Review | The King of Wuxia Part 1: The Prophet Was Once Here movie review – King Hu’s influence on Chinese martial arts cinema examined

Director King Hu was a pioneering force in the wuxia genre, and his influence on martial arts cinema cannot be understated

The two-part documentary looks at Hu’s work, and action filmmakers including John Woo, Sammo Hung and Ang Lee sing his praises

Reading Time:2 minutes

King Hu pictured on a film set, in a still from the documentary “The King of Wuxia Part 1: The Prophet Was Once Here” (category IIA, Mandarin, Cantonese, English), directed by Lin Jing-jie.

Published: 5:36pm, 6 Jun 2023

4/5 stars

Without King Hu, Hong Kong’s illustrious and sustained reputation as the home of martial arts cinema would be considerably less secure.

The director’s pioneering work in the wuxia genre not only produced enduring masterpieces like Come Drink with Me, Dragon Inn and A Touch of Zen, but also had a profound impact upon some of the industry’s biggest names, influencing the style and aesthetic of a generation of action filmmakers, from John Woo and Tsui Hark, to Sammo Hung and Ang Lee.

Many of these passionate devotees appear in Lin Jing-jie’s sprawling two-part documentary The King of Wuxia – the first half of which opens in Hong Kong this week – to sing the praises of an artist who transformed an entire genre of cinema and helped them find their own cinematic voices.

They are joined by a procession of industry peers, journalists and notable Hu collaborators, including iconic stars Cheng Pei-pei and Hsu Feng.

Interspersed between these interviews and clips from Hu’s films, Lin’s camera follows an impressively sprightly Shih Chun, now well into his 80s, as he explores some of the most iconic locations from their films for the first time in more than half a century.

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