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Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong Film Industry 's global fame. It combines elements from the Action Movie , as codified by Hollywood , with Chinese storytelling and aesthetic traditions, to create a culturally distinctive form that nevertheless has a wide transcultural appeal. In recent years, the flow has reversed somewhat, with American and European action films being heavily influenced by Hong Kong Genre conventions. The first Hong Kong action films favoured the '' Wuxia '' style, emphasizing mysticism and swordplay, but this trend was politically suppressed in the 1930s and replaced by styles in which films depicted more down-to-earth unarmed Kung Fu , often featuring folk hero Wong Fei Hung . Post-war cultural upheavals led to a second wave of wuxia films with highly acrobatic violence, followed by the emergence of the grittier kung fu films for which the Shaw Brothers studio became best known. The 1970s saw the rise and sudden death of international superstar Bruce Lee . He was succeeded in the 1980s by Jackie Chan —who popularised the use of comedy, dangerous Stunt s, and modern urban settings in action films—and Jet Li , whose authentic '' Wushu '' skills appealed to both eastern and western audiences. The innovative work of directors and producers like Tsui Hark and John Woo introduced further variety (for example, gunplay, Triads and the supernatural). An exodus by many leading figures to Hollywood in the 1990s coincided with a downturn in the industry. EARLY MARTIAL ARTS FILMS '' (1930) co-starring Chen Zhi-gong .]]The signature contribution to action cinema from the Chinese -speaking world is the Martial Arts Film , the most famous of which were developed in Hong Kong. The genre emerged first in Chinese Popular Literature . The early 20th century saw an explosion of what were called '' Wuxia '' novels (often translated as "martial chivalry"), generally published in serialized form in newspapers. These were tales of heroic, sword-wielding warriors, often featuring mystical or Fantasy elements. This genre was quickly seized on by early Chinese Film s, particularly in the movie capital of the time, Shanghai . Starting in the 1920s, ''wuxia'' titles, often adapted from novels (for example, 1928's '' The Burning Of The Red Lotus Monastery '' and its eighteen sequels) were hugely popular and the genre dominated Chinese film for several years.(Chute & Lim, 2003, 14–15) The boom came to an end in the 1930s, caused by official opposition from cultural and political elites, especially the Kuomintang government, who saw it as promoting superstition and violent anarchy.(Chute & Lim, 2003, 2) ''Wuxia'' filmmaking was picked up in Hong Kong, at the time a British colony with a highly liberal economy and culture and a developing film industry. The first martial arts film in Cantonese , the dominant Chinese Spoken Language of Hong Kong, was '' The Adorned Pavilion '' (1938). POSTWAR MARTIAL ARTS CINEMA '' film '' Buddha's Palm '' (1964). The magic '' Qi '' rays are created using crude hand-drawn animation.]] By the late 1940s, upheavals in Mainland China —the Second Sino-Japanese War , the Chinese Civil War , and the victory of the Communist Party Of China —had shifted the centre of Chinese Language filmmaking to Hong Kong. The industry continued the wuxia tradition in Cantonese B Movie s and serials, although the more prestigious Mandarin -language cinema generally ignored the genre. Animation and special effects drawn directly on the film by hand were used to simulate the flying abilities and other Preternatural powers of characters; later titles in the cycle included '' The Six-Fingered Lord Of The Lute '' (1965) and '' Sacred Fire, Heroic Wind '' (1966).(Chute & Lim, 2003, 2) A countertradition to the wuxia films emerged in the with its stylized martial arts and Acrobatics ; and the concept of martial arts heroes as exponents of Confucian ethics. "NEW SCHOOL" WUXIA In the second half of the 1960s, the era's biggest studio, Shaw Brothers , inaugurated a new generation of wuxia films, starting with Xu Zenghong 's '' Temple Of The Red Lotus '' (1965), a remake of the 1928 classic. These Mandarin productions were more lavish and in colour; their style was less fantastical and more intense, with stronger and more acrobatic violence. They were influenced by imported Samurai Movies from Japan and by the wave of "New School" Wuxia novels by authors like Jin Yong and Liang Yusheng that started in the 1950s.