Cast: Sean Lau Ching-wan, Nick Cheung Ka-fai, Karena Lam, Alex Fong Chung-san, Anita Yuen Wing-yi, Deep Ng
Director: Alan Mak
Screenplay: Alan Mak
When INTEGRITY, soared to the top of the Hong Kong box office during this Lunar New Year, I had to check it out because it's not your typical type of genre to be released during the Chinese New Year period.
The holiday period is usually reserved for light-hearted comedy family type of blockbusters, not something so serious which involves corruption, crime, money laundering and cryptocurrency. Just check out the trailer below and you'll know what I mean.
And I was also looking forward to see Sean Lau and Anita Yuen reunite on screen after 26 years. They appeared in 1993’s C’est la vie, mon chéri <新不了情> as a pair of lovers but in this movie, Sean's character will be going head on against Anita Yuen's character in court.
Not a spoiler: Although there is only one scene they shared together in this film, I must say it was very memorable.
With regards to the plot, I actually don't know where to start. But I'll try. King (Sean Lau) is an anti-corruption officer in Hong Kong’s ICAC (our equivalent of MACC), who is in the heat of investigating a high-profile corruption case involving a tobacco company and the customs. A key witness, the whistle-blowing accountant Jack (Nick Cheung) who is about to appear in court decides to flee the country. Another officer Shirley (Karena Lam), is tasked to look for him.
Sounds simple enough, right? NOooo~
Nothing is simple when it comes to Alan Mak, the co-director of the acclaimed Infernal Affairs trilogy and the Overheard trilogy. The plot is heavy and convoluted but thankfully fairly easy to follow (at times it tries too hard to be too smart. Reminds me of last year's Chow Yun-fat and Aaron Kwok's Project Gutenberg).
His signature atmospheric build-up and tension with the occasional humour are all present in this film
I am really glad that Hong Kong is not giving up and is still producing such gritty drama which relies on its intricate plotting instead of the staple gun-toting loud action scenes. Unfortunately, the film falls apart at the end leaving me unsatisfied and questioning what's the purpose of this whole movie.
But thanks to the A-list actors, this film is more than watchable. The performances from the three main leads; Sean, Nick and Karena are very good. There is a sub-plot involving King and Shirley's relationship which I thought was a nice break from the film's weighty plot.
Also, this movie also gave me a glimpse of the intricacies of finance and creative accounting. As the film was unspooling, I just couldn't help but compare it with our very own 1MDB scandal and the integrity of every party, big or small, who was involved in it.
In PROJECT GUTENBERG, the Hong Kong police is hunting down a mysterious group of counterfeiters led by a mastermind with a code-name "Painter" (Chow). No one has seen him before.
In order to unmask and track down Painter, the police interrogates a timid Lee Man (Kwok), a former gang member of Painter. Lee was imprisoned in Thailand. He was employed by Painter for his talent of copying paintings to a T.
And thus begins the Usual Suspects-type of flashback where Lee reveals his time with the gang and the meticulous details of their counterfeiting operations.
Highlights!
Despite the rubbish Chow Yun-Fat has been putting out since his return to Hong Kong, he is extremely watchable here. He channels some of his most iconic screen presence here as a suave gentleman criminal who is capable of bursting out in sudden scary temper tantrums. When he is in the latter mode, Chow's Painter is rash and violent. He is convincingly menacing here.
The ensemble cast is very capably supported by veteran Liu Kai-chi.
What I like is also a very detailed exposition on how greenbacks are counterfeited. In fact, it's almost documentary-like with close-ups and hidden details on the US hundred dollar bill.
There are a few homage-to-the 90s action set pieces. It's always nice to see Mr Chow fires up two guns (and two machine guns, hell yeah!) while leaping in slo-mo - eventhough I personally think he's too old for this.
Lowlights
Aaron Kwok - he is always overacting and he does it here again. He is not a terrible actor but throughout the movie, I was thinking who could have better played his role to give Chow a run for his money.
Overall, this movie is over-bloated and could have benefited from some trimming.
In summary
Coming from the writer of the modern HK classic Infernal Affairs and starring the legendary Chow Yun-Fat, I had high hopes for Felix Chong's PROJECT GUTENBERG to catch another lightning in a bottle but alas, it's more of a case of 'lightning never strikes the same place twice'.
