Raymond Chow Movies
The founder of Hong Kong's massively successful Golden Harvest Films and the man responsible for introducing the international community to the staggering skills of a young martial arts star named Bruce Lee, producer Raymond Chow's longstanding career has yielded some of the most memorable martial arts films in cinema history. Born in Hong Kong in 1929, at age 13 Chow began studying abroad at St. Johns University. Returning to his native home after graduating with a B.A. in Journalism, the future producer would next take a position with the English-language Hong Kong Standard before joining the city's Voice of America office in 1951. The expansion of Shaw Brothers studios caught the attention of a curious Chow in 1959, and it wasn't long before the young journalist found himself in the midst of a career change. Starting low on the totem pole for Shaw Brothers, Chow would quickly work his way becoming the flourishing studio's head of production for the following decade. Undaunted by the cutbacks in film production during the tumultuous 1960s and confident in his knowledge of the film industry, Chow decided to go against the grain and pick up the slack from the cutbacks by founding his own production company, parting ways with Shaw Brothers in 1970 to found Golden Harvest.Releasing eight films in their first year and establishing firm distribution ties early on, Golden Harvest would soon up the ante by increasing their production schedule, and with their takeover of the Hammer Hill production complex, they had all the resources in place to become a major player in the Hong Kong film industry. With the release of the 1971 kung-fu classic The Big Boss, Golden Harvest garnered international success by introducing the world to the amazing talents of Bruce Lee. Subsequently focusing on international distribution with the release of such films as The Amsterdam Kill and Sidney J. Furie's The Boys in Company C, Golden Harvest scored it's first wildfire international hit with the release of The Cannonball Run in 1981, a film that also gave American audiences one of their first looks at future martial arts superstar Jackie Chan. The film grossed over 160 million dollars at the international box office, garnering Chow the honor of "Showman of the Year" by the National Association of Theater Owners. Subsequently continuing to nurture the careers of such stars as Chan and Sammo Hung at home, a fruitful forthcoming partnership would ensure that the Hong Kong megastars would eventually find success in the West as well. With the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1990, Golden Harvest began a lucrative collaboration with America's New Line Cinema, a partnership which would later result in the stateside popularity of Chan beginning with the 1996 stateside release of Rumble in the Bronx. In his spare time, Chow is an avid golfer and devoted family man. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Jackie Chan tones down the martial arts action but turns up the international espionage in this globe-trotting adventure. Buck Yuen (Jackie Chan) is a sporting goods salesman from Hong Kong who daydreams of living the exciting and dangerous life of an international spy. One day, Buck makes the news after he accidentally stops a gang of bank robbers from getting away with the loot, and his brief moment of celebrity attracts the attention of Many Liu (Eric Tsang), a low-rent private detective who's looking for help with a missing person's case. One of Many's clients is looking for his long-lost son, and Many thinks Buck is just the guy to help track him down. Buck signs on, and is sent to Korea, where he meets a mysterious man named Mr. Park; Buck doesn't think he's the man Many wants, but he wonders if he might be his own father, who disappeared when he was a child. Buck makes the acquaintance of Carmen (Kim Min-jeong), an attractive journalist who tips off Buck that Mr. Park is actually an infamous North Korean espionage agent; Buck confronts Mr. Park, who has suddenly fallen ill, and Park on his deathbed tells Buck a riddle that, if properly decoded, could lead him to a great fortune. As Buck and Carmen try to unravel the mystery of Mr. Park's final words, their adventures lead them to Istanbul, where the fate of millions is suddenly put into Buck's hands when he discovers a deadly biological weapon coveted by Mr. Zen (Wu Hsing-kuo), a ruthless Chinese crime boss. One of Jackie Chan's most lavish Hong Kong-based vehicles, Takmo Mai Sing was a massive commercial success there, where it did impressive business opening on the Chinese New Year. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Chan, Eric Tsang, (more)
