Forbidden City, USA (DVD, Home Use Edition)

Where I'm from, there used to be a "Forbidden City" nightclub in Waikiki that may or may not have been owned by Charlie Low, who started the Forbidden City nightclub in San Francisco. I have photos of my parents at this club--it was at a company Christmas party back in the early 1960s. Like its San Francisco counterpart, the club featured a variety of acts.This documentary is not only a piece of San Francisco history, it is also an important documentary about Asian American entertainers. My aunt and I caught this documentary on PBS, and I always wanted a copy. It wasn't until a few years back that I stumbled upon filmmaker Arthur Dong while doing research. I discovered this was one of his films, as well as other fine documentaries he produced. He was ahead of his time in many ways, especially his films dealing with LGBTQ issues. I recommend you check those out as well here on Amazon.There were many talented Asian-American singers, dancers, comedians and musicians. Yet they face extreme prejudice in Holllywood insofar as getting leading roles, let alone any roles in movies. There was strong stereotypes of what roles Asians should play in 1930s-60s Hollywood, just like what black actors encountered. Often lead roles in movies based in Asian countries (Ex: The Good Earth) went to well-known white actors who performed in "yellow face." So Asian entertainers found work and recognition in the Bay Area Chinese nightclubs, the most famous being "The Forbidden City." This documentary examines the origins of these nightclubs and interviews several of the entertainers who worked at the Forbidden City or other Chinese clubs. Some acts managed to get small parts in Hollywood movies, usually playing themselves as part of a novelty act. Watching this documentary, you could see the amazing talent of these entertainers. One man learned to tap dance by watching Eleanor Powell movies. He'd memorize the dance steps, then go home and practice them until he mastered them. Being a self-taught dancer indicated the tremendous talent and drive this man had.Mr. Dong showed one example of the racist stereotypes of Asians in film with a little-known film short called "Chop Chop." Ever watch something so bad, so horrendously awful, that it makes you laugh? That's what happened to me, as an Asian-American man, and my aunt when we saw that portion. For us, we couldn't believe such a film would ever be made, but back in the 1940s, it was perfectly acceptable. Even my half-Asian son laughed because he knew how outrageously racist that film short was. I thought Mickey Rooney's Asian character Mr. Yunioshi from "Breakfast At Tiffany's" was pretty bad until I saw "Chop Chop."The play and film "Flower Drum Song" was based on The Forbidden City nightclub. I recall viewing this film in the movie theater back in 1961 and it left quite an impression on me. I wasn't able to watch the film until it came out on VHS in the 1980s, but I could recall certain scenes quite vividly.What was intriguing is that most, if not all of the female performers came from other cities, other states. No proper Chinese girl living in San Francisco would ever show her legs, let alone perform a fan dance with nothing on underneath. These women were looked down upon by the San Francisco Chinese community, but they were very popular with the military men who frequented these clubs while on leave.With the sexual revolution and change in political climate, nightclubs had to keep up with the changing times or close. Eventually the topless bars and strip clubs replaced clubs like Forbidden City. But this documentary "Forbidden City" examines the golden period of the Chinese nightclubs with all-Asian revues. I highly recommend this excellent film, especially if you are interested in Asian-American studies, Asians in Hollywood, or San Francisco history.

I'm so happy to find this after years of searching. I was lucky to see the premier in SF years ago when I was a tap dance student of Tony Wing. Sadly, he is gone, but this movie keeps the memory of him and the other performers alive.

When I first researched this topic I was unaware of the excellent book and film about San Francisco's Forbidden City. My interest began when I went to this Chinese nightclub in the early 60s. It became my home away from home while I was in the Navy, but until now I never knew about the rich history of that era. That coupled with the fact I toured the original Forbidden City in Beijing in the 90s and the reader can perhaps understand why my interest was so intense. An interest fully satisfied with the depth of information and priceless photos and video of this amazing time in Baghdad By the Bay. From this history sprang the musical, Flower Drum Song as well. Wonderful, not to be missed.

Great little documentary about a part of American history that I’m sure not many people know about. A must see for anyone that is a fan of the 1930s and 1940s nightlife.

When documentaries can reel you in -that says something about the documentary. Watched this for the first time in an Intro to Film class at CCSF (-Go Rams)! There's charm, humor, honesty, and enough nostalgia you'd only find as presented through Don Draper's Carousel. This documentary is not heavy-handed -but invites you into a conversation with those speaking about what once was, and may happen again. And, again. And, again. And, again.

Stereotypes are how we exist - a tree is envisioned as a stereotype - no two people imagine the same tree. However, stereotypes can be carried to extremes - as racial stereotypes once were. However, such ignorance has been gone for over 60 years. Any perceived racial biases today are completely false.Forbidden City USA clearly point out the false disparities between races; Chinese, Philippine, African, European, or American - we are all just people with similar hopes and dreams.

A beautifully-done documentary that combines rare footage of performances at the 'just outside of Chinatown' San Francisco club Forbidden City of the late '30s (and onwards), and great interviews with performers from the golden age of the club. Some of us may have only gotten a passing hint of this time and place, if at all, from the nightclub scene in 'Flower Drum Song'; this doc fills in the whole rich story. The recently-published companion book makes a great complement to this DVD.

Video kept stopping Very poor quality