Hong Kong Connections

“[I]nsightful and well written. . . . [T]he best essays offer unique insights. . . . The volume is remarkable not only for its excellent analysis and theorizing of Hong Kong cinema, but also as a model of how to understand global cinema from local and intercultural contexts that do not exclude or disavow the influence of Hollywood yet are not centered by it. Fans will enjoy this book, but scholars will value it even more. Essential.” - K. J. Wetmore Jr., Choice

“[T]his volume of essays offers something for everyone: from the fanboy to the scholar and even to those who have ever swooned while watching Chow Yun-Fat or Michelle Yeo kick some butt.” - Raquel Laneri, PopMatters

“Given its timely contents and its self-awareness as a space-clearing gesture, Hong Kong Connections stands as a challenge and an inspiration to students and teachers alike.” - Robert Chi, Journal of Asian Studies

“The primary strengths of this volume are its forward-looking, transnational outlook and its adoption of an interdisciplinary, non-Hollywood perspective to reconsider the nature and direction of international cultural currents. . . . Surpassing the ‘imagination’ referenced in its title, this volume successfully establishes a ‘cosmopolitan model’ (p. 13) for exploring global cinema rooted in local contexts.” - Ruby Cheung, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television

“As electrifying as the action cinema it illuminates, Hong Kong Connections delivers an elegantly choreographed and deadly volley of blows against the myth that global popular cinema begins and ends with Hollywood. These essays by a glittering array of leading scholars from around the world reveal Hong Kong cinema’s role in shaping other action cinemas, pioneering transnational filmmaking, and invigorating Chinese cultures. In the process, Hong Kong’s cinema becomes as firmly established as a global meeting as Hong Kong itself.” - Chris Berry, coeditor of Mobile Cultures: New Media in Queer Asia

“This book examines the historical evolution of Hong Kong action cinema as well as its emergence as a transnational film genre in the era of globalization. It is the most well-organized, theoretically sophisticated, and critically engaging study of the subject that we have seen. It is a pleasure to read each of the essays, which are both erudite and interesting.” - Sheldon Lu, coeditor of Chinese-language Film: Historiography, Poetics, Politics