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Hong Kong New Wave directress Ann Hui’s sophomore work – after a foray into “Giallo” territory with “The Secret” – is an unusual mix of comedy, horror and Cantonese Opera. “Unusual” at the time of the release but not for longer, as her film, together with Sammo Hung’s “Encounters of the Spooky Kind” of the same year, started off and contributed to define a genre that proved extremely successful and dominated the box office for many years, peaking with “Mr. Vampire” and the huge legacy that spawned from it. “The Spooky Bunch” was screened in 1981 at the Berlin International Film Festival

A rickety, travelling Cantonese Opera group is employed by the wealthy patriarch Ma to perform for him on the island of Cheung Chau. He has a special request though; the support actress Ah Chi (Josephine Siao) must perform in the leading role this time. All this is organised for a precise reason.

With regard to the sheer amount of films he made in 1993, it is safe to say Jet Li was quite the success, especially after the first two parts of the “Once Upon A Time in China”-trilogy had been released in the years before. However, his career was just beginning to take off which is also due to his role on Corey Yuen’s 1993 box-office hit “The Legend of Fong Sai-yuk”, also known simply as “The Legend” in many countries, a feature which not only received positive reviews at the time of its release, but was also honored with a Hong Kong Film Award and a Golden Horse Award for its action choreography. Combining the elements of the period piece to action and martial arts, it delivered a very popular blend of these genres and also gave Li a chance to show his qualities as a leading man, playing the titular role of Fong Sai-yuk,...

From time to time, I like to do features about my favorite top 10 movies for certain actors, and this time, it’s kung fu legend Jet Li. I hope you enjoy my top 10 list and remember, these are only my choices, everyone will have a different top 10.

10: Fong Sai Yuk (1993)

Director:Corey Yuen

Cast:Michelle Reis, Vincent Chiu, Josephine Siao, Peer Chan, Adam Cheng, Sibelle Hu

9: The Warlords (2007)

Director:Peter Chan

Cast:Andy Lau, Kaneshiro Takeshi

8: Kiss Of The Dragon (2001)

Director:Chris Nahon

Cast:Bridget Fonda, Sam Wong Shum

7: Once Upon A Time In China II (1993)

Director:Tsui Hark

Cast:Donnie Yen, Rosamund Kwan, David Chiang, Hung Yan Yan, Max Mok

6: Last Hero In China (1993)

Director:Wong Jing

Cast:Gordon Liu, Leung Kar Yan, Nat Chan, Chung Fat

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Lee was an avid film buff from his school days in Hong Kong before immigrating with his family to the Us at the age of 19 where he later started making short films. As a producer, he worked with the director Ann Hui three times – with “Summer Snow” (Best Actress award for Josephine Siao at Berlin Iff in 1995), “A Simple Life” (Best Actress award for Deanie Ip at Venice Iff in 2011), and “Our Time Will Come“. The script for “A Simple Life” was based on the true story of his maid who worked for four generations of the Lee family for almost 60 years. His book “Taojie and Me” was published in 2012. His play “The Amahs” was produced by Hong Kong Arts Festival in 2015.

On the occasion of his films with Ann Hui screening at Five Flavours, we speak with him about his career, Hong Kong cinema, his collaboration with Ann Hui,...

Winner of the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and the Silver Berlin Bear for Josephine Siao’s performance in Berlin International Film Festival, “Summer Snow” is Ann Hui’s most celebrated film, and definitely one of her best works.

“Summer Snow” screened at Five Flavours

The script revolves around the Suns, a family consisting of Bing, who is an examiner in a driving school, May, who works in a company that imports toilet paper from China, and Allen, their 20-something son. Their lives are relatively regular, and are only tormented by Bing’s father, Lin Sun, a former flight lieutenant in the Air Force, a truly authoritarian man who treats everyone around him, and particularly the women, as his servants. The situation takes a huge turn for the worse, when Bing’s mother dies, and Lin Sun is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. The family has to take care of the elderly man,...

