MORE than 30 Cantonese films from the 1960s will be screened as part of a special Hong Kong retrospective of the 20th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF).
Titled 'The Restless Breed: Cantonese Stars of the Sixties', it highlights the remarkable achievements of the local film industry during that decade of big changes. It screens from March 25 to April 9.
HKIFF programmer Law Kar said films from the '60s were chosen because this period represented 'a decade gripped by calamity and a widening gap between rich and poor, fostering a spirit of restlessness in youth'. He said there are parallels to today's climate of uncertainty.
'The retrospective theme 'The Restless Breed' may be specific to the genre of youth movies that is a unique reflection of the '60s, a period quite similar to the '90s, when there was rapid economic growth and a spirit of restlessness was brewing in the hearts and minds of the young.
'New young stars and new genres emerged at that time in Cantonese cinema, forming the main force in the cultural movements of the time.' Genres covered in the retrospective include costume dramas like So Siu-siu and the melodrama Love and Passion. There are martial arts adventures such as Buddha's Palm, The Grand Conclusion, Sacred Fire, Heroic Wind Parts I and II, as well as the opera film, Eternal Love.
Film buffs will be able to see the two charismatic female superstars of the period - Josephine Siao Fong-fong and Chan Po-chu. Other unforgettable key players include Wu Fung, Lee Heung-kam, Pak Yan, Ting Ying, Alan Tang, Lui Kei, Nam Hung, Lam Fung and Suet Nei.