Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. It combines elements from the action film, as codified by Hollywood, with Chinese storytelling and aesthetic traditions, to create a culturally distinctive form that nevertheless has a wide transcultural appeal. In recent years, the flow has reversed somewhat, with American and European action films being heavily influenced by Hong Kong genre conventions.
The first Hong Kong action films favoured the wuxia style, emphasizing mysticism and swordplay, but this trend was politically suppressed in the 1930s and replaced by styles in which films depicted more down-to-earth unarmed kung fu, often featuring folk hero Wong Fei Hung. Post-war cultural upheavals led to a second wave of wuxia films with highly acrobatic violence, followed by the emergence of the grittier kung fu films for which the Shaw Brothers studio became best known. The 1970s saw the rise and sudden death of international superstar Bruce Lee. He was succeeded in the 1980s by Jackie Chan—who popularised the use of comedy, dangerous stunts, and modern urban settings in action films—and Jet Li, whose authentic wushu skills appealed to both eastern and western audiences. The innovative work of directors and producers like Tsui Hark and John Woo introduced further variety (for example, gunplay, triads and the supernatural). An exodus by many leading figures to Hollywood in the 1990s coincided with a downturn in the industry.
Early martial arts films
The signature contribution to action cinema from the Chinese-speaking world is the martial arts film, the most famous of which were developed in Hong Kong. The genre emerged first in Chinese popular literature. The early 20th century saw an explosion of what were called wuxia novels (often translated as "martial chivalry"), generally published in serialized form in newspapers. These were tales of heroic, sword-wielding warriors, often featuring mystical or fantasy elements. This genre was quickly seized on by early Chinese films, particularly in the movie capital of the time, Shanghai. Starting in the 1920s, wuxia titles, often adapted from novels (for example, 1928's The Burning of the Red Lotus Monastery and its eighteen sequels) were hugely popular and the genre dominated Chinese film for several years.
The boom came to an end in the 1930s, caused by official opposition from cultural and political elites, especially the Kuomintang government, who saw it as promoting superstition and violent anarchy. Wuxia filmmaking was picked up in Hong Kong, at the time a British colony with a highly liberal economy and culture and a developing film industry. The first martial arts film in Cantonese, the dominant Chinese spoken language of Hong Kong, was The Adorned Pavilion (1938).
Postwar martial arts cinema
By the late 1940s, upheavals in mainland China—the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese Civil War, and the victory of the Communist Party of China—had shifted the centre of Chinese language filmmaking to Hong Kong. The industry continued the wuxia tradition in Cantonese B movies and serials, although the more prestigious Mandarin-language cinema generally ignored the genre. Animation and special effects drawn directly on the film by hand were used to simulate the flying abilities and other preternatural powers of characters; later titles in the cycle included The Six-Fingered Lord of the Lute (1965) and Sacred Fire, Heroic Wind (1966).
A countertradition to the wuxia films emerged in the kung fu movies that were also produced at this time. These movies emphasized more "authentic", down-to-earth and unarmed combat over the swordplay and mysticism of wuxia . The most famous exemplar was real-life martial artist Kwan Tak Hing; he became an avuncular hero figure to at least a couple of generations of Hong Kongers by playing historical folk hero Wong Fei Hung in a series of roughly one hundred movies, from The True Story of Wong Fei Hung (1949) through to Wong Fei Hung Bravely Crushing the Fire Formation (1970). A number of enduring elements were introduced or solidified by these films: the still-popular character of "Master Wong"; the influence of Chinese opera with its stylized martial arts and acrobatics; and the concept of martial arts heroes as exponents of Confucian ethics.
"New School" wuxia
In the second half of the 1960s, the era's biggest studio, Shaw Brothers, inaugurated a new generation of wuxia films, starting with Xu Zenghong's Temple of the Red Lotus (1965), a remake of the 1928 classic. These Mandarin productions were more lavish and in colour; their style was less fantastical and more intense, with stronger and more acrobatic violence. They were influenced by imported samurai movies from Japan and by the wave of "New School" wuxia novels by authors like Jin Yong and Liang Yusheng that started in the 1950s.
The New School wuxia wave marked the move of male-oriented action films to the centre of Hong Kong cinema, which had long been dominated by female stars and genres aimed at female audiences, such as romances and musicals. Even so, during the 1960s female action stars like Cheng Pei Pei and Connie Chan Po-chu were prominent alongside male stars, such as former swimming champion Jimmy Wang Yu, and they continued an old tradition of female warriors in wuxia storytelling. The signature directors of the period were Chang Cheh with One-Armed Swordsman (1967) and Golden Swallow (1968) and King Hu with Come Drink with Me (1966). Hu soon left Shaw Brothers to pursue his own vision of wuxia with independent productions in Taiwan, such as the enormously successful Dragon Inn (1967, aka Dragon Gate Inn ). Chang stayed on and remained the Shaws' prolific star director into the early 1980s.
