The
Essential Guide to Hong Kong Movies has probably gained
Hong Kong movie fan cult status because of its subject matter
and rarity.
Since Hong Kong cinema has become more mainstream in the West
there are numerous books that review and critique Hong Kong films.
But in 1994 there were few choices for non-Chinese literate Westerners
such as myself. Basically
the choices were the error-ridden Asian
Cult Cinema - The Book and The Essential
Guide to Hong Kong Movies. Asian
Trash Cinema - The Book was and is (in revised
form) still readily available, but The Essential Guide
to Hong Kong Movies seemed destined for cult status from
the beginning. The first printing was a mere 1000 copies (it's
reported that each book was hand numbered on the front leaf "_____of
1000") and while a second printing was done circa 1996 (unknown
number of copies and still retaining the print space for hand
numbering), this book isn't likely to show up on the shelves of
your local bookstore.
While it
was undoubtably an invaluable resource in 1994, the reviews now
seem somewhat dated and are probably more readily accessible in
newer publications. Still, this is a great book if you can find
it.
|
