Shanghai Dreams

Before the tectonic shifts at the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War that sent waves of refugees to Hong Kong and Taiwan, Shanghai was the undisputed capital of Chinese popular culture, a city of Art Deco cosmopolitan chic, of movie stars, political agitators, smugglers, bandleaders, gangsters, and golden-voiced divas. Not surprisingly, filmmakers through the years have been drawn time and again to the allure of Republican Era (1912-1949) Shanghai, and the particular collision of Eastern tradition and Western modernity that it represented—as seen in this series, which coincides with our run of Tsui Hark’s newly restored raucous outing Shanghai Blues, and also encompasses the soundstage confabulation of Josef von Sternberg’s Shanghai Express, the steamy sensuality of Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution, and much more.