Chinese film propaganda's biggest hits and misfires
It's a fine line between success and failure in Chinese propaganda
Most Chinese propaganda movies come and go without anyone in or outside China paying much attention, but some Party-bolstering films have conquered the box office or set off huge controversies. Here are some of the biggest hits and misfires of recent Chinese propaganda movies.
The Founding of a Republic
You'd think a movie with a name (and story) as boring as The Founding of a Republic
would be box
office poison, but you'd be wrong. When this movie came out in 2009, it
set box office records in
mainland China. Strong state support for the film surely didn't hurt,
and an insane amount of cameos
from Chinese stars helped seal the deal. The cast listing for this movie
is like a who's who of the
Chinese film industry, ranging from Jet Li and Jackie Chan to Chen Kaige
and John Woo.
Hundred Regiments Offensive
Like The Founding of a Republic, this was another state-backed box office success in mainland China.
Rival film executives cried foul, however, when it became clear that the profits of Hundred Regiments
Offensive were inflated. Cinemas were set quotas for the movie, and sold tickets for it to movie-goers
who actually wanted to see other films. It's only been a couple years since the movie came out, but the
scandal is already the most memorable thing about it.
The Cairo Declaration
The Cairo Conference was an important World War II meeting between Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Chiang Kai-shek. Mao Zedong was nowhere near that meeting, but apparently no one told the producers of The Cairo Declaration, a 2015 Chinese film about the meeting whose promotional materials heavily featured Mao Zedong. The same Mao Zedong who had nothing to do with the meeting. Netizens had a field day making parodies of the poster, photoshopping in anyone from Gollum to Barack Obama.
The Taking of Tiger Mountain
Originally one of the Cultural Revolution's Eight Model Operas, this drama about a PLA commander taking on a fortress of evil bandits was given the blockbuster treatment in 2014 by Hong Kong action legend Tsui Hark. Tsui's sure sense of action and theatricality make the film much more entertaining than you'd expect, but every scene set among the saintly PLA soldiers feels like a slog.
Feel like going on a monster movie marathon this weekend? Hit 'Read more' to watch these films online.
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