The Hong Kong film industry is renowned for producing fast paced, action packed films with a certain Hollywood glitz about them. But just like France's Cinema du Look movement (see Leon, La Femme Nikita, Betty Blue etc.) it’s Hollywood with a twist.
Hong Kong movies are genre driven and commercial, but they use less realism, and often tend towards dark, edgy storylines and highly stylised imagery. Martial arts feature heavily, and films about criminals (particularly the Triads) and the police are popular, as are comedies. But the cinema of Hong Kong is both rich and strange, often employing a rather surreal mixture of cartoon-ish humour and violence to please its public.
Hong Kong Pop Stars and Movie Stars
If Simon Cowell was in charge of a national film industry, he would probably run it the way they do in Hong Kong. The industry is heavily reliant on its acting stars to draw in audiences, and popularity breeds success, which is why a small pool of actors seem to crop up repeatedly in Hong Kong movies. Many of the stars breakthrough from television or pop music (such as current teen trendsetters The Twins) - and most acting stars have a dual career in the music industry as well.
Of course two of the biggest names in Hong Kong cinema, Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, precede this trend. Their respective family backgrounds in Chinese opera were what brought them into the film industry. This was a traditional route for many early stars. That said, throughout Hong Kong and Asia Jackie Chan does now have a successful career in the music industry too.
Best Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee Movies
The Hong Kong years molded this pair into two of the biggest cinematic icons ever. They are stars in Hong Kong, the USA, the UK , well, anywhere really.
Although born in America, Bruce Lee spent his formative years in Hong Kong, and returned to the region to make films The Big Boss, Fist of Fury and Way of the Dragon. He abandoned filming on his fourth Hong Kong feature Game of Death when the chance to do (Hollywood funded) Enter the Dragon arose, released in Hong Kong six days after the star's untimely death.
Jackie Chan’s career spans five decades, during which time he’s endured multiple injuries for his art, and yet he’s still going strong. Amongst his many films, he's probably best known for Hong Kong titles such as Drunken Master, and the Police Story series of films. More recently Hollywood action comedies have proliferated, such as Rumble in the Bronx, Mr Nice Guy and the Rush Hour films. These may not have quite the same bone-crunching intensity of his Hong Kong output, but if ever a man was deserving of some respite it‘s Jackie!
Introduction to Hong Kong Cinema
Other established stars from the Hong Kong movie industry have achieved international recognition, and made roads into promoting the films of their homeland in so doing. Here’s a few pointers about who’s who, and what’s worth seeking out…
- Stephen Chow - Actor, comedian, director, writer, producer. Best known for fusing comedy with violence in crazy-mad films such as Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle. Good friends with Tony Leung (they got started working together on a children’s TV show).
- John Woo - Director, producer. Best known for his distinctly cool and stylish crime dramas which incorporate slo-mo gun fights, long swishing coats, motorbike stunts etc. As seen in Hard Boiled, A Better Tomorrow and The Killer. Has since worked in Hollywood with some success - see Hard Target, Face/Off, Mission Impossible II - but not as much credibility. (So if you’re going to name drop Woo, make sure it’s the Hong Kong stuff!).
- Chow Yun-fat - Actor. Best known for starring in John Woo films (Hard Boiled, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer) and for the acclaimed box office smash Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (which was a Hong Kong/China/Taiwan/US co-production).
- Tony Leung Chiu-wai - Actor. Best known for Hard Boiled, Ashes of Time, Infernal Affairs, Hero and In the Mood for Love (which was actually a Chinese film, directed by Taiwanese/American - Ang Lee - set in Hong Kong). Leung has won countless awards and is widely regarded as the best Hong Kong actor of his generation.
- Wong Kar-wai - Director. Best known for Chungking Express, Ashes of Time, In the Mood for Love, and (in English) My Blueberry Nights.
- Maggie Cheung - Actress. Best known for starring in Jackie Chan’s Police Story films (the first 3), Ashes of Time, In the Mood for Love, Hero. Cheung also won best actress at the Cannes film festival, 2004, for her role in French film Clean, directed by her former husband Olivier Assayas - the first time they’d worked together since getting divorced.
- Sammo Hung - Actor, director, producer. Best known for being good friends with Jackie Chan, starring as a baddie in Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon and for American drama series Martial Law. Hung has also directed and starred in numerous Hong Kong films including greats such as Project A and Shanghai Express (no, NOT the Madonna/Sean Penn debacle!). Hung is widely credited with launching many stars' careers by casting them in his films.
Any of the above make a great jumping-off point for getting into Hong Kong movies, but they are just the tip of the iceberg. The industry is huge, or at least it has been . With zero government funding (unlike most national film industries) Hong Kong movies are in decline. The current trend seems to be for chasing ever-younger audiences with slushy, Hollywood aping drivel. But with such a rich history, and talented gene pool, chances are the Hong Kong movie industry can and will pick up again in due time, and things will return to normal. Well, if you can call a Stephen Chow film normal that is.
Sources
This article was cross verified using IMDb.com and LoveHKFilm.com
Michelle Strozykowski - Michelle Strozykowski lives in a small brewing town smack bang in the middle of England. She loves films, especially arty European ones ...
