Frankie Chan Movies

Though theatrically released as a single movie, this odd period kung-fu yarn -- directed by Frankie Chan -- was released in video as two separate films. The movie centers on the relationship between two vastly different wandering swordsmen: one, Yip Hoi (Chan), is a lighthearted scoundrel, while the other, Fu Hung-suet (Ti Lung), is a crippled, epileptic warrior whose mother taught him from a tender age to seek single-minded revenge against those who murdered their family. The two run into each other in a small bucolic village, where Fu immediately falls in love with a beautiful prostitute with a heart of gold. At the end of Part One, Fu fails to kill the nefarious Ma Hung-kwan. As Part Two unfolds, Fu continues on his quest of vengeance. Later, he learns from his mother that he and Yip Hoi are in fact related. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Master Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai directed this lyrical, dream-like martial arts epic. A famously troubled shoot, the film took two years and 40 million dollars to produce (a shocking sum for a national cinema populated with low-budget quickies) and features a virtual who's who of the Hong Kong film world. Conceived as a prequel to the popular martial arts novel The Eagle-Shooting Hero by Jin Yong, the movie is less a straightforward action thriller than a visually striking meditation on memory and love. It nominally centers on Ouyang Feng (Leslie Cheung), who ekes out a lonely existence as an itinerant hired sword. Getting on in years and tormented by memories of a lost love, he also works an agent for other mercenary assassins from his remote desert abode. Ouyang's old friend and fellow swordsman, Huang Yaoshi (Tony Leung Kar-Fai, who starred in the The Lover) drowns his lovelorn misery in a magical wine that makes him forget. Later, a mysterious young man named Murong Yang (Brigitte Lin) hires Ouyang to kill his sister's unfaithful suitor, Huang Yaoshi. The following day, that spurned sister, Murong Yin (Lin again), hires Ouyang to protect her dearly beloved. Meanwhile, Hong Qi (pop star Jacky Cheung) finds some redemption for a life of killing by accepting a poor girl's offer to avenge her brother's death -- a task that Ouyang brusquely shunned. In another subplot, a master swordsman (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) is slowly going blind. He agrees to defend a village from horse thieves so that he can afford to go home and see his wife before his eyesight fails completely. This film is one of the most celebrated examples of 1990s Hong Kong cinema: it won multiple awards in its native Hong Kong, along with a Golden Osella for Best Cinematography at the 1994 Venice Film Festival.

In the years following Ashes of Time's initial theatrical release, the original negatives were lost and multiple versions of the film began to crop up all across the globe. As a result, director Wong Kar-wai longed to compile these various versions into a restored, remastered, and definitive final cut. With Ashes of Time Redux, the director restructures the film according to seasons, effectively clarifying the central narratives, and digitally colorizes the film to render cinematographer Christopher Doyle's masterful imagery all the more lavish and intoxicatingly gorgeous. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Popular Hong Kong actor-filmmaker Sammo Hung directed himself in this amusing action-comedy in which he stars as Rice Pot, a highly skilled pickpocket who falls in love with a beautiful female police inspector. The inspector (Deanie Yip) decides that she will overlook Rice Pot's prodigious list of legal offenses if he steals a pouch from a gangster's courier (Peter Chan). Rice Pot's partner, Chimney (Frankie Chan), carries out the assignment, only to discover that the pouch contains a veritable trove of stolen diamonds. Before long, Rice Pot and Chimney are running for their lives from the mobsters, who are willing to kill to get the diamonds back. Dick Wei and Jamie Luk are among the bad guys, and familiar supporting players include Wu Ma and Nat Chan. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

