Saviour of the Soul (1991) The first film to emerge from Lau's Teamwork Productions, Jeff Lau Chun-wai's action comedy has Lau as a righteous assassin who teams up with fellow killers (Anita Mui Yim-fong and Kenny Bee) against the evil Silver Fox (Aaron Kwok Fu-shing). An over-the-top farce, it nevertheless redeems itself with brilliant cinematography and production design (by Peter Pau Tak-hei and Yee Chung-man, respectively). Made in Hong Kong (1997) Alarm bells had been ringing at Teamwork in the years after Saviour, when its productions were either critically panned (the horrific Gameboy Kid) or underachieved at the box office (the Days of Being Wild-aping Days of Tomorrow). It would take a small-budget, sans-Lau production to get the company back in gear again. Fruit Chan Kuo's Made in Hong Kong was made on film stock donated by Lau and would herald a new wave of independent filmmaking in Hong Kong. A Fighter's Blues (2000) The movie that announces the arrival of Andy Lau, the serious actor. Although Lau sees his award-winning turn in Johnnie To Kei-fung's caper Running Out of Time as his artistic watershed, it's his performance as a washed-up boxer in Daniel Lee Yan-kong's film that marks his departure from the romantic comedy roles he took on throughout the 1990s. Blues also sees his return to form as producer, followed swiftly by yet another remarkable actor-cum-producer turn in To's Fulltime Killer. Give Them a Chance (2003) A teen drama revolving around a group of wannabe dancers, Give Them a Chance is what it says on the title. Teamwork provided an opportunity for young actors to star in a small-budget piece that has minimal commercial appeal due to its earthy narrative. Rather than being merely a financial backer, Lau appears in the film (as himself) and allows footage from his concerts to be used. This Herman Yau Lai-to film could probably be seen as a precursor to Lau's Focus First Cuts project today. Crazy Stone (2006) A surprise hit on the mainland, Crazy Stone provided its director, Ning Hao, with a stellar platform to showcase his skills - resulting in him being offered a contract by CAA talent agency, which also looks after Ang Lee. But the film also earned Lau kudos for behind-the-scenes work after 15 years as a producer.
