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Gu Changwei

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gu Changwei
Born (1957-12-12) 12 December 1957 (age 66)
Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
Occupation(s)Cinematographer, film director
Years active1980s-present
SpouseJiang Wenli
AwardsSilver Berlin Bear-Jury Grand Prix
2005 Peacock
Silver Frog
1993 Farewell My ConcubineGolden Horse AwardsBest Cinematography
1994 In the Heat of the Sun

Golden Rooster AwardsBest Cinematography
1988 King of the Children & Red Sorghum

Chinese name
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinGù Chángwèi

Gu Changwei (born 12 December 1957) is a Chinese cinematographer and film director. Gu was born in Xi'an, Shaanxi in the People's Republic of China. Gu is considered one of the major Chinese cinematographers working today.[1]

Career

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Gu Changwei began his cinematic career in the now legendary 1982 class of the Beijing Film Academy, today known as the Fifth Generation. Trained as a cinematographer, Gu was assigned to the Xi'an Film Studio after graduation where he served as a primary collaborator with classmates Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou on their early films, notably King of the Children (for Chen Kaige) and Red Sorghum (for Zhang Yimou), both in 1987.[1] Since then, Gu has worked with both men on multiple occasions, including on Chen's magnum opus, 1993's Farewell My Concubine. Like fellow cinematographer Zhao Fei, Gu has had the opportunity to work with major American directors as well, with Tony Drazan, in his filmed adaptation of Hurlyburly and most notably with Robert Altman, on his film The Gingerbread Man (1997).

Directing

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Beginning in 2005, Gu Changwei branched out into film direction with his debut Peacock, a three-hour-long epic about a small family in the 1970s and 1980s. The film was well received and won the Jury Grand Prix-Silver Bear at the 2005 Berlin International Film Festival.[2] His sophomore feature, And the Spring Comes, was released in 2007.

Filmography

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As cinematographer

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Year English Title Chinese Title Director Notes
1987 Red Sorghum 红高粱 Zhang Yimou
King of the Children 孩子王 Chen Kaige
1989 Codename Cougar 代号美洲豹 Zhang Yimou
1990 Ju Dou 菊豆
1991 Life on a String 边走边唱 Chen Kaige
1993 Farewell My Concubine 霸王别姬 Nominated- Academy Award for Best Cinematography
The Trail 大路 Zhou Xiaowen
1994 In the Heat of the Sun 阳光灿烂的日子 Jiang Wen
1995 Warrior Lanling Sherwood Hu
1997 The Gingerbread Man NA Robert Altman
1998 Last Chance Love Ankie Lau
Hurlyburly NA Anthony Drazan
2000 Devils on the Doorstep 鬼子来了 Jiang Wen
Autumn in New York NA Joan Chen
2005 "Song Song and Little Cat" NA John Woo Segment in All the Invisible Children

As film director

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Year English Title Chinese Title Notes
2005 Peacock 孔雀 Jury Grand Prix at the Berlin International Film Festival
2007 And the Spring Comes 立春 Best Actress award at the Rome Film Festival
2009 Never Abandon, Never Give Up Short film for the International Labour Organization's ILOAIDS program
2011 Love for Life 最爱 -
2014 Love on the Cloud 微爱之渐入佳境

References

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  1. ^ a b Zhang, Yingjin & Xiao, Zhiwei (1998). "Gu Changwei" in Encyclopedia of Chinese Film. Taylor & Francis, p. 181. ISBN 0-415-15168-6.
  2. ^ Meza, Ed (2005-02-21). "'Carmen' cops gold". Variety. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
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