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June 15, 2016

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Home » Feature » Travel

Experience past glories, modern glitz

SHANGHAI is often described as the cradle of Chinese cinema. Its streets are filled with landmarks celebrating the vibrant history of the local film industry. Some of these time-honored places evoke nostalgia among older movie buffs; while a bevy of fresh, new venues is ready to spark an interest in cinema culture among a whole new generation of movie-goers. Together, these locations tell their own story about Shanghai’s connection to the silver screen.

In honor of the ongoing 19th Shanghai International Film Festival, let’s explore some of the city’s best movie-themed attractions.

Jackie Chan Film Gallery

This gallery includes thousands of props and costumes seen in dozens of movies staring action-film legend Jackie Chan. It’s also a museum chronicling Chan’s decade-spanning career, from Hong Kong hotshot to Hollywood stardom. Located in the Changfeng Ecological Commercial Zone of Putuo District, the gallery is the first venue of its kind to bear Chan’s name. Photos and clips from classic films are displayed throughout the gallery. Installations, screens and sound effects also combine to recreate Chan’s famous fight and chase scenes from movies like “The Accidental Spy” and “Police Story.”

The gallery also highlights Chan’s achievements in charity, including the establishment of the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation and the Dragon’s Heart Foundation to help children and the elderly in poverty-stricken areas of China.

During the Shanghai International Film Festival, a Jackie Chan Action Movie Week will also be held to honor the celebrated figure and discuss the future of kungfu movies.

Address: 88 Yunling Rd. E. Tel: 6071-3232

Shanghai Film Museum

Located on the original site of Shanghai Film Group in Xujiahui, Shanghai Film Museum is the perfect place to learn about the history of local cinema. In addition to regular film screenings, the museum displays rare movie clips, props, costumes, memorabilia and equipment.

The museum traces the history of cinema in Shanghai all the way back to the 19th century. Some visitors may be surprised to learn that motion pictures where being shown in the city just months after France’s Lumiere Brothers debuted the world’s first film in December, 1895. By the 1930s, Hollywood studios like MGM, Columbia and Paramount were already promoting their films in the city to local viewers.

Special displays focus on important early Chinese productions, such as “Yan Ruisheng,” China’s first full-length feature; “Burning the Temple of the Red Lotus,” China’s first martial-arts film; “Sing-song Girl Red Peony,” the country’s fist sound film; and its first animated feature “The Princess of the Iron Fan.”

Visitors can watch movies at the museum’s 4D-theater. They can also experience what it’s like to be an actor, director or camera operator at an interactive film studio.

 

Address: 595 Caoxi Rd N. Tel: 6426-8666

Shanghai Film Art Center

Shanghai Film Art Center is the main venue of the Shanghai International Film Festival, an annual film gala for industry insiders and movie buffs. This month, screenings of classic and new films from all over the world are presented at the center. After many of these screenings, viewers can have the chance to ask questions of their favorite stars and directors.

Some of the festival’s press conferences, industry forums, workshops and master classes were also hosted there.

The center has helped many young Asian filmmakers, some of whom got their big breaks after having films screened there.

This year, the ongoing 19th Shanghai International Film Festival is hosted here, which will run through June 19.

A highlight of this year’s festival is “Shakespeare on Film: Shakespeare’s 400th Anniversary Film Screenings,” with the British Film Institute and British Council to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death this year. A collection of classic British adaptations of Shakespeare’s works on the big film screen will be presented at the center and other theaters of the city.

 

Address: 160 Xinhua Rd
Tel: 6280-6088

Shanghai Grand Cinema

As the self-proclaimed “No. 1 Cinema of the Far East,” Shanghai Grand Cinema opened to the public in 1928. Famed architect Ladislav Hudec re-designed the cinema a few years later, and his work helped make the cinema one of Shanghai’s classic theaters.

In the 1930s, the theater was one of the most luxurious in the world, offering simultaneous translation of Western films into Chinese, as well as air conditioning. During that decade, most of the movies shown there were Hollywood and European productions.

During its heyday, the cinema was magnet for cosmopolitan Chinese viewers looking for a window onto the world overseas. It also had one of most successful theaters in China in terms of its box-office take.

Some early film stars also worked as simultaneous translator at the cinema. The 89-year-old Chinese-American actress and producer Lisa Lu shared her memories from a lifetime in the industry last year at the 18th Shanghai International Film Festival. Her career also included a stint as a Chinese interpreter of foreign films at the cinema.

Nowadays the building still retains its grandeur and is protected as part of the city’s historical heritage. In 2008, 120 million yuan (US$18.2 million) were spent on renovation. Five new small screening halls were built, while its main screening hall was also restored.

 

Address: Nanjing Rd W.
Tel: 6327-4260

Shanghai Film
Park

Shanghai Film Park, located in Chedun, Songjiang District, has provided sets and backdrops for numerous movies, including Ang Lee’s “Lust, Caution,” Peter Chan’s “Perhaps Love” and action flick “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.”

The park’s numerous sets include reconstructions of Nanjing Road in the 1930s, shikumen-style alleys and olden-time Suzhou Creek neighborhoods; all of which offer visitors (and movie viewers) a glimpse at Shanghai’s glamorous past. There are also plenty of film props and customs.

Meanwhile, the park offers fans the chance to see movie production first-hand. You can watch actors and directors at work, or watch technicians create special effects during post-production.

Sets in the park have also been used as backdrops for wedding photo shoots.

 

Address, 4915 Beisong Rd, Chedun, Songjiang District
Tel: 5760-1627

Other popular shooting locations in the city

In recent years, Shanghai has become an increasingly popular backdrop for foreign films, including some Hollywood blockbusters.

Many Shanghai scenes are intended to be fashionable and modern, but some locations are traditional and historical. Stunning nighttime scenes of Pudong International Airport and the skyscrapers of Lujiazui were shown in the James Bond film “Skyfall.” Some scenes in “Transformers 2: Revenge of The Fallen” were shot at the Oriental Pearl Tower and Huaihai Road. Many key sequences in “Mission: Impossible III” were shot in China, with the Bund and the city’s shikumen houses also appearing.

Other popular film backdrops in Shanghai include the Zhujiajiao water town in Qingpu District, Shanghai World Financial Center, 1933 Old Millfun, Sinan Mansions and Astor House Hotel.




 

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