Don't get me wrong, everything about the movie was original, entertaining and even educational...until the very last act.
The last 15 minutes of the movie is a baffling choice coming from someone as capable as Felix. Some viewers would call it, "Brilliant!" but ultimately, it's very much dependent on whether one has seen this other classic movie.
My reaction was, "Appreciation, not imitation, is the sincerest form of flattery".
The ensemble cast from Wong Kar Wai's 1994 cult classic ASHES OF TIME (東邪西毒)
My final entry to the Hong Kong Cinema series. (Read here for Part 1, and here for Part 2)
If the 80s were dominated with Chow Yun Fatt and Jackie Chan flicks, the early 90s were led by Stephen Chow's mo lei tau (nonsensical) comedy movies and Jet Li's portrayal of legendary, virtuous and humble heroes.
There was a slowdown of output mid 90s onwards, probably due to the 1997 handover of HK back to China. That said, during that period, there was an emergence of very memorable romantic drama movies which relied more on the acting skills of its actors rather than the physicality aspects ie. martial arts, comedy or action.
(Speaking of mo lei tau, I found the entry in Wikipedia the most accurate in explaining this genre of comedy. In essence, it's is a type of "anything goes" slapstick humour associated with Hong Kong popular culture and it's usually layered with an interplay of cultural nuances. It can usually be found in the juxtaposition of the spoken dialogue and actions. For example the plain and normal catchphrase "Chor dai yum daam cha, sik gor bau" (坐低飲啖茶，食個包), meaning "Let's sit down, take a sip of tea, and have a bao", is used in irrelevant and inappropriate situations, usually in serious situations.)
So here's my list of Hong Kong films from the 1990s which were memorable to me.
THE SWORDSMAN (笑傲江湖), 1990
After the fatigue of gangster and kung fu genre in the 80s, it was a welcome return of the wuxia genre to kickoff the new decade. And this movie delivered because it marked the rare appearance of Sam Hui as the lead, an excellent supporting cast (Jackie Cheung cast as a baddie!), memorable "wire-fu" action pieces and everything good we expect from a HK movie. And who could forget the theme song, sung by Sam himself.
They released a sequel in 1992 but the lead (and almost the entire cast) was replaced by the then go-to actor Jet Li. It was so-so only.
BULLET IN THE HEAD (喋血街頭), 1990
WOW. This John Woo directed movie was emotionally draining, realistic and featured a tour-de-force performance by Jacky Cheung (a brave performance considering he was an upcoming clean pop star then). John Woo is famous for crafting "balletic style" gun play action pieces but in this movie, his approach here was more grim and realistic, thus the violence felt more brutal.
In this movie, Tony Leung Chiu Wai perfected his "The Face" acting. He's one of the few actors I know who can act with just his face especially his eyebrows. Heck, his entire career is built around it. I don't know how to describe this acting method but whenever he is confronted with an emotional situation, he pulls out "The Face".
SAVIOUR OF THE SOUL (九一神鵰俠侶), 1991
This movie will go down as one of those rare and quirky fantasy-action-romance movie ever produced in HK cinema. It's a creative movie because it blends the old and new set pieces with a beautiful anime inspired cinematography. Imagine a wuxia movie but replace the costumes and swords with modern wardrobe and guns.
And it has a memorable (albeit cartoon-y) performance by Aaron Kwok's turn as the villain, Silver Fox.
And without further ado, here are my top Stephen Chow movies from the 90s!
ALL FOR THE WINNER (賭聖), 1990. A gambling comedy attempting to cash in on the success of God of Gamblers. Who can forget the iconic intentional slow-mo scene of Dou Seng's grand entrance.
TRICKY BRAINS (整蠱專家), 1991. One of the most memorable scene for me was the "Kong tau Wong (Baldy Wong)!" trickery.
LEGEND OF THE DRAGON (龍的傳人), 1991. Stephen Chow's mo lei tau comedy + snooker + special appearance of Jimmy White the legendary snooker player = what's not to like??? And yes...that epic memorable ending.
FIST OF FURY (新精武門1991), 1991. Amusing homage to Bruce Lee's classic. Stephen's character possess a special ability - an extremely strong right arm. Interestingly, this movie exist in the same universe as All For the Winner, as Dou Seng and his uncle make a cameo appearance. Yesteryear Kenny B makes a comeback here as the good-natured Smart, giving a memorable comedic performance.
