Centenary of Hong Kong cinema

Comedy films

1973, The House of 72 Tenants (directed by Chor Yuen)

Produced by the Shaw Brothers, it featured a bevy of their stars and was directed by Chor Yuen, one of the best HK filmmakers of the sixties and seventies. The film’s inspired use of the local Cantonese dialect and of burlesque comedy led to a series of initiatives within the HK film industry that radically changed its outlook and set it off on a whole new path.

Games Gamblers Play

1974, Games Gamblers Play (directed by Michael Hui)

Games Gamblers Play was the first film to feature all three Hui Brothers (Michael, Sam and Ricky) in action. Michael directs and Samuel sings and writes the music. Ricky Hui has a small role as a beach side gambler.

Set in modern-day Hong Kong, the Hui comedies became wildly popular amongst the working classes in the 1970s and early 1980s. In addition to “Games Gamblers Play” (1974), “The Private Eyes” (1976), “The Contract” (1978) and “Security Unlimited” (1981) - the last of which won him the first Hong Kong Academy Best Actor award - are often seen as the quintessential comedies made by the Hui brothers.

2001, Shaolin Soccer (directed by Stephen Chow)

This film is the perfect example of Stephen Chow's brand of comedy, which he calls 'mo lei tau' (nonsense). It follows a band of martial artists who use their extraordinary skills to find success on the football field. It is in equal parts stunning and silly and, as always, Chow doffs his cap to some of the greats of Hong Kong cinema along the way. At its heart the film celebrates the triumph of the underdog, and while the humor is at times skewed towards Hong Kong audiences, it has universal appeal.

Players

Lai Man-Wai

Often called the 'father' of Hong Kong cinema, Lai Man-Wai (1893-1953) was trained in the theatre and worked as a photographer before joining his brother Lai Buk-hoi to make “Zhuangzi Tests His Wife” in 1913. They formed the Minxin Film Company in 1923 and produced “Rogue” (1925), Hong Kong's first full-length feature, and its first blockbuster. While Lai Man-Wai would later open the city's first 'super studio', the Lianhua Film Company, he was perhaps best known for his daredevil antics while documenting on film the military campaigns of Dr Sun Yat-sen against the Qing Dynasty armies in the 1920s.

Run Run Shaw

Run Run Shaw

The man who almost single-handedly plotted the direction of post-war Hong Kong cinema began his career at the South Seas Film Studio in 1930. Run Run Shaw really began to make his mark in the 1950s, guiding the enormous Shaw Brothers Studio brand as it produced hit after hit, across every type of film genre. More than 900 features bear his signature as studio head, while the television station he founded in 1967, TVB, would become a training ground for the city's finest film-makers. Shaw has also contributed a fortune from his film industry enterprises into charities over the years.

Raymond Chow

When Raymond Chow opened the Golden Harvest studio in 1970, he said he wanted to find Hong Kong's most talented film-makers and give them the chance to make their own films. Those who followed him - from Bruce Lee to Tsui Hark and John Woo - helped Golden Harvest dominate the local box office throughout the 1970s and 1980s as Chow championed the martial-arts movies and streetwise thrillers that would become the hallmarks of Hong Kong cinema. He was the first local producer to try his hand at international features, and he set a template for co-productions that is still being followed today.

Stephen Chow

The unique talents of Stephen Chow have produced staggering box-office figures - at the moment there is no bigger star in Asia. Chow began to develop his 'mo lei tau' (nonsense) brand of humor while training as an actor at TV channel TVB in the 1980s. Through films such as “Shaolin Soccer” (2001) and “Kung Fu Hustle” (2004), he has become a regular winner at the Hong Kong Film Awards, as an actor and a director.

Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan says he dreamed of being a star, from his early days as a member of a Chinese opera troupe to the time he spent as a stunt extra watching the likes of Bruce Lee work their magic. More than 100 films later - and with hundreds of millions of dollars in box-office takings - Chan has become one of the world's most bankable stars. From the award-winning Police Story (1985) to international hits such as Rush Hour (1998), Chan's versatility has become legendary and he has extended his talents to include stints as an executive producer.

Red Cliff

Where will Hong Kong cinema go in the coming years? Some observers believe that, given 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. Co-productions with the Chinese mainland may point the way for Hong Kong, and director John Woo shows how it is done with blockbuster “Red Cliff Part One” in 2008. Increasing integration with neighboring Korea and Japan also suggests nothing can be taken for granted in this exciting time and place for world cinema.