| Street Angel | |
|---|---|
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| Traditional Chinese | 馬路天使 |
| Simplified Chinese | 马路天使 |
| Literal meaning | street angel |
| Hanyu Pinyin | mǎlù tiānshǐ |
| Wade–Giles | ma3-lu4 t'ien1-shih3 |
| Directed by | Yuan Muzhi |
| Written by | Yuan Muzhi |
| Starring | Zhou Xuan Zhao Huishen Zhao Dan |
| Cinematography | Wu Yinxian |
| Music by | He Lüting |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | United States: Cinema Epoch (DVD); also available on YouTube |
Release date |
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Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | China |
| Language | Mandarin |
Street Angel (Chinese: 馬路天使; pinyin: Mǎlù tiānshǐ), also known as Street Angels,[1] is a 1937 left-wing Chinese film directed by Yuan Muzhi (袁牧之) and released by Mingxing Film Company. Starring popular Chinese actor Zhao Dan (赵丹) and iconic Chinese singer Zhou Xuan (周璇), the story is set in the slums of Shanghai, chronicling the lives of a band of downtrodden underclass outcasts: a tea house singer, a trumpet player, a newspaper hawker, and a prostitute. By blending elements of romance, comedy and melodrama into the storyline, the characters find themselves in a variety of difficult situations as they try to navigate the hardships of the city during the 1930s. Released towards the end of the golden age of Shanghai cinema, the film is regarded as a masterpiece of the Chinese left-wing movement.[2] Taking place during a time of national tension within the country, issues such as economic policy and military conflict are explored to raise awareness about some of China's most pressing concerns.[3] Additionally, the depiction of an impoverished neighborhood in the midst of a contemporary city is a compelling examination of how modernization had affected China during this era. This fusion between the two also provides a commentary on the combined effects that modernization and colonialism had on Shanghai specifically.[4]
As one of China's earliest sound films, Street Angel also made a name for itself by popularizing two timeless ballads: “Song of the Seasons” (四季歌) and “The Wandering Songstress” (天涯歌女), both of which are still celebrated as classics of Chinese modern song evolution.
- ^ Christopher Rea. “Street Angels (Malu tianshi 馬路天使).” In Chinese Film Classics, 1922-1949, 158-175. New York: Columbia University Press, 2021
- ^ Jones, Andrew F. (2009). Yellow Music : Media Culture and Colonial Modernity in the Chinese Jazz Age. Duke University Press Books. OCLC 743399389.
- ^ "20th CENTURY: China in Revolution, 1912-1949 | Central Themes and Key Points | Asia for Educators | Columbia University". afe.easia.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
- ^ Guo-Juin Hong (2009) Meet me in Shanghai: melodrama and the cinematic production of space in 1930s Shanghai leftist films, Journal of Chinese Cinemas, 3:3, 215-230, DOI: 10.1386/jcc.3.3.215/1 p. 217