stories.

20th century
The modern wuxia genre of novel started in the early 20th century. Historians have attributed this surge to a psychological decry in response to the upheavals in the politics in China, starting with the downfall of the Qing Dynasty, followed by Dr. Sun Yatsen's new party Kuomintang, who gave way to the warlord Yuan Shikai. Yuan sought to re-establish a new imperial China and his dream proved to be shortlived. Inevitably Kuomintang decomposed through corruption and incompetence, and led to their ultimate eviction by the Chinese Communist Party. Laypeople found it more and more difficult to trust the so-called lawful establishments and sought a different world - a martial, somewhat underground one, which was governed by different sets of rules and ethos. In the second-half of the century, many of the modern wuxia authors who were educated or came from affluent upperclass families left the People's Republic of China, or were forced to leave, after the Communists took control. Wuxia writing continued in earnest in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The Old School
Modern wuxia novels outlined values complimentary to Confucius' (551-479 BCE) teachings concerning the virtues of Ru (excellence, scholarship) but combined this with a willingness to use force. The codes of xia was often synonymous with Tao or Daoyi, belonging to the teachings of another Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, although the paths or ways prescribed in the 5000 odd words in the Tao Te Ching never advocated the use of force.

This was in sharp contrast to the unchanging style of talent-search bequeathed by the Confucius School for 2500 years of Chinese history, a system which advocated harmony rather than conflict. Some students of this period of history go as far as to say the value of xia (or xia yi) was the missing element of the Yin Yang of Taoism, indeed the missing component of ru jia, which Westerners know as Confucianism.

A parallel universe, the Jiang Hu world, was thus created in all of the wuxia novels, partly to engender acceptance of the alternative history thus propositioned. By the same reasoning The Water Margin and The Romance of the Three Kingdoms should not be seen as wuxia novels precisely due to the fact that they do not take place in a jianghu world.

The New School
The works of Jinyong can be seen as yet another category in which actual historical backgrounds intermingled with the fictitious. Historically accurate Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasty settings, including the Emperors and nobility of the day were woven into the storylines, e.g. giving a Han-lineage to the Manchurian Qing Emperor Qian Long.

Novels
Wuxia novels now constitute a highly popular fiction genre in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Wuxia novels, especially by eminent authors like Jinyong and Gu Long, have a cult-like following there, not unlike fiction or science fiction in the West.

Many of the most popular works, such as most of the work by Jinyong, has been repeatedly converted into films and TV series in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China. In addition, the study of Jinyong's work has created an indpendent branch of study called Jinology.
Themes

Plot and setting
The modern wuxia stories are basically adventure stories with a strong dose of cultural and historical context. Plot differs largely from writer to writer.

A common plot typically features a young male protagonist (only two modern wuxia novels have detailed female protagonists) in ancient China, who experiences a tragedy (e.g. the loss of a family or an old master), goes through exceeding hardship and arduous trials, and studies under a great master(s) of martial arts, or comes into possession of a long-lost scroll containing unrivalled martial arts expertise. Eventually the protagonist emerges as a supreme martial arts master unequalled in all of China, who then proffers his skills chivalrously to mend the ills of the "Jianghu" world.

Another common thread would involve a mature, extremely skillful hero with an equally powerful nemesis with whom he has had misgivings, and the storyline would meander from the past to a final showdown between the protagonist and his nemesis, where the hero would eventually triumph.

Deer and the Cauldron, the final novel by Jinyong, is distinguished as an "anti-hero" novel that breaks all of the cliches above, and his anti-hero, the lazy, greedy, lewd, sycophant brothel-boy Wei Xiaobao, has become a cultural symbol of sorts, loved by some and hated by others. Other novels, especially those by Gu Long, create detective-type and romance stories in the setting of ancient China.

Philosophy of Xia
To understand the concept of xia from a Western perspective, consider the Robin Hood mythology: an honourable and generous person who has considerable martial skills which he puts to use for the general good rather than towards any personal ends, and someone who does not necessarily obey the authorities.

Foremost in the xia's code of conduct are yi and xin, righteousness and honour, which emphasize the importance of gracious deed received or favours and revenge over all other ethos of life. The importance of revenge is disputed, since a considerable number of xia are influenced by the powerful Buddhist martial arts, and therefore some of its philosophy, which stresses forgiveness and compassion. Nevertheless, this code of the xia is simple and grave enough for its adherents to kill and die for, and their vendetta can pass from one generation to the next until resolved by retribution, or, in some cases, atonement.

Jiang Hu
Jiang Hu (Gong Woo), (literally means "rivers and lakes") is the wuxia parallel universe - the alternative world of martial artists and pugilists, usually congregrating in sects, disciplines and schools of martial arts learnings. It has been described as a kind of "shared world" alternate universe, inhabited by wandering knights and princes, thieves and beggars, priests and healers, merchants and craftspeople. It corresponds roughly to America's Wild West period, or to the era of the Book of Judges in the Bible. The best wuxia writers draw a vivid picture of the intricate relationships of honor, loyalty, love and hatred between individuals and between communities within this milieu.

A common aspect to jiang hu is the tacit suggestion that the courts of law or courts of jurisdiction are dysfunctional. Differences can only be resolved by way of force, predicating the need for xia and their chivalrous ways. Law and order is maintained by the alliance of wulin or wulin mengzhu, the society of martial artists. They are elected and commanded by the most able wuxia, who is usually (but not always) the protagonist of that novel (in a few films, such as the TV miniseries Paradise, the position is hereditary). This alliance leader is an arbiter, who presides and adjudicates over inequities and disputes. He is a de jure chief justice of the affairs of the jiang hu.

