Derek Yee Movies
- 2009
A simple Chinese immigrant wages a perilous war against one of the most powerful criminal organizations on the planet in this sprawling action drama directed by Derek Yee (One Night in Mongkok) and starring Jackie Chan, Daniel Wu, and Masaya Kato. In Japan, foreign migrants are shunned by mainstream society. Taunted by the yakuza, they live in constant fear of being discovered and repatriated. Into this perilous world ventures Steelhead (Chan), a humble tractor repairman who has traveled to Tokyo in search of his missing girlfriend, Xiu Xiu (Xu Jinglei), who vanished into thin air shortly after arriving in the city. It doesn't take Steelhead long to learn just what kind of hardships Chinese immigrants in Japan endure at the hands of underworld gangsters and foreign crime syndicates, and upon discovering that Xiu Xiu has adapted a Japanese identity and married up-and-coming yakuza chief Eguichi (Masaya Kato), the two men form an uneasy alliance. Over time, Steelhead earns the respect of his fellow Chinese immigrants by establishing a place for them to gather. But the dark side still beckons to Steelhead, because after helping Eguichi dispense with a powerful rival, he is granted full control of Shinjuku's most popular nightspots. Resistant to the allure of the criminal lifestyle, Steelhead discovers a new love and opens a tractor repair business just outside the city. When Equichi begins using Steelhead's former compatriots as pawns to front the yakuza's drug trade, the vengeful immigrant returns to the city determined to exact justice, even if it means destroying the future of the woman he once loved. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Chan, Naoto Takenaka, (more)
One Night in Mongkok director Derek Yee takes a trip into the underworld with this crime drama starring Andy Lau, Lewis Koo, Daniel Wu, and Anita Yuen. An undercover cop infiltrates a major heroin ring, skillfully ascending the ranks from low-level dealer to middle management. After falling for a beautiful addict, the policeman is hand picked by the ailing crime boss to take over the entire syndicate once he's gone. His priorities blurred by an infernal combination of money, power, and seven years undercover, the cop chosen to clean up the streets finds his true identity gradually slipping away as a malevolent new persona begins to take hold. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
A cheeky beer promotion girl (Miriam Yeung) falls for a hard-drinking, hard-luck French-Chinese fusion cuisine chef (Daniel Wu) in a dazzling romantic comedy from One Night in Mongkok director Derek Yee. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Wu, Miriam Yeung, (more)
Jackie Chan's son,Jaycee Chan, makes his second big screen appearance, this one opposite neophyte Asian starlet Fiona Sit, in the cross-class romance 2 Young (Cho Suk), authored by Derek Yee. The film -- Yee's sophomore effort -- is a light melodrama charting the emotional textures and ramifications of a love affair between 18-year-old underachiever Fu (Chan) and 16-year-old Nam (Sit). Fu belongs to a lower economic bracket than his paramour, but nothing could matter less to the two lovers, and when her parents head out of town on a Christmas holiday, she becomes expectant. When mom and dad go through the roof, Fu and Nam pull a Paul and Michelle by eloping and setting up house together. Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, and Teresa Mo co-star. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jaycee Fong, Fiona Sit, (more)
The beauty and tragedies of China's history are reflected in the lives of a handful of film fans in this historical drama. Mao Dabing (Xia Yu) is a delivery man working in a small village in rural China during the latter days of the Cultural Revolution. Mao is a movie fan who lives for the periodic outdoor screenings held in the town square, but he meets a bigger buff one day when, after he has an accident on his bicycle, he's assaulted by Ling-Ling (Qi Zhongyang), a cute but overly excitable young woman. After she's arrested, Ling-Ling gives the keys to her apartment to Mao and asks him to look after her fish while she's in jail; though puzzled, he agrees, and discovers her flat is a veritable museum of movie memorabilia. Ling-Ling's favorite star is Zhou Xuan, a singer and actress who was a major screen idol in the 1930s and inspired Ling-Ling to take a stab at acting, and when Mao's curiosity gets the better of him he starts reading Ling-Ling's diary, discovering she grew up believing her father was a major male star of the era. However, the truth is far less glamorous -- Ling-Ling's mother, Jiang Xuehua (Jiang Yihong), was an attractive and talented woman who bore a striking resemblance to Zhou Xuan and had a budding career in radio until she became pregnant and her lover left her rather than marry her. Declared a counter-revolutionary, Jiang's career in radio comes to an end, and she moves to a small rural town where she strikes up a relationship with Pan (Li Haibin), who runs the projector at the local movie house. Jiang and Pan are happy together and eventually marry, but when they have a son, Ling-Ling finds she's no longer the center of attention in the household, and her life begins taking an unexpected turn. Electric Shadows (aka Meng Ying Tong Nian) was the first feature film from director Xiao Jiang. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jiang Yihong, Xia Yu, (more)
A deadly car accident threatens to cause a violent gang war on the crowded streets on Hong Kong's Mongkok district in writer/director Derek Yee's thriller One Night in Mongkok. Officer Milo (Alex Fong)'s task force is assigned to the case when a gangster's son is accidentally killed during a drunken dispute with a rival gang. He soon learns that a hitman has been hired to take out the rival gang leader. While Milo and his crew desperately try to find and stop the hired gun, fearing all-out war in the streets, Lai Fu (Daniel Wu), a smart but inexperienced killer from a small town in the mainland, arrives in Hong Kong to do his job. A decent sort, he intercedes when he sees a thug threatening a prostitute at his hotel. She turns out to be Dan Dan (Cecilia Cheung from Running on Karma), from a small town not far from his own. Dan Dan is a very practical young woman, and when she sees the wad of cash Lai Fu is carrying (half of his payment for the job), she pretty much latches onto him. Since she knows her way around town, this turns out to be a help to Lai Fu when he finds out that the contractor who hired him has ratted him out to the cops. As it turns out, Lai Fu isn't really that interested in killing for money, and has an ulterior, more benign motive for his trip into town. But the cops and assorted bad guys are closing in anyway. One Night in Mongkok, winner of the 2004 Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director and Best Screenplay, had its New York premiere at the 2005 New York Asian Film Festival, presented by Subway Cinema. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Wu, Cecilia Cheung, (more)
Derek Yee's romantic drama Lost in Time stars Cecilia Cheung as a young widow who, in order to provide for herself and her young son, begins working her late husband's job as a bus driver. Lau Ching-Wan plays a co-worker who falls in love with her, but worries that his feelings are not as selfless as he might hope. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cecilia Cheung, Lau Ching-Wan, (more)
A subtle study in the deterioration of relationships and the strains of a broken marriage, director Ann Hui's character driven drama draws on Chinese poetry to tell a tale of infidelity and pensive yearning. Tempted by the advances of an amorous student, Chinese Literature professor Lam (Jackie Cheung) considers an extramarital affair while still reeling in the pain of wife Man Ching's (Anita Mui) previous infidelity. As depression and boredom push the couple further apart, Professor Lam's moral devotion to his wife places him at odds with the pain he harbors from their tumultuous past. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacky Cheung, Anita Mui, (more)
Visions of the dead haunt a young woman and the psychologist who falls for her in this romantic supernatural thriller from director Lo Chi-Leung. Though psychologist Jim believes that Yan's otherworldly visions have been brought upon by traumatic events in her past, he attempts to cure her and is soon deep in love with his troubled patient. As Jim's love grows ever stronger, Yan's visions fade, and it isn't long before the visions transfer into the horrified eyes of the caring doctor. Now haunted by the very same specters that plagued Yan, his memories of a girlfriend's suicide 20 years prior begin to surface. If the power of love was enough to drive away Yan's ghosts, will her love be enough to help Jim confront his dark past and vanquish the restless spirits? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Cheung, Karena Lam, (more)
Leslie Cheung stars as a psycho killer in this Hong Kong bullet fest. Nick (Cheung), a former shooting range champion who has been forced to drop his career due to injury, is persuaded to compete again by his girlfriend Colleen (Ruby Wong). Nick's comeback competition is interrupted by a suicidal lunatic, whom Nick duly dispatches with a bullet to the skull. Three years later, a trial witness and four policemen are found murdered, which leads several observers to the conclusion that Nick has become a psychotic killer. With his girlfriend in custody, our anti-hero goes into hiding, vowing to kill a cop a day until his beloved is released. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Cheung, Alex Fong Chung-sun, (more)
