https://www.scmp.com/rss/524594/feed The latest news and top stories on Tsui Hark, a prominent Hong Kong film director, producer and screenwriter. A pivotal figure in Hong Kong cinema's Golden Age, Tsui is celebrated for his innovative, visually adventurous filmmaking and pioneering use of special effects. He founded Film Workshop, a production company that significantly influenced the industry and produced numerous hits, including the *Once Upon a Time in China* and *Detective Dee* film series. Known for his cross-genre approach... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Richard James Havis Richard James Havis Herman Yau Lai-to began his career as a cinematographer before transitioning to the director’s chair. He gained notoriety as a pioneer of Hong Kong’s Category III (adults-only) exploitation era, directing gruesome genre classics such as the 1993 serial killer thriller The Untold Story and 1996’s Ebola Syndrome. Since then, the prolific filmmaker – an academic with a PhD in cultural studies who is just as often recognised by his signature rock ‘n’ roll T-shirts – has worked ceaselessly. Known for... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3346304/how-hong-kong-director-herman-yau-went-gory-cult-films-action-blockbusters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3346304/how-hong-kong-director-herman-yau-went-gory-cult-films-action-blockbusters?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2026 04:45:07 +0000 Richard James Havis Richard James Havis Hong Kong cinema has always prided itself on speed and adaptability, yet the industry has often been guilty of merely repackaging old formulas. However, the 1990s brought a wave of existential anxiety – both political and commercial – that forced filmmakers to take drastic risks. Below, we revisit two ambitious productions from the beginning of that decade and the turn of the next one that attempted to rewrite the rule book: one a dark fantasy reliant on extravagant home-grown special effects,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3341761/how-hong-kong-movies-wicked-city-and-2000-ad-rewrote-citys-cinema-rule-book?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3341761/how-hong-kong-movies-wicked-city-and-2000-ad-rewrote-citys-cinema-rule-book?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Feb 2026 09:15:07 +0000 Richard James Havis Richard James Havis Belgian action hero Jean-Claude Van Damme has always had a close association with Hong Kong. Besides appearing in John Woo Yu-sum’s Hollywood debut Hard Target and numerous films by Ringo Lam Ling-tung, the actor sometimes used the city as a de facto base for his Asian shoots. Here are four of his films with deep and sometimes surprising Hong Kong roots. No Retreat, No Surrender (1986) While he had a short scene as a gay karate expert in 1984’s Monaco Forever, Van Damme landed his first... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3329346/jean-claude-van-damme-films-hong-kong-roots-bloodsport-knock?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3329346/jean-claude-van-damme-films-hong-kong-roots-bloodsport-knock?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Oct 2025 11:15:08 +0000 Lars Hamer Lars Hamer China’s Olympic champion snowboarder Su Yiming has claimed to have become the first person to land two successive 1980-degree spins, sharing a video of the feat on his social media pages. Su, who won gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in the big air event, on Wednesday uploaded the video and wrote: “Been thinking about this new combo for a long time! Still pretty dizzy!!” On Thursday, Su posted the video on Chinese social media and said he was the first person to accomplish it. “Happy... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3328515/chinas-su-yiming-happy-be-first-world-perform-dual-1980-degree-spins?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3328515/chinas-su-yiming-happy-be-first-world-perform-dual-1980-degree-spins?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Oct 2025 08:15:07 +0000 Richard James Havis Richard James Havis Hong Kong actress Carina Lau Ka-ling always brings a strong sense of presence to her work, whether she is appearing in drama or comedy, as a leading actress or a supporting player. Here we chat with film historian Frank Djeng about her long-lasting career. Carina Lau has been acting since the 1980s – that is a long time for a Hong Kong actress to keep working. Yes, she started her career back in the mid-1980s at TVB, and she has kept going strong, although she has had quite a lot of career... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3325122/how-hong-kong-actress-carina-lau-became-top-film-star-and-her-best-movies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3325122/how-hong-kong-actress-carina-lau-became-top-film-star-and-her-best-movies?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Sep 2025 04:15:08 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 1/5 stars Hong Kong filmmaker Dante Lam Chiu-yin has spent most of the last decade in mainland China, playing with escalating budgets and an impressive sandbox of military hardware and pyrotechnics to create explosive epics that have decimated Chinese box-office records. He has done everything from recounting past historical victories in his two The Battle of Lake Changjin films – which he co-directed with Tsui Hark and Chen Kaige, and which were released in 2021 and 2022 – to conjuring up... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324970/operation-hadal-movie-review-dante-lams-underwater-naval-sequel-incoherent-misfire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324970/operation-hadal-movie-review-dante-lams-underwater-naval-sequel-incoherent-misfire?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Sep 2025 08:15:07 +0000 Richard James Havis Richard James Havis Directed by Tony Ching Siu-tung and produced by Tsui Hark, A Chinese Ghost Story (1987) set the style for the colourful fantasy martial arts films of the 1990s. The story, set in a mythical China, featured Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing as a naive debt collector who falls in love with a beautiful ghost played by Joey Wong Cho-yee. Here we look at two very different sequels Tsui produced. A Chinese Ghost Story: The Tsui Hark Animation (1997) Animations have never been a favourite of Hong Kong producers,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3320235/how-tsui-hark-and-tony-ching-followed-classic-fantasy-film-chinese-ghost-story?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3320235/how-tsui-hark-and-tony-ching-followed-classic-fantasy-film-chinese-ghost-story?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Aug 2025 07:15:08 +0000 Richard James Havis Richard James Havis Ronny Yu Yan-tai made unusual ghost films before becoming a superstar director with the kung fu fantasy The Bride With White Hair, while Tsui Hark made comedies before reinventing the martial arts genre in the 1990s. Here we look at two relatively unseen works from the star Hong Kong directors. The Occupant (1984) “Long before he scared Hollywood with The Bride of Chucky and Freddy vs. Jason, director Ronny Yu Yan-tai made this spooky horror hit for Cinema City, a suspenseful mystery that is... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3319584/2-films-star-hong-kong-directors-ronny-yu-and-tsui-hark-you-probably-havent-seen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3319584/2-films-star-hong-kong-directors-ronny-yu-and-tsui-hark-you-probably-havent-seen?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Jul 2025 07:15:08 +0000