Chen Kun-hou

Chen Kun-hou (陳ひね坤ひつじさる厚あつし) is a veteran cinematographer, who started his career in the 1960s. He won his first best cinematography award at Golden Horse Awards in 1978 for He Never Gives Up (汪洋おうよう中ちゅう的てき一いち條じょう船せん), directed by Lee Hsing (李り行こう). In the early 1980s he began to direct his own films in collaboration with Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢ほうしゃおしえん). After series of urban comedies, he made quite a few representative films of the Taiwan New Cinema, such as Growing Up (小しょう畢的故事こじ; 1983), which won him the best director award at the Golden Horse Awards, His Matramony (結婚けっこん; 1985), which won him the second best cinematography award at Golden Horse Awards, and My Favorite Season (最さい想念そうねん的てき季き節ぶし; 1985), and Osmanthus Alley (桂かつら花はな巷ちまた; 1987). He is awarded for his life achievement in Taiwan cinema at the 60th Golden Horse Awards in 2023.

Career

Chen Kun-hou was born in Taichung in 1939. He was enrolled in Central Motion Picture Corporation (CMPC; 中央ちゅうおう電でん影かげ公司こうし) in 1962 to learn cinematographer. His uncle Lai Cheng-ying (賴成らんじょう英えい) was an established cinematographer there at CMPC already. He started as an apprentice and was promoted to cinematographer in 1971. His first film as a cinematographer is Story of Mother (母親ははおや三さん十じゅう歲さい; 1973), in which his cinematography adds a tragic-realistic tone this highly accalimed film by Sung Cun-shou’s (宋そう存そん壽ことぶき). He worked with Lee Hsing for many of his films in the late 1970s, including He Never Gives Up, Good Morning Taipei (早はや安やす台北たいぺい; 1979), The Story of A Small Town (小城おぎ故事こじ; 1979), and My Native Land (原鄉はらごう人じん; 1980). He won his first best cinematography award at Golden Horse Awards for his cinematography in He Never Gives Up in 1978.^[1]

Starting from 1979, Chen Kun-hou and Hou Hsiao-hsien teamed up to produce six films in the style of romantic urban comedy by taking turns to be the director, four of which directed by Chen are Spring in Autumn (天てん涼りょう好個こうこ秋あき; 1980), Lover on the Wave (我わが踏浪而來; 1980), Longing (蹦蹦一いち串くし心しん; 1981),^[1] and Six Is Company (俏如彩いろどり蝶ちょう飛ひ飛ひ飛ひ; 1982) and the other two directed by Hou are Cute Girl (就是溜ため溜ため的てき她; 1980) and Cheerful Wind (風ふう兒じ踢踏踩; 1982). These films copied the successful formula of Qiong Yao’s literary romantic films to cast popular stars, such as Chin Han (秦はた漢かん), Kenny Bee (鍾鎮濤), Joan Lin (林はやし鳳おおとり嬌), Feng Fei-fei (鳳おおとり飛ひ飛ひ), and Shen Yan (沈雁), to present light-hearted urban romance accompanied by namesake theme songs and other interlude songs. Two of the six films were arranged to premiere in theaters during the Chinese new year holidays, Cute Girl and Cheerful Wind, both project the new year blessing of “May you be happy and prosperous” (恭きょう喜き發はつ財ざい) at the end of the film on the screen.

In 1982, Chen Kun-hou, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Hsu Shu-zhen (許もと淑よし真しん), and Chang Hua-kun (張ちょう華はな坤ひつじさる) formed Evergreen Film Company (萬年青おもと影かげ業ぎょう公司こうし).^[1] The company’s first film Growing Up, a collaboration with CMPC and directed by Chen, was a big success at the box office (NT$6,309,066 in Taipei City),^[2] and it won the best feature film, best director, and best script at the Golden Horse Awards in 1983.^[1] The company also produced The Boys from Fengkuei (風ふう櫃ひつ來らい的てき人じん; 1983), directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien with Chen as the cinematographer. The film was Hou’s important first film with artistic consciousness of film form but it was also the last film he and Chen collaborated on.^[3]

After Chen Kun-hou parted ways with Hou Hsiao-hsien, he was productive as a key director of the Taiwan New Cinema and made six films, mostly adaptations of literary works, from 1984 to 1988, including Out of The Blue (小しょう爸爸的てき天空てんくう; 1984), His Matrimony, My Favorite Season, Drifters (流浪るろう少年しょうねん路ろ; 1986), Osmanthus Alley, My Mother's Teahouse (春秋しゅんじゅう茶室ちゃしつ; 1988).^[1] He won another best cinematography award at the Golden Horse Awards in 1985 for His Matrimony.^[4]

