The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China, and the cinema of Taiwan. As a former British colony, Hong Kong had a greater degree of political and economic freedom than mainland China and Taiwan, and developed into a filmmaking hub for the Chinese-speaking world (including its worldwide diaspora) and for East Asia in general. For decades, Hong Kong was the third largest motion picture industry in the world (after Bollywood and Hollywood) and the second largest exporter. Despite an industry crisis starting in the mid-'90s and Hong Kong's return to Chinese sovereignty in July 1997, Hong Kong film has retained much of its distinctive identity and continues to play a prominent part on the world cinema stage. The History of Hong Kong began as a coastal island geographically located in southern China. ... Other Hong Kong topics Culture - Economy Education - Geography - History Hong Kong Portal Politics of Hong Kong takes place in a framework of a political system dominated by China, an own legislature, the Chief Executive as the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. ... East Asian cinema (sometimes called Far Eastern cinema, Eastern cinema, Asian cinema or Oriental cinema) is a term used to refer to the film industry and films produced in, and/or by natives of, East Asia. ... The history of Chinese language cinema has three separate threads of development: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. ... The history of Chinese-language cinema has three separate threads of development: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China and Cinema of Taiwan. ... Japanese cinema (映画; Eiga) has a history in Japan that spans more than 100 years. ... Korean cinema encompasses the motion picture industries of North Korea and South Korea. ... The Cinema of Mongolia has been strongly influenced by the Cinema of Russia, which differenciates it from cinematic developments in the rest of Asia. ... Chinese (written) language (pinyin: zhōngw n) written in Chinese characters The Chinese language (汉语/漢語, 华语/華語, or 中文; Pinyin: H nyǔ, Hu yǔ, or Zhōngw n) is a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ... The history of Chinese language cinema has three separate threads of development: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. ... The history of Chinese-language cinema has three separate threads of development: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China and Cinema of Taiwan. ... A United Kingdom overseas territory (formerly known as a dependent territory or earlier as a crown colony) is a territory that is under the sovereignty and formal control of the United Kingdom but is not part of the United Kingdom proper (Great Britain and Northern Ireland). ... ... Languages various Religions Predominantly Taoism, Mahayana Buddhism, traditional Chinese religions, and atheism. ... Geographic East Asia. ... Bollywood (Hindi: , Urdu: ) is the informal name given to the popular Mumbai-based Hindi language film industry in India. ... ...

In the West, Hong Kong's vigorous pop cinema (especially Hong Kong action cinema) has long had a strong cult following, which has become large enough that it is now arguably a part of the cultural mainstream, widely available and imitated. This influence has been particularly heavy on recent Hollywood trends in the action genre. Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industrys global fame. ... Look up Action film in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The Hong Kong industry

Unlike many film industries, Hong Kong has enjoyed little to no direct government support, through either subsidies or import quotas. It is a thoroughly commercial cinema: highly corporate, concentrating on crowd-pleasing genres like comedy and action, and relying heavily on formulas, sequels and remakes. Even in the early days of film history, the audience appetite for new content was voracious. ... In popular culture, formula fiction defines literature in which the storylines and plots have been reused to the extent that the narratives are predictable. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... In film, a remake is a newer version of a previously released film or a newer version of the source (play, novel, story, etc. ...

Hong Kong film derives a number of elements from Hollywood, such as certain genre parameters, an ingratiating "thrill-a-minute" philosophy and fast pacing and editing. But the borrowings are filtered through elements from traditional Chinese drama and art, particularly a penchant for stylization and a disregard for Western standards of realism. This, combined with a fast and loose approach to the filmmaking process, contributes to the energy and surreal imagination that foreign audiences note in Hong Kong cinema. Film editing is the connecting of one or more shots to form a sequence, and the subsequent connecting of sequences to form an entire movie. ... Emperor Xuan-Zong of Tang (left) and his Consort Yang Yuhuan (right) portrayed in a Chinese Opera 19th century Chinese opera Chinese opera costumes Some athletic jump Chinese opera is a popular form of drama in China. ... Chinese Art (Simplified Chinese: ) has varied throughout its ancient history, divided into periods by the ruling dynasties of China and changing technology. ... Realism in the visual arts and literature is the depiction of subjects as they appear in everyday life, without embellishment or interpretation. ...

The star system

As is common in commercial cinemas, the industry's heart is a highly developed star system. In earlier days, beloved performers from the Chinese opera stage often brought their audiences with them to the screen. For the past three or four decades, television has been a major launching pad for movie stardom, through the acting courses and widely watched drama, comedy and variety series offered by the two major stations; Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Stephen Chow are two top names who began on the small screen. Possibly even more important is the overlap with the Cantonese pop music industry. Many, if not most, movie stars have recording sidelines, and vice versa; this has been a key marketing strategy in an entertainment industry where American-style, multimedia advertising campaigns have until recently been little used (Bordwell, 2000). In the current commercially troubled climate, the casting of young Cantopop idols (such as Ekin Cheng and the Twins) to attract the all-important youth audience is endemic. The star system was the method of creating and promoting film stars in Classical Hollywood cinema. ... Emperor Xuan-Zong of Tang (left) and his Consort Yang Yuhuan (right) portrayed in a Chinese Opera 19th century Chinese opera Chinese opera costumes Some athletic jump Chinese opera is a popular form of drama in China. ... There are two free-to-air television services in Hong Kong: Asia Television Ltd (ATV): operates one English-language (World) and one Chinese-language (Home) channel. ... Tony Leung Chiu-wai in a 2006 promotional photograph for the Hong Kong Entertainment Expo Tony Leung Chiu Wai (Chinese: ; pinyin: ) (born in Hong Kong on June 27, 1962) is a Hong Kong movie and ex-television actor. ... Stephen Chow (also Stephen Chiau) (traditional Chinese : 周星馳; simplified Chinese : 周星驰; Romanized as: Chow Sing Chi ; pinyin : Zhōu XÄ«ngchí; jyutping : zau1 sing1 ci4) (born June 22, 1962) is a director and actor in many blockbuster movies in Hong Kong. ... Cantopop (Chinese: 粵語流行曲) is a colloquial abbreviation for Cantonese popular music. It is also referred to as HK-pop, short for Hong Kong popular music. It is categorized as a subgenre of Chinese popular music within C-pop. ... Ekin Cheng Yee-Kin (鄭伊健, pinyin: Zhèng YÄ«jiàn) (born October 4, 1967) is a Hong Kong actor and Cantopop singer. ... Twins is a Hong Kong-based female Cantopop duo created in the summer of 2001 by Albert Yeungs Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG). ...

In the small and tightly knit industry, actors (as well as other personnel, such as directors) are kept very busy. During previous boom periods, the number of movies made by a successful figure in a single year could routinely reach into the double digits.

Budgets

Films are typically low-budget in comparison with American product. A major release with a big star, aimed at "hit" status, will typically cost around US$5 million (Yang et al., 1997). A low-budget feature can go well below US$1 million. Occasional blockbuster projects by the very biggest stars (Jackie Chan or Stephen Chow, for example) or international co-productions aimed at the global market, can go as high as US$20 million or more, but these are rare exceptions. Hong Kong productions can nevertheless achieve a level of gloss and lavishness greater than these numbers might suggest, given factors like lower wages, the efficient professionalism typical of behind-the-scenes personnel, and the general lack of the expensive frills that are typical on Hollywood sets. American cinema has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. ... Blockbuster, as applied to film or theater, denotes a very popular and/or successful production. ... Chan Kong-Sang (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), also known as Jackie Chan Sing Lung (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) or Jackie Chan SBS, (born on April 7, 1954) is a Chinese martial artist, action star, actor, director, screenwriter, film producer, singer and stunt performer. ... Stephen Chow (also Stephen Chiau) (traditional Chinese : 周星馳; simplified Chinese : 周星驰; Romanized as: Chow Sing Chi ; pinyin : Zhōu XÄ«ngchí; jyutping : zau1 sing1 ci4) (born June 22, 1962) is a director and actor in many blockbuster movies in Hong Kong. ...

Language and sound

Since the 1980s, films have been made mostly in the Cantonese language. Cantonese is a major dialect group or language of the Chinese language, a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ...