Homage to Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury include the dojo fight scene where the Japanese man is hilariously forced to eat the sign. And of course Stephen dawning the iconic yellow jumpsuit.
LOVE ON DELIVERY (破壞之王), 1994. Another iconic film packed with amusing scenes including the training from the "master" sequences and parody of Terminator, Garfield and Ultraman.
It also featured the sultry Christy Chung.
FROM BEIJING WITH LOVE (國產凌凌漆), 1994 featured the fresh face Anita Yuen, who went on to be one of the biggest stars in the mid 90s.
And it also featured Stephen at the piano (with the iconic cigarette stuck on his lips) singing Jacky Cheung's Lui Heung Lan.
OUT OF THE DARK (回魂夜), 1995 earned a reputation as Stephen's darkest film yet with horror element, blood and dark humour. Stephen's character is a parody of Leon from The Professional. I remembered clearly it wasn't released in Malaysian cinemas. Some of the scenes were genuinely creepy as it was set in the old Hong Kong flats.
In GOD OF COOKERY (食神), 1996 Stephen plays the God of Cookery, the most renowned and feared chef in the world but he soon loses this title because of his pompous attitude. He goes on a journey to rediscover himself with the help of Karen Mok's character.
Stephen's signature styled comedy is still evident here but he skillfully balanced it out with a heartfelt and dramatic performance. In this movie and the following movies to come, he would go on to play characters with more layers rather than mere caricatures and paraodies.
Also, there's this really funny scene in the Shaolin Monastery where Stephen would go on using this comedy technique (different approach to overcome the same challenge but always end up with the same disastrous outcome) in his future movies eg. Shaolin Soccer.
THE LUCKY GUY (行運一條龍), 1998 is your typical CNY ensemble cast movie. Scenes featuring Stephen and his first love played by Sammi Cheng, and the romance between Eric Kot and Kristy Yeung's characters were the most memorable.
There are some really LOL moments especially scenes demonstrating Stephen's character as a chick magnet and how he came to be like that (the missed slap was brutal, man).
I felt KING OF COMEDY (喜劇之王), 1999 had the perfect balance of comedy, drama and romance featuring the fresh face Cecilia Cheung. There was even a cameo from Jackie Chan.
The movie describes the trials and tribulation of an aspiring actor in a small town. Some commentators say the story is based on Stephen's early career, as he started off as a temporary actor. His performance here is more restrained, allowing his co-stars to shine. There are many funny and moving scenes in this film which capped off beautifully Stephen's body of work in the 90s.
Thank you Stephen Chow! You made such a big impact in my formative years as a movie buff.
NEW DRAGON GATE INN (新龍門客棧), 1992
The early 90s marked the comeback of Taiwanese actress Brigitte Lin Ching Hsia (it started with Swordsman II) and she went on to star in many other notable martial epics including this film, The Bride with White Hair and Ashes of Time.
This start studded movie (Tony Leung Ka Fai, Maggie Cheung, Donnie Yen as the villain) is one of those wuxia movie where everyone dies at the end.
92 LEGENDARY LA ROSE NOIRE (92黑玫瑰對黑玫瑰), 1992
This wacky flick (a remake of sorts of the Black Rose film series from the late sixties) works because of one actor, and that's Tony Leung Ka Fai. Up till then, I've always seen him as a serious actor in drama and action movies but his turn here as a comedic actor with a high pitched voice was a very pleasant surprise.
A way out there action-comedy film based on the Street Fighter game. This Wong Jing directed movie was a good escape film as it's nice to see an ensemble cast just being silly and having fun. 3/4 of the Four Heavenly Kings is in the movie (minus Leon Lai). Also, it featured one of the most catchy romantic songs from Jacky Cheung.
Incidently, Jackie Chan's City Hunter also featured characters from the Street Fighter series in a fantasy action scene. This movie was also directed by Wong Jing and was released 6 months earlier. If you've not seen Jackie Chan dressed up as Chun Li, click the link and erm...enjoy.
THE EAGLE SHOOTING HEROES (射鵰英雄傳之東成西就), 1993 and
ASHES OF TIME (東邪西毒), 1994
Tony Leung Chiu Wai in The Eagle Shooting Heroes
The same Tony Leung Chiu Wai in Ashes of Time
Both this movie The Eagle Shooting Heroes and Ashes of Time will go down as one of the most fascinating case studies in the history of Hong Kong Cinema.
