Chen Kun-hou

Last updated • 4 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Chen Kun-hou (陳坤厚) is a veteran cinematographer, who started his career in the 1960s. He won his first best cinematography award at Golden Horse Awards in 1978 for He Never Gives Up (汪洋中的一條船), directed by Lee Hsing (李行). In the early 1980s he began to direct his own films in collaboration with Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢). After series of urban comedies, he made quite a few representative films of the Taiwan New Cinema, such as Growing Up (小畢的故事; 1983), which won him the best director award at the Golden Horse Awards, His Matramony (結婚; 1985), which won him the second best cinematography award at Golden Horse Awards, and My Favorite Season (最想念的季節; 1985), and Osmanthus Alley (桂花巷; 1987). He is awarded for his life achievement in Taiwan cinema at the 60th Golden Horse Awards in 2023.

Contents

Career

Chen Kun-hou was born in Taichung in 1939. He was enrolled in Central Motion Picture Corporation (CMPC; 中央電影公司) in 1962 to learn cinematographer. His uncle Lai Cheng-ying (賴成英) was an established cinematographer there at CMPC already. He started as an apprentice and was promoted to cinematographer in 1971. His first film as a cinematographer is Story of Mother (母親三十歲; 1973), in which his cinematography adds a tragic-realistic tone this highly accalimed film by Sung Cun-shou’s (宋存壽). He worked with Lee Hsing for many of his films in the late 1970s, including He Never Gives Up, Good Morning Taipei (早安台北; 1979), The Story of A Small Town (小城故事; 1979), and My Native Land (原鄉人; 1980). He won his first best cinematography award at Golden Horse Awards for his cinematography in He Never Gives Up in 1978. [1]

Starting from 1979, Chen Kun-hou and Hou Hsiao-hsien teamed up to produce six films in the style of romantic urban comedy by taking turns to be the director, four of which directed by Chen are Spring in Autumn (天涼好個秋; 1980), Lover on the Wave (我踏浪而來; 1980), Longing (蹦蹦一串心; 1981), [1] and Six Is Company (俏如彩蝶飛飛飛; 1982) and the other two directed by Hou are Cute Girl (就是溜溜的她; 1980) and Cheerful Wind (風兒踢踏踩; 1982). These films copied the successful formula of Qiong Yao’s literary romantic films to cast popular stars, such as Chin Han (秦漢), Kenny Bee (鍾鎮濤), Joan Lin (林鳳嬌), Feng Fei-fei (鳳飛飛), and Shen Yan (沈雁), to present light-hearted urban romance accompanied by namesake theme songs and other interlude songs. Two of the six films were arranged to premiere in theaters during the Chinese new year holidays, Cute Girl and Cheerful Wind, both project the new year blessing of “May you be happy and prosperous” (恭喜發財) at the end of the film on the screen.

In 1982, Chen Kun-hou, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Hsu Shu-zhen (許淑真), and Chang Hua-kun (張華坤) formed Evergreen Film Company (萬年青影業公司). [1] The company’s first film Growing Up, a collaboration with CMPC and directed by Chen, was a big success at the box office (NT$6,309,066 in Taipei City), [2] and it won the best feature film, best director, and best script at the Golden Horse Awards in 1983. [1] The company also produced The Boys from Fengkuei (風櫃來的人; 1983), directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien with Chen as the cinematographer. The film was Hou’s important first film with artistic consciousness of film form but it was also the last film he and Chen collaborated on. [3]

After Chen Kun-hou parted ways with Hou Hsiao-hsien, he was productive as a key director of the Taiwan New Cinema and made six films, mostly adaptations of literary works, from 1984 to 1988, including Out of The Blue (小爸爸的天空; 1984), His Matrimony, My Favorite Season, Drifters (流浪少年路; 1986), Osmanthus Alley, My Mother's Teahouse (春秋茶室; 1988). [1] He won another best cinematography award at the Golden Horse Awards in 1985 for His Matrimony. [4]

Starting from 1989, Chen Kun-hou began to be involved in TV productions, especially documentaries, such as Feiyue Qingchun (飛越青春; 1992) and The Story of Confucius (孔子的故事; 1993). He later went to China and help Chow Ling-Gong (周令剛) establish Fee Tang Stellar Movie-Making Base (飛騰影視城; now Mega Jincheng Movie-Making Base) at Beijing. [1] He directed three more feature films from 2008 to 2012, two of them are made in China: Twin Daggers (雙鏢; 2008) and The Triangle Land (三角地/幸福三角地; 2012) and one Taiwan production: Colorful Mind (新魯冰花:孩子的天空; 2009), a remake of The Dull-Ice Flower (魯冰花; 1989), [5] a popular film based on the namesake novel by Chung Chao-cheng (鍾肇政).

