Word: gongs
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...yowls of bad publicity about its caustic view of Japan's business intentions in the U.S., has been a decent-size ($55 million) hit anyway. Get thee to an art house, where Raise the Red Lantern, Ju Dou and other sumptuous dramas directed by Zhang Yimou and starring glorious Gong Li have helped make China a new force in world cinema. Check out Hard Target, as millions of teenage boys already have. The director of this martial-arts pummeler is Hong Kong's John Woo -- the first director from Chinese-language cinema to make a Hollywood picture. With its deft...
...comely Dieyi (Leslie Cheung) -- the movie conjures up dozens of American movies, like Singin' in the Rain and For the Boys, in which popular entertainers put aside their differences before they put on the greasepaint. There is, of course, a pretty woman to fight over, Xiaolou's girlfriend (Gong Li). There is the elegance of stage art compromised by the humility of life beyond the footlights. There is comradeship, and betrayal, and comradeship again...
Concubine throbs with the seductive power art has over life. And because this is a movie about the glory and competitiveness of performance, it is appropriate that Cheung, as the tormented homosexual, and Gong, as his bitter rival, should duke it out for the title of most beautiful star on the Asian screen. Cheung wins, because this is his story, and he is equal to the doomed sensitivity of the role. Thanks in no small part to his presence, and performance, Concubine has the sweep and pang of a novel that keeps you reading till dawn, then lives in your...
...throaty flute chants an Indian melody in "Images of India," while a gong and plucked violin strings give us a good show-tune conception of China. Venturing onto what the program tells us is "Main Street, U.S.A." (another Disney reference), the number "Only One Can Be the Best" sounds like it's being played by an unsynchronized high school band--we wonder if this sound characterizes smalltown America. In an impressive conclusion, Peters presents a charming ballad and Irish jig ("Chasin' the Rainbow"), beautifully sung by the poor Irish immigrant Maureen (Wynne Love). It is exciting to know that...
That face is worth saving, since the title role is played by the radiantly sullen Gong, who has starred in all of Zhang's features and who was declared best actress at last year's Venice Film Festival for this portrayal. As Qiu Ju or Ju Dou, as the bride in Red Sorghum or the balky mistress in Red Lantern, Gong has brought life and body to the director's ethereal cinema style. The Story of Qiu Ju relies even more on her personality than the team's earlier films. There Gong was swathed in luscious silks and period exoticism...