"Family" (1953), which launched the Union Film legacy, "Spring" (1953) and "Autumn" (1954) are adaptations of Ba Jin's highly regarded novel "Torrent Trilogy". In "Family", director Ng Wui skilfully condenses the voluminous first part of the novel into an emotionally powerful and intellectually focused story of youngsters struggling to survive oppression and repression in a feudalistic family. This well-received film quickly established the company's reputation.
Yuen-yee
Ming-fung
"Family" (1953), which launched the Union Film legacy, "Spring" (1953) and "Autumn" (1954) are adaptations of Ba Jin's highly regarded novel "Torrent Trilogy". In "Family", director Ng Wui skilfully condenses the voluminous first part of the novel into an emotionally powerful and intellectually focused story of youngsters struggling to survive oppression and repression in a feudalistic family. This well-received film quickly established the company's reputation.
1953-01-07
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In 1920s rural Mississippi, Nancy Mannigoe, an African-American servant, is placed on death row for the murder of Temple Drake's infant child. Temple, the daughter of the governor, pleads with her father to exonerate Nancy of the charges, explaining that Nancy acted in haste to prevent her from resuming her affair with a roguish Cajun called Candy Man. Details of Temple's sordid past are uncovered as she begs mercy for her faithful servant.
Guerrilla member Ting Siu-yuen works as a playwright and Lee, the leader of an opera troupe. They conceal their identities in the troupe in order to gather military intelligence. Yuen gradually falls in love with the lead actress Mui Law-heung. Ting is unsettled to learn that County Chief Fong covets Mui. He sneaks into Fong's residence and is astounded by the sight of his old lover Pak Kuen, now Fong's wife. Fong colludes with the military chief in conducting vicious schemes. With Kuen's help, Yuen is able to get the intelligence. But as Heung is not an insider, she reports to the Governor about the illicit relationship between Yuen and Kuen. Kuen backs Yuen to eliminate the conspirators and bring about the union of Yuen and Heung.
After winning a thousand dollars in gold in a boxing match, Jack Mackenzie and his wolf-dog trek south on a journey in hunt of a suitable wife.
Julia, a waitress without much going on in her life, accepts a job offer from Milo, a writer in crisis who needs an assistant to talk to. From these conversations on, she begins to perceive that love is where we least expect for.
Set in the Taisho era, which might be regarded as Japan's Hippie Phase, Hana no ran is a story about fashionable people without impulse control. Much of the action centers on a popular woman writer, the real-life poet Akiko Yosano, and her experiences among the literati of early 20th century Japan. Because of her independent, anti-war and often erotic poetry, she was a lightning rod for revolutionaries and other extremists, many of whom were destined to glamorous, yet ultimately pointless, deaths. The closest parallels might be the Byron/Shelley group or the people drawn to the Beat Generation.
Despite mixed emotions, Frederick Winterbourne tries to figure out the bright and bubbly Daisy Miller, only to be helped and hindered by false judgments from their fellow friends.
An adaptation of the J.P. Sartre story "Le Mur". What goes on in his mind and what happens outside when he has left only few more hours left to live. The existential dilemmas of a prisoner condemned to death from a repressive regime for his participation in a resistance movement and his friendship with the leader of this resistance. When all seems lost and he has already given up the most unlikely coincidence changes the course of events and his life.
Starring Jeremy Irons in a one-man drama, adapted from a Dostoevsky short story by Murray Watts. In his dream, the Man visits an unspoilt Garden of Eden.
In 1862, Abraham Lincoln's youngest son is laid to rest. That night, Lincoln visits his son's crypt, a chorus of ghosts narrating their brief reunion. Based on the bestselling novel by acclaimed author George Saunders.
Songstress Mui Yee-wah falls head over heels for painter Wai Tik-fung despite their age difference. Because Wai is a married man, Mui's mother is against the match. Mui falls ill from grief. Rich heir Siu Kar-wai seizes the chance to successfully propose to Mui. However, Siu is unable to let go of Mui's past. In a fit of anger, he fires a deadly shot at Wai.
