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To Be a Banquet or To Be a Dinner

Chinese film director Feng Xiaogang has been responsible for a string of hits. But he is scarcely known outside China and has placed his hopes in the his latest release "The Banquet" to win over international audiences.

But it seems that even with Zhang Ziyi, of "Memoirs of a Geisha" fame, as its star, China's newest blockbuster has not wowed critics at home.

Jade, Smog and Many Bungling Villains

If a cinema near you were to show Crazy Stone, do go and see it. Or at least make do with the DVD.

I confess it's been some time since I paid several times the price of a DVD in China to go to the movies. But this experience was worth it.

The Octopus, the Pirate and the Naked Lady

China’s Johnny Depp fans are on tenterhooks. Will they see his latest release, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”, on the big screen? Or must they wait for the pirate DVD of the latest pirate swashbuckler?

It all depends on whether the movie that smashed box office records when it opened to U.S. audiences at the weekend sails into the same rough seas encountered by several recent Hollywood blockbusters deemed unsuitable for Chinese audiences.

Celluloid in Shangri La

Times are tough for Chinese film makers. And it’s not so easy for Shangri La, either

Pity poor Chen Kaige. It’s not been a good 12 months for one of China’s most famous movie directors. Last year, his film the “The Promise” was launched amid great fanfare as the greatest blockbuster ever made in China. Little doubt it was highest-budget movie ever made in China.

But its box office takings have barely covered the 42-million-dollar cost. It certainly never gained the critical claim of his “Farewell My Concubine.”