Filmography

Director
YearChinese TitleEnglish TitleNotes
1980《天涼好個秋》Spring in Autumn
1980《我踏浪而來》Lover on the Wave
1981《蹦蹦一串心》Longing
1982《俏如彩蝶飛飛飛》Six Is Company
1983《小畢的故事》Growing Up
1984《小爸爸的天空》Out of The Blue
1985《結婚》His Matrimony
1985《最想念的季節》My Favorite Season
1986《流浪少年路》Drifters
1987《桂花巷》Osmanthus Alley
1988《春秋茶室》My Mother's Teahouse
1992《飛躍青春》documentary
1993《孔子的故事》Confuciousdocumentary
2008《雙鏢》Twin Daggers
2009《新魯冰花:孩子的天空》Colorful Mind
2012《三角地》/《幸福三角地》The Triangle Land
Cinematographer
YearChinese TitleEnglish TitleNotes
1969《銀姑》Silver Maid
1971《精忠報國》The Decisive Battle
1973《母親三十歲》Story of Mother
1975《星期六的約會》A Saturday Date
1977《煙水寒》The Glory of The Sunset
1978《煙波江上》Love On A Foggy River
1978《汪洋中的一條船》He Never Gives Up
1978《碎心蘭》
1979《悲之秋》A Sorrowful Wedding
1979《早安台北》Good Morning , Taipei
1979《小城故事》The Story of a Small Town
1979《拒絕聯考的小子》The Boy Who Refused to Take the Entrance Examination
1980《西風的故鄉》The Blind Love
1980《天涼好個秋》Spring in Autumn
1980《原鄉人》My Native Land
1980《我踏浪而來》Lover on the Wave
1981《就是溜溜的她》Cute Girls
1981《歡喜冤家》Intimate But Quarrelsome
1981《蹦蹦一串心》Longing
1982《俏如彩蝶飛飛飛》Six Is Company
1982《在那河畔青草青》Green Green Grass of Home
1982《風兒踢踏踩》Cheerful Wind
1983《風櫃來的人》The Boys From Fengkuei
1983《小畢的故事》Growing Up
1983《兒子的大玩偶》The Sandwich Man
1984《冬冬的假期》A Summer at Grandpa’s
1984《小爸爸的天空》Out of The Blue
1985《結婚》His Matrimony
1985《最想念的季節》My Favorite Season
1988《春秋茶室》My Mother's Teahouse
1988《海峽兩岸》People Between Two CHINA
1990《祝福》Promising Miss Bowie
1992《飛躍青春》documentary

Awards and honors

YearAwardCategoryFilmResultRef.
197815th Golden Horse AwardsBest CinematographyHe Never Gives UpWon [4]
197916th Golden Horse AwardsBest CinematographyThe Story of A Small TownNominated
198320th Golden Horse AwardsBest DirectorGrowing UpWon
198421st Golden Horse AwardsBest CinematographyThe Boys From FengkueiNominated
198522nd Golden Horse AwardsBest CinematographyHis MatrimonyWon
Best DirectorNominated
202360th Golden Horse AwardsLifetime AchievementWon [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hou Hsiao-hsien</span> Taiwanese film director, screenwriter, actor and film producer

Hou Hsiao-hsien is a Mainland Chinese-born Taiwanese film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is a leading figure in world cinema and in Taiwan's New Wave cinema movement. He won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1989 for his film A City of Sadness (1989), and the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015 for The Assassin (2015). Other highly regarded works of his include The Puppetmaster (1993) and Flowers of Shanghai (1998).

