View source for Fei Mu

{{Short description|Chinese film director}}
{{family name hatnote|Fei|lang=Chinese}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{infobox person
| name = Fei Mu
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = October 10, 1906
| birth_place = [[Shanghai]], [[Qing China|China]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1951|1|31|1906|11|25}}
| death_place = [[British Hong Kong]]
| occupation = [[Film director|Director]], [[screenwriter]], [[film producer]]
| years_active = 1933-1951
| children = [[Barbara Fei]]
| module = {{Infobox Chinese|child=yes
| t = 費穆
| s = 费穆
| p = Fèi Mù
}}
}}
'''Fei Mu''' (October 10, 1906 – January 31, 1951), also romanised as '''Fey Mou''', was a [[Cinema of China|Chinese film director]] of the pre-Communist era. His ''[[Spring in a Small Town]]'' (1948) was declared the greatest Chinese film ever made by the [[Hong Kong Film Critics Society]].<ref>Christopher Rea, ''Chinese Film Classics, 1922-1949'' (Columbia University Press, 2021), ch. 10.</ref>
==Biography==
Fei Mu's [[Ancestral home (China)|ancestral hometown]] is [[Suzhou]], [[Jiangsu Province]]. He was born in [[Shanghai]], China in 1906. Before becoming a director, he worked as an assistant of the film pioneer [[Hou Yao]].<ref>{{cite book
|last1=Rojas
|first1=Carlos
|last2=Chow
|first2=Eileen
|title=The Oxford Handbook of Chinese Cinemas
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=myXXqpee_XQC&pg=PA63
|year=2013
|publisher=Oxford University Press
|isbn=978-0-19-976560-7
|page=63
}}</ref>
Known for his artistic style and costume dramas, Fei made his first film, ''[[Night in the City]]'' (1933), produced by the [[Lianhua Film Company]]), at the age of 27, and he was met with both critical and popular acclaim; the film is now [[lost film|lost]]. Continuing to make films with Lianhua, Fei directed films throughout the 1930s and became a major talent in the industry, with films like ''[[Blood on Wolf Mountain]]'' (1936) which is often seen as an allegory on the war with Japan,<ref>{{cite magazine | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,946771-1,00.html
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110524043945/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,946771-1,00.html
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = May 24, 2011
| title = A Blue Apple in a City for Sale | accessdate = April 15, 2007 |date= March 27, 1977| magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref> and ''[[Song of China]]'' (1935), a glorification of traditional values that was part of the [[New Life Movement]]. Later, ''Song of China'' became one of the few films that had a limited release in the United States.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://chinesecinema.ucsd.edu/film/tiannun.html| title = Song of China, aka Filial Piety (Tianlun)| access-date = July 18, 2007| date = January 10, 2003| publisher = UCSD Chinese Cinema Web-Based Learning Center| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070814052944/http://chinesecinema.ucsd.edu/film/tiannun.html| archive-date = August 14, 2007}}</ref>
Fei's legacy as one of China's greatest directors was sealed with ''[[Spring in a Small Town]]'' (1948) about a love triangle in post-war China (it was later remade by [[Tian Zhuangzhuang]] in 2002 as ''[[Springtime in a Small Town]]'').<ref>Chinese Film Classics online course, Module 10: ''Spring in a Small Town'': https://chinesefilmclassics.org/course/module-10-spring-in-a-small-town-1948/</ref> Director [[Wong Kar-wai]] called him the only film poet he knew in China. In 2005, ''Spring in a Small Town'' was declared the greatest Chinese film ever made by the [[Hong Kong Film Critics Society]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.hkfaa.com/news/100films.html | title = Welcome to the 24th Hong Kong Film Awards | accessdate = April 14, 2007 | date =  | publisher = 24th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards | archive-date = October 22, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191022211054/http://www.hkfaa.com/news/100films.html | url-status = dead }}</ref> Fei remained active in this so-called "Second Golden Age" and also directed China's first color film ''[[A Wedding in the Dream]]'' (1948), which incorporated Beijing Opera and starred [[Mei Lanfang]].<ref>Zhang Yingjin, ''Chinese National Cinema'', (London: Routledge Press, 2004), 101.</ref> Following the [[Communist Party of China|Communist]] revolution in 1949, Fei Mu, along with many other artists and intellectuals fled to Hong Kong. There he founded [[Longma Film Company]] (Dragon-Horse Films) with [[Zhu Shilin]] and [[Fei Luyi]] and produced (under the Longma name) Zhu Shilin's ''[[The Flower Girl (Hong Kong film)|The Flower Girl]]'' (1951).