As the Hong Kong economy takes a hit and the killer-for-hire business falls into a slump, a camera man and a professional killer team up to offer the perfect package deal in director Pang Ho Cheung's dark urban comedy. Despite the Asian financial crisis, there are still people in the overcrowded metropolis of Hong Kong that need to die. Bart is a seasoned hit-man dejected by the lack of work, and Chuen is a talented assistant director in search of a fascinating subject. When the desperate pair discovers that both have a talent for "shooting," they decide to pool their resources and offer their clients visual proof that the murderous missions have been successfully executed. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Kot, Cheung Tat-Ming, (more)
A romance split -- appropriately enough -- into 12 sections, Aubrey Lam's 12 Ye examines the vicissitudes of the relationship between Jeannie (Cecilia Cheung), a flight attendant, and Alan (Eason Chan), a materialistic business man. The two meet on Jeannie's birthday after she has a fight with her boyfriend; Alan takes her home and what follows is a year spent exploring the ups and downs of love, "he-said-she-said" politics, and basic human needs. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cecilia Cheung, Eason Chan, (more)
- 2000
Hong Kong cinematographer-turned-director Jingle Ma spins this soul-stirring melodrama about love after death. Onion (Taiwanese crooner Richie Ren) is a mute and blind asylum resident who gets killed after a car accident. He is permitted to return to earth for five days on the condition that he does reveal his identity. Posing as an insurance investigator, Onion sets about seducing his former nurse Autumn (Cecilia Cheung) away from her thuggish boyfriend. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cecilia Cheung
In this fast-moving, light-hearted thriller from Hong Kong, Macy (Kelly Chen) is supposed to marry her Japanese boyfriend Takahashi (Toru Nakamura) during a trip to Las Vegas, but instead he leaves her at the altar. Told that Takhashi has returned to Tokyo, Macy and her friend Yung (Ekin Cheng) decide to fly to Japan and find him. Macy and Yung decide professional assistance may be in order, so they retain the services of Lam (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), a detective from China now living in Tokyo. Lam and his right-hand woman Saori (Cecilia Cheung) swing into action, learning that Takahashi's situation is a bit more complicated than anyone imagined. What's more, a dangerous gangster, Ito (Hiroshi Abe), has gotten involved in the case. Dungging Gungleuk was a major box-office hit in Hong Kong but went directly to video in the United States under the title Tokyo Raiders. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Ekin Cheng, (more)
A team of adventurers are out to save the world in this tongue-in-cheek action comedy from Hong Kong. Mac (Leon Lai), Michelle (Michelle Saram), Bird (Jordan Chan), and Sam (Sam Lee) are the Skyline Cruisers, a team of elite, super-intelligent, crime-fighting secret agents who are called in for only the most important assignments. When it's learned that arch-villain Kam (Patrick Lung) has stolen the latest innovation from one of the world's leading medical research labs -- a possible cure for cancer -- the Skyline Cruisers are sent into action, and they travel to Kuala Lumpur to track down Kam's compound and bring back the formula. However, the Cruisers are met by an unexpected ally -- June (Shu Qi), who says she's Kam's secretary and wants to help them recover the drug. San Tau Chi Saidoi was originally announced as a sequel to the 1997 Hong Kong hit Downtown Torpedoes, though the producers later denied any connection between the two films. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leon Lai, Jordan Chan, (more)
A romantic drama, Bolei chi sing/City Of Glass begins with a car crash, in which Raphael (Leon Lai) and Vivian (Shu Qui) are killed in London on New Year's Eve. The two were lovers, but both were married to other people. Raphael's son and Vivian's daughter, both adults, meet in Hong Kong to collect their parents' remains, and as the two get to know each other better, we learn more about Raphael and Vivian's relationship in flashbacks that trace the past 25 years. Director Mabel Cheung uses the relationships of these two couples as a metaphor for the changes Hong Kong went through over the past three decades. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
International action star Jackie Chan shifts gears in Bolei Cheun, in which martial arts are put on the back burner and romantic comedy is in the forefront. Bu (Shu Qi), the daughter of a pair of Taiwanese restaurant owners, one day finds a bottle floating near the docks with a message inside. The note reads, "Do you know I'm waiting for you?" and is signed "Albert," with an address in Hong Kong attached. Bu, convinced this is her destiny, flies to Hong Kong to meet the mysterious Albert, only to find he's a gay cosmetologist (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) who intended for the note to be found by his ex-boyfriend. But Albert is understanding and lets Bu stay at his apartment. Albert lets Bu tag along for a photo shoot he's working and she meets multi-millionaire C.N. Chan (Jackie Chan) when she helps him ward off a gang of toughs hired by L. W. Lo (Emil Chow), who became Chan's enemy in their schooldays and is still out to make his life miserable. Chan is single and a bit lonely, and quickly finds himself attracted to Bu. Bu discovers she likes Chan as well, but things become sticky when her boyfriend flies in from Taiwan to find out what she's done -- and Lo sends an American martial arts champion out to kidnap Chan's new love. While Bolei Cheun does feature a few sequences displaying Jackie Chan's unique fighting style and acrobatic dexterity, the emphasis is on the story and characters rather than the action, with Chan in a rare romantic lead, Leung cast against type and Shu Qi dominating most of the film's first act. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Chan, Shu Qi, (more)
In 1998, Andrew Lau's groundbreaking smash hit The Storm Riders came out of nowhere and resurrected the ailing Hong Kong film industry. Lau's follow-up, using much of the same cast and crew, is another martial arts epic set largely in New York's Chinatown. The film opens in the early 20th century with a young Hero Wah (Ekin Cheng) going to study under Master Pride (Anthony Wong). When he returns to his parents, he learns that they have been murdered by a band of evil Westerners. After impregnating his wife Jade (Kristy Yang), Hero Wah ventures to New York in search of his parents' killers. Sixteen years later, Hero's son Sword Wah (Nicholas Tse) along with family friend Sang (Jerry Lamb), arrive at Ellis Island in search of Hero's dad. Once the tearful reunion finally takes place, much of the rest of the story is related through flashbacks involving a fearsome fight with Japanese ninjas and the death of Jade at the hands of the ninja ring leader. The film climaxes a la Alfred Hitchcock or Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985) with a battle to the death against the ninja grand master at the Statue of Liberty. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ekin Cheng, Shu Qi, (more)
- 1998
Hong Kong helmer Stanley Kwan directed this study of sexual desire, featuring sexy Chingmy Yau (Naked Killer) in a dual role. Rosa Gao (Yau) loses her ticket at the airport, but a woman who resembles her boards the plane. Gay real-estate salesman Tong (Eric Tsang) puts the make on Fung-wai (Sunny Chan), distraught over the airplane-crash death of his wife Moon (Yau), the other woman seen at the airport. As the tale progresses, five characters of diverse persuasions are caught in sexual cross-currents. Shown at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival, this film is also known as Hold You Tight. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yau Chingmy, Sunny Chan, (more)
Cinematographer Andrew Lau directed this Hong Kong martial arts fantasy from a Manfred Wong screenplay. Wong based his script on a Chau Ting screenplay adapted from the long-running manga by Ma Wing-shing. Martial arts ruler Lord Conqueror (Sonny Chiba) adopts two youngsters as disciples, and a decade later, the two -- Wind (Ekin Cheng) and Cloud (Aaron Kwok) -- are rivals for the affections of the Lord Conqueror's daughter Charity (Kristy Yang). When they duel, Charity is accidentally killed, and Cloud loses an arm. Muse (Shu Qi) takes care of Cloud, and her father gives Cloud his own arm for future fights. Wind seeks some magical stones, needed to help him in his duel with the Sword Saint (Anthony Wong). Filming began May 1997 in China's Sichuan province with CGI effects added by Hong Kong's post-production house Centro, co-producers of the film. This manga has been serialized since 1989, but only the first third has been adapted here. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aaron Kwok, Ekin Cheng, (more)
