Li Tse-Yu

Dream of the Red Chamber, one of the big four of classic Chinese novels, has been adapted for film and television dozens of times over the past decades. Yet this sui generis Great Wall production daringly transposes the setting to modern-day 1950s. The contemporised story revolves nonetheless around the love triangle between Jia Baoyu and his two cousins. Both girls love him but his heart belongs to only one. The ending, however, is remarkably changed to separation of the lovers as a result of war—the war that was surely still haunting the minds of the filmmakers at the time when the film was made. Not only did Great Wall pour money into building extravagant sets just so to recreate down to the smallest detail the grandeur of the legendary Jia mansion, but the film also boasted of its lavish costume designs for the diverse female cast. (From Hong Kong Film Archive)

HK horror film.

A villain steals a kung fu manual and kills the good swordsmen it belongs to. He masters the powers it offers and goes on to commit various evils. Twenty years later, a young swordsman heads off to take him to account. On the way he meets a couple of feisty young swordswomen, and his life gets more complicated.

Young widow Li Jingqin is struggling to put her son Du Shaoxiong through school with her meagre income. Bullied by the landlady, Du spends his days wandering the streets where he is lured by a gang to commit crimes. Fortunately, Du has a heart of gold.

A wedding musician fails to wed his own love: Little Trumpet is raring to marry his childhood sweetheart, but a series of setbacks has prevented them from getting their way. Criticism against social formalities becomes all the more forceful with the clever use of contrast and irony, not to mention the realist and comedic touch a la Zhu Shilin. Of special mention is the famous teahouse scene where dynamic, melodic camerawork creates a hilarity that continues to amaze to this day. A genuine masterpiece with every single detail, down to the minor props, forming an integral part of a whole. Today, young couples are struggling nonetheless to get a roof over their heads, a testimony to the fact that poverty still reigns beneath the facade of harmony and stability after all these years.

This is a story of how Ru Ji, a farm girl of Chao Kuo, who sacrificed her own life to save her country and people in the year 257 B.C.

A Chinese drama

Hong Kong comedy film.

Famous dancer and film actress Fong Nan (Mao Mei) desires both a career and a family after marrying an eminent doctor (Guan Shan), who, however, wants her to be a stay-at-home wife. They are on the brink of divorce when he finds out she secretly rehearses for her dance and movie…Taking inspirations from Hollywood musical films, the movie is beautifully directed and meticulously produced by Yuen Yang-an and his Sun Sun Film Enterprises. While most films at the time usually depict how grassroots people rise above adversity, this one tells the story of a famed actress who thrives for success and never gives up on her artistic ambition. This reflects that women's liberation and employment was a dominating theme in left-wing movies. The finale was shot in Eastman colour negative film, which was rare before mid-60s given the limited technical resources in Hong Kong film industry, and thus a valuable record in the city's cinematic history.