Lee was an avid film buff from his school days in Hong Kong before immigrating with his family to the Us at the age of 19 where he later started making short films. As a producer, he worked with the director Ann Hui three times – with “Summer Snow” (Best Actress award for Josephine Siao at Berlin Iff in 1995), “A Simple Life” (Best Actress award for Deanie Ip at Venice Iff in 2011), and “Our Time Will Come.” The script for “A Simple Life” was based on the true story of his maid who worked for four generations of the Lee family for almost 60 years. His book “Taojie and Me” was published in 2012. His play “The Amahs” was produced by Hong Kong Arts Festival in 2015.

Here are his top ten Hong Kong films, in reverse chronological order.

1. The Odd One Dies (1997) Johnnie To & Patrick Yau

The secret world of contract killing comes to focus in the dark,...

Contemporary Chinese Cinema is a column devoted to exploring contemporary Chinese-language cinema primarily as it is revealed to us at North American multiplexes.Ding Sheng’s remake of John Woo’s classic A Better Tomorrow (1986) encapsulates much that’s wrong with contemporary mainstream cinema, both in China and abroad. Ding, most known for directing moderately successful latter-day Jackie Chan vehicles like Railroad Tigers, Little Big Solider, and Policy Story 2013, is a competent director of action who seems to feel deeply bored by anything that doesn’t have an explosion of some type, and so he cuts aimlessly and pointlessly through expository dialogue and ostensibly character-building scenes, a remedial Michael Bay without any of the panache. The remake hews closely to the plot of the original film: a pair of gangster “brothers,” Triad counterfeiters in the first film, now Mainland smugglers, are betrayed on a mission in a foreign territory (first Taiwan,...

When it comes to making features like this one, i love the idea of coming up with my own personal “100 Great Kung Fu Movies” of all time. It is tough choosing just 100 because you know there are many more great Kung Fu movies that are not on the list.

I have decided that to make the list, a movie must have a few hand to hand fight scenes in the movies chosen. If for example its mainly sword play with one fight scene hand to hand it won’t make the list. Its old school “style” Kung Fu movies, not modern day settings.

I understand everyone will have their own personal favorites and some may not agree with my list and that’s fine because it’s nice to have different opinions on this genre which keeps it fresh and alive when having good debates.

Anyway, thank you for taking...

Sound on Sight undertook a massive project, compiling ranked lists of the most influential, unforgettable, and exciting action scenes in all of cinema. There were hundreds of nominees spread across ten different categories and a multi-week voting process from 11 of our writers. The results: 100 essential set pieces, sequences, and scenes from blockbusters to cult classics to arthouse obscurities.

You know an action hero is the baddest of badasses when he or she walks in and the room goes silent. The drug lord’s bodyguards, the mastermind’s henchmen, or even the foolhardy pack of drunkards outside a roadside bar stand at attention, ready for a challenge. It’s just one person. This shouldn’t be too hard. Seconds later, they’re on the ground nursing bruises, or worse, stumps where their arms and legs used to be. The One vs. Many Fight is the chance for the hero to prove...

Director: Corey Yuen. Review: Adam Wing. Another day. Another classic Jet Li offering arrives on R2 DVD courtesy of Cine-Asia. Jet Li stars as legendary Chinese hero Fong Sai Yuk in director Corey Yuen's action-packed kung-fu comedy The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk. A happy-go-lucky kung-fu artist, Fong Sai Yuk (Jet Li) is known around town for being a bit of a troublemaker. When a new Manchu official (Chan Chung Yung) shows up offering the hand of his daughter Ting Ting (Michelle Reis) to whoever wins a martial arts contest, Sai Yuk can’t resist the chance to show off in front of hundreds of spectators. Sai Yuk easily wins, and as is often the case in classic Hong Kong cinema - mistaken identity ensues. Throw in a little romance between not only Sai Yuk and Ting Ting, but also his mother (Josephine Siao) and her mother (Sibelle Hu...

