Centenary of Hong Kong cinema

From February 19 to March 9, an exhibition was held in Hong Kong to tell the story of the island’s century-long cinematic history.

Following this on April 5, a forum on the 100 years of Hong Kong cinema was then held at Hong Kong International Film Festival.

And then on May 16,“China Night: a Celebration of 100 Years of Hong Kong Cinema” was staged at Cannes Film Festival.

These activities all heralded the centennial anniversary of Hong Kong cinema, which has witnessed ups and downs, boom and bust over the years.

Ups and downs

The origins of the Hong Kong film production remain a source of debate among film historians. Many, however, like to point to 1909 when a short film called "Stealing A Roast Duck" was produced. Its director was the theatre-trained Liang Shaobo, and its producer was Benjamin Brodsky, one of the Westerners who helped jumpstart Chinese film through their efforts to crack China's vast potential market.

Lai Man-Wai in "Zhuangzi Tests His Wife" (1913)

Credit for the first Hong Kong feature film is usually given to "Zhuangzi Tests His Wife" (1913), which was directed by Lai Man-Wai (Li Minwei in Mandarin). In this film, Lai played the role of wife himself. His brother played the role of husband, and his wife a supporting role as a maid, making her the first Chinese woman to act in a Chinese film, a milestone delayed by longstanding taboos regarding female performers.

Lai's wife, the first Chinese woman to act in a Chinese film

After the Second World War, thanks to the likes of Lai Man-Wai who with his brother Lai Buk-hoi started the giant Lianhua Film Company in 1930, Hong Kong emerged as the dominant force in Asian cinema - and its film-makers' influence began to extend across the world.

Once the major studios such as Shaw Brothers and Cathay were established in the 1950s, Hong Kong film-makers such as King Hu and Chang Cheh began to develop their own unique styles. Their biggest influence was seen in the development of the martial-arts genre - something expanded by the Golden Harvest studio as the 1970s dawned.

Bruce Lee and, later, Jackie Chan became international superstars, and the talent factory that was the TVB television studio from the 1980s produced the likes of John Woo and Tsui Hark as well as actors who would become household names, including Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Maggie Cheung.

While production numbers have dwindled since the glory days of the 1980s - when more than 300 films were being produced locally each year - the city has continued to produce remarkable film-makers and remarkable films.

Names such as Johnnie To - with his Election films - and the pairing of Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, who created the Infernal Affairs series, show Hong Kong cinema is alive and kicking as it enters its 100th year.

Genres and films

Unlike many film industries, Hong Kong has enjoyed little to no direct government support, through either subsidies or import quotas. It is a thoroughly commercial cinema: highly corporate, concentrating on crowd-pleasing genres like action and comedy.

The action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. The first Hong Kong action films favored 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 popularized the use of comedy, dangerous stunts, 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.

Kung fu Films

1949-1970, Wong Fei Hung (starring Kwan Tak Hing)

A series of roughly 100 kung fu movies starring Kwan Tak Hing as historical folk hero Wong Fei Hung were made, starting with The True Story of Wong Fei Hung (1949) and ending with Wong Fei Hung Bravely Crushing the Fire Formation (1970).

Way of the Dragon

1972, Way of the Dragon (starring Bruce Lee)

Bruce Lee completed just four movies before his death at the age of 32: The Big Boss (1971), Fist of Fury and Way of the Dragon (both 1972) and Enter the Dragon (1973).