(Chute and Lim, 2003, 8 & 15) The trend may also have been encouraged by a need to win back local audiences from the newly popularised medium of Television . The New School ''wuxia'' wave marked the move of male-oriented action films to the centre of Hong Kong cinema, which had long been dominated by female stars and genres aimed at female audiences, such as Romances and Musicals . Even so, during the 1960s female action stars like Cheng Pei Pei and Connie Chan Po-chu were prominent alongside male stars, such as former swimming champion Jimmy Wang Yu , and they continued an old tradition of female warriors in ''wuxia'' storytelling. The signature directors of the period were Chang Cheh with '' One-Armed Swordsman '' (1967) and '' Golden Swallow '' (1968) and King Hu with '' Come Drink With Me '' (1966). Hu soon left Shaw Brothers to pursue his own vision of ''wuxia'' with independent productions in Taiwan , such as the enormously successful '' Dragon Inn '' (1967, aka ''Dragon Gate Inn''). Chang stayed on and remained the Shaws' prolific star director into the early 1980s. THE 1970S KUNG FU WAVE The early 1970s saw ''wuxia'' giving way to a new, grittier and more graphic (and Mandarin -speaking) iteration of the kung fu movie, which came to dominate through the decade and into the early 1980s. Seriously trained Martial Artists such as Ti Lung and Gordon Liu became some of the top stars as increasing proportions of running times were devoted to combat setpieces. '' Chinese Boxer '' (1970), starring and directed by Jimmy Wang Yu, is widely credited with launching the kung fu boom. But remaining at the vanguard, at least initially, were Shaw Brothers and director Chang Cheh. Chang's '' Vengeance '' (1970) was another of the first trendsetters and his dozens of contributions included '' The Boxer From Shantung '' (1972), '' Five Deadly Venoms '' (1978) and '' Crippled Avengers '' (1979). Kung fu cinema was particularly influenced by Chang's concern with his vision of masculine values and male friendship;(Teo, 2003) the female warrior figures who had been prominent in late 1960s wuxia work were sidelined, with prominent exceptions such as the popular Angela Mao . Chang's only competitor as the genre’s most influential filmmaker was his long-time Action Choreographer , Lau Kar Leung (aka Liu Chia Liang in Mandarin). Lau began directing his own movies for the Shaw brothers in 1975 with '' The Spiritual Boxer '', a progenitor of the kung fu comedy. In subsequent titles like '' Executioners From Shaolin '' (1977), '' The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin '' (1978), and '' Legendary Weapons Of China '' (1982), Lau emphasized the traditions and philosophy of the martial arts and strove to give onscreen fighting greater authenticity and ever greater speed and intricacy.(Logan, 1995) The kung fu boom was partly fueled by enormous international popularity, and not just in East Asia. In the West, kung fu imports, 2006 ) Bruce Lee '' (1972) film poster. It was the first Hong Kong film to be shot on location in a Western continent.]] No single figure was more responsible for this international profile than 2006 ) His first three movies broke local box office records and were successful in much of the world. The English-language ''Enter the Dragon'', the first-ever US-Hong Kong co-production, grossed about US$90 million worldwide, making it the most internationally successful film from that region up to then. Furthermore, his decision at the outset to work for young, upstart studio Golden Harvest , rather than accept the Shaws' notoriously tightfisted standard contract, was a factor in Golden Harvest's meteoric rise and Shaw's eventual decline.(Logan, 1995)(Teo, 1997) Following Lee's untimely death, a cottage industry of Faux Lee Movies emerged, featuring either performers who adopted similar screen names (Bruce Li, Bruce Lai, etc.), or outtake footage of Lee, or some combination of both. The fad did little to engender mainstream respect in the West for the relatively new phenomenon of martial arts cinema. But despite such posthumous treatment, Lee continues to cast a long shadow over Hong Kong film. Jackie Chan and the kung fu comedy The only Chinese performer who has ever rivalled Bruce Lee's global fame is Jackie Chan . Like many kung fu performers of the day, Chan came out of training in Peking Opera and started in film as a Stuntman , notably in some of Lee's vehicles. He was groomed for a while by ''The Big Boss'' and ''Fist of Fury'' director Lo Wei as another Lee clone, in several movies including '' New Fist Of Fury '' (1976), with little success. But in 1978, Chan teamed up with action choreographer Yuen Woo Ping on Yuen's directorial debut, '' Snake In The Eagle's Shadow ''. The resulting blend of physical comedy and kung fu action provided Chan with his first hit and the rudiments of what would become his signature style. Chan's follow-up movie with Yuen, '' Drunken Master '' (also 1978), and his directorial debut, '' Fearless Hyena '' (1979), were also giant hits and cemented his popularity.