Man Chi Leung Movies

Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar-wai makes his feature film debut with this gritty romantic crime-drama inspired by Scorsese's Mean Streets. The film opens with young gangster Wah (Andy Lau) getting a visit for the day from his beautiful cousin Ah-Ngor (Maggie Cheung), who is coming into Kowloon from the remote outlying Lantau island to receive medical treatment for a lung condition. At first, the short-fused gangster and the quiet country girl have little in common, but gradually the two start to form a bond of sorts. Meanwhile, Wah's buddy Fly (Jacky Cheung), who has an absolutely volcanic temper, is always getting Wah into hot water. Even though Wah knows that Fly is bound to end up dead soon, he stands by his foolhardy friend. After some hesitation, Wah -- who has fallen for Ah-Ngor -- visits his cousin on Lantau, hoping to make their relationship more than family. Fly later infuriates a psychopathic mob boss, Tony (Alex Man Chi-leung who, along with his henchmen, beats and degrades Fly and Wah. This induces Fly make amends with Tony by undertaking the outrageously difficult task of rubbing out an informant who is in the custody of the cops, before the man has the opportunity to testify in a court hearing.

~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Taylor Wong delivers this gangster saga about brotherhoood and betrayal. Bumptious, ill-tempered Yung (Man Chi-leung) has run up a huge gambling debt is about to get his finger loped off for non-payment until his more levelheaded brother, Kwok (Andy Lau), intercedes. When Yung's troubles become too great for even Kwok to handle, they turn to Chai (Chow Yun-fat), a big-time gangster who hires the two to aid with his business ventures. Enthusiastic and dependable, Kwok quickly becomes Chai's right-hand man, much to Yung's displeasure. When a Thai drug lord stops shipment to Chai, underworld tensions build. Eventually Yung shows his true self and joins the other side, setting the stage for bloody gangland violence. This film is followed up by Tragic Hero. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

The ganglord Ho has many loyal followers, thanks to his skill in showering his troops with praise and tangible thanks, giving them much honor in the process. However, in this violent movie, three of his senior associates have been picked up by the police on serious charges, and it is beginning to look as though his trust was misplaced, for they are planning on selling what they know about him for lighter sentences. Regretfully, Ho orders another associate, his most trusted henchman and bodyguard, to see to it that the three men die. At their funerals, he is genuinely bereaved -- both for his now departed men, and for the code of trust which they took with them to their graves. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Following up on smash success of the original, Johnny Mak -- the director of the first film -- produces while Michael Mak directs this straight away crime yarn. Swapped by a recent spate of heists by Mainland criminals, Hong Kong cops decide to infiltrate the gangs responsible. They recruit a trio of Chinese -- Li Heung-tung (Tsui Kam-Kong), Hok Kwan (Yuen Yat-choh), and King San (Ben Lam Kwok-bun) -- offering them citizenship if they help the police for two years. Under their constabulary boss, Biggy (Alex Man), they are assigned to embarrass Mainland crime boss, Siu Hung (Kirk Wong), in order to establish some street cred. Soon the three are cracking case after case for the police. Yet when one of the targeted criminals proves to be the same guy who once saved his life, King San starts to question his loyalty. Meanwhile, Hok makes an ill-conceived run for the border with a bar girl (Pauline Wong) and a stash of stolen money. When the girl rats him out, he skips town but his actions effect his former partners. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Eddie Fong makes his directorial debut with this acclaimed and pointedly feminist period erotic drama about an independent woman born in conservative times. Taoist priestess Yu Hsuan-chi (Pat Ha Man-chik) longs for the sort of earthy experience that a woman born to her lofty station is not expected -- or desired -- to have. While putting in an appearance with society's elite, she carries on a passionate affair with an itinerate swordsman named Tsui Po-hou (Alex Man). With both Hsuan-chi and Po-hou fighting against the tedium and hide-bound conventions of Chinese society, the two seem like a perfect match. Yet the ever restless Po-hou soon leaves her and continues on his travels. Hsuan-chi develops a reputation as an amoral libertine, partially because she is having sex with her maid Lu Chiao. After Po-hou returns and leaves her again, Hsuan-chi learns that Lu Chiao is pregnant but she refuses to divulge the name of the father. Hsuan-chi's reaction ultimately results in tragedy. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

In this modest social drama from Hong Kong, a Chinese woman from the mainland arrives in the city with the objective of getting the material things she longs for, and her lover wants to win a boxing championship -- both for the fame and the money. In order to get the Hong Kong identity card she needs, the woman agrees to have a child by an older man, accepting room and board and later, some money for her services. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Harbinger of a new wave in Hong Kong cinema and one of director Ann Hui's best films, The Secret capitalizes on symbols in Chinese culture referring to birth, marriage and death and sets a definite mood of mystery and foreboding from the beginning. A kind of psychological horror-thriller, the story is based on an actual incident in 1970. Some school children come across the battered bodies of a young man and woman, tied to a tree. Their faces have been smashed in, and their clothes are torn. It turns out that the man (Man Chi-leung) was a medical student in the university. As the story unfolds, the mystery and mood rather outweigh the terrible "secret" connected to the murders. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi