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are a prime example of Hong Kong cinema as a cinema of attractions as described by film scholar Tom
Gunning and further examined in film studies all over the world. Gunning’s analysis sees the main principle of early cinema as “exhibitionist confrontation rather than diegetic absorption” and can be
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studio at a young age as a junior worker. Years later he was promoted to the camera department as focus puller. From that position he moved up to become a cinematographer. As a cinematographer he worked with a number of renowned directors, mainly with
138:, just like the contemporary New Wave films, combine popular genres with personal drama, their characters and conflicts are grounded in the everyday social reality of Hong Kong and they were filmed on actual locations, not just in a studio.
81:(1978). Lam worked as a cinematographer for seven years and was regarded as one of the best of his trade at the Shaw Brothers studio. Despite the encouragement of the studio, as well as the persuasion of such landmark talent as
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status in the West, in its day it did not do so well in the local cinemas. It grossed only HK$ 2,147,778, whereas Lam’s previous films for Golden
Harvest usually grossed around 8 to 10 million HK$ . Lam’s last film to date is
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expanded not just to experimental cinema but also to certain trends in commercial cinema. Hong Kong films are a prime example of a cinema where narration is secondary to a constant stream of attractions.
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combines both recent trends in Lam's filmography – high concept adaptations of
Japanese comics and hyper-violent exploitation films abundant with bodily fluids. Even though the film later gained a huge
155:. Lam’s cooperation with Wong, who later became one of the most influential writers and producers in Hong Kong cinema, continued with shooting Wong’s two directorial projects
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Because of their sensational focus on the body and its functions, deformations and mortality, the majority of Lam’s movies for Golden
Harvest, can be interpreted using
183:(1986). Both films written by Wong Jing, the first one with him in a starring role and the second produced by him, these films marked a new direction in Lam’s career.
354:(1992), feature regular Hong Kong citizens suddenly facing an heartless evil force threatening their way of life and their very existence. Especially
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in the classical sense, meaning he was the director and cinematographer of the films, but not the author of the script. Nevertheless,
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Combining low-brow comedy with elements of action, adventure and even horror, Lam Ngai Kai’s films starting with
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became Lam's household studio for the rest of his career and Lam became their specialist director for films with
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228:(1990), which again started the whole stream of erotic films with historical/fantasy settings such as
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of the turn of the 70’s and 80’s, these two films display an identical approach to the films of say
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114:(1983), both produced by Shaw Brothers. Even though Lam is not considered part of the
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108:(1982), which he followed with an even more refined and progressive urban thriller
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299:(1992), an hallucinatory mixture of action, horror, comedy and science fiction.
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Director's biography in the bonus materials on the
Celestial Pictures DVD of
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The Cinema of
Attraction: Early Film, Its Spectator and the Avant-Garde
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22:(藍乃才), a.k.a. Lam Nai Choi, Nam Nai Choi, Simon Nam (born 1953), is a
234:(1991). At the same time Lam directed two spectacular adaptations of
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99:(1981), which became the first directorial work for each of them.
34:. In the West he is mainly known for his overtly violent movie
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Lam’s most notorious film is his 1991 over-the-top gore movie
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Lam Ngai Kai’s filmography at HKMDB (http://www.hkmdb.com)
167:(1985). In 1985 both Lam and Wong left Shaw Brothers for
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Lam’s first film as solo director was the crime drama
797:at DeVil Dead (http://www.devildead.com) in French
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698:Story of Riky at HKMDB (http://www.hkmdb.com)
126:. The only difference is that Lam was not an
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209:series. In 1988 Lam set the ground for the
16:Hong Kong film director and cinematographer
358:directly mentions the fateful year 1997.
323:grotesque realism and the grotesque body
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752:at Rejže.cz (http://rejze.cz) in Czech
303:Critical analysis and recurring themes
191:mechanical and optical special effects
216:boom with his rape and revenge movie
57:with whom he worked on films such as
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382:(1981) (co-directed with Danny Lee)
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736:The Cinema of Attractions Reloaded
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530:Assault - The Criminals, Part IV
328:Some of Lam’s films, especially
141:In 1984 Lam directed the comedy
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470:(1991) (credited as Simon Nam)
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193:. In 1987 Lam directed
147:, which was written by
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594:The Kid with a Tattoo
586:Rendezvous with Death
578:To Kill a Mastermind
687:Men from the Gutter
634:Men from the Gutter
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459:Saga of the Phoenix
403:The Ghost Snatchers
395:Men from the Gutter
367:Edward D. Wood, Jr.
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136:Men from the Gutter
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285:Tetsuya Saruwatari
225:Erotic Ghost Story
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78:The Avenging Eagle
658:Killer's Nocturne
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506:Big Bad Sis
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321:concept of
250:(1988) and
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177:(1986) and
161:(1984) and
75:(1978) and
66:Big Bad Sis
44:Film career
839:Categories
793:Review of
778:Review of
763:Review of
674:References
538:Cobra Girl
262:Gloria Yip
124:Johnny Mak
87:Sammo Hung
258:Yuen Biao
149:Wong Jing
120:Dennis Yu
91:Danny Lee
83:Tsui Hark
55:Sun Chung
24:Hong Kong
346:John Woo
69:(1976),
63:(1976),
780:The Cat
750:The Cat
475:The Cat
356:The Cat
338:The Cat
296:The Cat
276:Riki-Oh
211:CAT III
26:–based
669:(1990)
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815:IMDb
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122:or
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244:–
40:.
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