tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856798792320939017.post4479721667993592333..comments2024-03-29T06:31:20.715-07:00Comments on Forgotten Classics of Yesteryear: The Bitter Tea of General YenNathanael Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01667245328396233986noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856798792320939017.post-36093497733950768102014-11-30T12:13:08.721-08:002014-11-30T12:13:08.721-08:00To be honest, I saw this film because somebody had...To be honest, I saw this film because somebody had uploaded it to youtube. I think that it has been taken down now. You may have to pony up some cash for a DVD. Sorry!Nathanael Hoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01667245328396233986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856798792320939017.post-44591015464593574492014-11-11T18:14:57.896-08:002014-11-11T18:14:57.896-08:00Hello...I just happened on this site and saw the e...Hello...I just happened on this site and saw the entry for this film...I have returned to college after many years and am studying film history ( my lifelong passion). In reading Victoria Wilson's book, " A Life of Barbara Stanwyck, Steel True" I was intrigued by the storyline of this film but so far have been unable to locate it on the internet. I have a number of film sites "Open Culture", "Film Classics", etc but cannot seem to find this particular film...I would appreciate any leads...Thank youAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14897035169335389643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856798792320939017.post-24372793228833860722014-05-31T10:12:33.726-07:002014-05-31T10:12:33.726-07:00No kidding? I'll have to keep an eye out for t...No kidding? I'll have to keep an eye out for that DVD. Thanks!Nathanael Hoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01667245328396233986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856798792320939017.post-45758948726565316922014-05-04T14:52:04.037-07:002014-05-04T14:52:04.037-07:00Watching this now (2014) on the new 'Sony Choi...Watching this now (2014) on the new 'Sony Choice Collection' DVD: the image quality is exceptional by standard-definition standards! Certainly on a par with, say, the Criterion Collection release of Josef von Sternberg's silent films -- and Capra's pictorial compositions and contrasts could give Sternberg a run for his money too.C_Oliverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17816922541525017016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856798792320939017.post-30062067203549167282011-06-02T18:54:57.574-07:002011-06-02T18:54:57.574-07:00You have great taste in silent film!
Thanks for t...You have great taste in silent film!<br /><br />Thanks for the Carlin recommendation. I'll look it up!Nathanael Hoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08959797971471060052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856798792320939017.post-21924577597307240192011-06-02T15:34:02.012-07:002011-06-02T15:34:02.012-07:00I have seen "Broken Blossoms" and it'...I have seen "Broken Blossoms" and it's a favorite silent film of mine, along with The Crowd, Intolerance, Nosferatu and the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.<br /><br />That bit from Carlin is on his album "Class Clown". It is one his best routines. The same album has his famous "7 Words You Can't Say On Television" shtick. Wonderful!ClassicBeckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03591715859057540467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856798792320939017.post-34804386524790906872011-06-02T14:32:01.335-07:002011-06-02T14:32:01.335-07:00You know...it's one of Chinese cinema's di...You know...it's one of Chinese cinema's dirty little secrets that most famous actresses are taller than the actors. So in many films they have to make the men look taller so they can be bigger than the women.<br /><br />I love Carlin. I should probably listen to more of his work....<br /><br />Have you seen "Broken Blossoms?" It's a fascinating film. If I'm not mistaken it's on youtube.Nathanael Hoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08959797971471060052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856798792320939017.post-5325340545520962402011-06-02T11:30:30.392-07:002011-06-02T11:30:30.392-07:00Your points about Nils Asther's look and his s...Your points about Nils Asther's look and his suicide are very good, and likely true. Perhaps that's why he looked so Caucasianly (is that a word? LOL) handsome to our eyes, and he certainly is the tallest Chinese person I ever saw!<br /><br />After code, movies had to punish pre-marital sex, adultery, stuff like that. I guess this pre-code was so controversial that punishment had to be meted out just for thinking about it in an interracial context. (Reminds me of George Carlin's hilarious explanation of sin to a Catholic boy, ever hear it! -- It's a sin to want to feel up Ellen, it's a sin to think about it, it's a sin to plan to do it, it's a sin to save up money for the streetcar to go do it, it's a sin to take her to a place to do it, and it's a sin to do it! Six sins in one feel, man! -- I thought I'd die laughing!)ClassicBeckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03591715859057540467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856798792320939017.post-8360151405703439892011-06-02T09:20:16.967-07:002011-06-02T09:20:16.967-07:00Wow.....you weren't kidding about posting a lo...Wow.....you weren't kidding about posting a long comment....<br /><br />Let me say, if I had a dozen comments as good as this one my blog would be one of the most popular on the internet!<br /><br />First, I thought that Nils Asther's performance was amazing. As to why he didn't look very "oriental"...I have a theory...Hollywood didn't like the idea of a "regular-looking" Chinese person having a love affair with a white woman. The first time that an interracial relationship including an Oriental man was depicted was in Griffith's "Broken Blossoms." In that film, he was forced to depict their love as purely platonic. There was no kissing, hugging, or physical displays of emotion between the two...and even THAT caused a general outcry! So maybe they were afraid to make Nils Asther look too Chinese because they were afraid of the same thing happening.