For decades, films were typically shot silent, with dialogue and all other sound dubbed afterwards. In the hectic and low-budget industry, this method was faster and more cost-efficient than recording live sound, particularly when using performers from different dialect regions; it also helped facilitate dubbing into other languages for the vital export market. Many busy stars would not even record their own dialogue, but would be dubbed by a lesser-known performer. Shooting without sound also contributed to an improvisatory filmmaking approach. Movies often went into production without finished scripts, with scenes and dialogue concocted on the set; especially low-budget productions on tight schedules might even have actors mouth silently or simply count numbers, with actual dialogue created only in the editing process. MOS is a standard motion picture jargon abbreviation, used in production reports to indicate an associated film segment has no synchronous audio track. ... In filmmaking, dubbing or looping is the process of recording or replacing voices for a motion picture. ...

A trend towards sync sound filming grew in the late '90s and this method is now the norm, partly because of a widespread public association with higher quality cinema. Sync Sound in movies refers to sound recorded at the time of filming. ...

History

1909 to World War II

During its early history, Hong Kong's cinema played second fiddle to that of the mainland, particularly the city of Shanghai, which was then the movie capital of the Chinese-speaking world. Very little of this work is extant: one count finds only four films remaining out of over 500 produced in Hong Kong before World War II (Fonoroff, 1997). Detailed accounts of this period, especially those by non-Chinese speakers, therefore have inherent limitations and uncertainties. ... Shanghai (Chinese: ; pinyin:  ; Wu (Long-short): ZÃ¥nhae; Shanghainese (IPA): ), situated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta in East China, is the largest city of the Peoples Republic of China and the ninth largest in the world. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Pioneers from the stage

A young Lai Man-Wai in 1913 in Zhuangzi Tests His Wife credited as the first Hong Kong film

As in most of China, the development of early films was tightly bound to Chinese opera, for centuries the dominant form of dramatic entertainment. Opera scenes were the source for what are generally credited as the first movies made in Hong Kong, two 1909 short comedies entitled Stealing a Roasted Duck and Right a Wrong with Earthenware Dish. The director was stage actor and director Liang Shaobo. The producer was an American, Benjamin Brodsky (sometimes transliterated 'Polaski'), one of a number of Westerners who helped jumpstart Chinese film through their efforts to crack China's vast potential market. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Lai Man-Wai (黎民偉) (1893 - 1953), now known as Father of Hong Kong Cinema, was the director of the first Hong Kong movie Zhuangzi Tests His Wife (莊子試妻) in 1913. ... Emperor Xuan-Zong of Tang (left) and his Consort Yang Yuhuan (right) portrayed in a Chinese Opera 19th century Chinese opera Chinese opera costumes Some athletic jump Chinese opera is a popular form of drama in China. ... Year 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Credit for the first Hong Kong feature film is usually given to Zhuangzi Tests His Wife (1913), which also took its story from the opera stage, was helmed by a stage director and featured Brodsky's involvement. Director Lai Man-Wai (Li Ming Wei or Li Minwei in Mandarin) was a theatrical colleague of Liang Shaobo's who would become known as the "Father of Hong Kong Cinema". In another borrowing from opera, Lai played the role of wife himself. His brother played the role of husband, and his wife a supporting role as a maid, making her the first Chinese woman to act in a Chinese film, a milestone delayed by longstanding taboos regarding female performers (Leyda, 1972). Zhuangzhi was the only film made by Chinese American Film, founded by Lai and Brodsky as the first movie studio in Hong Kong, and was never actually shown in the territory (Stokes and Hoover, 1999). A reel of film, which predates digital cinematography. ... Zhuangzi Tests His Wife (Traditional Chinese: 莊子試妻 Zhuangzi shi qi) is a 1913 Hong Kong drama film directed by Li Minwei. ... Lai Man-Wai (黎民偉) (1893 - 1953), now known as Father of Hong Kong Cinema, was the director of the first Hong Kong movie Zhuangzi Tests His Wife (莊子試妻) in 1913. ... Mandarin (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; literally speech of officials), or Beifanghua (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; literally Northern Dialect(s)), is a category of related Chinese dialects spoken across most of northern and south-western China. ...

The following year, the outbreak of World War I put a large crimp in the development of cinema in Hong Kong, as Germany was the source of the colony's film stock (Yang, 2003). It was not until 1923 that Lai, his brother and their cousin joined with Liang Shaobo to form Hong Kong's first entirely Chinese-owned-and-operated production company, the Minxin (or China Sun) Company. In 1924, they moved their operation to the Mainland after government red tape blocked their plans to build a studio. (Teo, 1997) “The Great War ” redirects here. ... The Minxin Film Company or China Sun Film Company was one of the earliest movie studios in the history of Chinese cinema. ...

The advent of sound

With the popularity of talkies in the early 1930s, China's many, mutually unintelligible, spoken dialects had to be grappled with. Hong Kong was a major center for Cantonese, one of the most widely spoken, and political factors on the Mainland provided other opportunities. The government of the Kuomintang or Nationalist Party wanted to enforce a "Mandarin-only" policy and was hostile to Cantonese filmmaking in China. It also banned the wildly popular wuxia genre of martial arts swordplay and fantasy, accusing it of promoting superstition and violent anarchy. Cantonese film and wuxia film remained popular despite government hostility, and the British colony of Hong Kong became a place where both of these trends could be freely served. Filmed Cantonese operas proved even more successful than wuxia and constituted the leading genre of the 1930s. A sound film (or talkie) is a motion picture with synchronized sound, as opposed to a silent movie. ... Spoken Chinese The Chinese spoken language(s) comprise(s) many regional variants. ... Cantonese is a major dialect group or language of the Chinese language, a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ... The Kuomintang of China (abbreviation KMT) (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Tongyong Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chung1-kuo2 Kuo2-min2-tang3) [1], also often translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party, is a political party in the Republic of China, now on Taiwan, and is currently the largest political party in... Mandarin (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; literally speech of officials), or Beifanghua (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; literally Northern Dialect(s)), is a category of related Chinese dialects spoken across most of northern and south-western China. ... Wǔxiá (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: , Mandarin IPA: , Cantonese Pinyin: mou5 hap6), literally meaning martial (arts) heroes, is a distinct quasi-fantasy sub-genre of the martial arts genre in literature, television and cinema. ... Hawaiian State Grappling Championships. ... Cantonese opera is one of the major categories in Chinese opera, originating in southern Chinas Cantonese culture. ...

Major studios that thrived in this period were Grandview, Universal, Nanyue and Tianyi (the last an early incarnation of the Shaw family dynasty that would become the most enduring and influential in Chinese film). (Teo, 1997) The Shaw Studio (邵氏片場), owned by Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd. ...

The advent of war

Another important factor in the '30s was the Sino-Japanese War. "National defense" films - patriotic war stories about Chinese resisting the Japanese invasion - became one of Hong Kong's major genres; notable titles included Kwan Man Ching's Lifeline (1935), Chiu Shu Sun's Hand to Hand Combat (1937) and Situ Huimin's March of the Partisans (1938). The genre and the film industry were further boosted by emigre film artists and companies when Shanghai was taken by the Japanese in 1937. The Second Sino-Japanese War was a major invasion of eastern China by Japan preceding and during World War II. It ended with the surrender of Japan in 1945. ... Lifeline is the name of a free, 24 hour telephone counselling service established in 1963 in Sydney, Australia by the late Reverend Dr Sir Alan Walker of the Methodist Central Mission. ...

This of course came to an end when Hong Kong itself fell to the Japanese in December 1941. But unlike on the Mainland, the occupiers were not able to put together a collaborationist film industry. They managed to complete just one propaganda movie, The Attack on Hong Kong (1942; aka The Day of England's Collapse) before the British returned in 1945 (Teo, 1997). A more important move by the Japanese may have been to melt down many of Hong Kong's pre-war films to extract their silver nitrate for military use (Fonoroff, 1997). The History of Hong Kong began as a coastal island geographically located in southern China. ... R-phrases , S-phrases , , , , Flash point non-flammable Supplementary data page Structure and properties n, εr, etc. ...

The 1940s-1960s

Postwar Hong Kong cinema, like postwar Hong Kong industries in general, was catalyzed by the continuing influx of capital and talents from Mainland China. This became a flood with the 1946 resumption of the Chinese Civil War (which had been on hold during the fight against Japan) and then the 1949 Communist victory. These events definitively shifted the center of Chinese-language cinema to Hong Kong. The colony also did big business exporting films to Southeast Asian countries (especially but not exclusively their large Chinese expatriate communities) and to Chinatowns in Western countries (Bordwell, 2000). Combatants Nationalist Party of China Communist Party of China Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Mao Zedong Strength 4,300,000 (July 1946) 3,650,000 (June 1948) 1,490,000 (June 1949) 1,200,000 (July 1946) 2,800,000 (June 1948) 4,000,000 (June 1949) The Chinese Civil War... The Communist Party of China (CPC) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China, a position guaranteed by the countrys constitution. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Chinatown (disambiguation). ...

Competing languages

The postwar era also cemented the bifurcation of the industry into two parallel cinemas, one in Mandarin, the dominant dialect of the Mainland emigres, and one in Cantonese, the dialect of most Hong Kong natives. Mandarin movies had much higher budgets and more lavish production. Reasons included their enormous export market; the expertise, capital and prestige of the Shanghai filmmakers; and the cultural prestige of Mandarin, the official language of China and the tongue of the Chinese cultural and political elite. For decades to come, Cantonese films, though sometimes more numerous, were relegated to second-tier status (Leyda, 1972). Mandarin (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; literally speech of officials), or Beifanghua (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; literally Northern Dialect(s)), is a category of related Chinese dialects spoken across most of northern and south-western China. ... Cantonese is a major dialect group or language of the Chinese language, a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ...

Another language-related milestone occurred in 1963: the British authorities passed a law requiring the subtitling of all films in English, supposedly to enable a watch on political content. Making a virtue of necessity, studios included Chinese subtitles as well, enabling easier access to their movies for speakers of other dialects. (Yang, 2003) Subtitling later had the unintended consequence of facilitating the movies' popularity in the West. In printed material In printed material, a subtitle is an explanatory or alternate title. ...

Cantonese movies

During this period, Cantonese opera on film dominated. The top stars were the female duo of Yam Kim Fai and Pak Suet Sin (Yam-Pak for short). Yam specialized in male scholar roles to Pak's female leads. They made over fifty films together, The Purple Hairpin (1959) being one of the most enduringly popular (Teo, 1997). Cantonese opera is one of the major categories in Chinese opera, originating in southern Chinas Cantonese culture. ... Yam Kim Fai (Chinese: 任劍輝) (December 29, 1912 – November 29, 1989) was a famous Chinese opera actress in China and Hong Kong. ...

Low-budget martial arts films were also popular. A series of roughly 100 kung fu movies starring Kwan Tak Hing as historical folk hero Wong Fei Hung were made, starting with The True Story of Wong Fei Hung (1949) and ending with Wong Fei Hung Bravely Crushing the Fire Formation (1970) (Logan, 1995). Fantasy wuxia (swordplay) serials with special effects drawn on the film by hand, such as The Six-Fingered Lord of the Lute (1965) starring teen idol Connie Chan Po-chu in the lead male role, were also popular (Chute and Lim, 2003, 3), as were contemporary melodramas of home and family life. Martial arts film is a film genre that originated in the Pacific Rim. ... Alternative meaning: Kung Fu (TV series) Kung fu or gongfu (功夫, Pinyin: gōngfu) is a well-known Chinese term used in the West to designate Chinese martial arts. ... Kwan Tak Hing (born 1905 in Guandong, China, died 28 June 1996 in Hong Kong) was an actor who played the role of martial artist Wong Fei Hong in over 70 films between the 1940s and the 1980s. ... This is a Chinese name; the family name is Wong. ... WÇ”xiá (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: , Mandarin IPA: , Cantonese Pinyin: mou5 hap6), literally meaning martial (arts) heroes, is a distinct quasi-fantasy sub-genre of the martial arts genre in literature, television and cinema. ... Connie Chan Po-chu (Chinese: ; pinyin: Chén BÇŽozhÅ«) was born in 1947 in Guangdong, China. ... Poster for The Perils of Pauline (1914). ...

Mandarin movies and the Shaws/Cathay rivalry

In Mandarin production, Shaw Brothers and Motion Picture and General Investments Limited (MP&GI, later renamed Cathay) were the top studios by the 1960s, and bitter rivals. The Shaws gained the upper hand in 1964 after the death in a plane crash of MP&GI founder and head Loke Wan Tho. The renamed Cathay faltered, ceasing film production in 1970 (Yang, 2003). Shaw Brothers Studio The Shaw Studio (邵氏片場), owned by Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd. ... Cathay Organisation Holdings Limited is one of Singapores leading leisure and entertainment groups. ... Loke Wan Tho 陆运涛 (1915–1964) born in Singapore, was a cinema magnate, ornithologist, and photographer. ...

A musical genre called Huángméidiào (黃梅調) was derived from Chinese opera; the Shaws' record-breaking hit The Love Eterne (1963) remains the classic of the genre. Historical costume epics often overlapped with the Huángméidiào, such as in The Kingdom and the Beauty (1959). (Both of the above examples were directed by Shaw's star director, Li Han Hsiang). Romantic melodramas such as Red Bloom in the Snow (1956), Love Without End (1961), The Blue and the Black (1964) and adaptations of novels by Chiung Yao were popular. So were Hollywood-style musicals, which were a particular specialty of MP&GI/Cathay in entries such as Mambo Girl (1957) and The Wild, Wild Rose (1960). This article contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... Emperor Xuan-Zong of Tang (left) and his Consort Yang Yuhuan (right) portrayed in a Chinese Opera 19th century Chinese opera Chinese opera costumes Some athletic jump Chinese opera is a popular form of drama in China. ... The Love Eterne (梁山伯與祝英台, Liang Shan Ba yu Zhu Ying Tai) is a 1963 musical film directed by Li Han Hsiang. ... Richard Li Han Hsiang (李翰祥, 7 March 1926 in Jinxi, China - 17 December 1996 in Beijing, China) was a Chinese film director. ... Chiung Yao or Qiong Yao (琼瑶/瓊瑤) is the most well known author of romance novels in China. ... The musical film is a film genre in which several songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative. ...

In the second half of the '60s, the Shaws inaugurated a new generation of more intense, less fantastical wuxia films with glossier production values, acrobatic moves and stronger violence. The trend was inspired by the popularity of imported samurai movies from Japan (Chute and Lim, 2003, 8), as well as by the loss of movie audiences to television. This marked the crucial turn of the industry from a female-centric genre system to an action movie orientation (see also the Hong Kong action cinema article). Key trendsetters included Xu Zenghong's Temple of the Red Lotus (1965), King Hu's Come Drink with Me (1966) and Dragon Inn (1967, made in Taiwan; aka Dragon Gate Inn), and Chang Cheh's Tiger Boy (1966), The One-Armed Swordsman (1967) and Golden Swallow (1968). WÇ”xiá (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: , Mandarin IPA: , Cantonese Pinyin: mou5 hap6), literally meaning martial (arts) heroes, is a distinct quasi-fantasy sub-genre of the martial arts genre in literature, television and cinema. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industrys global fame. ... King Hu (胡金銓, pinyin: Hú Jīnquán, April 29, 1931 - January 14, 1997) was a Hong Kong and Taiwan-based Chinese film director whose wuxia films brought Chinese cinema to new technical and artistic heights. ... Come Drink with Me (Chinese: 大醉俠, Mandarin: Da Zui Xia, literally Big Drunken Hero) is a 1966 martial arts film directed by King Hu. ... Dragon Gate Inn (TC: 龍門客棧, SC: 龙门客栈, pinyin: Lóng mén kè zhàn), also known as Dragon Inn, is a 1966 film directed by King Hu starring Shang Kuan, Chun Shih, Ying Bo, Jian Tsao and Han Xue. ... Dragon Gate Inn (TC: 龍門客棧, SC: 龙门客栈, pinyin: Lóng mén kè zhàn), also known as Dragon Inn, is a 1966 film directed by King Hu starring Shang Kuan, Chun Shih, Ying Bo, Jian Tsao and Han Xue. ... Chang Cheh (張徹; pinyin:Zhāng Chè) (February 10, 1923 – June 22, 2002) was Shaw Brothers Studios best known and most prolific film director, with such films as the Five Venoms, the Brave Archer (based on the works of Jin Yong), the One-Armed Swordsman, and other classics of wuxia... The One-armed Swordsman (Dubei Dao) Released in 1967, The One-armed Swordsman was the first of the new style of wuxia films emphasising male anti-heroes, violent swordplay and heavy bloodletting. ...

