People today tend to believe that the handover caused the decline of Hong Kong action film industry. According to Peter Rist, “ Immediately following the handover of Hong Kong by the British to the People’s Republic of China”, the Hong Kong filmmaker started to change the mood of action films. Instead of comedic action, the films produced after Handover “were characterized by strains of pessimism and unpleasantness” and that those works were not welcomed by local audiences and the received abysmal box office (163). In his paper, Peter Rist claims that the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from United Kingdom to People’s Republic of China, or the Handover caused the Hong Kong citizens’ deviation from the habitual life and accustomed judgments.
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Hong Kong action filmmakers, instead of inventing innovative form of action film that is more consistent with its own cultural background , keep “ borrowing/copying/stealing from American films and film trends” for decades(Joelle 137) . Besides filmmakers, even action film stars started to act more like Hollywood stars instead of Hong Kong kung fu stars. “ Most of the major kung fu personalities in the Hong Kong cinema … have now worked or appeared in Hollywood movies. And it is interesting to note how these stars change their personalities, if not their action styles, to suit global audience.” (Teo 196). Long time of imitation made Hong Kong film industry lost its own vitality, uniqueness and creativity. Be aware of this increasingly serious climacteric, Hong Kong filmmakers started to feel hopeless and desperate. Gradually, the mood of Hong Kong action film tended to be more sorrow and grief. Consequently, Hong Kong action film lost its adaptation in the local market. Moreover, Hong Kong action film also lost its unique identity. Therefore, Hong Kong action film industry declined drastically both in local and oversea markets. On the other hand, it is easy to think that migration of filmmakers and actors to Hollywood and the mainland led to the disappearance of Hong Kong action films. However, if the future of Hong Kong action film industry was optimistic, filmmakers and stars wound not leave the local industry. At the risk of not accepted by global audiences, massive directors and producers still chose to migrate to mainland and Hollywood rather than staying in their familiar cultural environment. This phenomena implied that the Hong Kong action film industry
Hong Kong action filmmakers, instead of inventing innovative form of action film that is more consistent with its own cultural background , keep “ borrowing/copying/stealing from American films and film trends” for decades(Joelle 137) . Besides filmmakers, even action film stars started to act more like Hollywood stars instead of Hong Kong kung fu stars. “ Most of the major kung fu personalities in the Hong Kong cinema … have now worked or appeared in Hollywood movies. And it is interesting to note how these stars change their personalities, if not their action styles, to suit global audience.” (Teo 196). Long time of imitation made Hong Kong film industry lost its own vitality, uniqueness and creativity. Be aware of this increasingly serious climacteric, Hong Kong filmmakers started to feel hopeless and desperate. Gradually, the mood of Hong Kong action film tended to be more sorrow and grief. Consequently, Hong Kong action film lost its adaptation in the local market. Moreover, Hong Kong action film also lost its unique identity. Therefore, Hong Kong action film industry declined drastically both in local and oversea markets. On the other hand, it is easy to think that migration of filmmakers and actors to Hollywood and the mainland led to the disappearance of Hong Kong action films. However, if the future of Hong Kong action film industry was optimistic, filmmakers and stars wound not leave the local industry. At the risk of not accepted by global audiences, massive directors and producers still chose to migrate to mainland and Hollywood rather than staying in their familiar cultural environment. This phenomena implied that the Hong Kong action film industry