According to some industry rumours, Wong Kar Wai's ambitious and classic Ashes of Time (based on the source material of Louis Cha's wuxia novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes) went over-budget and was taking forever to complete.
In order to cover up the cost of his yet unfinished film, Wong decided to produce a "quick-and-dirty" parody film of the same novel (!) to be released during the lucrative Chinese New Year period. So, he hired Jeffrey Lau to direct The Eagle Shooting Heroes and used the same whole cast from Ashes of Time for that movie!
The Eagle Shooting Heroes is a classic example of the mo lei tau comedy. It's wacky, LOL funny and colourful.
While the dramatic Ashes of Time is classic Wong Kar Wai; it's hypnotic, meditative and visually beautiful. The characters wore long hair (most of the time their hair would fall beautifully and oh-so-cool all over their face) and their wardrobe was simple and blend.
Besides Ashes of Time, I've not watched any of WKW's films because one needs to be in a certain mood to be able to appreciate his films. It really does test your patience. Ashes of Time was probably the most accessible Wong Kar Wai film for me.
And then...there's the legendary Jet Li!
Because he has such a recognizable face and fighting style, and he kept playing legendary folk heroes like Wong Fei Hung and Fong Sai Yuk, all his movies felt kinda same. That said, here are his more notable movies for me:
ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA (黃飛鴻), 1991 and ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA II (黃飛鴻之二男兒當自強), 1992 were the most memorable in the Wong Fei Hung series.
I remembered watching the trailer to Once Upon a Time in China in a cinema and I was absolutely blown away. The graceful "wire fu", the calligraphy title font, the slow-mo, the ensemble cast (Jacky Cheung! Yuen Biao!) and THAT SOUNDTRACK by George Lam. And "Who the hell is this Jet Li??!"
Watch the original trailer here!
I also dug Part II as there was this unforgettable fight sequence between Wong Fei Hung and The White Lotus Sect. And let's not forget that fight sequence between Jet Li and a young Donnie Yen (!). Of course, there was a little bit more romantic development between Wong Fei Hung and Sap Sam Yee ie. 13th Aunt (played by Rosamund Kwan).
And my introduction to the historical figure Sun Yat Sen, father of modern China (who interestingly has some links in Malaysia - Taiping and Penang).
TAI CHI MASTER (太極張三豐), 1993 was memorable because it co-starred Michelle Yeoh (Yay! Malaysia represented!) and Jet's fighting technique here was very different from his Wong Fei Hung style. And there's this nail-biting action sequence between Jet's character and the main villain on a heap of wooden logs, with Michelle Yeoh's character tied at the top of it.
HIGH RISK (鼠膽龍威), 1995 was different from other Jet Li movies because he is in modern clothes here, carries a gun and is an action-comedy (although the comic relief is primarily contributed by Jacky Cheung's portrayal of Bruce Lee). Probably it's because it was directed by Wong Jing.
And it's not really a compliment as Wong Jing as a director has more misses than hits. I remembered High Risk as being not really good but it was loud, energetic and Jacky was entertaining.
HE AIN'T HEAVY, HE'S MY FATHER (新難兄難弟), 1993
The two "Tony Leungs" starring in the same movie! This Peter Chan directed film is a heartwarming nostalgia piece featuring the two Tonys plus an ensemble cast. The "Little Tony" goes back in time and meets his parents. What he found out about them changes him.
IRON MONKEY (少年黃飛鴻之鐵馬騮), 1993
Donnie Yen got my attention in this film as a lead to be reckoned with. Yu Rongguang was memorable here too. Who could forget that iconic movie poster of the masked man standing on one leg at a rooftop.
This Yuen Woo Ping directed film was an overall good martial arts film as it has good performances, action and plot. A cross between Robin Hood and Zorro set in ancient China.
ENDLESS LOVE, C’est La Vie, Mon Chéri (新不了情), 1993
This Derek Yee directed romantic tearjerker made me cry really hard. Both Sean Lau Ching Wan and Anita Yuen gave such an earnest performance they were extremely believable in their roles.
This movie won 6 awards in the 13th Hong Kong Film Awards: Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress (Anita Yuen), Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.
