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Ping WangThe East is Red - 东方红 (Dongfang Hong) (1964)

A song and dance epic produced by the People's Republic of China on the cusp of the Cultural Revolution. "What sort of film would have resulted if, in the mid 1960s, Busby Berkeley, fresh from his gig on 'Jumbo', had been invited by none other than Chairman Mao to realize a project styled 'a song and dance epic', for the benefit of the entire People's Republic of China to digest as a picture show entertainment? Something flashy, but with a message. Something to enliven and uplift the people in ways that even the 'Little Red Book' could not achieve. Well, Buzz never took up the 'offer', but the film which emerged, 'Dongfang Hong' (aka 'The East is Red') certainly ranks as one of the most impressive musicals ever made, despite being buried in obscurity. Film critic Elvis Mitchell, upon seeing clips of 'Dongfang', thought first of Vincente Minelli as far as style is concerned. It's true, there's more of 'An American in Paris' here than '42nd Street', but that's where the film's message comes in: wow the people."

In Mandarin Chinese with Chinese and English subtitles

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_East_Is_Red
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0431729/


This movie is part of the collection: Feature Films

Director: Ping Wang
Sponsor: People's Republic of China
Audio/Visual: sound, color
Language: Mandarin Chinese
Keywords: Mao Zedong; Mao Tse-Tung; Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution; People's Republic of China; musical; epic; communism; maoism; marxism

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: buztay - - November 20, 2009
Subject: Got Choreography?
Forget that: this is a pr film to glorify the revolution & mao, the music is semi-chinese so somewhat atonal to the western ear (think chinese souza). Realize that: 1. at this time many han were proud of their revolution. 2.busby never had a troop this tight. There's a cadre of about 40 women who are grace personified- i've only caught 2 (minor) mistakes so far. If you appreciate elegant athleticism & polished choreography enjoy this- i got the 512 & found it fine- be sure to get both parts..

Reviewer: drpsionic - - August 27, 2008
Subject: hilarious
If you need a good laugh, this is it. One of the very best unintentional comedies ever filmed.