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.
Full Contact (1992)
7.2/10
Director: Ringo Lam
Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Simon Yam, Bonnie Fu, Ann Bridgewater
Chow Yun Fat plays a bouncer and sometime thief working out of a Bangkok nightclub who gets involved in a hi-jacking scheme involving the ruthless, fl... Read more
Gallants (2010)
6.6/10
Director: Chi-kin Kwok
Starring: Kuan Tai Chen, Siu-Leung Leung
Their martial arts skills languishing while their teacher remains in a long coma, two middle-aged teahouse proprietors get back into the swing of thin... Read more
Game Of Death (1978)
6.1/10
Director: Robert Clouse
Starring: Bruce Lee, Gig Young, Dean Jagger, Colleen Camp
Bruce Lee died midway through production of this martial arts thriller. Six years later the director reassembled the surviving actors and with the use... Read more
Game Of Death II (1981)
5.2/10
Director: Ng See-yuan
Starring: Bruce Lee, Tony Lung, Huong Cheng-Li
Uses footage and out-takes from Bruce Lee's other films to allow the legendary performer to make a short appearance at the films start - the result is... Read more
Hapkido (1972)
6.8/10
Three graduated Hapkido students return to China from Japanese-occupied Korea in order to set up their own school. However, problems start to arise wh... Read more
Hard Boiled (1992)
7.9/10
Director: John Woo
Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Tony Leung (Chiu Wai), Teresa Mo, Philip Chan
John Woo's stylish, ultra-violent story of a police inspector (Chow Yun Fat) who teams up with a mysterious hit man (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) to stop a ga... Read more
Heroes of the East (1979)
Director: Liu Chia-Liang
Starring: Chia Hui Gordon Liu, Yuka Mizuno
A Chinese man (Gordon Liu) marries a Japanese woman through an arranged marriage and manages to insult all of her Japanese martial arts family by issu... Read more
Hong Kong 1941 (1984)
6.8/10
Director: Leung Po Chi
Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Cecilia Yip Tung, Alex Man, Wu Ma
This poignant action drama deals with the often-forgotten Japanese occupation of the island state during WWII, as three young friends struggle to carr... Read more
Human Lanterns (1982)
6.5/10
Director: Sun Chung
Starring: Chen Kuan-tai, Lo Lieh, Linda Chu, Tanny Tien Ni, Liu Yung
The Shaw Brothers' first international star, Lo Lieh, stars in this maniacal masterpiece of the macabre from director Sun Chung. Swordsman Tan brags... Read more
In the Mood for Love (2000)
8.1/10
Director: Wong Kar-wai
Starring: Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung (Chiu Wai)
Hong Kong, 1962. Chow (Tony Leung) is a junior newspaper editor with an elusive wife. His new neighbour Li-Zhen (Maggie Cheung) is a secretary whose h... Read more