Years of transformation (1970s)

Mandarin-dialect film in general and the Shaw Brothers studio in particular began the 1970s in apparent positions of unassailable strength. Cantonese cinema virtually vanished in the face of Mandarin studios and Cantonese television, which became available to the general population in 1967; in 1972 no films in the local dialect were made (Bordwell, 2000). The Shaws saw their longtime rival Cathay ceasing film production, leaving themselves the only megastudio. The martial arts subgenre of the kung fu movie exploded into popularity internationally, with the Shaws driving and dominating the wave. But changes were beginning that would greatly alter the industry by the end of the decade. Alternative meaning: Kung Fu (TV series) Kung fu or gongfu (功夫, Pinyin: gōngfu) is a well-known Chinese term used in the West to designate Chinese martial arts. ...

The Cantonese comeback

Paradoxically, television would soon contribute to the revival of Cantonese in a movement towards more down-to-earth movies about modern Hong Kong life and average people.

The first spark was the ensemble comedy The House of 72 Tenants, the only Cantonese film made in 1973, but a resounding hit. It was based on a well-known play and produced by the Shaws as a showcase for performers from their pioneering television station TVB (Yang, 2003). The House of 72 Tenants is a 1973 Hong Kong film directed by Chor Yuen. ... REDIRECT Television Broadcasts Limited ...

The return of Cantonese really took off with the comedies of former TVB stars the Hui Brothers (actor-director-screenwriter Michael Hui, actor-singer Sam Hui and actor Ricky Hui). The rationale behind the move to Cantonese was clear in the trailer for the brothers' Games Gamblers Play (1974): "Films by devoted young people with you in mind." This move back to the local audience for Hong Kong cinema paid off immediately. Games Gamblers Play initially made US$1.4 million at the Hong Kong box office, becoming the highest grossing film up to that point, even beating such favourites as the (Mandarin) films of worldwide kung fu deity Bruce Lee. The Hui movies also broke ground by satirizing the modern reality of an ascendant middle class, whose long work hours and dreams of material success were transforming the colony into a modern industrial and corporate giant (Teo, 1997). Cantonese comedy thrived and Cantonese production skyrocketed; Mandarin hung on into the early '80s, but has been relatively rare onscreen since. Michael Hui in The Private Eyes Michael Hui Koon-Man (許冠文 Jyutping: heoi2 gun3 man4; pinyin: XÇ” Guànwén) (born September 3, 1942) is a Hong Kong film comedian, scriptwriter and director. ... Samuel Hui (許冠傑) (born September 4, 1948) was a star in cantopop and movie industry in Hong Kongs 60s to 90s. ... Ricky Hui Koon-Ying (許冠英, pinyin: XÇ” GuànyÄ«ng) (born August 3, 1946) is a Hong Kong movie star in the Hong Kongs 70s to 90s. ... Games Gamblers Play is a 1974 Hong Kong film directed by Michael Hui. ... Bruce Lee (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: Lǐ XiÇŽolóng; Cantonese Yale: Léih Síulùhng; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a martial artist, philosopher, instructor, and martial arts actor widely regarded as the most influential martial artist of the 20th century. ...

Golden Harvest and the rise of the independents

In 1970, former Shaw Brothers executives Raymond Chow and Leonard Ho left to form their own studio, Golden Harvest. The upstart's more flexible and less tightfisted approach to the business outmaneuvered the Shaws' old-style studio. Chow and Ho landed contracts with rising young performers who had fresh ideas for the industry, like Bruce Lee and the Hui Brothers, and allowed them greater creative latitude than was traditional. By the end of the '70s, Golden Harvest was the top studio, signing up Jackie Chan, the kung fu comedy actor-filmmaker who would spend the next twenty years as Asia's biggest box office draw (Chan and Yang, 1998, pp. 164-165; Bordwell, 2000). ramond chow ... Golden Harvest (Chinese: ) SEHK: 1132 is a film production, distribution and exhibition company based in Hong Kong. ... Bruce Lee (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: Lǐ Xiǎolóng; Cantonese Yale: Léih Síulùhng; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a martial artist, philosopher, instructor, and martial arts actor widely regarded as the most influential martial artist of the 20th century. ... Chan Kong-Sang (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), also known as Jackie Chan Sing Lung (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) or Jackie Chan SBS, (born on April 7, 1954) is a Chinese martial artist, action star, actor, director, screenwriter, film producer, singer and stunt performer. ...

Meanwhile, the explosions of Cantonese and kung fu and the example of Golden Harvest had created more space for independent producers and production companies. The era of the studio juggernauts was past. The Shaws nevertheless continued film production until 1985 before turning entirely to television (Teo, 1997).

Other transformative trends

The rapidly growing permissiveness in film content that was general in much of the world affected Hong Kong film as well. A genre of softcore erotica known as fengyue became a local staple (the name is a contraction of a Chinese phrase implying seductive decadence). Such material did not suffer as much of a stigma in Hong Kong as in most Western countries; it was more or less part of the mainstream, sometimes featuring contributions from major directors such as Chor Yuen and Li Han Hsiang and often crossbreeding with other popular genres like martial arts, the costume film and especially comedy (Teo, 1997; Yang, 2003). Violence also grew more intense and graphic, particularly at the instigation of martial arts filmmakers. Erotica (from the Greek language Eros - love) — refers to works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or arousing descriptions. ... Richard Li Han Hsiang (李翰祥, 7 March 1926 in Jinxi, China - 17 December 1996 in Beijing, China) was a Chinese film director. ... A costume drama is a period piece in which elaborate costumes, sets and properties are featured in order to capture the ambience of a particular era. ...

Director Lung Kong blended these trends into the social-issue dramas which he had already made his specialty with late '60s Cantonese classics like The Story of a Discharged Prisoner (1967) and Teddy Girls (1969). In the '70s, he began directing in Mandarin and brought exploitation elements to serious films about subjects like prostitution (The Call Girls and Lina), the atomic bomb (Hiroshima 28) and the fragility of civilized society (Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, which portrayed a plague-decimated, near-future Hong Kong). (Teo, 1997) Exploitation film is a type of film that eschews the expense of quality productions in favor of making films on-the-cheap, attracting the public by exciting their more prurient interests. ... The Call-Girls: A tragi-comedy with prologue and epilogue is a book (ISBN 0-09-112550-2) by Arthur Koestler. ... Lina is an immature nerd who goes to Rödabergsskolan in Sweden and is scared of kissing in 1996 she got married to Sebi Girnita then in 1998 they got divorced then in 2001 she got married to Danny Jones who was naked in a an interview in Sweden he... Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (Italian: Ieri, oggi, domani) is a 1963 comedy film by Italian director Vittorio de Sica. ...

The brief career of Tang Shu Shuen, the territory's first noted woman director, produced two films, The Arch (1970) and China Behind (1974), that were trailblazers for a local, socially critical art cinema. They are also widely considered forerunners of the last major milestone of the decade, the so-called Hong Kong New Wave that would come from outside the traditional studio hierarchy and point to new possibilities for the industry (Bordwell, 2000). Tang Shu Shuen (aka Shu Shuen or Cecile Tang Shu Shuen) (born 1941) is a former Hong Kong film director. ... The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial is located in St. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The Hong Kong New Wave was a blanket term applied to a number of young, groundbreaking Hong Kong filmmakers of the late 1970s and 1980s, many trained in overseas film programs and with experience in the territorys thriving television drama scene. ...

1980s-early 1990s: the boom years

The 1980s and early '90s saw seeds planted in the '70s come to full flower: the triumph of Cantonese, the birth of a new and modern cinema, superpower status in the East Asian market, and the turning of the West's attention to Hong Kong film.

A cinema of greater technical polish and more sophisticated visual style, including the first forays into up-to-date special effects technology, sprang up quickly. To this surface dazzle, the new cinema added an eclectic mixing and matching of genres, and a penchant for pushing the boundaries of sensationalistic content. Slapstick comedy, sex, the supernatural, and above all action (of both the martial arts and cops-and-criminals varieties) ruled, occasionally all in the same film. Special effects (abbreviated SPFX or SFX) are used in the film, television, and entertainment industry to create effects that cannot be achieved by normal means, such as depicting travel to other star systems. ... Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated physical violence. ... Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industrys global fame. ... Martial arts film is a film genre that originated in the Pacific Rim. ...

