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| Years active | 1926–1965 |
|---|---|
| Location | Indonesia |
| Influences | |
Classical Indonesian cinema is a term used in film criticism to describe both a narrative and visual style of Indonesian filmmaking which first developed in the 1926 to 1965.
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| Years active | 1926–1965 |
|---|---|
| Location | Indonesia |
| Influences | |
Classical Indonesian cinema is a term used in film criticism to describe both a narrative and visual style of Indonesian filmmaking which first developed in the 1926 to 1965.
The first film produced in colonial era was a silent fiction Loetoeng Kasaroeng (1926), who was based from Lutung Kasarung , a community legend from Parahyangan. [1] It was sometimes credited as the first film of Indonesian cinema, and the first colonial film to feature a native-Indonesian cast from priyayi noble, who was the relative of Wiranatakusumah V. [1] [2] The film was screened in December 1926, and marks Bandung as the birthplace of Indonesian film. [3]
In 1927, The second film produced in colonial era, Eulis Atjih , was released. [2] It was the first film where Indonesian language was used for the first time, and mark the directorial debut of G. Krugers. [2] It was screened at Orient Theater in Surabaya, East Java, and also mark the beginning of Indonesian film. [3]
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The following is a list of notable Indonesian films that were made during classical age. [4]
The cinema of Indonesia refers to films produced domestically in Indonesia. The statutory Indonesian Film Board, or BPI, defines Indonesian films as "movies that are made by or using Indonesian resources whose Intellectual Property Right is owned either entirely or partly by Indonesian citizen or Indonesian legal entity".
Eulis Atjih is a 1927 film from the Dutch East Indies ; it was the second feature film produced in the country, after Loetoeng Kasaroeng in 1926. The silent film follows the lives of a native Indonesian family sent into poverty by the husband's splurging. Eulis Atjih was a commercial success in the Indies, but failed in international markets.
Njai Dasima is a 1929 silent film from the Dutch East Indies. It details the fall of a rich mistress at the hands of a greedy delman driver. The first film released by Tan's Film, the film – adapted from an 1896 novel – was a critical and commercial success. It was released in two parts, followed by a sequel, and remade another two times by 1940.
Tan's Film was a film production house in the Dutch East Indies. Established by the brothers Tan Khoen Yauw and Tan Khoen Hian on September 1, 1929, its films were mostly targeted at native ethnic groups. Starting with Njai Dasima in 1929, the company released fifteen movies before ultimately being dissolved after the Japanese occupation. The Tans and the Wong brothers established Tan & Wong Bros in 1948 to continue this work.
The Teng Chun, also known by his Indonesian name Tahjar Ederis, was an Indonesian film producer. Born to a rich businessman, The became interested in film while still a youth. After a period as an exporter, in 1930 he established Cino Motion Picture to produce films in the Dutch East Indies. In a little over a decade he and his company had released at least 31 films, including some of the country's first talkies. Although he experienced a brief resurgence during the 1950s, after Indonesia became independent, he spent the last years of his life as an English teacher.
Nancy Bikin Pembalesan is a 1930 film from the Dutch East Indies. It was released by Tan's Film Company and a sequel to the 1929 two-part film Njai Dasima; it follows Dasima's daughter Nancy on her quest for vengeance. Like its predecessor, it was a commercial and critical success.
Abisin Abbas, better known by his pseudonym Andjar Asmara, was a dramatist and filmmaker active in the cinema of the Dutch East Indies. Born in Alahan Panjang, West Sumatra, he first worked as a reporter in Batavia. He became a writer for the Padangsche Opera in Padang, where he developed a new, dialogue-centric style, which later spread throughout the region. After returning to Batavia in 1929, he spent over a year as a theatre and film critic. In 1930 he joined the Dardanella touring troupe as a writer. He went to India in an unsuccessful bid to film his stage play Dr Samsi.
Georg Eduard Albert Krugers was a cameraman and film director active in the Dutch East Indies during the early 20th century. He is recorded as having worked in film since the mid-1920s, and in 1927 he made his directorial debut, Eulis Atjih. He joined hajj pilgrims in 1928 and screened the resulting documentary in the Netherlands. His 1930 film Karnadi Anemer Bangkong is thought to be the first talkie in the cinema of the Indies, but was a commercial failure as the majority Sundanese audience considered it insulting. After making two works for Tan's Film in the early 1930s, Krugers moved to Hong Kong and then the Netherlands.