<i>Flowers of Shanghai</i> 1998 film by Hou Hsiao-Hsien

Flowers of Shanghai is a 1998 Taiwanese drama film directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien. It is based on the novel The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai (1892) by Han Bangqing, which was originally written in the Wu language (吳語) and translated into Mandarin Chinese by Eileen Chang. The film stars Tony Leung as a wealthy patron and Hada Michiko, Annie Shizuka Inoh, Shuan Fang, Jack Kao, Carina Lau, Rebecca Pan, Michelle Reis, and Vicky Wei as "flower girls" in four high-end Shanghai brothels. It was voted the third best film of the 1990s in the Village Voice Film Poll conducted in 1999. The film was selected as the Taiwanese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 71st Academy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wu Nien-jen</span> Taiwanese scriptwriter, film director and author

Wu Nien-jen is a Taiwanese screenwriter, director, and writer. He is one of the most prolific and highly regarded scriptwriters in Taiwan and a leading member of the New Taiwanese Cinema, although he has also acted in a number of films. He starred in Edward Yang's 2000 film Yi Yi. Wu is a well-known supporter of the Democratic Progressive Party and has filmed commercials for the party.

<i>Dust in the Wind</i> (film) 1986 Taiwanese film

Dust in the Wind is a 1986 Taiwanese film directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien. It is based on co-screenwriter Wu Nien-jen's own experiences, and is the first of a trilogy of Hou and Wu's collaborations, the others being A City of Sadness (1989) and The Puppetmaster (1993).

<i>The Time to Live and the Time to Die</i> 1985 Taiwanese film

The Time to Live and the Time to Die, also known as A Time to Live, A Time to Die is a 1985 Taiwanese film directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien. This film is inspired by Hou's own experience of growing up in Fengshan, Kaohsiung city. It is the second part of Hou's coming-of-age trilogy, preceded by A Summer at Grandpa's (1984) and followed by Dust in the Wind (1986).

<i>Taipei Story</i> 1985 Taiwanese film

Taipei Story is a 1985 Taiwanese film directed by Edward Yang — his second full-length feature film and third overall. The film stars Hou Hsiao-hsien and singer Tsai Chin to depict the grinding relationship of Ah-lung and Ah-chen, who have known each other since childhood in Taipei. It is doomed to fail because Ah-lung cannot forget about the past while Ah-chen is eager to embrace the future as Taipei undergoes modernization and globalization. Taipei Story is one of the representative films of the New Taiwanese Cinema. It won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 38th Locarno Film Festival in 1985.

The Boys from Fengkuei, also known as All the Youthful Days, is a 1983 Taiwanese film directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien. The movie is about a group of impulsive teenagers with nothing to do and high energy. While waiting to be enlisted in the army, they cause trouble in their hometown, Fengkuei, and run away from Penghu to Kaohsiung. From a small town to a big city, through the depression and turmoil of youth they experience unforgettable life scenery and gradually recede from their original youthfulness. It was Hou Hsiao-hsien's first art film after he directed three light comedies in the early eighties and a representative work of the Taiwan New Cinema at its inception.

<i>Dust of Angels</i> 1992 Taiwanese film

Dust of Angels is a 1992 Taiwanese crime film directed by Hsu Hsiao-ming, executive produced by Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien. It was entered into Directors' Fortnight at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival. "An lah" (安啦) is a Taiwanese Hokkien colloquialism; the title in full roughly translates to "take it easy, lad" or "cool it, kid."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Li Hsing</span> Taiwanese film director (1930–2021)

Li Hsing or Lee Hsing (李行) is a Taiwanese film director. He was born Lee Tz-da (李子達) in 1930 in Shanghai and died in 2021. He made one of the early popular Taiwanese films in the late 1959, Wang and Liu Tour Taiwan (王哥柳哥遊台灣), though he did not speak Taiwanese. He was also the key director in the promotion of Healthy Realist film (健康寫實片) and Literary Romantic film (愛情文藝片). He was awarded the best director at Golden Horse Awards three times and had seven films awarded the best feature film: Beautiful Duckling, The Road, Execution in Autumn, Land of the Undaunted,, He Never Gives Up, The Story of a Small Town, and Good Morning, Taipei. After he made his last film The Heroic Pioneers, he vowed to be the lifetime volunteer for the promotion of development of Taiwan cinema. In 2009 he established the Cross-Strait Films Exchange Committee, which has been the main, if not only, organization promoting the interaction and cooperation of Taiwanese and Chinese filmmakers. Lee Hsing is often referred to as the “godfather of Taiwan cinema” for his great contribution to Taiwan cinema.

