Australian Digital Theses Program

Thesis Details
Title	Cutting Action : Appreciating Hong Kong's Wuxia Films Through an Analysis of Constructive Editing
Author	Gravestock, Peter James
Institution	Flinders University
Date	2011
Abstract	As a video editor Gravestock was inspired to conduct a comparative analysis of Western and Hong Kong film production systems to show how Hong Kong filmmakers have developed unique editing techniques to construct action. By conducting detailed analyses of fight sequences from the wuxia (wu xia pian) genre, the author has identified constructive editing techniques that are idiosyncratic to the Hong Kong film style. He has further documented how these editing techniques have developed in relation to particular influential forces: the pursuit of novelty and the drive to achieve more impressive spectacles; editing concepts that pertain to the presentation of space, time, speed and power; the oscillation between realistic and fantastic stylisation of generic feats such as the weightless leap, palm power and the casting of flying swords. The closing chapter provides a case study of the opening fight sequences from two films: King Hu's Come Drink With Me (Da Xui Xia, 1966) and Tsui Hark's Seven Swords (Qi Jian, 2005). The case study reveals that Tsui has modeled his plot, in particular the first fight sequence, upon Hu's groundbreaking movie. By appreciating the construction of action Gravestock provides a unique way of appreciating spectacular narratives whilst attempting to broaden the dialogue on the under-researched film-craft of editing.
Thesis	01front.pdf 198.0 Kb 02chapter1.pdf 5259.4 Kb 03chapter2.pdf 11852.0 Kb 04chapter3.pdf 25614.2 Kb 05chapter4.pdf 32650.2 Kb 06chapter5.pdf 46357.0 Kb 07selectbibliographyandfilmography.pdf 205.3 Kb