The international market

During this period, the Hong Kong industry was one of the few in the world that thrived in the face of the increasing global dominance of Hollywood. Indeed, it came to exert a comparable dominance in its own region of the world. The regional audience had always been vital, but now more than ever Hong Kong product filled theaters and video shelves in places like Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea. Taiwan became at least as important a market to Hong Kong film as the local one; in the early '90s the once-robust Taiwanese film industry came close to extinction under the onslaught of Hong Kong imports (Bordwell, 2000). They even found a lesser foothold in Japan, with its own highly developed and better-funded cinema and strong taste for American movies; Jackie Chan in particular became popular there. ... The history of Chinese-language cinema has three separate threads of development: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China and Cinema of Taiwan. ... Chan Kong-Sang (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), also known as Jackie Chan Sing Lung (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) or Jackie Chan SBS, (born on April 7, 1954) is a Chinese martial artist, action star, actor, director, screenwriter, film producer, singer and stunt performer. ...

Almost accidentally, Hong Kong also reached further into the West, building upon the attention gained during the '70s kung fu craze. Availability in Chinatown theaters and video shops allowed the movies to be discovered by Western film cultists attracted by their "exotic" qualities and excesses. An emergence into the wider popular culture gradually followed over the coming years. For other uses, see Chinatown (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Leaders of the boom

The trailblazer was production company Cinema City, founded in 1980 by comedians Karl Maka, Raymond Wong and Dean Shek. It specialized in contemporary comedy and action, slickly produced according to explicitly prescribed commercial formulas. The lavish, effects-filled spy spoof Aces Go Places (1982) and its numerous sequels epitomized the much-imitated "Cinema City style." (Yang, 2003) Cinema City is a brand of multiplex cinemas in eastern and central Europe, runned by israeli company Cinema City International (CCI). ... Karl Maka - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Aces Go Places is a 1982 film starring Sam Hui and Karl Maka. ...

Directors and producers Tsui Hark and Wong Jing can be singled out as definitive figures of this era. Tsui was a notorious Hong Kong New Wave tyro who symbolized that movement's absorption into the mainstream, becoming the industry's central trendsetter and technical experimenter (Yang et al., 1997, p. 75). The even more prolific Wong is, by most accounts, the most commercially successful and critically reviled Hong Kong filmmaker of the last two decades, with his relentless output of aggressively crowd-pleasing and cannily marketed pulp films. Tsui Hark (Chinese: 徐克; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hsü Ko) (born Tsui Man-kong (徐文光) on February 15, 1950) is a New Wave film director in Hong Kong who is also a highly influential producer, often likened to Steven Spielberg for a similar galvanizing effect on his countrys cinematic scene. ... Wong Jing (Chinese: 王晶) (born January 1, 1956) is a Hong Kong film director, producer and screenwriter. ... The Hong Kong New Wave was a blanket term applied to a number of young, groundbreaking Hong Kong filmmakers of the late 1970s and 1980s, many trained in overseas film programs and with experience in the territorys thriving television drama scene. ...

Other hallmarks of this era included the gangster or "Triad" movie fad launched by director John Woo, producer and long-time actor Alan Tang Kwong-Wing and dominated by actor Chow Yun-Fat; romantic melodramas and martial arts fantasies starring Brigitte Lin; the comedies of stars like Cherie Chung and Stephen Chow; and contemporary, stunt-driven kung fu action epitomized by the work of Jackie Chan. Triad (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; literally Triad Society) or (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; literally Black Society, a general term for criminal organizations) is a term that describes many branches of Chinese underground society and/or organizations based in Hong Kong and Macau and also operating in Taiwan, mainland... John Woo (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) (born May 1, 1946) is a Chinese film director and producer. ... Chow Yun-Fat (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) (born May 18, 1955) is a Hong Kong actor. ... Brigitte Lin (Chinese: 林青霞; Pinyin: ) or Brigitte Lin Ching Hsia (born November 3, 1954) is a Taiwanese actress. ... Cherie Chung Chor-hung 鍾楚紅 (born February 16, 1960) was a Hong Kong film actress in the 1980s. ... Stephen Chow (also Stephen Chiau) (traditional Chinese : 周星馳; simplified Chinese : 周星驰; Romanized as: Chow Sing Chi ; pinyin : Zhōu XÄ«ngchí; jyutping : zau1 sing1 ci4) (born June 22, 1962) is a director and actor in many blockbuster movies in Hong Kong. ... An under 16s motorbike display team perform a potentially dangerous stunt A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat, or any act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes in TV, theatre or cinema. ... Chan Kong-Sang (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), also known as Jackie Chan Sing Lung (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) or Jackie Chan SBS, (born on April 7, 1954) is a Chinese martial artist, action star, actor, director, screenwriter, film producer, singer and stunt performer. ...

Category III films

The government's introduction of a film ratings system in 1988 had a certainly unintended effect on subsequent trends. The "Category III" (adults only) rating became an umbrella for the rapid growth of pornographic and generally outré films; however, while considered graphic by Chinese standards, these films would be more on par with movies rated "R" or "NC-17" in the United States, and not "XXX". By the height of the boom in the early '90s, roughly half of the theatrical features produced were Category III-rated softcore erotica descended from the fengyue movies of the '70s. (Yang, 2003) A definitive example of a mainstream Category III hit was Michael Mak's Sex and Zen (1991), a period comedy inspired by The Carnal Prayer Mat, the seventeenth century classic of comic-erotic literature by Li Yu (Dannen and Long, 1997). This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Porn redirects here. ... Sex and Zen is a 1992 Hong Kong erotic film directed by Michael Mak and starring Amy Yip and Lawrence Ng. ... In the performing arts, a period piece is a work set in a particular era. ... Li Yu (李漁, 1610 - 1680) was born in the Kiangsu province of China in 1610. ...

The rating also covered a fad for grisly, taboo-tweaking exploitation and horror films, often supposedly based on true crime stories, such as Dr. Lamb (1992), The Untold Story (1993) and Ebola Syndrome (1996). Exploitation film is a type of film that eschews the expense of quality productions in favor of making films on-the-cheap, attracting the public by exciting their more prurient interests. ... 1922s Nosferatu Horror films are films of the horror genre that are designed to elicit fright, fear, terror, disgust or horror from viewers. ... Ebola Syndrome (Yibo la beng duk) is a 1996 Hong Kong exploitation film starring Anthony Wong and directed by Herman Yau. ...

Since the mid-'90s, the trend has withered with the shrinking of the general Hong Kong film market and the wider availability of pornography in home video formats (Bordwell, 2000). But in 2000's, two Category III movies: Election and Election 2 (aka Triad Election) still enjoyed surprising box office successes in Hong Kong, Election (Chinese title: 黑社會 – literally Black Society, a common Cantonese reference to the society of triads) is a 2005 film directed by Johnnie To with a large ensemble cast. ... Election 2 (Chinese: 黑社會以和為貴, literally Black Society (triads) Value Peace Most) is a 2006 movie directed by Johnnie To with a large ensemble cast. ...

Alternative cinema

In this landscape of pulp, there remained some ground for an alternative cinema or art cinema, due at least in part to the influence of the New Wave. Some New Wave filmmakers such as Ann Hui and Yim Ho continued to earn acclaim with personal and political films made at the edges of the mainstream. This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The Hong Kong New Wave was a blanket term applied to a number of young, groundbreaking Hong Kong filmmakers of the late 1970s and 1980s, many trained in overseas film programs and with experience in the territorys thriving television drama scene. ... Ann Hui On-Wah (許鞍華, pinyin: Xǔ Ānhuá, born May 23, 1947) is a Hong Kong film director, one of the most critically acclaimed amongst the Hong Kong New Wave. ... Yim Ho 嚴浩, one of the famous Hong Kong directors in 1980s, and a leader of Hong Kong New Wave. ...

The second half of the '80s also saw the emergence of what is sometimes called a "Second Wave." These younger directors included names like Stanley Kwan, Clara Law and her partner Eddie Fong, Mabel Cheung, Lawrence Ah Mon and Wong Kar-wai. Like the New Wavers, they tended to be graduates of overseas film schools and local television apprenticeships, and to be interested in going beyond the usual, commercial subject matters and styles (Teo, 1997). Stanley Kwan (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; born October 9, 1957) is a Hong Kong film director and producer. ... Clara Law (born May 29, 1957 in Macau) is a Hong Kong film director, now having relocated to Australia before the 1997 Hong Kong handover. ... Mabel Cheung 張婉婷 (November 17, 1950) is one of the leading film directors in Hong Kong. ... Lawrence Ah Mon or Lau Kwok Cheong 劉國昌 is a South Africa-born Hong Kong film director. ... Wong Kar-wai (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Cantonese Yale: Wòhng Gà Waih; Shanghainese Latin method: Wan Kawe; born July 17, 1958) is a Hong Kong film director known for his visually unique, highly stylized art films. ...

These artists began to earn Hong Kong unprecedented attention and respect in international critical circles and the global film festival circuit. In particular, Wong Kar-wai's work in the 1990s has made him the most internationally acclaimed and award-winning filmmaker yet to come out of Hong Kong. Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films, individually and collectively. ... A film festival is the presentation or showcasing of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues. ... Wong Kar-wai (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Cantonese Yale: Wòhng Gà Waih; Shanghainese Latin method: Wan Kawe; born July 17, 1958) is a Hong Kong film director known for his visually unique, highly stylized art films. ...

Mid-1990s-Present: Post-boom

The industry in crisis

During the 1990s, the Hong Kong film industry underwent a drastic decline from which it has not recovered. Domestic ticket sales had already started to drop in the late '80s, but the regional audience kept the industry booming into the early years of the next decade (Teo, 1997). But by the mid-'90s, it went into freefall. Revenues were cut in half. By the decade's end, the number of films produced in a typical year dropped from an early '90s high of well over 200 to somewhere around 100 (it should be noted, however, that a large part of this reduction was in the "Category III" softcore pornography area [Bordwell, 2000].) American blockbuster imports began to regularly top the box office for the first time in decades. Ironically, this was the same period during which Hong Kong cinema emerged into something like mainstream visibility in the U.S. and began exporting popular figures to Hollywood.

Numerous, converging factors have been blamed for the downturn:

• The Asian financial crisis, which dried up traditional sources of film finance as well as regional audiences' leisure spending money.
• Overproduction, attended by a drop in quality control and an exhaustion of overused formulas (Yang, 2003).
• A costly early '90s boom in building of modern multiplexes and an attendant rise in ticket prices (Teo, 1997).
• An increasingly cosmopolitan, upwardly mobile Hong Kong middle class, that often looks down upon local films as cheap and tawdry.
• Rampant video piracy throughout East Asia.
• A newly aggressive push by Hollywood studios into the Asian market.

The greater access to the Mainland that came with the July '97 handover to China was not as much of a boon as hoped, and presented its own problems, particularly with regard to censorship. The Asian financial crisis was a financial crisis that started in July 1997 in Thailand and affected currencies, stock markets, and other asset prices in several Asian countries, many considered East Asian Tigers. ... The History of Hong Kong began as a coastal island geographically located in southern China. ...

The industry had one of its darkest years in 2003. In addition to the continuing slump, a SARS virus outbreak kept many theaters virtually empty for a time and shut down film production for four months; only fifty-four movies were made (Li, 2004). The unrelated deaths of two of Hong Kong's most enduringly popular singer/actors, Leslie Cheung, 46, and Anita Mui, 40, rounded out the bad news. Sars may refer to any of the following: Severe acute respiratory syndrome, commonly abbreviated as SARS Michael Sars, a Norwegian biologist, father of Georg Sars Georg Sars, a Norwegian biologist, son of Michael Sars Special Administrative Regions, commonly abbreviated as SARs Sars, Perm Krai, an urban settlement in Perm Krai... Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing (September 12, 1956 – April 1, 2003) (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Cantonese IPA: , Jyutping: zoeng1 gwok3 wing4; Mandarin Pinyin: Zhāng Guóróng, Wade-Giles: Chang Kuo-jung; nickname Gor-gor (哥哥, Elder Brother in Cantonese), was an actor and a musician from Hong Kong. ... Anita Mui Yim-fong (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Cantonese Yale: muìh yihm fòng; October 10, 1963–December 30, 2003) was a popular Hong Kong pop singer and actress. ...

The Hong Kong Government in April 2003 introduced a Film Guarantee Fund as an incentive to local banks to become involved in the motion picture industry. The guarantee operates to secure a percentage of monies loaned by banks to film production companies. The Fund has received a mixed reception from industry participants, and less than enthusiastic reception from financial institutions who perceive investment in local films as high risk ventures with little collateral. Film guarantee legal documents commissioned by the Hong Kong Government in late April 2003 are based on Canadian documents, which have limited relevance to the local industry.

Recent trends

Efforts by local filmmakers to retool their product have had middling results overall. These include technically glossier visuals, including much digital imagery; greater use of Hollywood-style mass marketing techniques; and heavy reliance on casting teen-friendly Cantopop music stars. Successful genre cycles in the late '90s and early 2000s have included: American-styled, high-tech action pictures such as Downtown Torpedoes (1997), Gen-X Cops and Purple Storm (both '99); the "Triad kids" subgenre launched by Young and Dangerous (1996); yuppie-centric romantic comedies like The Truth About Jane and Sam (1999), When I Fall in Love...With Both (2000) and Love on a Diet (2001); and supernatural chillers like Horror Hotline: Big-Head Monster (2001) and The Eye (2002), often modeled on the Japanese horror films then making an international splash. Computer-generated imagery (commonly abbreviated as CGI) is the application of the field of computer graphics (or more specifically, 3D computer graphics) to special effects in films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media. ... Cantopop (Chinese: 粵語流行曲) is a colloquial abbreviation for Cantonese popular music. It is also referred to as HK-pop, short for Hong Kong popular music. It is categorized as a subgenre of Chinese popular music within C-pop. ... Purple Storm (Chinese: 紫雨風暴) is a 1999 Hong Kong action film directed by Teddy Chan. ... Triad (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; literally Triad Society) or (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; literally Black Society, a general term for criminal organizations) is a term that describes many branches of Chinese underground society and/or organizations based in Hong Kong and Macau and also operating in Taiwan, mainland... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Yuppies (or young urban professionals and young upwardly mobile professionals[1]) is a market segment whose consumers are characterized as self-reliant, financially secure individualists who do not exhibit or aspire to traditional American values. ... The Truth About Jane and Sam (真心话) is a Hong Kong film co-produced by Hong Kongs Film Unlimited and Singapores Raintree Pictures. ... When I Fall in Love. ... Poster for Dark Water J-Horror is a term used to refer to Japanese contributions to horror fiction in popular culture. ...

In the 2000s, there have been some bright spots. Milkyway Image Productions, founded by filmmakers Johnnie To and Wai Ka-fai in the mid-'90s, has had considerable critical and commercial success, especially with offbeat and character-driven crime films like The Mission (2000) and Running on Karma (2003). An even more successful example of the genre was the blockbuster Infernal Affairs trilogy (2002-2003) of police thrillers co-directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak(the Oscar winning movie, The Departed, was based on this movie). Comedian Stephen Chow, the most consistently popular screen star of the '90s, directed and starred in Shaolin Soccer (2001) and Kung Fu Hustle (2004); these used digital special effects to push his distinctive humor into new realms of the surreal and became the territory's two highest-grossing films to date, garnering numerous awards locally and internationally. Johnnie To's two Category III movies: Election and Election 2 also enjoyed Hong Kong box office successes. Election 2 has even been released in the US theatrically under the new title Triad Election; this movie received very positive reviews the US, with more than 90% "Fresh" rating on Rottentomatoes.com . Milkyway Image or Milkyway is a feature film production company of Hong Kong. ... Johnnie To Kei-fung (杜琪峰) (born April 22, 1955) is a Hong Kong film director and producer. ... For other uses of internal affairs, see internal affairs. ... Andrew Lau Wai Keung (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; born April 4, 1960) is a Hong Kong film director, producer, cinematographer and presenter. ... Siu Fai MAK (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a Chinese scriptwriter and co-writer with Felix Chong the story of Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. ... The Departed is an Academy Award-winning 2006 film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson. ... Stephen Chow (also Stephen Chiau) (traditional Chinese : 周星馳; simplified Chinese : 周星驰; Romanized as: Chow Sing Chi ; pinyin : Zhōu XÄ«ngchí; jyutping : zau1 sing1 ci4) (born June 22, 1962) is a director and actor in many blockbuster movies in Hong Kong. ... Shaolin Soccer is a 2001 Hong Kong comedy film directed by acclaimed Hong Kong comedian, actor and director, Stephen Chow. ... Kung Fu Hustle (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) is a 2004 Hong Kong martial arts film directed and co-written by Stephen Chow. ... Johnnie To Kei-fung (杜琪峰) (born April 22, 1955) is a Hong Kong film director and producer. ... Election (Chinese title: 黑社會 – literally Black Society, a common Cantonese reference to the society of triads) is a 2005 film directed by Johnnie To with a large ensemble cast. ... Election 2 (Chinese: 黑社會以和為貴, literally Black Society (triads) Value Peace Most) is a 2006 movie directed by Johnnie To with a large ensemble cast. ... Election 2 (Chinese: 黑社會以和為貴, literally Black Society (triads) Value Peace Most) is a 2006 movie directed by Johnnie To with a large ensemble cast. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... Election 2 (Chinese: 黑社會以和為貴, literally Black Society (triads) Value Peace Most) is a 2006 movie directed by Johnnie To with a large ensemble cast. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from...

