Hong Kong Nocturne, Hong Kong Riots

One of the most interesting essays in the new book China Forever: The Shaw Brothers and Diasporic Cinema is Paul Pickowicz's "Three Readings of Hong Kong Nocturne". As a historian of 20th-century China, particularly the People's Republic of China, Pickowicz brings a fresh perspective to the study of Hong Kong cinema. In this essay he looks at Hong Kong Nocturne in light of the Cultural Revolution-inspired Hong Kong Riots of 1967. From a leftist point of view at that time, the film is "a veritable 'sugar-coated bullet' that numbs the minds of the masses". Watch for yourself...


Hong Kong Nocturne, 1967

When the film's three charming leading ladies encourage the audience to "hold your head high and strive on / let no barrier stop your advance", I'm pretty certain they weren't talking about protest marches and police barricades. Nope, there is no world revolution in the mythical Hong Kong of Shaw Brothers, just a "lover's paradise" without "blemishes" (read "social problems").

Just months after the release of the film during the lunar New Year season, this is what was really going on in the "Lover's Paradise"...


Hong Kong Leftist Riots, 1967

Although I've outgrown my Mao cap and even developed a sweet tooth for sugar-coated bullets, I still got a big kick out of reading Pickowicz's article.

Arise ye workers, singers, and dancers! Let the world ring with revolution and Shaw Brothers musicals!

Further Reading

• "Remaking Hong Kong: The 1967 People's Revolution"