https://www.scmp.com/rss/524310/feed The latest news and top stories on Paul Fonoroff. He is a historian specialising in Chinese-language cinema, particularly Hong Kong film. Fonoroff served as film critic for the South China Morning Post for over two decades and hosted numerous movie-related television programmes. He authored several books on Hong Kong cinema, including "Silver Light" and "Chinese Movie Magazines". His extensive collection of Chinese film periodicals was acquired by the University of California, Berkeley, forming... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Richard James Havis Richard James Havis Celebrated novelist Eileen Chang Ai-ling was not only a film fan, but she also worked as a film critic and wrote movie scripts. Chang’s own novellas were often considered difficult to adapt for the screen. “Her stories are beautiful because of their language and details, not their plots,” critic Paul Fonoroff wrote in the South China Morning Post. Nevertheless, the great Hong Kong director Ann Hui On-wah has tried three times, with Love in a Fallen City (1984), Eighteen Springs (1997) and Love... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348750/how-did-ann-hui-bring-eileen-changs-love-fallen-city-and-eighteen-springs-life?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348750/how-did-ann-hui-bring-eileen-changs-love-fallen-city-and-eighteen-springs-life?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Apr 2026 11:15:08 +0000 Richard James Havis Richard James Havis The late Hong Kong action maestro Benny Chan Muk-sing made his name with the hit triad love story A Moment of Romance (1990) and the acclaimed police thriller Big Bullet (1996), before going on to direct popular action extravaganzas such as 2013’s The White Storm. Bridging these two eras are two pivotal films from the early 2000s that demonstrate Chan’s unique flair for action – Heroic Duo and Invisible Target. Heroic Duo (2003) Shot before 2002’s mega-hit Infernal Affairs fully rejuvenated the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347240/how-two-benny-chans-2000s-films-bridged-old-school-stunts-and-modern-hong-kong-action?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347240/how-two-benny-chans-2000s-films-bridged-old-school-stunts-and-modern-hong-kong-action?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Mar 2026 10:15:11 +0000 Richard James Havis Richard James Havis Hong Kong New Wave director Allen Fong Yuk-ping transitioned from television to filmmaking later than his contemporaries, but his neo-realist social dramas did prove immediately successful. He won best film and best director at the inaugural Hong Kong Film Awards in 1982 for his debut feature, Father and Son, and repeated the double for his next film, Ah Ying, two years later. He won best director again in 1987 for his third effort, Just Like Weather. Here, we take a deep dive into Fong’s first... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3343267/why-hong-kong-new-wave-director-allen-fongs-father-and-son-and-ah-ying-are-true-gems?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3343267/why-hong-kong-new-wave-director-allen-fongs-father-and-son-and-ah-ying-are-true-gems?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Feb 2026 07:15:08 +0000 Richard James Havis Richard James Havis Hong Kong producer-writer-director Wong Jing churned out so many films in the 1990s that some were bound to succeed. The underrated gem The New Legend of Shaolin, starring Jet Li Lianjie, stands out as a highlight, marrying lighthearted comedy and above-average action to good effect. The storyline, while simple, is logical and tightly structured, with highs and lows hitting the right beats. Moreover, Wong’s signature penchant for lowbrow comedy is deployed with restraint. When the cheesy jokes... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3338386/why-jet-li-and-wong-jings-1994-martial-arts-movie-new-legend-shaolin-underrated?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3338386/why-jet-li-and-wong-jings-1994-martial-arts-movie-new-legend-shaolin-underrated?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Jan 2026 08:15:09 +0000 Richard James Havis Richard James Havis By the mid-2000s, Hong Kong director Johnnie To Kei-fung was in full command of the style, form and content of the gangster genre. These three films demonstrate a master of technique at the height of his powers. Exiled (2006) To’s 1990s crime films played out like neat French policiers. But Exiled is more Italian in style, with the classical cinematography and Grand Guignol (bloody and dramatic) scenes evoking Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather. Together with art director Tony Yu Hing-wah, To... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3334342/how-johnnie-redefined-hong-kongs-gangster-genre-3-mid-2000s-classics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3334342/how-johnnie-redefined-hong-kongs-gangster-genre-3-mid-2000s-classics?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Nov 2025 07:15:07 +0000 Richard James Havis Richard James Havis Hong Kong romances are often melodramatic, and in the 1990s, increasingly geared towards teenagers. However, some filmmakers were still experimenting with the genre. We look at three outliers: a surreal science fiction romance, a love story that morphs into a fantasy and a film about a presumed incestuous relationship. Saviour of the Soul (1991) This postmodern sci-fi romance, loosely based on the popular Japanese manga City Hunter, is a thoroughbred romance at its core. Set in a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3332751/when-hong-kong-romance-movies-got-weird-saviour-soul-anna-magdalena-and-isabella?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3332751/when-hong-kong-romance-movies-got-weird-saviour-soul-anna-magdalena-and-isabella?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Nov 2025 08:15:09 +0000 Richard James Havis Richard James Havis Stephen Chow Sing-chi became a Hong Kong superstar in 1990, inheriting the comic crown that was worn by Michael Hui Koon-man in the 1970s and kung fu comedians like Sammo Hung Kam-bo in the 1980s. But by the middle of the decade, overexposure had caused his star to wane. A more thoughtful filmmaker than his scatterbrained films often suggested, Chow realised he needed to make a change, focusing on increasing the quality and decreasing the quantity of his films. Consequently, the 1996 film The... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3328469/how-stephen-chows-god-cookery-proved-hong-kong-comedy-star-could-do-much-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3328469/how-stephen-chows-god-cookery-proved-hong-kong-comedy-star-could-do-much-more?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Oct 2025 08:15:07 +0000 Richard James Havis Richard James Havis Hong Kong filmmakers have rarely focused on stories about modern history – historical films are expensive and the themes have always been considered too politically sensitive to address, even in colonial times. Unusually for a Hong Kong director, Mabel Cheung Yuen-ting described the broad sweep of history in The Soong Sisters. The 1997 epic depicted the lives of three politically influential Chinese sisters: Soong Mei-ling, who married Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the Nationalist Kuomintang... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3327731/how-mabel-cheungs-1997-historical-epic-soong-sisters-portrayed-modern-chinese-history?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3327731/how-mabel-cheungs-1997-historical-epic-soong-sisters-portrayed-modern-chinese-history?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Oct 2025 08:15:07 +0000 Richard James Havis Richard James Havis Alzheimer’s disease is not the most appealing subject for a film, and that was especially true in early 1990s Hong Kong, where those with mental or physical disabilities were often stigmatised or used as the butt of jokes. It is a testament to Ann Hui On-wah’s skill that she not only managed to get 1995’s Summer Snow produced, but also made the result so palatable that it performed respectably at the box office. The light drama features Josephine Siao Fong-fong as a busy working woman who must... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3326926/how-ann-hui-skilfully-tackled-dementia-summer-snow-award-winning-hong-kong-film?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3326926/how-ann-hui-skilfully-tackled-dementia-summer-snow-award-winning-hong-kong-film?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Sep 2025 09:15:07 +0000 Richard James Havis Richard James Havis Although it is not often screened today, Queen of Temple Street (1990) deserves to be recognised as one of the best films ever made in Hong Kong. Directed by Lawrence Lau Kwok-cheong(also known as Lawrence Ah Mon), the drama about the relationships between a Mong Kok madam, the prostitutes who work for her, and her own family is shot in a free-ranging social-realist style that carefully avoids portraying any of the characters in a clichéd way. Moreover, there is not a hint of moralising in the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324354/why-prostitution-drama-queen-temple-street-one-best-hong-kong-films-ever-made?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324354/why-prostitution-drama-queen-temple-street-one-best-hong-kong-films-ever-made?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Sep 2025 04:15:08 +0000