- 1997
Following up on his acclaimed work Full Throttle, Derek Yee Tung-sing made the unusual move of not only collaborating with movie industry unknown Law Chi-leung, but also to make category III sex comedy. After a string of commercial flops, art house director Sing (Leslie Cheung) resorts to making a softcore film called Viva Erotica in order to pay the bills. His gangster producer, Chung (Law Kar-ying), insists that Sing cast his beautiful, though talentless, girlfriend Mango (Shu Qi) in the lead role. As Sing wrestles with his desire to make this film something more than a cheap porn flick, he also wrestles with his desire for Miss Mango. Meanwhile, Sing's girlfriend, May (Karen Mok), is having a fit over her boyfriend's new project and his sudden lack of passion at home. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Lee Kwok-lap directs this melodrama about handsome young architect Kam Ming-sang (Derek Yee Tung-sing) who gets accidentally shot in the head by his cop friend Lam Long (Tou Chung-wah). Kam barely survives, but soon lapses into a deep coma. Though most of his friends and family believe that he will never regain consciousness, his headstrong and very pregnant wife Lau Heung-ching (Carman Lee Yeuk-tung) refuses to believe that her love might be gone. Soon, the stress of child-rearing, poverty, and grief begin to take their toll on Heung-ching. Meanwhile, Lam Long remains stricken with grief over the incident. He quits the force and tries to help his friend's wife, though she outright refuses his charity. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Derek Yee, Tou Chung Hua, (more)
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
- 1994
Hong Kong filmmaker Derek Yee's highly lauded and sentimental tearjerker swept the 1993 Hong Kong Film Awards and was warmly embraced by audiences due to its well-developed characters and exceptional performances. Anita Yuen stands out as Min, an ebullient young woman who came from a street-singing family and now lives in a broken-down apartment house. Her upstairs neighbor is Kit (Lau Ching-wan), an aspiring songwriter who has just broken up with his fiancée, a successful singer (Carina Lau). Kit knows that his perky downstairs neighbor has the charisma and talent necessary to become a star herself; he is re-energized by the prospect of shepherding her career and begins falling in love with her. Unfortunately, Min's childhood bone cancer -- which had been in complete remission for a decade -- returns and she soon finds her declining health sapping most of her excitement for both life and her career. Kit devotes himself entirely to getting Min back on her feet, setting the stage for the obligatory weepy denouement. Despite its "Disease of the Week" story line, Yee (who also wrote the screenplay) never allows his film to become trite or maudlin, and his strong cast (notably Yuen and Lau, Hong Kong's Best Actress and Actor winners of 1993 for their performances) never overplay the material. Paul Chun and Petrina Fung took home awards in the supporting categories, ably backed up by Carrie Ng, Sylvia Chang, and Jamie Luk. Herman Yau appears in a cameo. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andy Lau, Carina Liu, (more)
Brandy Yeun directs this unusual look at Bodhidharma, the man credited for bringing Zen philosophy China and for creating kung fu. The film opens with young prince Puti Tara (Derek Yee Tung-sing), who following the death of his father, decides to become a monk and follow teachings of Prajna Tara. Years later, Puti Tara changes his name to Dharma and ventures over the Himalayas to China where he discovers to his dismay that central tenets of Buddhism is rapidly being forgotten. Over the next years and decades, Bodhidharma works to spread the Buddha's philosophy, and demonstrating his strength by mediating for nine years without food nor water. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Derek Yee, Chen Sung-Yung, (more)
- 1994
The rise of a Chinese painter Pan Yuliang (1899-1977) as she went from prostitute to famed artist in Paris is the focus of this Chinese biography. The film opens with then 12-year old Pan working in a brothel in a small rural town. She is soon hired to become a prostitute after the head hooker retires and is killed. She meets her eventual husband, Zanhua, on her very first night. He already had a wife, but he married Pan anyway, and they moved to the city where Pan studied painting at the Shanghai Arts Institute. The institute is closed after a series of demonstrations of people resenting foreign influences on Chinese art, and from those against the use of nude models. Pan still does nude portraits, but uses her body as the model. She becomes famous after her self-portrait "Bathing Woman" wins a French prize. Since her husband earlier went back to his former wife, Pan is free to move to Paris where her work continued to garner critical acclaim. In China her work was never recognized because they classified it as "depraved." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1990
