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South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
3 of Twilight of the Warriors director Soi Cheang's early horror films that show his gift
Long before the success of the Hong Kong action blockbuster Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In , Soi Cheang Pou-soi made his mark directing innovative low-budget horror films. We recall three of the director's notable early releases. 1. Horror Hotline … Big Head Monster Cheang had garnered some attention with the idiosyncratic, ultra-low-budget horror film Diamond Hill in 2000, but it was 2001's Horror Hotline … Big Head Monster that made his name. Play It impressed Hong Kong critics because it was a straight-up horror that did not feel the need to mix genres. There was no romance and, most noticeably, none of the distracting comedy often used between scary scenes. Taking his cue from US horror films like The Blair Witch Project, which he frequently references, Cheang's only aim was to shock. 'Beneath its cheesy title, there lurks one of the most inventive Hong Kong psycho-thrillers of recent years in Horror Hotline … Big Head Monster, one of the very few to come close to replicating the clammy chills of late 90s Japanese pics like The Ring ,' Derek Elley wrote in Variety. In spite of the strange goings on, the film takes its cue from an urban myth surrounding a mythical mutant baby with a massive head that was allegedly concealed from the Hong Kong public by British colonial authorities.
South China Morning Post
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Shaw Brothers costume ‘treasure' trove to showcase Hong Kong film legacy
Costumes worn by stars in many of the biggest films to emerge out of Hong Kong's golden era of cinema are being meticulously catalogued as part of plans to return the pieces from the acclaimed Shaw Brothers to the public eye. Since March, a team led by renowned Hong Kong stylist Tina Liu Tien-lan has been caring for 40,000 costumes from the company's productions at a two-floor, 3,344 square metre storage space at Shaw Studios in Tseung Kwan O. Dressed in masks, white protective coats and gloves, the nine-member-strong team has been commissioned to clean the costumes, research and build portfolios that include details such as the actors and actresses who wore them and fabric types. Highlights include antique dragon robes featured in The Adulteress (1963), a film about a scholar and a woman who fight to clear their names in conspiracies orchestrated by corrupt officials in the late Qing dynasty. A prison uniform sewn with the name Sung Sai-kit, the protagonist played by Stephen Chow Sing-chi in the comedy Justice, My Foot! (1992), is also part of the collection. The antiques were part of the golden era of the city's film industry as productions of Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong), founded by the late magnate Run Run Shaw, dominated the Asian movie scene in the 1960s. Some films also became hits internationally.
South China Morning Post
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Shaw Brothers costume ‘treasure' trove to showcase Hong Kong film legacy
Costumes worn by stars in many of the biggest films to emerge out of Hong Kong's golden era of cinema are being meticulously catalogued as part of plans to return the pieces from the acclaimed Shaw Brothers to the public eye. Since March, a team led by renowned Hong Kong stylist Tina Liu Tien-lan has been caring for 40,000 costumes from the company's productions at a two-floor, 3,344 square metre storage space at Shaw Studios in Tseung Kwan O. Dressed in masks, white protective coats and gloves, the nine-member-strong team has been commissioned to clean the costumes, research and build portfolios that include details such as the actors and actresses who wore them and fabric types. Highlights include antique dragon robes featured in The Adulteress (1963), a film about a scholar and a woman who fight to clear their names in conspiracies orchestrated by corrupt officials in the late Qing dynasty. A prison uniform sewn with the name Sung Sai-kit, the protagonist played by Stephen Chow Sing-chi in the comedy Justice, My Foot! (1992), is also part of the collection. The antiques were part of the golden era of the city's film industry as productions of Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong), founded by the late magnate Run Run Shaw, dominated the Asian movie scene in the 1960s. Some films also became hits internationally.
Malay Mail
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Hong Kong wants to bring back its heydays with bold new wave of filmmakers at Cannes
CANNES, May 19 — Hong Kong's once world-famous movie industry wants to bring back the heydays of the 1970s to the 1990s by investing in a new generation of directors, the chairman of the city's film development council told Reuters at the Cannes Film Festival. 'We should not forget our identity. How the people all over the world would look at us when they recognise a Hong Kong movie,' said Wilfred Wong, chairman of the council that is mainly responsible for government funding of the industry. Hong Kong cinema exploded in the 1970s with Bruce Lee's martial arts films. Following his death, that mantle was taken up by Jackie Chan. The industry expanded into other genres and became the darling of international film festivals with titles such as In the Mood for Love, Infernal Affairs and Kung Fu Hustle. Stars like Andy Lau, Michelle Yeoh and Maggie Cheung, and directors such as John Woo and Johnnie To, were frequently seen walking on the festival's red carpet. Hong Kong's star started to fade in the 1990s when the former British colony was handed over to China, due to a variety of factors, including overproduction, the Asian financial crisis and talent leaving for Hollywood. With a view to the shrinking industry, investors were unwilling to take a risk on young talent and would only approve productions with well-known stars and directors. Hong Kong's Film Development Council is now looking to address that by financially supporting new directors' first film initiative. The council has in recent years groomed 32 new directors, said Wong. One of those new talents, director and actor Juno Mak, wrote and directed the Cannes out-of-competition film Sons of the Neon Nights, starring veteran actor Tony Leung Ka-fai. 'It's kind of happiness, joy, enjoyable and satisfaction. So we can again show to all the audience and all the people in the world what Hong Kong productions are going on now,' Leung said. The 67-year-old actor told Reuters that Hong Kong's film industry was in need of new blood. 'We need new generations of directors, new generations of actors and actresses, new generations of script writers, new generations of every part that makes this dream,' he said. — Reuters
Reuters
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Reuters
Hong Kong cinema seeks resurgence with fresh faces at Cannes
CANNES, France, May 18 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's once world-famous movie industry wants to bring back the heydays of the 1970s to the 1990s by investing in a new generation of directors, the chairman of the city's film development council told Reuters at the Cannes Film Festival. "We should not forget our identity. How the people all over the world would look at us when they recognise a Hong Kong movie," said Wilfred Wong, chairman of the council that is mainly responsible for government funding of the industry. Hong Kong cinema exploded in the 1970s with Bruce Lee's martial arts films. Following his death, that mantle was taken up by Jackie Chan. The industry expanded into other genres and became the darling of international film festivals with titles such as "In the Mood for Love," "Infernal Affairs" and "Kung Fu Hustle." Stars like Andy Lau, Michelle Yeoh and Maggie Cheung, and directors such as John Woo and Johnnie To, were frequently seen walking on the festival's red carpet. Hong Kong's star started to fade in the 1990s when the former British colony was handed over to China, due to a variety of factors, including overproduction, the Asian financial crisis and talent leaving for Hollywood. With a view to the shrinking industry, investors were unwilling to take a risk on young talent and would only approve productions with well-known stars and directors. Hong Kong's Film Development Council is now looking to address that by financially supporting new directors' first film initiative. The council has in recent years groomed 32 new directors, said Wong. One of those new talents, director and actor Juno Mak, wrote and directed the Cannes out-of-competition film "Sons of the Neon Nights," starring veteran actor Tony Leung Ka-fai. "It's kind of happiness, joy, enjoyable and satisfaction. So we can again show to all the audience and all the people in the world what Hong Kong productions are going on now," Leung Ka-fai said. The 67-year-old actor told Reuters that Hong Kong's film industry was in need of new blood. "We need new generations of directors, new generations of actors and actresses, new generations of script writers, new generations of every part that makes this dream," he said.