An adaptation of Madame Bovary transported to Rye, New York in the 1930's. All characters have been renamed.
Bus Money dons various disguises on public buses to protect the defenceless from the bullies and receives heroic praise. Money meets Tai Ngau, a righteous journalist, when they bear witness to the callous response of Manager Mo to the death of his servant Ah-kwai. Tai writes to redress grievances of the deceased. When visiting the family of orphans, he chances on his kindred spirit giving the eldest daughter Ah-yin a gift of gold. Money exploits the weakness of Mo and her connection with his son Sze-fu to swindle a fortune out of the lewd man for the benefits of the fatherless children. Her rage grows learning that Mo's friend Fong Hak-sang has pulled off a lucrative fraud on returned overseas Chinese and forces Ah-yin to pledge herself in paying off her father's debts. Money, who has all kinds of tricks up her sleeve, teams up with Tai and gives Mo and Fong their comeuppance before setting off on her next mission.
Industrialist Tam Kar-cheung knowingly puts the lives of his workers at risk so as to line his pocket with insurance payments. The chivalrous Bus Money gets into fisticuffs with Tam's chauffeur, Tam Biu, who bears a grudge against the assailant. When Money catches wind of Kar-cheung's vicious plot to set fire to a squatter area to clear the path for a property development project, she moves in and watches vigilantly for signs of arson. Soon, she saves Ah-hau, Biu's girlfriend and a young victim of drug rape, from her suicidal attempt by drowning. Money pursues fragments of clues which lead her to the victim's boss, Taipan Cheung who sucks up to his master Kar-cheung by drawing his prey to her trap. Money then organises squatter residences into fire brigade to guard against arson attacks and exposes Kar-cheung's evil. Realising he has been exploited for his blind loyalty, Biu teams up with Money to dispense justice.
Sojourning in Macau, Su Erning by chance helps Pan Meiniang resuscitate his younger brother and fends off the thug. In her admiration, Pan calls off the engagement arranged by her mother to exchange vows with Su despite having known him for only three days. To raise the money for the wedding, Su plans to sell his family yacht to the rich wife of his classmate Lu Zuhua in Hong Kong and promises to buy Pan a pearl necklace. The promiscuous Mrs Lu seduces Su on the yacht and then dumps him. 18 years later, Pan's daughter is getting married. Su prepares a wedding gift—a stolen pearl necklace—for the bride but is too ashamed to show himself.
Teresa is a spirited young girl chafing under the oppressive attitudes of 1930s society, and her father in particular. She fancies her poverty-stricken Latin tutor Johnathan Crow, without realising he merely considers her a pleasant diversion and nothing more, and eventually follows him from Sydney to London. En route she meets the gentle banker James Quick. Whilst navigating her relationships in London, including with a political poet bound for the Spanish Civil War, she experiences a transformation in her understanding of love. Based upon Christina Stead's best-selling Australian novel.
A dramatization of Canadian author W.O. Mitchell's penetrating story about the racial prejudice encountered by a Polish immigrant farmer in a rural Saskatchewan community.
Patricia Highsmith's haunting story of a day in a young girl's life when a kind stranger comes to town.
A touching drama based on the novel of the same name by Eikichi Hashimoto. In the 23rd year of the Meiji period, weather forecasts were rarely correct, and people endlessly suffered from typhoons and natural disasters. Nonaka Itaru, a private meteorologist, settled on Mount Fuji during the harsh winter, where it was thought impossible to overwinter, and opens up the future of high-altitude weather observations in Japan.
Chun-sam is working as a servant at Bong-pil's home to be his future son in-law. His daughter, Jeom-sun has grown enough to get wed. But her father thinks she is too young. But in reality he doesn't want to set her daughter with Chun-sam to begin with. Jeom-sun finds out, and picks up a fight with her father. When Chun-sam decides to play hard on his master, Jeom-sun takes Chun-sam's side.