A Hong Kong fast food restaurant acts as the link between two unusual stories of police officers in love in this eccentric, stylish comedy-drama. Director Wong Kar-Wai plays freely with traditional narrative structure, dividing his film into two loosely connected segments. The first centers on a depressed cop struggling to come to terms with a recent break-up. His sad isolation is transformed when he encounters a beautiful, mysterious femme fatale, whose involvement with the criminal underworld proves troublesome for both. The second story explores the odd relationship between a female restaurant worker and another recently jilted police officer. The strange woman decides to regularly clean and redecorate the man's apartment in his absence, allowing the two to form a close intimacy without meeting face to face. Both stories present a beautifully atmospheric look at modern urban life and romance, with its combination of isolation and casual, unexpected meetings. Chungking Express came to the attention of American audiences thanks to the efforts of director Quentin Tarantino, whose own brand of fractured storytelling and urban cool owes a debt to Wong Kar-Wai. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Hong Kong filmmaker Ching Siu-tung directed this lavish epic adventure set simultaneously in the present and in 1930s China, with the entire cast playing dual roles. International action star Jet Li plays Chow Si-kit, a bookish novelist whose writing is adversely affected by his problematic relationship with his wife Monica (Rosamund Kwan). Chow is best known for a series of books under the "King of Adventurers" banner in which his courageous alter-ego, an adventurer patterned on Indiana Jones from Raiders of the Lost Ark, uses his impressive martial-arts skills and prodigious cunning to fight the Japanese. Chow's personal life is threatening his deadline, however, so his assistants Shing (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and Yvonne (Charlie Yeung) decide to help him out by setting up a story line, which is then played out for the viewer. Hero Chow (Li again) is asked to purloin a letter from the Japanese embassy by the Chinese government. Writer Chow is upset that the story's heroine, Cammy (Kwan again) reminds him of Monica, so he makes her a villain. Chow and Shing's 1930s alter-egos, meanwhile, are looking for a magical box (not unlike the Lost Ark of the Covenant in the film's model) which can be used to divine the future or -- if the necessary safeguards are not followed -- bring evil onto whoever opens it. The box is also being sought by the Japanese military and a group of criminals called the Salt Gang, whose leader (Ngai Sing) makes the mistake of opening it without taking steps to protect himself. Monica then takes over the writing and sends the characters to the magical scripture which can help them use the box's power to defeat their enemies. Another version of the film cuts all of the modern-day material and adds new 1930s footage to explain the abrupt shifts in story line caused by the intervention of the multiple authors. Law Kar-ying co-stars with Billy Chow. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Wong Kar-wai's Fallen Angels is a sequel of sorts to the director's 1994 U.S. breakthrough Chungking Express. Expanding on the latter's style, themes, and mood, Fallen Angels is set in the surreal milieu of urban, nighttime Hong Kong. As with the filmmaker's other features, plot takes a back seat to mood. The wisp of a narrative intercuts two story lines. The first follows a hitman (Leon Lai) who finds that the assassin's life has slowly lost its allure. Complicating his life is his beautiful contact (Michele Reis, a former Miss Hong Kong winner) who pines after him with fetishistic ardor, although the two have never met in their nearly three-year partnership. In another part of the city, He (Takeshi Kaneshiro), a mute, boyish ex-convict, makes a living by sneaking into and running businesses after hours. Still living with his father who runs the Chungking Mansions hotel, the restless Ho falls for Cherry (Charlie Yeung), a woman getting over her breakup with the offscreen Johnny. The movie follows these episodic romances almost half-heartedly as with Wong's other films, and digressionary moments attract much of the camera's distracted gaze. This visually stylish and unabashedly effusive work is considered by some critics to be the quintessential Wong film. ~ Elbert Ventura, All Movie Guide

Derek Yee Tung-sing remakes Jacob Cheung's Goodbye Hero with this tale about an aging stuntman and motorcycle racer. Joe's (Andy Lau Tak-wah) formerly stellar career is languishing with a suspended license. Worse, he hates his father and is bored by his timid, dull girlfriend, Yee (Gigi Leung Wing-kei). Some young hotshot named David Kwan (David Wu Tai-wai), who has joined his father's racing team, is threatening to top him on the racing circuit. With new license in hand, Joe gets into an ugly accident that lands him in the hospital for a very long time. There, Joe re-evaluates his life and realizes what is really important to him. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

This 1978 martial arts film by director John Woo was wrapped nearly 20 years before 1997's Face/Off would bring him mainstream acceptance in Hollywood. His star was rising already in this routine story enhanced by his characteristic signature: dazzling fight sequences, flawed heroes, and well-placed comedy that releases tension. The narrative itself is a tale of a son (Damian Lau) who sets out to avenge his father but cannot manage alone. He seeks the help of some swordsmen, one of whom tends to doze off during a fight. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Jackie Chan returns in one of his greatest roles in this action-comedy sequel to his 1978 Hong Kong blockbuster Drunken Master. Wong Fei Hong (Chan) is a young master of the martial art of "drunken boxing," in which fighters use alcohol to blind themselves to pain and release the angry brawler within; with the right amount of drinks under his belt, Hong can become a furious one-man army. Hong accompanies his father (Ti Lung) on a voyage to China, where they purchase a precious supply of ginseng. When Hong discovers thugs stealing from their luggage, he leaps into action to get their belongings back. Instead, he winds up with a box of valuable Chinese artifacts, which criminals are hoping to smuggle to England at a tremendous profit. Hong sets out to fight the gangsters and give the artifacts back to their rightful owners, but while his stepmother (Anita Mui) encourages him to use his drunken boxing skills, his father feels his boozy antics bring shame to the family. Jackie Chan brought some of his most elaborate stunt work to Drunken Master 2, including a remarkable fight on a bed of hot coals; Chan also directed part of the film, after Lau Kar Leung was fired after a number of disagreements with his star. Six years after it became a box office hit in Asia, Drunken Master 2 earned a theatrical release in the United States; the film was re-titled Legend Of The Drunken Master (in part because the original Drunken Master never had a proper theatrical release in America), re-edited, and dubbed into English, with a new score by Michael Wandmacher. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Following up on his success with his 1978 smash hit Drunken Master, Jackie Chan directs this old school kung-fu-comedy. Lung (Chan) is an orphan being raised in a grim martial arts school run by a strict dour master. During the Lion Dance competition, Lung's buddy, Keung (Wei Pai), jumps ship and helps a rival school win. Keung is immediately kicked out of the school and Lung is sent out to go find him. Meanwhile, Keung falls in with a pair of thugs who are looking to bust the master of the rival school out of prison. The cops headed by the earnest Sam Kung (Shih Kien) mistakes Lung for Keung and eventually captures him. Though Lung easily manages to slip out of the cuffs and evade Kung, his daughter proves to be much harder to lose and a formidable kung-fu to boot. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide