Polly Shang Kuan Ling Feng
Connie Chan Po Chu
Showing posts with label Connie Chan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Connie Chan. Show all posts
Connie Chan: Precious Youth
As it was elsewhere in the world, "youth" (青春 / qingchun) was the watchword of the times in 1960s Hong Kong, and during that era nobody epitomized the spirit of youth better than Connie Chan and Josephine Siao. In 1966 they starred together in the teen musical Colourful Youth (彩色青春 / Caise qingchun), which broke box office records and helped set the trend for youth movies in Hong Kong cinema. Later that year, Shaw Brothers also jumped on the bandwagon with The Joy of Spring (歡樂青春 / Huanle qingchun). Throughout the remainder of the decade, the near-magical word qingchun was used frequently in film titles and song lyrics, including Connie's 1967 melodrama Waste Not Our Youth (莫負青春 / Mofu qingchun). Although the film is ultimately a cautionary tale for wayward teens, the irrepressible spirit of youth comes across loud and clear in its songs.
及時行樂 ("Happy Together")
(play song)
年青的一代 ("The Young Generation")
(play song)
莫負青春 ("Precious Youth")
(play song)
月下情歌 ("Duet under the Moon")
(play song)
* Back cover of the EP with Chinese lyrics
Let me end this post by sharing one of my favorite scenes from the movie. Here's the setup. Traumatized by an attempted rape, Connie has lost her marbles. Her parents and childhood boyfriend are trying to coax her back to sanity. See what happens when Connie's attacker comes to visit her at the hospital.
Connie Chan Strikes Again
Time to bust out the turntable again. The following soundtrack EP for Connie Chan's 1967 film Lady Black Cat Strikes Again (黑野貓霸海揚威) is pretty typical of the eclectic world of early Cantopop, in which an American country & western hit could be casually transformed into the rousing theme song for a crimefighting Hong Kong heroine. Even the seemingly straightforward adaptation of a Spanish waltz reveals the gender-bending influence of Cantonese opera by having Connie sing as both señorita and señor.
If the cool cover art and jaunty songs catch your fancy, then check out my review of the Lady Black Cat movies, both of which are available on DVD.
黑野貓 ("Ghost Riders in the Sky")
(play song)
西班牙舞曲 ("Spanish Dance")
(play song)
真情假意 ("Wine & Tea")
(play song)
銀海風光 ("A Star is Born")
(play song)
* Back cover of the EP with Chinese lyrics
Connie Chan: The Girl with Long Hair
OK, folks! It's time to bring on Hong Kong's beloved ass-kicking, cross-dressing, opera-singing teen idol of the 1960s: the one and only Connie Chan.
Here's the soundtrack EP for Connie's 1967 film The Girl with Long Hair (長髮姑娘), in which she plays a cop assigned to capture the "Filial Thief", a righteous Robin Hood who steals from the rich who treat their parents poorly. The "Filial Thief" is played by opera star Lam Kar-sing.
You'll notice right away that these songs are more traditional than you might expect from the modish EP cover. Drawing on Cantonese opera and folk music rather than Western pop, they are an example of the grassroots influence in the early development of Cantopop.
Lam Kar-sing and Connie Chan, heroes on opposite sides of the law
* Photo comes from the Yau Leung collection 昨夜星光 (1940s-1960s)
雌雄鬥口曲
(play song)
掃蕩羣魔 ["Root out the Demons"]
(play song)
長髮姑娘賊孝子 ["The Girl with Long Hair and the Filial Thief"]
(play song)
Back cover of the EP with Chinese lyrics, plus another picture of Connie as she appears during the scene featuring the first song presented above:
Gone to Hong Kong, Back Next Week
I'm flying to Hong Kong in a few hours so I can watch the one and only Connie Chan perform Cantonese opera at the HK Coliseum this weekend. I'll be back to my regular blogging late next week.
The above photo dates from 1958, when Connie — already a rising opera star — was just eleven years old. (Thanks to Oldflames for the wonderful bon voyage!)
UPDATE: I just heard the sad news that Connie's mother, opera star Kung Fan-hung, passed away last night after collapsing at the Hong Kong Coliseum during Connie's first performance. Please join me in extending heartfelt sympathy to her at this time.
Sek Kin (1913-2009): Rest in Peace
One of the unexpected pleasures I had while watching countless Connie Chan films was that I became acquainted with the long and prolific career of Hong Kong cinema's number one bad guy, Sek Kin. During the 60s, he co-starred with Connie in some 70 films. The two of them had a special chemistry that equaled, in my opinion, the legendary on-screen romance between Connie and Lui Kei. Both relationships were intimate, but one was made of declarations of love and attempted kisses, while the other was made of kicks and punches. As Sek Kin once said in an interview, he loved working with Connie because she was strong and could take a hit.
In tribute to "Bad Guy Kin" (who in real life was the epitome of Mr. Nice Guy), here is a clip from The Black Killer (1967). In the film Sek Kin plays a gang boss who has kidnapped Connie Chan’s uncle. Posing as a young tough, Connie successfully gains his trust until the inevitable moment of revelation and betrayal.
Further Reading
In tribute to "Bad Guy Kin" (who in real life was the epitome of Mr. Nice Guy), here is a clip from The Black Killer (1967). In the film Sek Kin plays a gang boss who has kidnapped Connie Chan’s uncle. Posing as a young tough, Connie successfully gains his trust until the inevitable moment of revelation and betrayal.
Further Reading
Soft Film Video Jukebox: Connie Chan
Before I started this blog, I spent nearly two-and-a-half years creating and maintaining a website devoted to Connie Chan, 1960s Cantonese teen idol extraordinaire. Yep, Connie did it all: Chinese opera, action, comedy, martial arts, melodrama, romance — sometimes all within a single movie!
Connie's contemporary films almost always featured a couple of songs, which were also released on 45rpm EP records. Mixing elements of Cantonese folk melodies and Western popular music, her songs helped give birth to what would later become known as Cantopop.
A splendid example of Connie's hybrid pop sound is the following song from Lady Bond Strikes Again (1966), which takes "Do-Re-Mi" from The Sound of Music and turns it into “Let’s Practice Kung Fu Fighting”!
Although Connie's legendary Lady Bond movies are criminally unavailable on DVD, you can at least get a taste from M59's wonderful homemade music video. The translated lyrics below are courtesy of Connie Chan fans Webbburt and Cindy Law.
Connie's contemporary films almost always featured a couple of songs, which were also released on 45rpm EP records. Mixing elements of Cantonese folk melodies and Western popular music, her songs helped give birth to what would later become known as Cantopop.
A splendid example of Connie's hybrid pop sound is the following song from Lady Bond Strikes Again (1966), which takes "Do-Re-Mi" from The Sound of Music and turns it into “Let’s Practice Kung Fu Fighting”!
Although Connie's legendary Lady Bond movies are criminally unavailable on DVD, you can at least get a taste from M59's wonderful homemade music video. The translated lyrics below are courtesy of Connie Chan fans Webbburt and Cindy Law.
“Let’s Practice Kung Fu Fighting”
from Lady Bond Strikes Again (1966)
Throwing a punch and a kick requires method
(repeat verse)
The energy and agility must be appropriate
(repeat verse)
Eyes in four directions, while ears in eight
Keep the cool, facing battle without haste
(Practice our kung fu, even better than James Bond
The fast paced attack is fun)
Attack the enemy while he is not on guard
(Let’s practice till we are strong as King Kong)
Hope everybody will be diligent in practicing
(But we must strengthen our physique first)
This kung fu tactic is fierce as it uses both fists
(Yes, this one is very fierce)
This kung fu tactic is to target the enemy’s stomach
(Yes, hit the enemy’s stomach)
This kung fu tactic is to make the enemy underestimate our tiger-fierce attacks
(Yes, this tactic is really tricky and very effective)
Attacking the enemy with a few quick punches is hard to defend
(repeat verse)
This kung fu tactic flies like a butterfly, stings like a bee
(repeat verse)
This kung fu tactic flies like a ruthless eagle
(repeat verse)
This kung fu tactic kills without the enemy even knowing
(repeat verse)
This kung fu tactic gives the enemy a misty eye so he can’t defend
(repeat verse)
The Blonde Hair Monster (1962)
Movie ad from the back cover of a romance magazine
In my recent post about Shaw Brothers' Oriole, the Heroine, I mentioned that martial-arts queen Yu So Chow had portrayed the character in eight films, the last of which was The Blonde Hair Monster, starring a young Connie Chan. Well, it just so happens that one of my favorite YouTubers, SHUESIK, has made an awesome 3-minute music video that distills the pulpy essence of this fun little movie.
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