American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 54

Cataclysm
C
hinese cinematographer Yu Cao remembers the exact day that director Chuan Lu first mentioned his interest in making a film about one of the most infamous events in modern Chinese history. “It was 2003, and Chuan and I had just completed the last shot on Kekexili:Mountain Patrol, when he turned to me and said, ‘I want to make a film about the Nanking Massacre.’ As he described the story, my mind filled with faces — the faces of those who survived the war and those who did not.” City of Life and Death would, indeed, become a film about faces, but because of the politically sensitive nature of the subject matter, Lu and Cao would have to wait four years before exposing a single frame. The events collectively known as the Rape of Nanking took place in 1937, during the second Sino-Japanese War, when the invading Japanese Imperial Army laid siege to the city. During the first six weeks of the occupation, an estimated 300,000 Chinese — half the population — were slaughtered. More than 20,000 women and girls were raped and murdered. City of Life and Death is told through the eyes of several
July 2011

A Cultural

City of Life and Death, shot by Yu Cao, re-creates a tragic chapter in Chinese history.
By Jean Oppenheimer •|•

characters: Lu Jianxiong (Liu Ye), who leads the fight to defend Nanking; Miss Jiang (Gao Yuanyuan), a young teacher in the city; Kadokawa (Hideo Nakaizumi), a morally conflicted Japanese soldier; and Mr. Tang (Fan Wei), a husband and father who collaborates with the enemy in the hopes of keeping his family safe. Released in China in 2009 (under the title Nanjing! Nanjing!), the film polarized audiences; some were outraged by the sympathetic portrait of Kadokawa, who becomes increasingly distraught over the atrocities committed by his fellow soldiers. The picture also won numerous prizes, including best film awards at the 2009 Asia Pacific Screen Awards and the 2009 San Sebastian International Film Festival, and cinematography prizes at those festivals as well as the 2010 Asian Film and Golden Horse awards. The filmmakers began a full year of preproduction in October 2006. The first decision Lu and Cao confronted was whether the picture should be black-and-white or color. Cao worried that the massacre scenes might be too much for audiences to bear in color. He also questioned whether so much

54

American Cinematographer



American Cinematographer - July 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - July 2011

American Cinematographer - July 2011
Contents
Editor’s Note
President’s Desk
Letters
Production Slate: Larry Crowne • Mortal Kombat
Monster Out of the Box
Ring of Power
Shot Down in Flames
A Cultural Cataclysm
Ascending Cinematography’s Summit
Post Focus: Prime Focus New York
Filmmakers’ Forum: Jim Matlosz
New Products & Services
International Marketplace
Classified Ads
Ad Index
In Memoriam: Gerald Perry Finnerman, ASC
Clubhouse News
ASC Close-Up: Bruno Delbonnel
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - American Cinematographer - July 2011
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 1
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 2
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Contents
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 4
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 5
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 6
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 7
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Editor’s Note
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 9
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - President’s Desk
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 11
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Letters
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 13
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Production Slate: Larry Crowne • Mortal Kombat
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 15
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 16
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 17
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 18
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 19
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 20
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 21
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 22
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 23
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Monster Out of the Box
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 25
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 26
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 27
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 28
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 29
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 30
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 31
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 32
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 33
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 34
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 35
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Ring of Power
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 37
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 38
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 39
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 40
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 41
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 42
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 43
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 44
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 45
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Shot Down in Flames
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 47
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 48
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 49
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 50
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 51
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 52
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 53
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - A Cultural Cataclysm
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 55
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 56
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 57
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 58
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 59
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 60
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 61
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Ascending Cinematography’s Summit
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 63
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 64
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 65
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 66
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 67
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 68
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 69
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Post Focus: Prime Focus New York
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 71
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Filmmakers’ Forum: Jim Matlosz
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 73
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 74
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 75
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - New Products & Services
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 77
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 78
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 79
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - International Marketplace
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Classified Ads
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Ad Index
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 83
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - In Memoriam: Gerald Perry Finnerman, ASC
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 85
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Clubhouse News
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 87
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - ASC Close-Up: Bruno Delbonnel
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Cover4
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