A Hong Kong movie about the city’s famous street fights is a classic. This film stars Donnie Yen as Ip Man, a sole practitioner of Wing Chun. He comes to Hong Kong with his family during the 1940s to start a school. The other main character in the film is Sammo Hung, who plays Hung Chun-nam, a legendary Hung Ga master who has suffered from asthma. He is the head of Hong Kong’s martial arts society and ultimately dies in a fight with Twister.
The kung fu genre was born in Hong Kong, after the colonial era and the Chinese Communist Party’s cultural revolution. After the Cultural Revolution, Hong Kong gained resources and developed a new cultural imagination, and kung fu films were among the first to emerge. In fact, they were based on the wuxia novels that were popular in the 1920s. Hong Kong movies have been shown throughout the world, from Hollywood movies to independent films.
Hong Kong used to be known as the Hollywood of the East, and the local movie industry peaked around the early 1990s. At its peak, the city was the world’s largest producer of films per capita and second-largest exporter of films after the US. Today, the industry is in decline. And with it, the influx of Hollywood movie studios. So, what are the best movies produced in Hong Kong? Here are a few favorites.
The Boxer From Shantung – a gangster movie with a rags-to-riches story, The Boxer From Shantung follows the same formula. In this movie, a poor working class man from Shantung arrives in Shanghai with his friend Xiao Jiangbei. They live in a cramped hostel. However, he meets wealthy crimelord Tan Si, whom he admires. Ma Yongzhen uses his fighting skills to climb the underworld ladder.
Ip Man 2 – another sequel to the Ip Man series – was released on DVD on 25 June 2010. The movie was released on DVD in a single-disc edition and a two-disc special edition. The DVD version has deleted scenes, theatrical trailers, interviews, and making-of featurettes. The Blu-ray version also contains a shooting diary and coverage of the gala premiere. It has a cast of three and a female martial artist.
Heroes – another martial arts movie starring Bruce Li – uses a lighter PG tone to make it more family-friendly without sacrificing the dynamic energy of the fight scenes. The original One-Armed Swordsman is the classic, but The New One-Armed is also well worth watching. Both films are directed by Chang Cheh, who replaced Jimmy Wang Yu with David Chiang. The New One-Armed is a satire of martial arts in Hong Kong.
The third Hong Kong Movie presents an interesting variation on the formula, as an out-group is presented by the local Chinese cronies. While this film touches on the question of in-group identity recognition, its main dilemma is about the legitimacy of leadership and the right to define one’s own identity. The conflict over martial arts style also reflects Party politics in a way, as the need for social cohesion is high on the CCP’s agenda.