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Hong Kong Cinema

Hong Kong had a prolific pre-1970s film industry, but it was the supremely talented and determined Bruce Lee who brought Hong Kong film to the international stage. This tiny island nation has been integral to the introduction of the martial arts genre to the rest of the world. One look at Uma Thurman's yellow jumpsuit in the Kill Bills is enough to show us this influence is still alive and very much kicking. After Lee's death in 1973 the industry lost some of its momentum and stuck to the tried and true chop socky formula, but by the 1980s a new talent was emerging in the form of John Woo, inventor of so-called 'balletic gunplay'. This style of shooting shoot-outs captured the imaginations of many young American film makers and emerges in films as diverse as 'Reservoir Dogs' and 'The Matrix'. The martial arts genre was reinvigorated by talents such as Jackie Chan and Jet Li who wanted to introduce more story into the action, and in recent years film maker Wong Kar Wai has challenged what it means to be an HK film, steering clear of Kung Fu and concentrating on more personal, quirky stories. Undoubtedly there is more to see from this exciting port of call... Right: There can be no more an iconic figure in the martial arts world, than the master himself, the late, great Bruce Lee.

20 30 40 (Twenty Thirty Forty) (2004)

Director: Sylvia Chang
Starring: Sylvia Chang, Rene Liu, Lee Sinje

Sylvia Chang wrote, directed and starred in this story of three women at different stages of their lives. She is the forty-something of the triumvira... Read more

2046 (2004)

7.5/10
Director: Wong Kar-wai
Starring: Maggie Cheung, Takuya Kimura, Tony Leung (Chiu Wai), Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, Faye W...

Wong Kar-wai's lush companion to 2000's festival hit 'In The Mood For Love', sees Tony Leung return as Hong Kong writer Chow, who has given up journal... Read more

6 A.M. (2004)

5.5/10
Director: Adrian Kwan
Starring: Kenny Kwan, Steven Cheung, Katie Kwok, Charlene Choi, Ray Lui, Gillian Chung

Canto-pop idols Kenny Kwan and Steven Cheung star in this zany action comedy as two rebellious high school students keen to escape the boredom of regu... Read more

A Battle of Wits (2006)

Director: Jacob Cheung Chi-Leung
Starring: Andy Lau, Sung-kee Ahn, Wang Zhiwen, Siu-hou Chin

Based on a popular 11-volume manga series entitled 'Bokko' and set during the Warring States Period in China in 370 B.C. when the country was split be... Read more

A Better Tomorrow (1986)

7.6/10
Director: John Woo
Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Ti Lung, Leslie Cheung

This masterful thriller from John 'The Killer' Woo is once again highlighted by stunning action sequences. This is a saga of three friends who run a s... Read more

A Better Tomorrow 2 (1987)

Director: John Woo
Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Ti Lung, Leslie Cheung, Dean Shek

This dynamite sequel focuses on the original's leading characters' exploits and pays homage to Sam Peckinpah and the American gangsters in intoxicatin... Read more

A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)

7.6/10
Director: Tony Ching Siu-Tung
Starring: Leslie Cheung, Joi Wang, Liu Zhaoming, Wu Ma

This delirious supernatural fantasy focuses on the relationship between a young tax collector (Leslie Cheung) and a seductive female ghost he meets in... Read more

A Chinese Ghost Story 2 (1990)

Director: Tony Ching Siu-Tung
Starring: Michelle Reis, Leslie Cheung, Joey Wong, Jacky Cheung

The mystic fantasy spectacular continues as four teenagers led by Leslie Cheung, find themselves in the middle of a nasty supernatural war between an... Read more

A Chinese Torture Chamber Story (1994)

5.9/10
Director: Bosco Lam
Starring: Ewong Yueng, Lawrence Ng, Tommy Wong

"A corrupt judge protects his lecherous son from charges of murder by pinning the rap on virginal beauty Little Cabbage and a handsome scholar, with a... Read more

A City Of Sadness (1989)

7.9/10
Director: Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Starring: Tony Leung (Chiu Wai)

A beautiful, historical film based upon the complex lives of four brothers. Read more