HE'S A WOMAN, SHE'S A MAN (金枝玉葉), 1994
Peter Chan's movie worked on so many levels; the intricate (but easy to follow) plot, the performances, the comedy and of course, THAT SONG sung by the late Leslie Cheung. This film was both a commercial and critical success.
Anita Yuen won Best Actress for this film (back-to-back after winning it the year before for her performance in Endless Love, C’est La Vie, Mon Chéri).
DOCTOR MACK (流氓醫生), 1995
In my opinion, Tony Leung Chiu Wai gave one of his best performance here as the laid back charismatic as hell doctor working on the streets of Hong Kong, helping the everyday lower class folks.
There is this scene in the movie where Tony's character is all alone and he finally could let his guard down as a strong doctor. Just thinking of that scene now still moves me emotionally.
COMRADES: ALMOST A LOVE STORY (甜蜜蜜), 1996
Maggie Cheung owns this movie about the story of two Chinese Mainlanders meeting and falling in love in Hong Kong. The straightforward and sincere performances by the leads and the supporting cast were genuinely affecting. And this film managed to successfully capture the "local-ness" of the neighbourhoods in Hong Kong, making this city one of the most romantic places to visit.
The ending :')
This Peter Chan directed movie won like 9 awards in the 16th HK Film Awards including best film, best director, best actress (Maggie), best supporting actor (Eric Tsang) and best cinematography (Jingle Ma).
THE STORM RIDERS (風雲雄霸天下), 1998
As I followed the comics, I remembered being excited but yet cautious to catch this wuxia fantasy film because of its heavy reliance on CGI (even up till today, this part of the world still can't get CGI right).
Well, it wasn't a great film with too many characters and CGI fights but nevertheless an important milestone for Hong Kong cinema.
YOUNG AND DANGEROUS series (古惑仔), 1996-2000
I don't remember sitting through the entirety of any of the movies from the series. Probably it was because I was studying abroad then and had no access to Eastern movies.
Nevertheless, I'm sure this series would have impacted many young men of that generation to consider becoming a bad boy and getting a tattoo. This series rocketed Ekin Cheng to stardom in his iconic portrayal of Chan Ho Nam (I can't imagine anyone else playing "Chan Ho Nam" just like how I can't imagine anyone else playing "Mark Gor" but Chow Yun Fat).
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And that ends part 3 of my tribute to Hong Kong cinema!
Thank you so much for reading and if you like what you have read, please leave a comment. I hope you enjoyed reading this (and clicking on the links to check out the clips) as much as I did in crafting this series.
The 1987 classic A CHINESE GHOST STORY (倩女幽魂) film poster
As mentioned on Part 1, my recent nostalgia for Hong Kong movies has led me to write a 3-part series - a homage to the best years of HK cinema from the 80s and 90s.
So here's my list of Hong Kong films from the 1980s which were memorable to me.
(Note that I won't be including classics from 2000s onwards like Infernal Affairs, Shaolin Soccer, Election, SPL, Ip Man etc in my list as I have already developed a deep appreciation and critical-mindedness for movies by then. Instead, these movies were the ones that shaped me into who I am today - a movie geek.)
The ACES GOES PLACES (最佳拍檔) series (I - V), 1982 - 1989
I believe this movie opened me up to Hong Kong movies.
I can't remember much of the plot points and all. All I could remember are the two leads; the macho handsome Sam Hui and the funny bald-guy Karl Maka, and the spectacular entertainment it offered. Think James Bond with high tech gadgets and action scenes but has much more comedy and no beautiful girls (there's only one memorable lady and she's played by Sylvia Chang. However, she's the fierce and kick-ass type.)
Again, I can't remember much of the story line but all I could remember were the pretty girls.
This film and its subsequent sequels launched the career of the young starlets who were referred to as the "Happy Girls": Loletta Lee, Sandy Lamb, May Lo, Fennie Yuen and Charine Chan.
I could only remember 3 of the girls: May Lo who is Jacky Cheung's wife, Loletta Lee because she acted in several adult softcore movies, and Fennie Yuen because of her inappropriate English name (fun fact: many Malaysian Chinese girls from that generation also started naming themselves "Fennie" >.<)
Jackie Chan's triple combo: PROJECT A (A計劃) 1983, POLICE STORY (警察故事) 1985 and ARMOUR OF GOD (龍兄虎弟) 1986.