Starting from 1989, Chen Kun-hou began to be involved in TV productions, especially documentaries, such as Feiyue Qingchun (飛越とびこし青春せいしゅん; 1992) and The Story of Confucius (孔子こうし的てき故事こじ; 1993). He later went to China and help Chow Ling-Gong (周しゅう令れい剛つよし) establish Fee Tang Stellar Movie-Making Base (飛ひ騰あが影かげ視し城じょう; now Mega Jincheng Movie-Making Base) at Beijing.^[1] He directed three more feature films from 2008 to 2012, two of them are made in China: Twin Daggers (雙そう鏢; 2008) and The Triangle Land (三さん角地かどち/幸福こうふく三さん角地かどち; 2012) and one Taiwan production: Colorful Mind (新しん魯冰花はな：孩子的てき天空てんくう; 2009), a remake of The Dull-Ice Flower (魯冰花はな; 1989),^[5] a popular film based on the namesake novel by Chung Chao-cheng (鍾肇政せい).

Filmography

Director
Year	Chinese Title	English Title	Notes
1980	《天てん涼りょう好個こうこ秋あき》	Spring in Autumn
1980	《我わが踏浪而來》	Lover on the Wave
1981	《蹦蹦一いち串くし心しん》	Longing
1982	《俏如彩いろどり蝶ちょう飛ひ飛ひ飛ひ》	Six Is Company
1983	《小しょう畢的故事こじ》	Growing Up
1984	《小しょう爸爸的てき天空てんくう》	Out of The Blue
1985	《結婚けっこん》	His Matrimony
1985	《最さい想念そうねん的てき季き節ぶし》	My Favorite Season
1986	《流浪るろう少年しょうねん路ろ》	Drifters
1987	《桂かつら花はな巷ちまた》	Osmanthus Alley
1988	《春秋しゅんじゅう茶室ちゃしつ》	My Mother's Teahouse
1992	《飛躍ひやく青春せいしゅん》		documentary
1993	《孔子こうし的てき故事こじ》	Confucious	documentary
2008	《雙そう鏢》	Twin Daggers
2009	《新しん魯冰花はな：孩子的てき天空てんくう》	Colorful Mind
2012	《三さん角地かどち》/《幸福こうふく三さん角地かどち》	The Triangle Land

**Cinematographer**
Year	Chinese Title	English Title	Notes
1969	《銀ぎん姑しゅうと》	Silver Maid
1971	《精せい忠ちゅう報國ほうこく》	The Decisive Battle
1973	《母親ははおや三さん十じゅう歲さい》	Story of Mother
1975	《星ほし期き六ろく的てき約やく會かい》	A Saturday Date
1977	《煙けむり水すい寒かん》	The Glory of The Sunset
1978	《煙波えんぱ江上こうじょう》	Love On A Foggy River
1978	《汪洋おうよう中ちゅう的てき一いち條じょう船せん》	He Never Gives Up
1978	《碎心蘭らん》
1979	《悲之秋あき》	A Sorrowful Wedding
1979	《早はや安やす台北たいぺい》	Good Morning , Taipei
1979	《小城おぎ故事こじ》	The Story of a Small Town
1979	《拒絕きょぜつ聯れん考こう的てき小しょう子こ》	The Boy Who Refused to Take the Entrance Examination
1980	《西風せいふう的てき故鄉こきょう》	The Blind Love
1980	《天てん涼りょう好個こうこ秋あき》	Spring in Autumn
1980	《原鄉はらごう人じん》	My Native Land
1980	《我わが踏浪而來》	Lover on the Wave
1981	《就是溜ため溜ため的てき她》	Cute Girls
1981	《歡喜かんき冤家》	Intimate But Quarrelsome
1981	《蹦蹦一いち串くし心しん》	Longing
1982	《俏如彩いろどり蝶ちょう飛ひ飛ひ飛ひ》	Six Is Company
1982	《在ざい那な河畔かはん青草あおくさ青あお》	Green Green Grass of Home
1982	《風ふう兒じ踢踏踩》	Cheerful Wind
1983	《風ふう櫃ひつ來らい的てき人じん》	The Boys From Fengkuei
1983	《小しょう畢的故事こじ》	Growing Up
1983	《兒こ子こ的てき大だい玩偶》	The Sandwich Man
1984	《冬ふゆ冬ふゆ的てき假かり期き》	A Summer at Grandpa’s
1984	《小しょう爸爸的てき天空てんくう》	Out of The Blue
1985	《結婚けっこん》	His Matrimony
1985	《最さい想念そうねん的てき季き節ぶし》	My Favorite Season
1988	《春秋しゅんじゅう茶室ちゃしつ》	My Mother's Teahouse
1988	《海峽かいきょう兩りょう岸きし》	People Between Two CHINA
1990	《祝福しゅくふく》	Promising Miss Bowie
1992	《飛躍ひやく青春せいしゅん》		documentary