<br /><br />Also, the cynical part of my mind thinks that one of the reasons why General Yen committed suicide was so that the filmmakers didn't have to imply that they two hooked up, got married, and, GASP, had sex!!! This WAS right before the introduction of the Hayes Code, but most filmmakers were still uncomfortable with showing things like that, particularly if they were of different skin color! But whether or not the cynical voice in my head is right or wrong, General Yen's decision DOES afford a great amount of powerful drama. <br /><br />I also had no idea that this was a Capra film until long afterwards. Funny how these things turn out, huh?Nathanael Hoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08959797971471060052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856798792320939017.post-27973069071367583352011-06-02T08:46:04.286-07:002011-06-02T08:46:04.286-07:00Nate, I am almost a whole year late in seeing this...Nate, I am almost a whole year late in seeing this review! I can't tell you how impressed I am with your assessment of this movie. I only saw it a couple of years ago, thanks to TCM, the best thing that ever happened to us! <br /><br />I did not expect such a profoundly moving film way ahead of its time. Nils Asther, although not Chinese of course, gave a marvelous performance. To me, he did not have a stereotypical look -- it suited him well. Except for the dream scene, I felt that his character had dignity that was always denied to oriental characters (thinking of Boris Karloff as -- Dr. Wu, wasn't it? Suddenly I blanked..) Barbara Stanwyck gave her usual wonderful performance in portraying this complex character.<br /><br />General Yen was everything you described, but I see him as having a deeper core of longing for someone who wanted him for more than his power and money -- his culture had taught him that a woman's love or any kind of friendship did not matter, only the power to demand it. I think he was attracted to Megan partly from lust, but also because he came to realize that only for himself and his better nature would she want him. Power and money meant nothing to her. This aspect of General Yen does not show itself for a while, but evolves through the story's unfolding. <br /><br />Megan's attraction to him was for all the reasons you discussed. I think it was also a woman's inborn attraction to a powerful man, a handsome man, one who even in the role of kidnapper, saved her from danger and wanted to show her the luxury he could offer. To me, this was the core of Megan's fear of this man, and her terrible confusion about her feelings. General Yen was the last man on earth she would ever have dreamed of wanting, and her role as Christian missionary clashed with her desire for him so badly that she didn't recognize herself.<br /><br />I believe that General Yen's suicide, certainly because he had lost his power and honor, was also a way to protect Megan and keep himself from destroying her. Megan was reluctantly but powerfully compelled to finally give herself to him, and he knew what it would do to her, and eventually to himself.<br /><br />Nate, I didn't notice or even realize this was a Capra movie when I first saw it! I love Capra as he came to be known best, but what might he have done if this movie had been successful at that time! I am thrilled to find such a good review of a movie that should be better known!ClassicBeckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03591715859057540467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856798792320939017.post-14025545713792733722010-08-17T15:03:10.242-07:002010-08-17T15:03:10.242-07:00Exactly. Hollywood was forced to learn such techn...Exactly. Hollywood was forced to learn such techniques as subtlety and innuendo. The cinema is all the better for it.Nathanael Hoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08959797971471060052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856798792320939017.post-74756605731107770662010-08-17T12:49:58.965-07:002010-08-17T12:49:58.965-07:00Although Hollywood was forced to get more creative...Although Hollywood was forced to get more creative, it was because of censorship. I see your point though, if the Hays Code never happened it is possible that movies from the late 30s and 40s would have been different and we would be missing out on some classics and perhaps the golden age of Hollywood would never have happened.<br />-Chris M.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856798792320939017.post-52940825022047857582010-08-17T10:50:01.184-07:002010-08-17T10:50:01.184-07:00Well, the Hayes Code was a blessing and a curse. ...Well, the Hayes Code was a blessing and a curse. It did stifle many directors creatively. But it also forced directors and screenwriters to develop their skills so they could inject things into their films that the Code wouldn't allow. There's a reason why the Forties was considered the Golden Age of Hollywood. It was because of the Code that Hollywood learned things like subtlety and nuance. It forced them to be more creative and original than they ever have been before and since.<br /><br />And it was because of the Code that Hollywood conservative. It was because of this conservatism that the Hollywood New Wave was able to be so effective.Nathanael Hoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08959797971471060052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856798792320939017.post-38719230188105257952010-08-17T09:50:49.476-07:002010-08-17T09:50:49.476-07:00That poster would cause quite a stir in 2010 let a...That poster would cause quite a stir in 2010 let alone 1933! I've been meaning to see some pre-code films sometime since I've heard that the Hays Code really set back the content of films for over 30 years and am curious to see how pre-code films like this one hold up today.<br />-Chris M.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com