Lilly van Java, also known as Melatie van Java, is a 1928 film from the Dutch East Indies directed by Nelson Wong. Initially meant to be produced by South Sea Film and shot by an American director, the film – which follows a woman told to marry a man she does not love – was ultimately completed by Wong's Halimoen Film. Details on its cast and performance are contradictory, although the film is recognised as the first of a long series of ethnic Chinese-produced films in the country. It is likely a lost film.
Loetoeng Kasaroeng is a 1926 fantasy film from the Dutch East Indies which was directed and produced by L. Heuveldorp. An adaptation of the Sundanese folktale Lutung Kasarung, the film tells of a young girl who falls in love with a magical lutung and stars the children of noblemen. Details on its performance are unavailable, although it is known to have been of poor technical quality and thought to have performed poorly. It was the first film produced in the country and the first to feature a native-Indonesian cast. It is likely a lost film.
Lie Tek Swie was an Indonesian film director active in the early cinema of the Dutch East Indies. He is thought to have begun his career at a film distributor's office before making his directorial debut in 1929 with Njai Dasima, the first of three literary adaptations that he directed. His other three films, two of which were made for Tan's Film, were original stories. In 1941 Lie was a founding member of the Standard Film Company, which closed in 1942.
Karnadi Anemer Bangkong is a 1930 comedy from the Dutch East Indies directed by G. Krugers. It is considered the country's first talkie, although parts were silent and the sound quality was poor. Based on a popular Sundanese novel, the film was considered controversial by the native audience.
Tan Tjoei Hock was an Indonesian journalist and filmmaker. Born in Batavia, he was discovered by The Teng Chun in the late 1930s. Tan became one of the most productive film directors of the Dutch East Indies between 1940 and 1941, directing nine films – primarily action.
Si Ronda is a 1930 silent film from the Dutch East Indies which was directed by Lie Tek Swie and starred Bachtiar Effendi. Based on contemporary Betawi oral tradition, it follows the exploits of a bandit, skilled in silat, known as Si Ronda. In the lenong stories from which the film was derived, Ronda was often depicted as a Robin Hood type of figure. The production, now thought lost, was one of a series of martial arts films released between 1929 and 1931. Si Ronda received little coverage in the media upon its release. A second adaptation of the tale, Si Ronda Macan Betawi, was made in 1978.
Dasima is a 1940 film from the Dutch East Indies directed by Tan Tjoei Hock and produced by The Teng Chun. It is the third adaptation of G. Francis' 1896 novel Tjerita Njai Dasima.
Njai Dasima is a 1932 film from the Dutch East Indies which was directed by Bachtiar Effendi for Tan's Film. It was the second film adapted from G. Francis' 1896 novel Tjerita Njai Dasima, following a silent version in 1929. Starring Momo and Oesman, it followed a young Sundanese njai (concubine) who is tricked into marrying a man who does not love her and ultimately killed for her money. The film, the first talkie produced by its company, was also the first directed by a native Indonesian. The now-lost work received mixed critical reception.
The njai were women who were kept as housekeepers, companions, and concubines in the Dutch East Indies. In the Javanese language, the word nyai meant "sister", but the term later took a more specific meaning. Author Rob Nieuwenhuys described the position of the njai as always subservient, being the white man's housekeeper and companion, before she was his concubine.
Samiun dan Dasima is a 1971 Indonesian film directed by Hasmanan. Starring Chitra Dewi and W.D. Mochtar, it follows a njai (concubine) named Dasima who is wooed, misled, and ultimately killed by a man who seeks her wealth.
Tjěrita Njai Dasima: Soewatoe Korban dari pada Pěmboedjoek, sometimes spelled Cerita Nyai Dasima, is an Indonesian short novel written by G. Francis. It was published in 1896 by Kho Tjeng Bie & Co. of Batavia and written in colloquial Malay. The story is about Dasima, a Sundanese woman, who becomes nyai, or concubine, to an Englishman. It was based on a true story, and the novel was adapted for theatre, music, and film.
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