(Logan, 1995) as a wise master in Tsui Hark 's '' Zu Warriors From The Magic Mountain '' (1983). The white eyebrows speak of extraordinary power on the part of the character.]] Although these films were not the first kung fu comedies, they launched a vogue that helped reinvigorate the waning kung fu genre. Especially notable in this regard were two of Chan's childhood Peking Opera School classmates, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao , who also made careers of this specialty, sometimes co-starring with Chan. Hung, noted for the seeming paradox of his overweight physique and physical agility, also made a name for himself as a director and action choreographer from early on, with titles like '' Enter The Fat Dragon '' (1978). REINVENTING ACTION CINEMA Chan's clowning may have helped extend the life of the kung fu wave for several years. Nevertheless, he became a star towards the end of the boom, and would soon help move the colony towards a new type of action. In the 1980s, he and many colleagues would forge a slicker, more spectacular Hong Kong pop cinema that would successfully compete with the post-'' Star Wars '' summer blockbusters from America. Jackie Chan and the modern kung fu film By 1983, Chan branched out into action films which, though they still used martial arts, were less limited in scope, setting and plot. His first film in this vein, '' 2006 ) Chan continued to take the approach - and the budgets - to new heights in hits like '' 2006 ) Tsui Hark and Cinema City Chan's move towards larger-scale action films was parallelled by work coming out of Cinema City, the production company established in 1980 by comedians Raymond Wong , Karl Maka and Dean Shek . With movies like the spy spoof '' Aces Go Places '' (1982) and its sequels, Cinema City helped make modern special effects, James Bond -type gadgets and big vehicular stunts part of the industry vernacular.(Bordwell 2000) Director/producer Tsui Hark had a hand in shaping the Cinema City style while employed there from 1981–1983(Teo, 1997) but went on to make an even bigger impact after leaving. In such movies as '' Zu Warriors From The Magic Mountain '' (1983) and '' A Chinese Ghost Story '' (1987, directed by Ching Siu-tung ), he kept pushing back the boundaries of Hong Kong special effects. He led the way in replacing the rough and ready camera style of 1970s kung fu with glossier and more sophisticated visuals and ever more furious editing. John Woo and the triad films in a scene from '' A Better Tomorrow '' (1986), a gun in each hand. This style is sometimes called '' Gun Fu ''.]] As a producer, Tsui Hark facilitated the creation of John Woo 's epoch-making Heroic Bloodshed movie '' A Better Tomorrow '' (1986). Woo's saga of cops and the Triads (Chinese gangsters) combined fancifully choreographed (and extremely violent) gunplay with heightened emotional melodrama, sometimes resembling a modern-dress version of 1970s kung fu films by Woo's mentor Chang Cheh . The formula broke another all-time box office record. It also jump-started the faltering career of co-star Chow Yun-Fat , who overnight became one of the colony's most popular idols and Woo's favorite leading man.(Logan, 1995) For the remainder of the 1980s and into the early 1990s, a deluge of films by Woo and others explored similar territory, often with a similar visual style and thematic bent. They were usually marked by an emphasis on the fraternal bonds of duty and affection among the criminal protagonists. The most notable other '' Auteur '' of these themes was Ringo Lam , who offered a less romanticized take in such films as '' City On Fire '', '' Prison On Fire '' (both 1987), and '' Full Contact '' (1992), all starring Chow Yun-Fat. The genre and its creators were accused in some quarters of cravenly glorifying real-life triads, whose involvement in the film business was notorious.(Dannen, Long, 1997) The wire fu wave As the triad films petered out in the early 1990s, period martial arts returned as the favored action genre. But this was a new martial arts cinema that took full advantage of technical strides as well the higher budgets that came with Hong Kong's dominance of the region's screens. These lavish productions were often adapted from the more fantastical 2006 ) As so often, Tsui Hark led the way. He produced '' 2006 ) INFLUENCE IN THE WEST All of these developments not only made Hong Kong the dominant cinema in East Asia , but reawakened Western interest. Building on the reduced but enduring kung fu movie subculture, Jackie Chan and films like Tsui Hark's '' Peking Opera Blues '' (1986) were already building a cult following when