Still, some observers believe that, given the depressed state of the industry and the rapidly strengthening economic and political ties among Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan, the distinctive entity of Hong Kong cinema that emerged after World War II may have a limited lifespan. The lines between the mainland and Hong Kong industries are ever more blurred, especially now that China is producing increasing numbers of slick, mass-appeal popular films. Predictions are notoriously difficult in this rapidly changing part of the world, but the trend may be towards a more pan-Chinese cinema, as existed in the first half of the twentieth century.

Notable persons

Directors

• Stephen Chow
• Fruit Chan
• Samson Chiu
• King Hu
• Ann Hui
• Michael Hui
• Wong Jing
• Yuen Woo-ping
• John Woo
• Wong Kar-wai
• Tsui Hark
• Stanley Tong
• Johnnie To
• Patrick Tam
• Stanley Kwan
• Ringo Lam

Stephen Chow (also Stephen Chiau) (traditional Chinese : 周星馳; simplified Chinese : 周星驰; Romanized as: Chow Sing Chi ; pinyin : Zhōu XÄ«ngchí; jyutping : zau1 sing1 ci4) (born June 22, 1962) is a director and actor in many blockbuster movies in Hong Kong. ... Fruit Chan (陳果) (born April 15, 1959 in Guangdong province, China) is an independent Hong Kong film director, best known for his style of film reflecting the everyday life of Hong Kong Chinese. ... Samson Chiu (Chiu Leung Chun) is a Hong Kong-based film director, film writer and newspaper columnist. ... King Hu (胡金銓, pinyin: Hú Jīnquán, April 29, 1931 - January 14, 1997) was a Hong Kong and Taiwan-based Chinese film director whose wuxia films brought Chinese cinema to new technical and artistic heights. ... Ann Hui On-Wah (許鞍華, pinyin: Xǔ Ānhuá, born May 23, 1947) is a Hong Kong film director, one of the most critically acclaimed amongst the Hong Kong New Wave. ... Michael Hui in The Private Eyes Michael Hui Koon-Man (許冠文 Jyutping: heoi2 gun3 man4; pinyin: XÇ” Guànwén) (born September 3, 1942) is a Hong Kong film comedian, scriptwriter and director. ... Wong Jing (Chinese: 王晶) (born January 1, 1956) is a Hong Kong film director, producer and screenwriter. ... Yuen Woo-ping on the set of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon This is a Chinese name; the family name is Yuen. ... John Woo (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) (born May 1, 1946) is a Chinese film director and producer. ... Wong Kar-wai (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Cantonese Yale: Wòhng Gà Waih; Shanghainese Latin method: Wan Kawe; born July 17, 1958) is a Hong Kong film director known for his visually unique, highly stylized art films. ... Tsui Hark (Chinese: 徐克; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hsü Ko) (born Tsui Man-kong (徐文光) on February 15, 1950) is a New Wave film director in Hong Kong who is also a highly influential producer, often likened to Steven Spielberg for a similar galvanizing effect on his countrys cinematic scene. ... Stanley Tong (born April 7, 1960 in Hong Kong) is a film director from Hong Kong. ... Johnnie To Kei-fung (杜琪峰) (born April 22, 1955) is a Hong Kong film director and producer. ... Not to be confused with actor Patrick Tam Yiu-Man Patrick Tam Kar Ming (Chinese: 譚家明; Pinyin: ; born March 25, 1948) is a Hong Kong film director. ... Stanley Kwan (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; born October 9, 1957) is a Hong Kong film director and producer. ... Ringo Lam (林嶺東; pinyin: Lin Lingdong; Cantonese: Lam Leng-tung) (born 1955) is a film director known for stylish action thrillers. ...

Cinematographers

• Christopher Doyle
• Peter Pau

Christopher Doyle Christopher Doyle (born May 2, 1952 in Sydney, Australia; Chinese name: 杜可風) is an Australian-born cinematographer and member of the HKSC. Doyle has worked with Chinese directors like Wong Kar-wai (for which he has done the cinematography of all his movies but the first one), Zhang Yimou... Peter Pau HKSC, is a Hong Kong-based cinematographer best known to Western audiences as the cinematographer in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, for which he won the Best Cinematographer Oscar in 2000. ...

Actors

• Alan Tang
• Jackie Chan
• Leslie Cheung
• David Chiang
• Stephen Chow
• Chow Yun-Fat
• Ekin Cheng
• Sammo Hung
• Yuen Biao
• Eric Tsang
• Leon Lai
• Andy Lau
• Sean Lau
• Anthony Wong
• Bruce Lee
• Tony Leung Chiu Wai
• Tony Leung Ka Fai
• Jet Li
• Jacky Cheung
• Takeshi Kaneshiro
• Aaron Kwok

Alan Tang Kwong-wing (born Tang Kwong-wing (Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) is an actor, presenter, film producer and director. ... Chan Kong-Sang (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), also known as Jackie Chan Sing Lung (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) or Jackie Chan SBS, (born on April 7, 1954) is a Chinese martial artist, action star, actor, director, screenwriter, film producer, singer and stunt performer. ... Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing (September 12, 1956 – April 1, 2003) (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Cantonese IPA: , Jyutping: zoeng1 gwok3 wing4; Mandarin Pinyin: Zhāng Guóróng, Wade-Giles: Chang Kuo-jung; nickname Gor-gor (哥哥, Elder Brother in Cantonese), was an actor and a musician from Hong Kong. ... David Chiang (June 29, 1947)(realname:姜偉年) is a Chinese actor. ... Stephen Chow (also Stephen Chiau) (traditional Chinese : 周星馳; simplified Chinese : 周星驰; Romanized as: Chow Sing Chi ; pinyin : Zhōu XÄ«ngchí; jyutping : zau1 sing1 ci4) (born June 22, 1962) is a director and actor in many blockbuster movies in Hong Kong. ... Chow Yun-Fat (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) (born May 18, 1955) is a Hong Kong actor. ... Ekin Cheng Yee-Kin (鄭伊健, pinyin: Zhèng YÄ«jiàn) (born October 4, 1967) is a Hong Kong actor and Cantopop singer. ... Sammo Hung (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Cantonese: Hung4 Gam1 Bou2) (born January 7, 1952) is a Chinese actor, producer and director known for his work in many Kung fu films and Hong Kong action cinema. ... Yuen Biao (Chinese: ; pinyin: ) (born 26 July 1957) is a Chinese actor from Hong Kong. ... Eric Tsang Chi-wai (Chinese: ; pinyin: ZÄ“ng ZhìwÄ›i; born April 14, 1953) is a prolific Hong Kong actor, film director, film producer and television host best known for hosting the Super Trio Series on TVB over the course of 10 years. ... Leon Lai (黎明; pinyin: Lí Míng; Cantonese: lai4 ming4; born December 11, 1966) is a Chinese actor and a Cantopop singer. ... Andy Lau Tak-Wah (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: Liú Déhuá; Cantonese Yale: Lau Dak-Wa; born September 27, 1961 in Hong Kong as 劉福榮 Lau Fuk-Wing) is a Hong Kong Cantopop star, movie actor, producer, and presenter. ... Sean Lau Ching-Wan (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) (born February 16, 1964) is a Hong Kong film and television actor who is cast in many Hong Kong films since the late 1980s. ... Anthony Wong Chau Sang in Infernal Affairs (2002) Anthony Wong Chau-Sang (Chinese: ; pinyin: Huáng QiÅ«shÄ“ng; born September 2, 1961) is a Hong Kong actor. ... Bruce Lee (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: Lǐ XiÇŽolóng; Cantonese Yale: Léih Síulùhng; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a martial artist, philosopher, instructor, and martial arts actor widely regarded as the most influential martial artist of the 20th century. ... Tony Leung Chiu-wai in a 2006 promotional photograph for the Hong Kong Entertainment Expo Tony Leung Chiu Wai (Chinese: ; pinyin: ) (born in Hong Kong on June 27, 1962) is a Hong Kong movie and ex-television actor. ... Tony Leung Ka-Fai (梁家輝) is a Hong Kong movie actor born on February 1, 1958. ... Jet Li (born Li Lianjie on April 26th, 1963 in Beijing, China) is a Chinese martial artist, actor, Wushu champion, and international film star. ... Jacky Cheung Hok Yau (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; born July 10, 1961 in Hong Kong with family roots in Tianjin) is a Hong Kong singer and film star from the mid-1980s to the present. ... Takeshi Kaneshiro (Japanese and Chinese: 金城武, Hepburn: Kaneshiro Takeshi, Pinyin: JÄ«nchéng WÅ­), (born October 11, 1973) is a male actor and model. ... Aaron Kwok Fu-Shing (Chinese: 郭富城; Pinyin: Guō Fùchéng; Cantonese: Gwok3 Fu3 Sing4; born October 26, 1965) is a popular Hong Kong singer and film actor. ...