<i>The Story of a Small Town</i>

The Story of a Small Town is a 1979 Taiwanese film, produced by Hsiao Chung Productions (小眾電影公司). The film revolves around a family living in a small town. Kenny Bee plays the male family member who is released from prison and falls in love with a mute woman.

Hou Chi-jan is a Taiwanese director and writer. His works are often related to historical memories.

Chang Yi was a Taiwanese film director.

Chen Ming-chang (陳明章) is a Taiwanese folk singer, guitarist, Taiwanese yueqin player, composer, and producer born in Beitou. He is known for writing scores for the Hou Hsiao-Hsien films Dust in the Wind (1985) and The Puppetmaster (1993), as well as for songs such as "She Is Our Darling" and "Wandering to Tamsui". He is stylistically known for singing primarily in Taiwanese Hokkien, incorporating traditional styles and instruments into his music, as well as songs that represent the Taiwanese underclass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Motion Picture Corporation</span> Taiwanese films studio

Central Motion Picture Corporation, also known as Zhong Ying (中影) was established in 1954. It was formed through the merger of the Agricultural Education Film Company and Taiwan Film Company. Like China Television Company and China Broadcasting Corporation, it was operated under the party of Kuomintang (KMT) as well as the government.

<i>My Missing Valentine</i> 2020 Taiwanese film

My Missing Valentine is a 2020 Taiwanese romantic comedy film written and directed by Chen Yu-hsun, and starring Liu Kuan-ting, Patty Lee. The film was released in Taiwan on September 18, 2020, and it was selected for Open Cinema of the 25th Busan International Film Festival on October 29. It received 11 nominations at the 57th Golden Horse Awards, winning Best Feature Film, Best Original Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, Best Film Editing and Best Director for Chen.

<i>Flotsam and Jetsam</i> (film) 2022 Taiwanese film by Chang Tso-chi

Flotsam and Jetsam is a 2022 Taiwanese drama film written and directed by Chang Tso-chi.

The Golden Horse Lifetime Achievement Award is an award presented annually at the Golden Horse Awards by the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee. The latest ceremony was held in 2023, with Brigitte Lin and Chen Kun-hou receiving the honors.

Liao Ching-Sung, also known as "Liao-san" (廖桑), is a Taiwanese film editor, known for his work with Taiwanese New Wave directors such as Hou Hisao-Hsien, Edward Yang and Wan Jen. He has received numerous accolades including two Golden Horse Awards for Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year, as well as the Special Contribution Award of Golden Horse Awards in 2018.

Singing Chen is a Taiwanese film director, documentary filmmaker, and music composer. She graduated from Advertising in the Department of Mass Communication at Fu Jen Catholic University in 1997. Her works primarily focus on topics related to humanities and arts and culture, and she uses a magical realism approach to establish her visual style. She has received numerous international and domestic awards nominations for her work.

Taiwan New Cinema was a film reform movement initiated by young Taiwanese filmmakers and directors which took place from 1982 to 1987. Taiwan New Cinema films primarily showcase a realistic style with their depictions of subject matter close to the social reality, offering a retrospective look into the lives of the common people. Taiwan New Cinema brought about a new chapter for the cinema of Taiwan with its innovative form and unique style.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "製片-陳坤厚". TFAI-國家電影及視聽文化中心 Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  2. "1983 台湾票房 | 中国票房 | 中国电影票房排行榜" (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  3. 林, 文淇 (2012-12-01). "鄉村城市:侯孝賢與陳坤厚城市喜劇中的臺北". 藝術學研究. 11.
  4. 1 2 "陳坤厚". 台灣電影網. 2022-07-27.
  5. 黃, 娟綺 (2009-04-15). "更寬廣的空間、更亮麗的天空--訪「新魯冰花」導演陳坤厚". 台灣電影網.
  6. Wang, Hsin-yu; Lin, Sean (23 June 2023). "Golden Horse honors actress Brigitte Lin and director Chen Kun-hou". Central News Agency. Retrieved 23 June 2023.