Four Favourites with Edward Yang
About the Programme
In 1992, Edward Yang was invited by the British Film Institute’s Sight & Sound magazine to participate in a poll for the greatest films in cinema history. He listed his top ten films of all-time, which were later published in volume 28 of the film magazine Influence in 1993, Taiwan. AFA’s film programme presents some of these renowned masterpieces from Edward Yang’s perspective through a modern 2024 perspective, calling to mind the “Four Favourites” series from cinema platform Letterboxd. It is intended to offer a deeper insight to Yang’s cinematic influences and approach to filmmaking.
Adapted original text from © Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute
The Movies I Like
By Edward Yang
My growth and cinema are closely intertwined, and I am the first generation of Chinese people who grew up watching movies from a young age. Before the age of six, I had a great fear of watching movies until I watched Escape from Fort Bravo, which suddenly healed me. I experienced a transformative moment through that film. When I was 19 years old, I watched Fellini’s 8 1/2 for the first time. It wasn’t until the fourth viewing that I suddenly understood and was immediately captivated. It was my first realisation of cinema’s immense and grand power.
Among the many films, it is difficult for me to single out one that has made the most profound impact on me. There are two waves of film movements that have deeply impacted me—the Japanese films of the 1960s and the New German Cinema of the 1970s. Apart from that, a series of films by Werner Herzog have the most profound impact on me. I had already given up on my desire to become a filmmaker at that time, but his work reignited my passion. The simplicity and directness of his visual language resonated deep within my soul, reviving my breath and heartbeat. His independence and perseverance, in particular, convinced me that a film could be accomplished through the determination of one person, a belief that remains steadfast to this day. If I were to choose my favourite movie, if I had to pick just one, it would be Herzog’s Aguirre, the Wrath of God, the first of his works I encountered.
— Edward Yang, excerpt from “The Movies I Like” in United Daily News, April 5, 1994
Programme
Nostalghia (Ностальгия) (1983, Andrei Tarkovsky, Italy/USSR)
My American Uncle (Mon oncle d’Amérique ) (1980, Alain Resnais, France)
Blue Velvet (1986, David Lynch, USA)
Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972, Werner Herzog, West Germany) [Both original English dubbed and German dubbed versions]
This film programme is part of Retrospective: Edward Yang. Tickets for the programme will go on sale from Monday, 14 October 2024
Friends of AFA members, please read the membership guide on how to purchase your discounted tickets and redeem your complimentary tickets.
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