Deni's Top Ten Hong Kong Movies
or
I May Not Know Arthouse, But I Know What I Like
10. THE MASTER
Okay so it's dreadfully eighties, and the copy I have is really badly dubbed, and it may
not even be Jet Li's best film, but for the skyscraper rooftop finale, for the continual
and amusing communication problems between Chinese and non-Chinese (well between Li and
practically everyone else) and for Li's general, unshakable cheerfulness, you gotta love
this film...
9. THE BRIDE WITH WHITE HAIR
Hong Kong heroic fantasy films are always pretty to look at (if nothing else) and this is
probably the lushest looking film I've seen in that genre. It was so Dark Fairy Tale and
all Unhappy Ending it just had to find its way into my favourites. Just think of
it as what you'd get if you tried to cross Tim Burton with martial arts...
8. BULLET IN THE HEAD
A relentless, brutal film this, saturated with the kinds of themes of male
identity and loyalty that are I think John Woo's greatest strengths. Not 'cool' or 'slick'
like some of his other films, just harsh and raw and real the whole way down the line. Not
any easy film to watch but a good reminder that when it comes down to it (and I'm loathe
to admit it) violence has only ever been the medium, not the message.
7. THE BLADE
A fairly recent film as Hong Kong swash-bucklers go, but almost, as far as I can
tell, a re-invention of the genre in the same way Clint Eastwood's The Unforgiven
re-invented the western. Dark, stylised and deeply manic, it seemed to draw its visuals
more from Japanese anime and manga than from the more traditional Hong Kong sword epics
that preceeded it. There was certainly enough blood to qualify it for honorary anime
status that's for sure...
6. FALLEN ANGELS
I was going to say something terribly intellectual about why I like this film but
really I loved it for Takeshi Kaneshiro's manic innocence, Karen Mok's neurotic charm, and
Leon Lai's hitman wondering whether an insurance company would ever possibly underwrite
someone who was a professional killer.
I especially like the scene in the cafe where, a nasty brawl ensuing in
the background, Kaneshiro's character sighs and moons over Charlie Yeung, who takes about
as much notice of him as she does the fight. Which is to say, none at all.
Stupid, stupid girl.
5. THE STORM RIDERS
Style before substance. Hey, it's my credo. Ask my friends if you don't
believe me. But seriously, I really like the way they used CG in this film (in a way that
Hollywood would never have dared). They know you know its a special effect, so
they don't even bother to try and hide it. Instead, they turn it into a design feature.
Comes from a long history of wire stunts and making the impossible possible without the
use of computers, I think.
4. DRUNKEN MASTER II
I never knew till I saw this film how hard it was to laugh and gasp at the same
time. It was at this point that I became absolutely convinced that Jackie Chan was
completely insane, utterly invincible and could climb anything.
3. THE KILLER
There's an old joke. It goes something like this... In a fight between John Woo
and God, who'd win?
Trick question sucker. John Woo is God.
(So what, exactly, would that make Chow Yun-fat?)
2. ASHES OF TIME
I have a long running arguement with a uni friend who did a 5000 word essay on
this film and still didn't understand it. No, no, I say. It's very simple.
There's Leslie Cheung right? Now, his best friend, Leung Ka-fai, visits him every year at
the behest of Cheung's ex-lover, Maggie Cheung. Leung Ka-fai, who loves Maggie Cheung and
rejected Brigitte Lin, once broke up his friend Leung Chui-wai's marriage (no wonder the
guy gets stuck into that wine...). Right? So anyway, Leung Chui-wai, who's going blind,
turns up on Leslie Cheung's doorstep and promptly dies in battle, while Brigette
Lin is trying to hire Leslie Cheung to kill herself, believing herself to be two people...
1. HARD BOILED
What can I say? This is the shit. So cool it actually does hurt.
Whatever paid critics might have to say about it, it holds pride of place in my heart for
being the first Hong Kong action film I'd ever seen. It blew me away. Needless to say,
I've never been the same since, which is exactly the way things should be...
26 Jan 2000 © Deni Stoner
DENI STONER is third year BA
in Communication Design (multimedia!) at the Queensland University of Technology and a
self-appointed pop culture afficiando. She previously contributed a Brisbane report on the 1999 Hong Kong
Film Festival.