Following his death from a heart attack in [[Hong Kong]] in 1951 while working at his desk, Fei Mu and his work temporarily fell into obscurity, as much of his filmography was forgotten or ignored on the mainland and rejected by leftists as indicative of rightist ideologies.<ref>{{Citation
| surname1    = Li
| given1      = Cheuk-to
| year        = 2000
| title       = Spring in a Small Town: Mastery and Restraint
| journal     = Cinemaya
| volume      = 49
}}</ref> It was not until the 1980s, when the [[China Film Archive]] re-opened after being closed down during the [[Cultural Revolution]], that Fei Mu's work found a new audience. Most significant was a new print made by the China Film Archive from the original negative of ''Spring in a Small Town''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.artificial-eye.com/video/ART260/more2.html |title=Then and Now: Two Versions of Springtime in a Small Town |access-date=April 14, 2007 |author=Artificial-Eye.com staff |publisher=Artificial-Eye.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061029182831/http://www.artificial-eye.com/video/ART260/more2.html |archive-date=October 29, 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Filmography==
===Director===
{| class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top" width="40"|Year
!align="left" valign="top"|English title
!align="left" valign="top"|Chinese title
!align="left" valign="top"|Notes
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1933
|align="left" valign="top"|''[[Night in the City]]''
|align="left" valign="top"|城市之夜
|align="left" valign="top"|Also known as ''City Nights''; silent
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1934
|align="left" valign="top"|''[[A Sea of Fragrant Snow]]''
|align="left" valign="top"|香雪海
|align="left" valign="top"|Also known as ''A Nun's Love''; silent
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1934
|align="left" valign="top"|''[[Life (1934 film)|Life]]''
|align="left" valign="top"|人生
|align="left" valign="top"|Silent
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1935
|align="left" valign="top"|''[[Song of China]]''
|align="left" valign="top"|天倫
|align="left" valign="top"|Also known as ''Filial Piety''; co-directed with [[Luo Mingyou]]
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1936
|align="left" valign="top"|''[[Blood on Wolf Mountain]]''
|align="left" valign="top"|狼山喋血記
|align="left" valign="top"|Also known as ''Bloodbath in Langshan'' and ''Bloodbath on Wolf Mountain''
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1937
|align="left" valign="top"|''[[Martyrs of the Northern Front]]''
|align="left" valign="top"|北戰場精忠錄
|align="left" valign="top"|[[Chinese opera]] film
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1937
|align="left" valign="top"|''[[Gold-Plated City]]''
|align="left" valign="top"|鍍金的城
|align="left" valign="top"|Also known as the ''Gilded City''; Chinese opera film
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1937
|align="left" valign="top"|''[[Murder in the Oratory]]''
|align="left" valign="top"|斬經堂
|align="left" valign="top"|Chinese opera film
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1937
|align="left" valign="top"|''Nightmares in Spring Chamber''
|align="left" valign="top"|夢斷春閨
|align="left" valign="top"|Episode in ''[[Lianhua Symphony]]''
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1940
|align="left" valign="top"|''[[Confucius (1940 film)|Confucius]]''
|align="left" valign="top"|孔夫子
|align="left" valign="top"|Thought lost, rediscovered in 2001
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1941
|align="left" valign="top"|''[[Children of the World (1941 film)|Children of the World]]''
|align="left" valign="top"|世界兒女
|align="left" valign="top"|Co-directed with [[Jacob Fleck]] and [[Luise Fleck]]
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1941
|align="left" valign="top"|''The Beauty''
|align="left" valign="top"|國色天香
|align="left" valign="top"|
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1941
|align="left" valign="top"|''[[Songs of Ancient China]]''
|align="left" valign="top"|古中國之歌
|align="left" valign="top"|Chinese opera film
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1948
|align="left" valign="top"|''[[The Little Cowheard]]''
|align="left" valign="top"|小放牛
|align="left" valign="top"|Chinese opera film