Actresses

• Zhi-Gong Chen
• Sammi Cheng
• Maggie Cheung
• Ivy Ling Po
• Linda Lin Dai
• Fung Bo Bo
• Xia Meng
• Michelle Yeoh
• Sally Yeh
• Betty Loh Ti
• Anita Mui
• Michelle Reis
• Zhang Ji Yi
• Gong Li

Chen in Swordswoman of Huangjiang (1930) Zhi-Gong Chen (also Tsi-(H)Ang Chin and Chi-Ang Chi) (born 1909 in Shanghai) was one among the earliest martial-arts actors of the Chinese film industry, and its first female star. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Maggie Cheung Man-yuk (張曼玉; pinyin: Zhāng Mànyù; Cantonese: dzoeng1 maan6 juk9/juk2) (born September 20, 1964) is a multi award-winning Chinese actress from Hong Kong. ... Ivy Ling Po (Ling Bo) (Chinese: 凌波) (b. ... Xia Meng(夏梦) (a. ... Dato Michelle Yeoh Choo-Kheng (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Cantonese (Yale romanization): yèuhng jí kìhng; born August 6, 1962) is a Hong Kong-based actress and dancer, sometimes billed as Michelle Khan. Yeoh is a Chinese Malaysian born in Ipoh, Malaysia. ... Sally Yeh (葉蒨文, pinyin: Yè Qiànwén) sometimes written as Sally Yip or Sin-Man Yip (born September 30, 1961) is a major star in both Hong Kong pop and movie scenes. ... Betty Loh Ti (樂蒂) (29 August 1937 - 27 December 1968) was a Chinese actress who was often described as the Chinese Classic Beauty. In the 1960s, she was popular among both Chinese and Western filmgoers. ... Anita Mui Yim-fong (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Cantonese Yale: muìh yihm fòng; October 10, 1963–December 30, 2003) was a popular Hong Kong pop singer and actress. ... Michelle Monique Reis (李嘉欣, pinyin: Lǐ Jiāxīn) (born June 20, 1970) is a Hong Kong actress. ... This is a Chinese name; the family name is Gong Gong Li (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) (born December 31, 1965) is a Chinese film actress. ...

See also

• World cinema
• Asian cinema
• East Asian cinema
• Hong Kong action cinema
• Hong Kong in films
• Hong Kong Movie Database
• Heroic bloodshed
• Mo Lei tau comedies
• Emperor Entertainment Group
• List of Hong Kong films
• List of cinemas in Hong Kong
• Chinese art
• Chinese Animation

This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Asian cinema refers to the film industries and films produced in the continent of Asia. ... East Asian cinema (sometimes called Far Eastern cinema, Eastern cinema, Asian cinema or Oriental cinema) is a term used to refer to the film industry and films produced in, and/or by natives of, East Asia. ... Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industrys global fame. ... While most of local Hong Kong movies are set in the Special Administrative Region, several foreign movies are also, at least partly, set in Hong Kong. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Heroic Bloodshed, or Hong Kong Blood Opera (HKBO), refers to a genre of action film originating from Hong Kong revolving around stylised action sequences and common themes such as brotherhood, honour, and violence. ... Mo lei tau (無厘頭, Jyutping: mo4 lei4 tau4), loosely translated as makes no sense, is a type of comedy typified by Stephen Chows movies. ... Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG; 英皇娛樂集團有限公司) SEHK: 8078 is one of the largest entertainment groups in Hong Kong. ... Cinema of Hong Kong This is an A-Z list of films produced in Hong Kong and in the in alphabetical order. ... This is a list of the cinemas in Hong Kong. ... Chinese Art (Simplified Chinese: ) has varied throughout its ancient history, divided into periods by the ruling dynasties of China and changing technology. ... This page is about the development of animation and comic industry in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. ...

Film awards

• Hong Kong Film Awards

Hong Kong Film Awards (香港電影金像獎), is the most prestigious film awards in Hong Kong. ...

Festivals

• Hong Kong International Film Festival

The Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) is an annual event first held in 1976. ...

References

• Bordwell, David. Planet Hong Kong: Popular Cinema and the Art of Entertainment. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2000. ISBN 0-674-00214-8

• Chan, Jackie, with Jeff Yang. I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action. New York: Ballantine, 1998. ISBN 0-345-41503-5

• Chute, David, and Cheng-Sim Lim, eds. Heroic Grace: The Chinese Martial Arts Film. Los Angeles: UCLA Film and Television Archive, 2003. (Film series catalog; no ISBN.)

• Dannen, Fredric, and Barry Long. Hong Kong Babylon: The Insider's Guide to the Hollywood of the East. New York: Miramax, 1997. ISBN 0-7868-6267-X

• Fonoroff, Paul. Silver Light: A Pictorial History of Hong Kong Cinema, 1920–1970. Hong Kong: Joint Publishing, 1997. ISBN 962-04-1304-0

• Leyda, Jay. Dianying/Electric Shadows: An Account of Films and the Film Audience in China. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1972.

• Li Cheuk-to. "Journal: Hong Kong." Film Comment September-October 2004: pp. 10-12.

• Logan, Bey. Hong Kong Action Cinema. Woodstock, NY: The Overlook Press, 1995. ISBN 0-87951-663-1

• Stokes, Lisa Odham, and Michael Hoover. City on Fire: Hong Kong Cinema. London: Verso, 1999. ISBN 1-85984-203-8

• Teo, Stephen. Hong Kong Cinema: The Extra Dimensions. London: British Film Institute, 1997. ISBN 0-85170-514-6

• Yang, Jeff. Once Upon a Time in China: A Guide to Hong Kong, Taiwanese, and Mainland Chinese Cinema. New York: Atria, 2003. ISBN 0-7434-4817-0

• Yang, Jeff, and Dina Gan, Terry Hong and the staff of A. magazine. Eastern Standard Time: A Guide to Asian Influence on American Culture. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. ISBN 039576341X

Jay Leyda (1910-1988) was an avant-garde filmmaker and film historian, noted for his work on U.S, Soviet and Chinese Cinema. ... Bey Logan (born 1963) is a respected expert on Asian cinema, particularly Hong Kong action cinema. ...

External links

• Hong Kong's Top Ten Movies
• Hong Kong Film Archive
• Hong Kong Critics Society
• Hong Kong Film Services Office Website on the Film Guarantee Fund
• Chinese Movie DataBase (encoded in GB)
• Hong Kong Movie DataBase
• LoveHKFilm.com—Reviews the vast majority of the movies currently coming out of Hong Kong
• The Wonderful World of Hong Kong Action Cinema—includes an extensive bibliography on martial arts films.