The extremely eccentric Manchurian princess who is briefly seen in The Last Emperor in the scenes set in Manchukuo, receives a more comprehensive screen treatment here. Born a scion of the rapidly fading Ching (Manchu) dynasty of China, Yoshiko Kawashima (Anita Mui) was taken away by the Japanese to be raised in their country's court circles when she was only six. For political reasons, she was married off to a Mongolian prince by the Japanese. Shortly after that, she embarked on a startling career of war and romance, beginning with having an affair with a Japanese officer, and including many affairs with women. Her assertiveness won her an officer's position in one of the armies of the period. After the war, this woman (who never considered herself Chinese) was shot by the Chinese as a traitor to "her" country. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Derek Yee Tung-sing directs this critically praised crime thriller about two amateur thugs -- Sai (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) and Boney (Ronald Wong Pan) -- who bungle a bank heist, resulting in a hostage situation. Unbeknownst to them, one of their hostages is the notorious criminal Sunny Koo (Ti Lung) who quickly wrests control of the standoff from Sai and starts making his own demands to the police. Though at first he treats his captives with a measure of kindness -- even reviving an old man who has a heart attack -- he soon grows violent when the police refuse to spring his girlfriend from jail. Worse, when the cops do cave into his demand, his girlfriend refuses to join Koo. Tony Leung Kar-fai and Bowie Lam Bo-yee also appear. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ti Lung, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, (more)
Michelle Yeoh (billed as Michelle Khan) stars as Ming Ming, a bullwhip-wielding pilot and adventurer inspired heavily by Indiana Jones. Ming Ming gets involved in a rebel plot against the Japanese occupation of China during the 1930s. Her efforts are confounded then later aided by a con man whom she mistakes for a spy she is supposed to contact (Richard Ng). This film showcases Yeoh's visually impressive martial arts abilities and also features the international intrigue of Raiders of the Lost Ark and its sequels. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Ng, Michelle Khan, (more)
- 1986
An exceptional and at times disturbing drama, Lunatics is among the top-grossing films of all time in Hong Kong. The somewhat fact-based tale centers on a social worker's attempts to help the mentally ill people who furtively live and work on the teeming city streets. As the story opens, Fung the social worker is calming a confused patient who has been threatening patrons of the local marketplace with a meat cleaver. Later, an investigative reporter assigned to write a critical report of an apparently failing health system, Yip, catches up to the busy Fung and begins following him on his rounds. It is an eventful day and Yip sees that Fung does much good for the outcast and the dispossessed. For Fung it is just another day until he must face down a desperate husband who is making a final, bloody stand in a kindergarten to keep from losing custody of his young son. After he kills a teacher, Fung has no recourse but to kill him. Towards the end of the day, the meat-cleaver man is back at the marketplace. Again, Fung comes to the rescue, but unfortunately, a photographer's flash frightens the deranged fellow and he murders Fung. The story ends on a brighter note when Yip decides to become a social worker just like Fung. Many of Hong Kong's most popular actors make cameo appearances throughout the story. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Deanie Yip, Chow Yun-Fat, (more)
Their longtime friends suddenly taken from them in a senseless act of violence, a man and a woman set out in search of bittersweet revenge. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
When a notorious fiend known as the "Bat Without Wings" returns to his small village after a five-year absence and snatches up a prominent young maiden, it's up to her family and a resourceful swordsmen to brave the horrors of the underworld to bring her back home alive. With ghosts, a bamboo labyrinth, and a series of treacherous bat traps to contend with, these brave souls will be lucky just to make it out of the diabolical villain's lair alive. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