Woo's '' The Killer '' (1989) had a limited but successful release in the U.S. and opened the floodgates. In the '90s, Westerners with an eye on "alternative" culture became common sights in Chinatown video shops and theaters, and gradually the films became more available in the mainstream video market and even occasionally in mainstream theaters. Western critics and film scholars also began to take Hong Kong action cinema seriously and made many key figures and films part of their canon of world cinema. From here, Hong Kong came to define a new vocabulary for worldwide action cinema, with the aid of a new generation of North American filmmakers. Quentin Tarantino 's '' Reservoir Dogs '' (1992) drew inspiration from '' City On Fire '' and his two-part '' Kill Bill '' (2003–04) was in large part a martial arts homage, borrowing Yuen Woo-Ping as fight choreographer and actor. Robert Rodriguez 's '' Desperado '' (1995) and its 2003 sequel '' Once Upon A Time In Mexico '' aped Woo's visual mannerisms. The Wachowski Brothers ' '' The Matrix '' trilogy (1999–2003) of science-fiction-action blockbusters borrowed from Woo and wire fu movies and also employed Yuen behind the scenes. EXIT OF MANY LEADING FIGURES Due to the new-found international awareness of Hong Kong films during the 1980s and early 1990s and a downturn in the industry as the 1990s progressed, many of the leading lights of Hong Kong cinema left for Hollywood , which offered budgets and pay which could not be equalled by Hong Kong production companies. 2006 ) After over fifteen years of success in Hong Kong cinema and a couple of attempts to crack the U.S. market, Jackie Chan 's 1995 film '' Rumble In The Bronx '' finally brought him recognition in the U.S. Since then, he has made several highly successful films for U.S. studios including '' Rush Hour '' (1998), '' Shanghai Noon '' (2000), and their respective sequels. Between his films for U.S. studios, he still makes films for Hong Kong studios, sometimes in English ('' Mr. Nice Guy '' and '' Who Am I? ''), often set in western countries like Australia or the Netherlands , and sometimes in Cantonese (2004's '' New Police Story '' and 2005's '' The Myth ''). Because of his enormous U.S. popularity, these films are usually released in the U.S., a rarity for Hong Kong films, and generally attract respectable audience numbers. '' (1998), '' The Corruptor '' (1999), '' Anna And The King '' (1999) and '' Bulletproof Monk '' (2003). He returned to China for 2000's '' Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ''. RECENT TRENDS '' (2003) film poster. This vampire-action film featured the Twins pop duo and plentiful CGI effects.]] The Hong Kong film industry has been in a severe 2006 ) Luring local and regional youth audiences away from Hollywood is a constant concern. Action movies are now generally headlined by babyfaced Cantonese Pop Music idols, such as Ekin Cheng and Nicholas Tse , enhanced with wires and digital effects - a trend also driven by the waning of a previous generation of martial arts-trained stars. The late 1990s witnessed a fad for Cantopop stars in high-tech, more American-styled action pictures such as '' Downtown Torpedoes '' (1997), '' Gen-X Cops '' and '' Purple Storm '' (both 1999). Andrew Lau 's wuxia comic-book adaptation '' The Storm Riders '' (1998) earned a record-breaking gross and ushered in an era of Computer-generated Imagery , previously little used in Hong Kong film. Tsui Hark 's lavish CGI-enhanced efforts '' Time And Tide '' (2000) and '' The Legend Of Zu '' (2001), however, were surprisingly unsuccessful. Comedy megastar and director Stephen Chow used digital effects to push his typical affectionate parody of martial arts conventions to cartoonish levels in '' Shaolin Soccer '' (2001) and '' Kung Fu Hustle '' (2004), each of which also set a new box office record. Striking a different note were a series of crime films more restrained and actor-driven than the earlier, John Woo-inspired examples. The Milkyway Image production company was at the vanguard with examples like Patrick Yau 's '' Expect The Unexpected '' (1998), Johnnie To 's '' The Mission '' (1999) and '' Running Out Of Time '' (2000). Andrew Lau and Alan Mak 's blockbuster '' Infernal Affairs '' trilogy (2002–2003) has set off a mini-trend of brooding police thrillers. Collaboration with other industries, particularly that of Mainland China , is another increasingly common survival and recovery strategy. Hong Kong stars and other personnel have been involved in international wuxia successes like '' Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon '' (Taiwan, 2000) and '' Hero '' (China, 2002). SEE ALSO NOTES REFERENCES
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