MovieChat Forums > Flower Drum Song (1962) Discussion > Title Paintings

Title Paintings

posted 18 years ago by justoldbill
6 replies | jump to latest

In the "comments" section for this title, a user posting himself as "kingcom" identifies himself as the son of the artist Dong Kingman. If he reads this, I just want to tell him he's being modest with the additional rating he gives his father. The title paintings alone give the film a 10 out of 10! Heck, the titles alone are 10 out of 10! They add so much energy and majesty to the film, and often, I'll just run the titles over and over. For any who don't know, his paintings also grace the titles of 55 DAYS AT PEKING. His work has been widely published and is worth investigating. I love it.

[–] mkolln 18 years ago

Yes, I too love his work in this film and in "55 Days at Peking" (a great film I heartily recommend).

[–] gaelicguy 18 years ago

Absolutely top rank, for sure -- and the way the last painting of the Golden Gate fades into the bridge and the actual start of the film, with the accompanying scoring, is superb.

Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot.

[–] murph24 17 years ago

Dong Kingman's watercolors are magnificent. For years I had a copy of FLOWER DRUM SONG on VHS, and sometimes I'd pop it in just to watch the titles. The images of Mei Li and her father making their way down to the Hong Kong waterfront, the container ship leaving the harbor & crossing the Pacific, the arrival at San Francisco Bay and the sight of the Golden Gate Bridge - and all to the strains of "You Are Beautiful," my favorite Rodgers & Hammerstein song - never failed to thrill me. Watching it now on DVD gives me (almost) orgasmic pleasure. Dong Kingman rocks!

You're right about the title sequence transition from watercolor to live action; it's expertly done (and the shots of the Golden Gate Bridge were filmed on a breathtakingly clear day).

[–] view123 17 years ago

Just by chance, I happened to see the opening titles of "Flower Drum Song" today on TCM and was instantly -- INSTANTLY, captivated by them. I wondered if the producers had the courtesy to commission an Asian artist to paint them, and then I saw Dong Kingman's name. Now I'll have to watch "55 Days at Peking" too. Did he illustrate any books or anything like that? I want to see more of his work.

[–] justoldbill 17 years ago

Surf the web. Book sites like ABE, Alibris and other art book sites may have published books of his work. Look under ebay as well.

[–] Andrew_S_Hatton 12 years ago

I agree the artistry has a terrific impact on the film - I noticed some fine scene painting as the film progressed, I wonder if he did some of that.

Her is what I came up with on a Google image search for

Dong Kingman

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Dong+Kingman&hl=en&safe=off&; amp;client=firefox-a&hs=mrS&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&amp ;channel=rcs&prmd=imvnso&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&am p;sa=X&ei=R9GWUPDxCY_M0AWr2IHgBQ&ved=0CCAQsAQ&biw=1199&amp ;bih=608