A spin-off from Hong Kong's popular "Young and Dangerous" action series, this fast-paced tale of a lesbian's rise to the top of the Triad hierarchy features top-notch acting and plenty of martial arts excitement. Most of the characters from the series return, and many events taking place in this story occur simultaneously to those in the others; as a result those familiar with the "Young and Dangerous" series will delight at the many inside references to it. Told in flashback, this narrative centers on leather-jacket-wearing, pompadoured Sister Thirteen (Sandra Ng). Those around her believe that she was always a lesbian, but her past story reveals otherwise. As the teenaged daughter of a low-level mobster, she had a crush on Coke (Alex Fong) a handsome but taciturn boxer. When he did not return her affection, Sister Thirteen turned to women for love. She entered Hong Kong's organized crime network via a scruffy band of low-level gangsters in the Mongkok district. There she earned her nickname and was mentored by Scarface (Shu Qi), a female drug-addict with a horrifying history of abuse. Under Scarface's tutelage, Sister Thirteen toughens up, learns to fight, and becomes the leader of the gang. From there, she and her cohorts fight their way to the highest echelons of the Triad. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandra Ng, Kristy Yeung, (more)
- 1998
Patrick Leung (Beyond Hypothermia, Somebody Up There Likes Me) directed this Hong Kong action-crime comedy-drama, centered on plainclothes crimebuster Rod Lin (Leo Ku), who narrates. Lin is the son of a cop who died after he was shot by a thug (John Lone). Crime has overtaken the Mongkok district, where Lin falls for prostitute Fanny Chan (Charlie Young), who loves Killer (Allen Moo). Other characters include Shirley (Karen Mok), abused by her boyfriend, and divorced womanizer LuLu Tong (Eric Tsang). John Woo appears in a cameo as a policeman. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Ku, Charlie Yeung, (more)
- 1997
After wowing audiences both in Hong Kong and abroad with her jaw-dropping stunts during Supercop, Michelle Yeoh stars in this melodrama -- directed by Ann Hui -- about a stuntwoman struggling to survive in Hong Kong's notoriously cutthroat film industry. Kam (Yeoh) is a fearless stunt double trying to gain the respect of a ornery, battle-worn action director known only as "the Chief" (Sammo Hung). Though a father-daughter relationship of sorts eventually forms between the two, their relationship to the craft of stunts is complicated. Kam gets pulled away from her profession first through a bad relationship and then through looking after the Chief's kid Long (Jimmy Wong). The Chief, in turn, gets killed during a scuffle with the Hong Kong triads. This film, however, is perhaps best remembered because of a serious injury Michelle Yeoh incurred when she misjudged an 18-foot jump from a bridge to a truck. In venerable Hong Kong cinema fashion, the outtakes of Yeoh's brush with death are included as the film's end. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Destiny brings two people together, but they aren't sure if they're meant to be friends or lovers in this romantic comedy-drama. In 1986, Xiaojun (Leon Lai) arrives in Hong Kong from mainland China, full of dreams about life in the big city and determined to make enough money to send for his fiancée and marry her. Xiaojun knows no one in Hong Kong except his aunt, but with her help, he finds a room in a cheap hotel and picks up a job peddling a delivery bicycle for a butcher. On his day off, Xiaojun decides to get lunch at a McDonalds, which he's heard about but never seen. Xiaojun is waited on by Chiao (Maggie Cheung), a pretty girl who has also moved to Hong Kong from the mainland to seek her fortune. Chiao is taken with Xiaojun, but thinks he's too much the country bumpkin, especially since he can't speak Cantonese or English. Chiao arranges for Xiaojun to get lessons in English and teaches him about life in Hong Kong and how to get rich quick; she also ropes him into helping with her latest business scheme, using his delivery bike to sell flowers. Xiaojun and Chiao become best friends -- indeed, each is the only real friend the other has in Hong Kong -- and one night, on New Year's Eve, the two find themselves alone together and end up making love. The next morning, both Xiaojun and Chiao are certain they've made a mistake; Xiaojun goes on to marry his sweetheart from home, while Chiao opens a flower shop and becomes involved with a kind man who has ties to organized crime. As the years pass, however, Xiaojun becomes convinced that his mistake wasn't sleeping with Chiao, but letting her go, and eventually he decides he must find her and win her heart. Comrades: Almost a Love Story was a runaway success in Hong Kong, where the film won nine trophies at the 1997 Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actress. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Though perhaps best appreciated by those familiar with Banana Yoshimoto's 1988 cult novel, this film version offers a quirky love story that will still please the uninitiated. The story is presented from the viewpoint of Louie, a young hairstylist who attends the funeral of the grandmother of his friend Aggie. The old woman had been one of Louie's customers. Aggie wants to be a chef, but following the loss of her grandmother, the only family she had left, the girl falls into a deep funk, finding comfort only in the aromas found in her refrigerator. Louie lives at home with his mother Emma, a nightclub owner. Hoping to lift Aggie's spirits, he invites her to spend the night. There she learns that Louie's mother was once his father. It seems that following the death of Louie's real mother, his father was so bereaved that he underwent a sex change operation following his wife's death in order to keep her memory alive. This intrigues Aggie and she and Emma become close friends. She then moves in with Louie and Emma. Louie and Aggie soon become best friends, something that angers Louie's girlfriend Jenny. Still the threesome are happy in their new friendship until one of Emma's beaus learns of her past and reacts violently. Thrown into an emotional tailspin, Louie runs off to the Sichuan province on the Mainland, leaving only Aggie to save him from ruination. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Roy Chueng Yiu Yeung was so memorable as a sociopathic supervillian in the previous installment of Young and Dangerous that he returns in this outing as a different character. With the don of the Hung Hing group, Chiang Tin-sung, dead, his underlings journey to Thailand to persuade his brother, Tin-yeung (Alex Man Chi-leung), to helm the crime syndicate. Meanwhile, an ambition young gangster, Lui Yiu-yeung (Chueng), from the rival Tung Sing group tries to make a play for the big time by killing his boss and dumping the body in Ho-nam's (Dior Cheng Yee-kin) turf. At the same time, a rift in Ho-nam's long-time friendship with Chicken (Jordan Chan Siu-chun) when the former fails to support the latter's bid for a higher level position. This feud eventually spills over into a showdown with Lui, after that gangster's henchmen kills one of Ho-nam and Chicken's friends. The critically panned Young and Dangerous 5 and Young and Dangerous: the Prequel follow up on this installment. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cheng Yee-kin, Jordan Chan, (more)
"Once upon a time in distant China, there were three sisters. One loved money, one loved power, and one loved her country." So opens this historical, melodramatic chronicle of the influential lives of three daughters from one of pre-Communist China's wealthiest families. Two of the Soong sisters married important figures in 20th-century Chinese history. Soong Ching-ling married Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Chinese Republic while her sister May-ling married Sun's successor, the famed Chian Kai-shek. The oldest daughter Ai-ling married industrialist H.H. Kung, a wealthy and powerful man who eventually became Hong Kong's finance minister. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1997
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A prequel to the two previous entries in the God of Gamblers saga, this drama follows the apprenticeship of the unbeatable cardsharp Ko Chun. The story begins as his stepfather Kent, one of the world's greatest gamblers, enters him in a competition and then betrays him by arranging things so his godson beats Ko. The young card player vows revenge, and, with the help of a powerful triad's daughter and an undercover policeman, he heads out to get it. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Unusual for its straightforward handling of gay themes and homophobia, this commercially-oriented Hong Kong comedy-drama chronicles the upcoming wedding of marriage counselor Law Kar-Sing. But Law is gay and the thought of marrying Chuen, to whom he has been informally betrothed for many years, strikes him as pointless. This does not stop his parents from continuing to pressure him. Chuen too is becoming more aggressive with her demands. But marriage is only a part of Law's problems. Other pressures come from his career, his secret lover Sonny, and an aunt with a few secrets of her own. There is also Law's friend professor Kim who is dying of AIDS. Kim's family does not want his long-time lover to attend the funeral for fear of public scandal. This prompts Sonny to take a radical stance and only makes matters worse. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Jacob Cheung directed this $1.5 million Hong Kong lesbian drama. Shot in China, the film was first shown in Hong Kong in a two-hour version, but a longer version, the director's cut, runs 158 minutes. In 1990s San Francisco, designer Wai (Theresa Lee) has friction with her boyfriend Wah (Winston Chau). Wai moves her father's former servant, aged Auntie Foon (Gua Ah-leh), into her apartment, later taking her to China to reside at a Guangzhou (Canton) retirement home. During the trip, the older woman experiences flashbacks to the '30s and '40s, a time of bittersweet memories when Japanese bombs separated her from her lover. These flashbacks follow the young Foon (Charlie Young), who ignores her parents' wishes and joins the Comb Women sisterhood, the women of southern China's Pearl River delta who "combed their own hair" (meaning they chose chastity over marriage). Foon is working at a spinning factory when she's seen by Wan (Carina Liu), wife number eight of silk-merchant Siu Tung (Tung Wei). Wan hires Foon as a maid and becomes jealous when Foon is attracted to fisherman Hung Ngau (Chin Karlok). Foon is stunned when Wan confesses her love for Foon, but the women finally become a couple after Hung Ngau rejects Foon. Amidst Japanese bombing raids, as Siu Tung tries to get Wan to safety, tragedy erupts, as the story continues to dissolve back and forth between past and present. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carina Liu, Charlie Yeung, (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
Following up on his wildly popular gender bending comedy He's a Woman, She's a Man, Peter Chan Ho-sun picks up immediately where the original left off. Chi-wing (Anita Yuen Wing-yee) -- a young lass who dressed like a man to grab the attention of songwriter Sam (Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing) -- has attained fame as a male pop singer and the undying love of Sam, who had a little trouble with his attraction to Chi-wing until he learned she was she. Their life seems perfect until Chi-wing wins a major award for best new male singer. While at the podium, she gushes "Sam, I love you" which fuels all sorts of rumors that Sam and Chi-wing are gay lovers. Meanwhile, androgynous pop star Yim-mui (played by androgynous pop star Anita Mui Yim-fong) returns to Canto-pop scene after a ten year absence and inserts herself into the lives of both Sam and Chi-wing. Soon, Chi-wing finds herself attracted to the charismatic star. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- 1996
- NR
The godfather of the Hong Kong action spectacular, Tsui Hark adapts Chang Cheh's 1967 martial arts masterpiece The One-Armed Swordsman into a two-fisted yarn about violence and revenge. On (Zhao Wenzhou) is a nebbish orphan working at sword manufacturers. When he learns of first the vicious murder of a local holy man and later of the equally vicious slaying of his own father at the hands of barbarous band of bandits, he vows revenge. His early attempts at justice go horribly -- he loses his right arm in an ambush. Though On recovers after being nursed back to health by a recluse, he remains an outcast in the world of warriors. After dogged training, he invents a new fighting technique that proves to be quick and powerful enough to thwart the baddies -- especially the psychopathic bandit leader Lung (Xiong Xinxin). This film -- along with Wong Kar-wai's brilliant Ashes of Time -- is considered to be the high-water mark of the swordplay genre that gained popularity in the mid-'90s. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- 1996
The title phrase refers to the crossing of lines. In Cantonese opera, an actor who literally becomes his or her character, leaving all sense of the original self behind is said to have crossed the imaginary hu-du-men. This comedy drama centers on Lang Kim-sum (portrayed by one of Hong Kong's finest actresses, Josephine Siao Fong-fong), a much-loved opera star and owner of a distinguished theatrical troupe who finds herself faced with many lines to cross as she prepares to retire and move to Australia with her husband. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
