| Terrorizers | |
|---|---|
 video cover | |
| Chinese | 恐怖分子 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Kǒngbù Fènzǐ |
| Directed by | Edward Yang |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by | Hsu Kuo-liang |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Chang Chan |
| Edited by | Liao Ching-song |
| Music by | Weng Hsiao-liang |
Production company | |
Release date |
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Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | Taiwan |
| Language | Mandarin |
The Terrorizers is a 1986 drama film by acclaimed Taiwanese filmmaker Edward Yang.
Plot
The film concerns the coincidental interactions between three groups of people in Taipei: a young woman and the tough petty criminal gang of Native Taiwanese she hangs out with; a Mainlander doctor and his novelist wife; and a young photographer who observes the life of the city unfolding around him, in an echo of the protagonist of Michelangelo Antonioni's Blowup.[1]
Cast
- Cora Miao as Zhou Yufen, a depressed novelist
- Lee Li-chun as Li Lizhong, a hospital professional and Zhou Yufen's husband
- Chin Shih-chieh as Shen, Zhou Yufen's ex who owns a company
- Wang An as teenaged hustler
- Liu Min as the girl's mother
- Yu An-shun as the girl's partner in crime
- Ku Pao-ming as Gu, police chief and Li Lizhong's friend
- Ma Shao-chun as young photographer from a rich family
- Huang Chia-ching as the photographer's girlfriend
Reception and legacy
Terrorizers is a part of the New Taiwan Cinema.[2] "Famously characterized by Marxist scholar Fredric Jameson as the postmodern film,[3][4] the film was likened by Yang himself to a puzzle where the pleasure lies in rearranging a multitude of relationships between characters, spaces, and genres."[5]
Awards and nominations
- 1986 Golden Horse Film Festival
- Won: Best Feature Film
- Nominated: Best Leading Actress – Cora Miao
- Nominated: Best Original Screenplay – Hsiao Yeh and Edward Yang
- 1987 Pesaro Film Festival
- Won: Best Director
- 1987 Locarno International Film Festival
- Won: Silver Leopard
- 1987 British Film Institute Awards
- Won: Sutherland Trophy
- 1987 Asia-Pacific Film Festival
- Won: Best Screenplay – Edward Yang, Hsiao Yeh
References
- ↑ The City as Escape Room: Yang's 'The Terrorizers' Remains a Puzzle Without a Solution - The Village Voice
- ↑ MUBI
- ↑ Jameson, Fredric, The Geopolitical Aesthetic. “Remapping Taipei.” London: BFI Publishing, 1992, pp. 114-157.
- ↑ Exiles in Modernity - Chicago Reader
- ↑ Choi, Edo S.; Iovene, Paola, "A Time for Freedom: Taiwanese filmmakers in transition", Doc Films Spring 2009 Volume 3 Issue 3, Doc film society, University of Chicago, archived from the original on June 9, 2009, retrieved April 28, 2009