Opening with fireworks and a beautifully constructed action sequence The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk quickly shifts to a sandy landscape and a Olympic games style contest that introduces the titular hero of the film, Fong Sai-Yuk. Based on a real life legend of Chinese history Fong Sai-Yuk is played here by Jet Li. Coming off the success of the Once Upon a Time in China films, where he portrayed another legendary folk hero Wong Fei-Hung, this period in Jet Li’s career helped put him on the map both in Asia and in the West.

Fong Sai-Yuk is in this film, the first of two films in which Li plays the character, immature, headstrong and cocky. Still young he is finding his way and not yet the legendary figure that led to his heroic status in history. Jeff Lau, who expertly scripted The Legend of Fong Sai-Yuk, takes...

A UK trailer has been released for martial arts epic The Legend of Fong Sai-yuk, released on DVD by Cine Asia next Monday, September 6. You can watch the trailer below.

It stars Jet Li, currently on the big screen in Sylvester Stallone's action-hero ensemble The Expendables.

The Legend of Fong Sai-yuk won Best Action Choreography Award at the 1994 Hong Kong Film Awards and the awards for Best Martial Arts Direction and Best Editing at Taiwan's prestigious Golden Horse Film Festival.

It is considered one of the most breathtaking and spectacular martial arts action movies of the 1990s.

Directed by Corey Yuen, the director of The Transporter and Doa: Dead Or Alive and action director of X-Men and Lethal Weapon 4, it also stars Michelle Reis (Bodyguards And Assassins), Chu Kong (Once A Thief) and veteran Chinese actress Josephine Siao (Hu Du Men).

The film is said to boast "some...

Movie star Jackie Chan has been voted one of the least trustworthy Hong Kong personalities in a poll, scoring lower than the city's unpopular Chief Executive Donald Tsang. Chan, 56, who stunned his home city last year by saying Chinese people needed to be controlled and that too much freedom might harm China, finished behind Beijing-appointed Tsang, who ranked 77th out of 80 in the most-trusted poll. Hong Kong's most trustworthy personality was philanthropist and anti child-abuse campaigner Josephine Siao. Olympic gold medallist Lee Lai-shan and champion cyclist Wong Kam-po also finished in the top 10.    Another famous ...

Hong Kong, March 1 (Dpa) Movie star Jackie Chan has been voted one of the least trustworthy Hong Kong personalities in a poll, scoring lower than the city’s unpopular Chief Executive Donald Tsang.

Chan, 56, who stunned his home city last year by saying Chinese people needed to be controlled and that too much freedom might harm China, finished behind Beijing-appointed Tsang, who ranked 77th out of 80 in the most-trusted poll.

Hong Kong’s most trustworthy personality was philanthropist and anti child-abuse campaigner Josephine Siao. Olympic gold medallist Lee Lai-shan and champion cyclist Wong Kam-po also finished in the top 10.

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A biopic about Bruce Lee's kung fu mentor has taken the top prize at the Hong Kong Film Awards, scooping Best Picture.

Ip Man, directed by Wilson Yip and produced by Raymond Wong, also won Best Action Choreography at Sunday's ceremony.

But the movie, which was nominated for a total of 12 awards, missed out on other key categories - documentary The Way We Are took home accolades for Best Director (Ann Hui), Best Screenplay (Lou Shiu Wa), Best Actress (Paw Hee Ching) and Best Supporting Actress (Chan Lai Wun).

Nick Cheung was applauded for his portrayal of a kidnapper in The Best Stalker, earning him the Best Actor title, while Liu Kai-chi was handed Best Supporting Actor for his role in the action film.

Other winners at the 28th Hong Kong Film Awards include Xu Jiao (Best New Performer for her role in CJ7), Josephine Siao (Lifetime Achievement Award), and Ting Yu for Professional Achievement.