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1948
|align="left" valign="top"|''[[A Wedding in the Dream]]''
|align="left" valign="top"|生死恨
|align="left" valign="top"|First Chinese color film; also known as ''Happiness in neither Life nor Death''; Chinese opera film
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1948
|align="left" valign="top"|''[[Spring in a Small Town]]''
|align="left" valign="top"|小城之春
|align="left" valign="top"|
|-
|}
===Screenwriter===
{| class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top" width="40"|Year
!align="left" valign="top"|English title
!align="left" valign="top"|Chinese title
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1934
|align="left" valign="top"|''[[Life (1934 film)|Life]]''
|align="left" valign="top"|人生
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1936
|align="left" valign="top"|''[[Blood on Wolf Mountain]]''
|align="left" valign="top"|狼山喋血記
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1936
|align="left" valign="top"|''[[On Stage and Backstage]]''
|align="left" valign="top"|前台与後台
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1937
|align="left" valign="top"|''[[Martyrs of the Northern Front]]''
|align="left" valign="top"|北戰場精忠錄
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1937
|align="left" valign="top"|''Nightmares in Spring Chamber''
|align="left" valign="top"|夢斷春閨
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1940
|align="left" valign="top"|''[[Confucius (1940 film)|Confucius]]''
|align="left" valign="top"|孔夫子
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1941
|align="left" valign="top"|''[[Children of the World (1941 film)|Children of the World]]''
|align="left" valign="top"|世界兒女
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1941
|align="left" valign="top"|''[[Songs of Ancient China]]''
|align="left" valign="top"|古中國之歌
|}
===Producer===
{| class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top" width="40"|Year
!align="left" valign="top"|English title
!align="left" valign="top"|Chinese title
|-
|align="left" valign="top"|1951
|align="left" valign="top"|''[[The Flower Girl (Hong Kong film)|The Flower Girl]]''
|align="left" valign="top"|花姑娘
|-
|}
==See also==
* [[Lianhua Film Company]]
==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
==Further reading==
* {{Citation
| surname1    = Pang
| given1      = Laikwan
| year        = 2002
| title       = Building a New China in Cinema: The Chinese Left-Wing Cinema Movement, 1932-1937
| publisher   = Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
| isbn        = 0-7425-0946-X
}}
* {{Citation
| surname1    = Rea
| given1      = Christopher
| year        = 2021
| title       = Chinese Film Classics, 1922-1949
| publisher   = Columbia University Press
| isbn        = 9780231188135
}}
== External links ==
* [https://chinesefilmclassics.org/course/module-10-spring-in-a-small-town-1948/ Chinese Film Classics: Fei Mu]: The scholarly website chinesefilmclassics.org contains information about Fei and English-subtitled versions of ''Song of China'' and ''Spring in a Small Town'' ([https://chinesefilmclassics.org/course/module-10-spring-in-a-small-town-1948/ course module])
* {{IMDb name|id=0270502|name=Fei Mu}}
*[http://www.dianying.com/en/person.php?personid=FeiMu Fei Mu] at the Chinese Movie Database
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080102130713/http://chinesecinema.ucsd.edu/directors_ccwlc.html#fei A brief biography of Fei Mu]
*[https://gbtimes.com/fei-mu-director-of-chinas-greatest-film A biographical article on Fei Mu and the making of Spring in a Small Town] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321102807/https://gbtimes.com/fei-mu-director-of-chinas-greatest-film |date=March 21, 2019 }}
*[https://app.suzhou-news.cn/news/300091408?amp;isappinstalled=0&from=timeline&isappinstalled=0 Fei Mu Documents, Suzhou Art Museum, 2018.10.20-2018.11.25 “诗人导演”费穆文献展亮相苏州美术馆]
{{Fei Mu}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fei, Mu}}
[[Category:1906 births]]
[[Category:1951 deaths]]
[[Category:Film directors from Shanghai]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from Shanghai]]
[[Category:Chinese Civil War refugees]]
[[Category:Chinese silent film directors]]
[[Category:20th-century screenwriters]]
[[Category:Chinese emigrants to British Hong Kong]]