Tu Chung-hsun

In this Chinese name, the family name is Tu.

Tu Chung-hsun (Chinese: 屠忠訓; 18 September 1936 – 19 July 1980) was a Taiwanese film director.

Early life and career

Tu Chung-hsun was the only son of Government Information Office employee Tu Yi-fang.[1][2] In 1960, Tu Chung-hsun graduated from Soochow University, and was conscripted into the Republic of China Armed Forces.[3] In May of the following year, the elder Tu was promoted to a division directorship within the GIO.[4] Tu Chung-hsun worked for the GIO for five years following the end of his military service, and developed an interest in film production.[3]

When Tu was 29, he married the 18 year-old Feng Ho-hua.[2] His father helped Tu find a job at Union Film Company, through which he was introduced to King Hu and assisted in the production of Dragon Inn and A Touch of Zen.[3] Tu also worked for Taiwan Television.[3][5] In 1969, Tu was promoted at the Union Film Company, becoming a film director.[5] At Union, Tu and Hu Po-ping co-wrote a war film.[3][6] Set during the Jin–Song wars, it was released on 20 November 1970,[7] and won Hsu Feng Best New Actress at the 9th Golden Horse Awards.[1] Throughout the 1970s, Tu directed several more films,[2] and became known as one of the "four great young directors" alongside Chang Mei-chun, Wang Shih-cheng, and Lee Jung-chih.[8]

A Special Smile

Tu planned an adaptation of Gu Long's novel The Blood Parrot, but the government withheld its approval of the script for some time. After the script was approved, work on the film was further delayed by the Government Information Office because the author of the source material was Gu Long.[9] As a result, film producers avoided working with Tu.[10]

Seeking to break the deadlock, Tu pivoted from the Gu Long project to a romance film, A Special Smile. Sung Hsiang-yu contributed to the script, Li Tai-hsiang composed the film score, and Li's protege Chyi Yu sang the film's theme song.[9] On 27 July 1978, Tu began shooting the film in Taipei for the Hong Kong-based Guangyi Film Company with Chang Kuo-chu and Sibelle Hu in lead roles.[11] Hu later recalled that Tu and his wife were very encouraging and often took her to theatres, where she learned acting by watching other films.[12] In February 1979, a run of 200,000 copies of the theme song as performed by Chyi Yu sold out in ten days.[13]

Tu struggled to promote the film until Hsuan Hsiao-fo convinced Wang Ying-hsiang to help distribute it.[14] An agreement was struck in March 1979 for a release date two months later and half of the film's revenue going to Wang.[15] The film significantly improved the name recognition of Hu and Tu,[14] and raised the profile of several other cast members.[2] Tu was shortlisted for Best Director in the 16th Golden Horse Awards.[16]

On 4 May 1980, Tu Chung-hsun shared the third Chung-Hsin Literary Award with Tuan Tsai-hua, Kuo-ch'ing Tu, Lu Chuan-sheng, Yen Kun-yang, among others.[17]

Later career and death

Tu also struggled to distribute his next complete film, and halted another project in production.[12] Instead, he reached an agreement with Golden Harvest Entertainment to produce four other films.[18] However, before he could deliver on the terms of the contract, Tu died. At around 5 p.m. on 14 July 1980, Tu was struck by a motorcycle on Taipei's Renai Circle. He was transferred between three medical facilities before one that could handle concussion-related protocols, the Central Clinic, was found.[1] Sibelle Hu visited Tu in hospital upon her return from Kuala Lumpur,[1] and contributed NT$200,000 to cover medical expenses.[2] In the coming days, Raymond Chow, King Hu, Li Hsing, James Soong, and others also visited Tu.[1]

Tu succumbed to his injuries on 19 July 1980, dying at 5:58 am.[2] On 28 July, the Tu family announced that they would not press charges on the motorcycle operator.[19] A cousin of Tu's had previously invoked Tu's kindness and good nature in stating that they did not blame the motorcyclist for the accident.[2] On 3 August 1980, Tu Chung-hsun was buried at a cemetery in Nangang District, Taipei.[20]

Legacy

For seven days after Tu was laid to rest, the Blossom Theatre in Taipei screened his films. The proceeds were placed into an education fund for his daughters.[21] His eldest daughter modeled for the Tonlin Department Store, and his younger daughter pursued acting.[22]

In 2023, Tu's 1970 film starring Hsu Feng was shown at Metrograph in New York.[23]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "屠忠訓車禍重傷 昏迷不醒 未脫險境". 民生報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 1980-07-16.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "屠忠訓終於不治 昨凌晨六時逝世". 民生報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 1980-07-20.
  3. ^ a b c d e 牛郎 (1969-07-22). "聯邦重用屠忠訓". 經濟日報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)).
  4. ^ "新聞處電影檢查室 新舊任處長舉行交接禮". 臺灣民聲日報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 1961-05-09.
  5. ^ a b 銀河 (1969-06-11). "聯邦培植新血輸". 經濟日報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)).
  6. ^ 牛郎 (1969-08-16). "聯邦的新人與新片". 經濟日報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)).
  7. ^ 銘秀 (1970-11-12). "「龍城十日」記". 經濟日報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)).
  8. ^ 高愛倫 (1985-11-05). "生活重擔壓肩 茹苦豈敢偷閒！ 張美君為小子消得人憔悴 大量咯血→腹腔積水→暫離「險境」→脫形". 民生報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)).
  9. ^ a b 黃寤蘭 (1978-10-22). "屠忠訓嘔心瀝血拍「歡顏」". 聯合報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)).
  10. ^ "賣掉了「血鸚鸝」版權‧屠忠訓否極泰來". 聯合報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 1979-04-10.
  11. ^ "「歡顏」昨天開鏡". 民生報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 1978-07-28.
  12. ^ a b 胡慧中 (1980-07-25). "送不出去的禮物 追懷恩師屠忠訓". 民生報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)).
  13. ^ 黃北朗 (1979-03-02). "學生歌者灌唱片 校園歌聲處處聞". 聯合報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)).
  14. ^ a b 高愛倫 (1979-08-03). "「歡顏」一舉成名‧片商爭相邀請 胡慧中片酬喊到兩百萬 組公司 拍新片 屠忠訓一手包辦". 民生報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)).
  15. ^ "新入電影「歡顏」已排上五月檔". 聯合報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 1979-03-04.
  16. ^ "台北金馬影展 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival". www.goldenhorse.org.tw.
  17. ^ "嚴前總統頒發文藝獎章 勗勉文藝界努力再推進 全國文藝界昨集會慶文藝節". 民生報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 1980-05-05.
  18. ^ 王弘岳 (1980-07-24). "午後的風鈴再也不響﹗ 悼念英年早逝的導演屠忠訓". 聯合報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)).
  19. ^ "導演屠忠訓之喪 定八月三日公祭". 聯合報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 1980-07-29.
  20. ^ "屠忠訓之喪 昨公祭安葬". 聯合報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 1980-08-04.
  21. ^ "屠忠訓遺作展收入 捐作子女教養基金". 民生報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 1980-09-10.
  22. ^ 高愛倫 (1988-01-18). "屠忠訓有女承志業 姊妹花銀河試摘星 一個演出連續劇 一個客串模特兒". 民生報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)).
  23. ^ 凃盈如 (2023-04-19). "紐約老派功夫影展 放映《大俠胡金銓》、《一代劍王》". Liberty Times (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2023-08-21. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
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