- Wu Yonggang
Wu Yonggang (zh-st|s=吴永刚|t=吳永剛) (
November 1 ,1907 -December 18 ,1982 ) was a prominent Chinesefilm director during the 1930s. Today Wu is best known for hisdirectorial debut , "The Goddess". Wu had a long career with theLianhua Film Company in the 1930s, inChongqing during the war, and in the mainland after the 1949 Communist takeover. cite web|url=http://chinesecinema.ucsd.edu/directors_ccwlc.html#wu|title=Chinese Cinema|publisher=UCSD Chinese Cinema Web-based Learning Center|accessdate=2008-01-02]Biography
Born in
Jiangsu province, Wu Yonggang, was one of the major leftist film directors of pre-Communist China. For the early part of his career, Wu was a set designer withDazhonghua Baihe , before transferring to theShaw Brothers 'Tianyi Film Company . [Zhang Yingjin, "Prostitution and Urban Imagination" in Cinema and Urban Culture in Shanghai, 1922–1943, ed. Yingjin Zhang (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1999), 167.] He was eventually noticed byShi Dongshan at the newly formedLianhua Film Company . His first film from the director's chair, 1934's "The Goddess" (under contract with theLianhua Film Company ), earned both him and the film's star,Ruan Lingyu , rave reviews. A prolific director, Wu continued to make films well into 1970s until his retirement shortly before his death including "Evening Rain " (co-directed withWu Yigong ) which won Best Picture at the first annualGolden Rooster Awards .Today Wu's reputation has only improved. Acclaimed director,
Chen Kaige referred to Wu Yonggang as one of his most admired directors, and named "The Goddess" as his favorite film of the 1930s. [cite web | url = http://csac.buffalo.edu/goddess.pdf| title = The Buffalo Film Series- Wu Yonggang-The Goddess/Shen Nu | accessdate = 2007-05-03 | author = |date= 2006-01-24| publisher = TheUniversity of Buffalo |format=PDF]elected filmography
Notes
External links
* [http://chinesecinema.ucsd.edu/directors_ccwlc.html#wu A brief biography of Wu Yonggang]
*
* [http://www.dianying.com/en/person/WuYonggang Wu Yonggang] at the Chinese Movie Database
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