Media

Film and Talk on "Jin Yan: The Rudolph Valentino of Shanghai" and "The Peach Girl"

08 Oct 2010

 

Jin Yan: The Rudolph Valentino of Shanghai

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the births of Shanghai stars Ruan Ling-Yu（阮玲玉） and Jin Yan（金焰）, Dr. Richard J. Meyer will present excerpts from a restored film The Peach Girl (桃花泣血記）starring them. .  The Peach Girl was the third in a series of films produced by the legendary Lianhua film company in 1931 that featured Jin and Ruan.   Meyer has written two books about the stars:  Ruan Ling Yu:  The Goddess of Shanghai （神女）and Jin Yan:  The Rudolph Valentino of Shanghai.  He will talk about them and will be available to sign his books, both of which are published by Hong Kong University Press.  Dr. Meyer has taught at HKU's Journalism and Media Studies Centre and currently teaches film history at Seattle University and Arizona State University. The event is organized by the Project for Public Culture of the JMSC

Speaker : Dr. Richard J. Meyer
Date : 14 October 2010(Thursday)
Time : 4:30pm to 6pm
Venue : T4, Meng Wah Complex, HKU

All are welcome, no registration required.

About the Book :
Jin Yan: The Rudolph Valentino of Shanghai tells the remarkable story of the "Emperor of Film," who dominated the golden age of Chinese silent movies. Jin Yan (金焰) achieved his greatest stardom in the 1930s, when women literally threw themselves at his feet. Married first to the Shanghai actress Wang Renmei, his movie roles with "the Goddess" Ruan Ling-yu spurred public demand for more of them together in films made by the leading studio, Lianhua. It was Jin who made Ruan aware of film's awesome power to portray social problems while evading the censors with melodramatic soap opera formats.

About the Movie :
The Peach Girl  桃花泣血記 Starring Jin Yan and Ruan Ling-yu
Ruan plays Lingu, a peasant girl, who falls in love with the landlord's son De'en, played by Jin, who fathers her child. He promises marriage but is forbidden by his mother to see her because of class differences. De'en finally comes to Lingu's side, as she lies dying. The landowner relents after her death and allows her son to raise the child.

Jin Yan: The Rudolph Valentino of Shanghai (with DVD of The Peach Girl) can be ordered at: http://www.hkupress.org/book/9789622095861.htm         

The Project for Public Culture is supported by the Azalea(1972) Endowment Fund.

For enquiries, please contact Ms. Velentina Ma, Journalism and Media Studies Centre, HKU. Tel: 2219 4012 email: velentinam@hku.hk