PROJECT A (A計劃)
POLICE STORY (警察故事)
ARMOUR OF GOD (龍兄虎弟)
All of these 3 films were directed by Jackie himself and it sealed him as THE legit international action superstar who does his own stunts. While doing my research for this blog entry I came upon this Kotaku article entitled, Jackie Chan's Major Injuries: A Catalogue of Pain. LOL
I remember after seeing his films, I would imagine myself jumping off high places and crashing into windows. But I didn't...thankfully.
Bonus:
A big shout out to the third Police Story (1992) film entitled SUPERCOP (警察故事3超級警察 ) which was shot in Malaysia! I remembered it was such an event as I was spotting the different recognizable locations throughout the film. And it starred our very own Michelle Yeoh too!
I also enjoyed watching MIRACLES - MR. CANTON AND LADY ROSE (奇蹟), 1989. It had more story, acting and comedy, instead of his usual fight scenes. And it had the late Anita Mui. It also had some beautiful set pieces and the final fight sequence in the rope factory was classic Jackie Chan: comedy + acrobatic + fighting + stunts.
WHEELS ON MEALS (快餐車) 1984 and DRAGONS FOREVER (飛龍猛將) 1988 by the "three brothers": Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung.
WHEELS ON MEALS (快餐車)
DRAGONS FOREVER (飛龍猛將)
What I remember most of the three when they are on-screen together:
Yuen Biao = amazing leg work. Dry "uncle" humour.
Sammo Hung = "How can someone so fat be so nimble and flexible?!". Clumsy kind of humour.
Jackie Chan = parkour like movement, jumping through tiny spaces and using whatever items he can get his hands on as weapons. Physical humour.
Each has their own style and it's just fun and entertaining to see them three together. Although Project A featured the three men, my favourites were still Wheels on Meals and Dragons Forever as they had equal screen time. I could watch their fight scenes from these movies over and over again on YouTube.
MR. VAMPIRE (殭屍先生), 1985
When I saw this film, I was instantly hooked! It had so many elements but yet it blended altogether so perfectly. It had horror (scary jumping corpse!), kung fu, forbidden romance and comedy (the iconic, "Don't breathe if not you'll attract the attention of the vampire!"). And I was introduced to the natural comedic performance of the late Ricky Hui. He was so memorable in this movie.
PEACOCK KING (孔雀王子), 1988
I remembered clearly this Yuen Biao movie was a big budget production because it had spectacular CGI (back then, now it looks cheesy), amazing kung fu action scenes and of course, it had cute as a button Gloria Yip.
Of course...the versatile and charismatic as hell icon CHOW YUN FATT in these blockbusters:
My fascination with the heroic bloodshed genre (brotherhood, honour, sacrifice and redemption) started with A BETTER TOMORROW (英雄本色), 1986. Who could forget the slo-mo shootout where Mark Gor strategically placed all his guns in the flower pots. And of course the theme song.
My fascination for the genre turned into an obsession with its 1987 sequel, A BETTER TOMORROW (英雄本色2). Director John Woo created so many memorable scenes: The fried rice scene in the beginning, Leslie Cheung's character dies (WTF!), Dean Shek whom I remembered as a comedic actor turned in such a dramatic performance and of course, the mayhem blood soaked ending. I remembered I wanted to be an action superstar just like Chow Yun Fatt when I grew up.
A two-part gangster drama released in 1987, RICH AND FAMOUS (江湖情) and TRAGIC HERO (英雄好漢) were memorable to me because the latter movie was shot in my hometown, Melaka! There is this scene where a two-story wooden house cum seafood restaurant was blown up. The location of that house is in Klebang and if I can recall correctly, it was an abandoned house then. But it was later bought over and turned into...a seafood restaurant!
Anyway, Chow Yun Fatt turned in a more dramatic performance for this two-parter. Andy Lau was particularly good here and so was Alex Man, who played a froth-at-the-mouth villain. Carina Lau starred too. Alan Tam the famous singer appeared in the first part and turned in a memorable performance as a genuinely kind and good guy but was tragically killed off (WTF!). It's one of those movies where it has a "ham ka chan" ending ie. everyone dies at the end...well, almost.