Martial arts
Although wuxia is based on true-life martial arts, the genre elevates the mastery of their crafts into fictitious levels of attainment. Combatants have the following skills:
• Fighting, usually using a codified sequence of movements known as zhāo where they would have the ability to withstand armed foes.
• Use of everyday objects such as ink brushes, abaci, and musical instruments as lethal weapons, and the adept use of assassin weapons with accuracy
• Use of qīnggōng or the ability to move swiftly and lightly, allowing them to scale walls, glide on waters or mount trees. This is based on real Chinese martial art practices. Real martial art exponents practice qigong through years of attaching heavy weights on their legs. Its use however is greatly exaggerated in wire-fu movies where they appear to circumvent gravity.
• use of nèilì or nèijìn, which is the ability to control mystical inner energy and direct it for attack or defense, or to attain superhuman stamina.
• ability to engage in di nxué also known by its Cantonese pronunciation Dim Mak, or other related techniques for killing or paralyzing opponents by hitting or seizing their acupressure points with a finger, knuckle, elbow or weapon. This is based on true-life practices trained in some of the Chinese martial arts, known as dianxue and by the seizing and paralyzing techniques of chin na.

Consistent with Chinese beliefs about the relationship between the physical and paranormal, these skills are usually described as being attainable by anyone who is prepared to devote his or her time in diligent study and practice. The details of some of the more unusual skills are often to be found in abstrusely written and/or encrypted manuals known as mìjí, which may contain the secrets of an entire sect, and are often subject to theft or sabotage.

The martialartsmanship detailed in the wuxia novels are substantially fictitious in nature, although there is still widespread popular belief that these skills once existed and are now lost. A popular theory to explain why current martial arts practitioners cannot attain the levels described in the wuxia genre is related to the methodology of passing on the martial arts crafts. Only the favourite pupil of a master gets to inherit the best crafts but the masters tend to keep the most powerful or significant chapter to himself. Hence what we have today at the Shaolin or other schools are but a fraction of what they were centuries earlier. There is little evidence to support this claim.

Suspension of disbelief
Because the wuxia genre occupies a difficult-to-define position between pure fantasy and reality, and many tales are set in clearly defined historical periods, Western audiences may have difficulty accepting the conventions of wuxia genre, dismissing them as pure improbability. The millieux of wuxia finds its closest equivalence in the West in the myths of King Arthur, the tales of Camelot.

Paradoxically, the Western audience readily embrace the concept of the Force in the Star Wars series or the superpowers of The Matrix and the superhero fantasy subgenre, or the magic in JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings or JK Rowling's Harry Potter. The difference can be explained by the general inconsistencies within the lineage of the novels. That is, insufficient background or ground rules have been detailed for the fantasies in the novel to be visualised by Western readers. With the exception of the works by Jinyong and Liang Yusheng, many wuxia novels are mono-dimensional, lacking the layering of elements that Western readers have come to expect from fantasy authors. Asian audiences understand the context of the "martial arts world" in which wuxia takes place, so such stories are self-explanatory in their own context.

With the works of Jinyong beginning to be translated into English, it is anticipated that western readers will begin to accept the some of the wuxia fantasies in the same way as they have with Tolkien's and Rowling's works.

Films
House of Flying Daggers (2004)
Wuxia film (or wuxia pian, Mo Hap film, Mo Hap Pin) (Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, pinyin) is a film genre originating in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Because of its distinguishing characteristics (a historical setting, action scenes centred on swordplay, a stronger emphasis towards melodrama and themes of bonding, friendship, loyalty, and betrayal), this genre is considered slightly different to the martial arts film styles. There is a strong link between wuxia films and wuxia novels, such as those of Jinyong. Many of the films are based on novels; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is an example of this.

The modern form of the genre has existed in the Pacific Rim region since the mid 1960s, although the earliest films date back to the 1920s. King Hu, working from Taiwan, and the Shaw Studio, working from Hong Kong, were pioneers of the modern form of this genre, featuring sophisticated action choreography with plentiful wire-assisted acrobatics, trampolines and under-cranking.

The storylines in the early films were loosely adapted from existing literature. Actors, actresses, choreographers and directors involved in wuxia films became famous. For example Cheng Pei-Pei and Jimmy Wang-Yu were two of the biggest stars in the days of Shaw Studio and King Hu. Jet Li was a more recent star of wuxia films, having appeared in the Swordsman series and Hero amongst others. Yuen Woo Ping was a choreographer who achieved fame by crafting stunning action-sequences in films of the genre. Mainland Chinese director Zhang Yimou's foray into wuxia films was distinguished by the imaginative use of vivid colours and breathtaking background settings.

Wuxia was introduced to the Hollywood studios in 2000 by Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Following Ang Lee's footsteps, Zhang Yimou made Hero targeted for the international market in 2003, and House of Flying Daggers in 2004. American audiences are also being introduced to wuxia through Asian-television stations in larger cities, which feature well-produced miniseries such as Warriors of the Yang Clan and Paradise, often with English subtitles. With complex, almost soap-opera storylines, lavish sets and costumes, and veteran actors in pivotal roles, these tales can possibly appeal to Western viewers whether or not they catch the subtle nuances.

The West has also appropriated Wuxia film style. In 1986, John Carpenter's film Big Trouble in Little China was inspired by the visuals of the genre. The Matrix trilogy has many elements of wuxia, although the heroes and the villains of The Matrix gain their supernatural powers from a different source. Similarly, when Star Wars was released in the late 1970s, many Chinese audiences viewed it as a western wuxia movie set in a futuristic and foreign world.