Awards and honors


Year	Award	Category	Film	Result	Ref.
1978	15th Golden Horse Awards	Best Cinematography	He Never Gives Up	Won	^[4]
1979	16th Golden Horse Awards	Best Cinematography	The Story of A Small Town	Nominated
1983	20th Golden Horse Awards	Best Director	Growing Up	Won
1984	21st Golden Horse Awards	Best Cinematography	The Boys From Fengkuei	Nominated
1985	22nd Golden Horse Awards	Best Cinematography	His Matrimony	Won
1985	22nd Golden Horse Awards	Best Director	His Matrimony	Nominated
2023	60th Golden Horse Awards	Lifetime Achievement		Won	^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "製せい片へん-陳ちん坤ひつじさる厚あつ". TFAI-國家こっか電でん影かげ及視聽しちょう文化ぶんか中心ちゅうしん Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
^ "1983 台湾たいわん票ひょう房ぼう | 中国ちゅうごく票ひょう房ぼう | 中国ちゅうごく电影票ひょう房ぼう排はい行ぎょう榜" (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 2023-06-13.
^ 林はやし, 文ぶん淇 (2012-12-01). "鄉きょう村むら城市じょうし：侯孝賢ほうしゃおしえん與あずか陳ひね坤ひつじさる厚あつ城市じょうし喜劇きげき中ちゅう的てき臺北たいぺい". 藝術げいじゅつ學がく研究けんきゅう. 11.
^ ^a ^b "陳ひね坤ひつじさる厚あつ". 台灣たいわん電でん影かげ網もう. 2022-07-27.
^ 黃き, 娟綺 (2009-04-15). "更さら寬ひろし廣こう的てき空間くうかん、更さら亮あきら麗うらら的てき天空てんくう--訪おとずれ「新しん魯冰花はな」導しるべ演えんじ陳ひね坤ひつじさる厚あつ". 台灣たいわん電でん影かげ網もう.
^ Wang, Hsin-yu; Lin, Sean (23 June 2023). "Golden Horse honors actress Brigitte Lin and director Chen Kun-hou". Central News Agency. Retrieved 23 June 2023.

External links

Chen Kun-hou at IMDb

This article about a Taiwanese film director is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[:0-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "製せい片へん-陳ちん坤ひつじさる厚あつ". TFAI-國家こっか電でん影かげ及視聽しちょう文化ぶんか中心ちゅうしん Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute. Retrieved 2023-06-13.

[2] "1983 台湾たいわん票ひょう房ぼう | 中国ちゅうごく票ひょう房ぼう | 中国ちゅうごく电影票ひょう房ぼう排はい行ぎょう榜" (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 2023-06-13.

[3] 林はやし, 文ぶん淇 (2012-12-01). "鄉きょう村むら城市じょうし：侯孝賢ほうしゃおしえん與あずか陳ひね坤ひつじさる厚あつ城市じょうし喜劇きげき中ちゅう的てき臺北たいぺい". 藝術げいじゅつ學がく研究けんきゅう. 11.

[:1-4] "陳ひね坤ひつじさる厚あつ". 台灣たいわん電でん影かげ網もう. 2022-07-27.

[5] 黃き, 娟綺 (2009-04-15). "更さら寬ひろし廣こう的てき空間くうかん、更さら亮あきら麗うらら的てき天空てんくう--訪おとずれ「新しん魯冰花はな」導しるべ演えんじ陳ひね坤ひつじさる厚あつ". 台灣たいわん電でん影かげ網もう.

[6] Wang, Hsin-yu; Lin, Sean (23 June 2023). "Golden Horse honors actress Brigitte Lin and director Chen Kun-hou". Central News Agency. Retrieved 23 June 2023.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]