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THE GREATEST LOVER (公子多情), 1988. It was this movie which I discovered the versatility of Chow Yun Fatt as an actor. His performance here started out as a country bumpkin in silly funny fish out of water situations and by the end of the film, he transformed himself into a suave personality. Chow's character was one of the three Mainlanders (the other two were played by Eric Tsang & Shing Fui-On) who swam across to Hong Kong, hoping to prosper. One thing led to another, he was recruited by Anita Mui's character, a speech and image consultant. The storyline is very similar to the Hollywood classic My Fair Lady.
Dou San. Enough said. A classic. GOD OF GAMBLERS (賭神), 1989.
A tearjerker. What an ending. An absolutely heart breaking family drama about the working class, reconciliation and a father's love. ALL ABOUT AH-LONG (阿郎的故事) was directed by Johnnie To starring Chow Yun Fatt and Sylvia Chang and was released in 1989. This story was conceptualized by Chow and Sylvia themselves.
John Woo's ONCE A THIEF (縱橫四海), a breezy entertaining screwball heist film released in 1991, which also starred the dashingly handsome Leslie Cheung and the breathtakingly beautiful Cherie Chung. The action is great with some beautiful locations but the standout is the chemistry among the three leads.
Chow Yun Fatt is back in full action mayhem mode with John Woo's 1992 masterpiece HARD BOILED (辣手神探). This film got the attention of Hollywood and was pivotal to Chow Yun Fatt's move to Hollywood in the late 1990s. The other lead, Tony Leung Chiu Wai turned in a good performance too but it was Chow's show all the way. The hospital shoot out scene is probably one of the best long take tracking action scene ever captured in the history of film. 3 minutes of unbroken crazy epic gun battle.
TREASURE HUNT (花旗少林), 1994 was one of Chow's last few movies before his move to Hollywood. To be honest, I can't remember much of the plot except the rise of Jacklyn Wu as one of the go-to actress then and the re-introduction of Teresa Teng's The Moon Represent My Heart song.
A CHINESE GHOST STORY (倩女幽魂), 1987
A masterpiece produced by Tsui Hark. A movie which has "everything" and all its elements are integrated perfectly - horror, comedy, action and romance. Can Leslie Cheung's character; a novice tax collector and Joey Wong's character; a beautiful ghost enslaved by a Tree Demoness, overcome the impossible obstacle to be together? The flying sequences were gracefully done while the scary parts were...really scary. And who could forget the theme song sung by Leslie himself.
CHICKEN AND DUCK TALK (雞同鴨講), 1988
A hilarious take on the David vs Goliath story of a small independent traditional Chinese restaurant selling roast duck going up against a Western KFC-like establishment which opened across the street. It doesn't help that the Chinese restaurant has some serious hygiene problems and the staff are disgruntled with the boss, played by Michael Hui.
Eventhough the silly humour comes in truckload, the movie has a lot of heart as it balances out on the struggles of the characters. There are many memorable scenes like the chicken and duck mascot slugging it out, how to properly eat a roast duck and the infested rats scene.
Movies with an ENSEMBLE CAST
These films which feature many talented actors and actresses (including Chow Yun Fatt, Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Sammo Hung, Eric Tsang, Richard Ng, Raymond Wong, Leslie Cheung, Stephen Chow, Jacky Cheung, Carol Cheng, Maggie Cheung, Cherie Chung etc) are usually divided into two categories:
Nonsense comedy with some elements of sexploitation where the men are usually portrayed as horny as hell and wanting to bed the beautiful women. However, most of the time they would end up falling into their own traps. I can't remember specific plot points as they all follow the same formula but I can clearly remember they were hilarious!
LUCKY STARS (福星系列) series (spawning 7 movies), 1983 - 1996
THE ROMANCING STAR (精裝追女仔) series (I-III), 1987 - 1989
Family comedies usually released during the Chinese New Year season. These entertaining films emphasizes on family unity and always ends on a happy note where quarrels are resolved, lovers reconcile, villains get their deserved punishment and fortunes are made.
IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD (富貴逼人) series (I-IV), 1987 - 1992
THE EIGHT HAPPINESS (八星報喜), 1988
ALL'S WELL, ENDS WELL (家有囍事) series. It spawned 7 movies from 1992 - 2012 with different actors but the one I remembered most is the first one. I've re-watched it several times since then! Highly watchable thanks to Stephen Chow.
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In Part 3, I will be jotting down a list of HK movies from the 90s which shaped me.
If you've not read Part 1 - my POV on the current state of Hong Kong cinema, read here.