The 1970s kung fu wave
The early 1970s saw wuxia giving way to a new, grittier and more graphic (and Mandarin-speaking) iteration of the kung fu movie, which came to dominate through the decade and into the early 1980s. Seriously trained martial artists such as Ti Lung and Gordon Liu became some of the top stars as increasing proportions of running times were devoted to combat setpieces. Chinese Boxer (1970), starring and directed by Jimmy Wang Yu, is widely credited with launching the kung fu boom. But remaining at the vanguard, at least initially, were Shaw Brothers and director Chang Cheh. Chang's Vengeance (1970) was another of the first trendsetters and his dozens of contributions included The Boxer from Shantung (1972), Five Deadly Venoms (1978) and Crippled Avengers (1979). Kung fu cinema was particularly influenced by Chang's concern with his vision of masculine values and male friendship; the female warrior figures who had been prominent in late 1960s wuxia work were sidelined, with prominent exceptions such as the popular Angela Mao.
Chang's only competitor as the genre’s most influential filmmaker was his long-time action choreographer, Lau Kar Leung (aka Liu Chia Liang in Mandarin). Lau began directing his own movies for the Shaw brothers in 1975 with The Spiritual Boxer , a progenitor of the kung fu comedy. In subsequent titles like Executioners from Shaolin (1977), The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978), and Legendary Weapons of China (1982), Lau emphasized the traditions and philosophy of the martial arts and strove to give onscreen fighting greater authenticity and ever greater speed and intricacy.
The kung fu boom was partly fueled by enormous international popularity, and not just in East Asia. In the West, kung fu imports, dubbed and often recut and retitled, shown as "B" films in urban theaters and on television, made Hong Kong film widely noticed, although not widely respected, for the first time. African-Americans particularly embraced the genre (as exemplified by the popular hip-hop group, the Wu-Tang Clan) perhaps as an almost unprecedented source of adventure stories with non-white heroes, who furthermore often displayed a strong streak of racial and/or nationalistic pride.
The popularity of these movies in North America would continue into the 1980s when ninja movies were introduced. In popular culture, the films of this era were colloquially known as Kung Fu Theater or Black Belt Theater , names that many independent stations used for their weekly airing slot.
Bruce Lee
No single figure was more responsible for this international profile than Bruce Lee, an American-born, Hong Kong-raised martial artist and actor. Lee completed just four movies before his death at the age of 32: The Big Boss (1971), Fist of Fury and Way of the Dragon (both 1972) and Enter the Dragon (1973). But in this very brief career he became cinema's first global Chinese superstar. Eastern film historian Patrick Macias ascribes his success to "(bringing) the warrior spirit of old into the present day... developing his own fighting style... and possessing superhuman charisma". His first three movies broke local box office records and were successful in much of the worl
Hong Kong, SAR China | earthTV.com
Our camera is installed on top of the Hotel Le Méridien Cyberport which ... important part of the Hong Kong economy. Many Chinese tourists visit Hong Kong - most people like to shop ...
DiscoverHongKong - official travel guide from the Hong Kong Tourism ...
Includes information on attractions, events, shopping and dining, vacation packages, maps, videos, webcam and itineraries to experience Hong Kong's unique living culture.
Consumer Electronics & Computers - Hong Kong Shopping - Hong Kong ...
Some camera shops carry a wide range of optical equipment, including ... Windsor House shopping centre in Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island and Star House in Kowloon's Tsim Sha Tsui ...
Ajoka Spy Camera Security Camera Wireless Camera Mini DVR System
Visit our Spy Shop for wholesale prices or contact our Sales, we ... professional Spy Camera Security Camera Systems Wholesale Hidden Camera CCTV Surveillance System in Hong Kong ...
Thumb-sized video camera debuts in Hong Kong
Thumb-sized video camera debuts in Hong Kong ... HDTV Shopping »
How to Buy a Camera in Hong Kong | eHow.com
How to Buy a Camera in Hong Kong. Cameras may be a bit cheaper in Hong Kong, but if you don't shop wisely, you may end up paying the difference in headaches. Visit the Hong Kong ...
Hong Kong Shopping - Hong Kong Shops, Stores, and Markets ...
Shopping in Hong Kong: Where to shop, what to buy. Reviews and photos of Hong Kong ... Electronics by gloopgloop; Camera equipment in Hong Kong by Kulprit » More Electronics Reviews
Camera stores in Hong Kong - Photo.net photo.net Forum
I am a first time digital camera buyer that had done some research on cameras but apparently not enough. I was in Hong Kong on business doing some shopping for relatives when I got ...
Hong Kong - Reliable Camera Shop: Nikon D3 - D1 / D700 Forum: Digital ...
I will pass through Hong Kong , , and I would like to know if someone can recommend me a reliable Camera shop , where I can buy some acc...
Short List of Camera Shops
Good World Camera 好世界: Gilman's Bazaar, Central, Hong Kong 中環 機利文新街: 2543-5657: 2: Man Shing Camera 萬成: G/F, Shop 106, Tung Choi Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong ...