120-462: Chungking Express is a 1994 Hong Kong arthouse romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai . The film consists of two stories told in sequence, each about a lovesick Hong Kong policeman mulling over his relationship with a woman. The first story stars Takeshi Kaneshiro as a cop obsessed by his breakup with a woman named May, and his encounter with a mysterious drug smuggler ( Brigitte Lin ). The second stars Tony Leung as
240-533: A "Mandarin-only" policy and was hostile to Cantonese filmmaking in China. It also banned the wildly popular wuxia genre of martial arts swordplay and fantasy, accusing it of promoting superstition and violent anarchy. Cantonese film and wuxia film remained popular despite government hostility, and the British colony of Hong Kong became a place where both of these trends could be freely served. Tianyi soon moved
360-592: A Diff'rence a Day Made ", performed by Dinah Washington , is played during a scene between Tony Leung and Valerie Chow's characters, as well as during an encounter between Tony Leung and Faye Wong's characters later in the film. The film's soundtrack is also widely credited with introducing Dream Pop to the Hong-Kongese market. Bands featured in the soundtrack, including The Cranberries and Cocteau Twins , saw significant commercial success in Hong Kong following
480-446: A big star, aimed at "hit" status, will typically cost around US$ 5 million. A low-budget feature can go well below US$ 1 million. Occasional blockbuster projects by the very biggest stars ( Jackie Chan or Stephen Chow , for example) or international co-productions ("crossovers") aimed at the global market, can go as high as US$ 20 million or more, but these are rare exceptions. Hong Kong productions can nevertheless achieve
600-491: A hotel room, leaving him to watch old films and order food. He shines her shoes before he leaves her sleeping on the bed. She leaves in the morning and shoots the drug baron who set her up. Zhiwu goes jogging and receives a message from her on his pager wishing him a happy birthday. He visits his usual food store in Chungking Mansions where he collides with a new staff member, Faye. Another police officer, Cop 663,
720-434: A lesser-known performer. Shooting without sound also contributed to an improvisatory filmmaking approach. Movies often went into production without finished scripts, with scenes and dialogue concocted on the set; especially low-budget productions on tight schedules might even have actors mouth silently or simply count numbers, with actual dialogue created only in the editing process. A trend towards sync sound filming grew in
840-529: A level of gloss and lavishness greater than these numbers might suggest, given factors such as lower wages and value of the Hong Kong dollar. Films in the Cantonese language have been made in Hong Kong since the beginning. In the 1950s, it also became a center of Mandarin-language filmmaking after the Communist takeover in mainland China and the entertainment industry shifted from Shanghai to Hong Kong. From
960-648: A link from Sheung Wan to Wan Chai North and the Eastern Corridor beyond Causeway Bay . It was built as part of the Central and Wan Chai Reclamation and is part of Route 4 . The bypass is toll-free. There are no bridges between the island and Kowloon, although two bridges – the Ap Lei Chau Bridge , a road bridge, and Aberdeen Channel Bridge , part of the South Island line – connect
1080-554: A loop linking Causeway Bay and Happy Valley ; the latter is a funicular linking Central District to Victoria Peak . Hong Kong Island has four ferry terminals, them being the Central Ferry Piers , North Point Ferry Pier , Sai Wan Ho Ferry Pier and Wan Chai Ferry Pier . Frequently ferry services are provided from these piers to the Kowloon Peninsula and the outlying islands. A departure terminal,
1200-498: A man talks to his dishtowel has an overdeveloped sense of fun. In a 2002 poll published by Sight and Sound (the monthly magazine of the British Film Institute ) asking fifty leading UK film critics to choose the ten best films from the previous 25 years, Chungking Express was placed at number eight. In the magazine's 2012 poll to find the most acclaimed films of all time, Chungking Express ranked 144. The film
1320-502: A market to Hong Kong film as the local one; in the early 1990s the once-robust Taiwanese film industry came close to extinction under the onslaught of Hong Kong imports. They even found a foothold in Japan, with its own highly developed and well-funded cinema and strong taste for American movies; Jackie Chan and Leslie Cheung were some of the stars who became very popular there. Almost accidentally, Hong Kong also reached further into
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#17327870196291440-516: A movie for casual audiences, and it may not reveal all its secrets the first time through . . . If you are attentive to the style, if you think about what Wong is doing, Chungking Express works. If you're trying to follow the plot, you may feel frustrated ... When Godard was hot, in the 1960s and early 1970s, there was an audience for this style, but in those days, there were still film societies and repertory theaters to build and nourish such audiences. Many of today's younger filmgoers, fed only by
1560-408: A number of elements from Hollywood, such as certain genre parameters, a "thrill-a-minute" philosophy and fast pacing and film editing. But the borrowings are filtered through elements from traditional Chinese drama and art , particularly a penchant for stylisation and a disregard for Western standards of realism . This, combined with a fast and loose approach to the filmmaking process, contributes to
1680-417: A paper napkin dated one year later. Faye, now a flight attendant, returns to Hong Kong. She finds that the officer has bought the buffet and is converting it into a restaurant. He asks her to stay for the grand opening, and asks her to send him a postcard if she leaves. As Faye is about to leave, he presents the boarding pass, wrinkled and water-stained, and she writes him a new one. She asks him where he wants
1800-465: A particular speciality of MP&GI/Cathay in entries such as Mambo Girl (1957) and The Wild, Wild Rose (1960). In 1960s, the Motion Picture and General Investments Limited produced a special set of romantic movies which was called Southern and Northern. The first one is The Greatest Civil Wall On Earth (1961), the second one is The Greatest Wedding On Earth (1962) and the third one
1920-793: A police officer roused from his gloom over the loss of his flight attendant girlfriend ( Valerie Chow ) by the attentions of a quirky snack bar worker ( Faye Wong ). " Chungking " in the title refers to Chungking Mansions in Tsim Sha Tsui , Hong Kong , a place with a reputation as a dark underbelly rife with crime, sex and drugs. "Express" refers to the food stand Midnight Express, located in Lan Kwai Fong , an area in Central, Hong Kong . The film premiered at Hong Kong on 14 July 1994 and received critical acclaim specially for its direction, cinematography and cast performances. Since then it has been regarded as one of Wong's finest works, one of
2040-402: A potent dramatic wallop." On Metacritic , the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 based on 18 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Film critic Roger Ebert was measured in his praise (giving the film three out of four stars): This is the kind of movie you'll relate to if you love film itself, rather than its surface aspects such as story and stars. It's not
2160-510: A showcase for performers from their pioneering television station TVB . The return of Cantonese really took off with the comedies of former TVB stars the Hui Brothers (actor-director-screenwriter Michael Hui , actor-singer Sam Hui and actor Ricky Hui ). The rationale behind the move to Cantonese was clear in the trailer for the brothers' Games Gamblers Play (1974): "Films by devoted young people with you in mind." This move back to
2280-594: A strong cult following , which is now a part of the cultural mainstream, widely available and imitated. Economically, the film industry together with the value added of cultural and creative industries represents 5 per cent of Hong Kong's economy . Unlike many film industries, Hong Kong has enjoyed little or no direct government support, through either subsidies or import quotas. It is a thoroughly commercial cinema: highly corporate, concentrating on crowd-pleasing genres like comedy and action, and relying heavily on formulas , sequels and remakes . Hong Kong film derives
2400-516: Is The Greatest Love Affair On Earth (1964). This set of movies was partly spoken in Cantonese and partly spoken in Mandarin. The set of movies portrayed differences between Northern and Southern China; in addition to the language differences, the movies also depicted cultural aspects such as weddings and food. The movies' main theme was a kind of cultural integration between North and South. In
2520-404: Is also dealing with a breakup—with a flight attendant. Faye secretly falls for him. One day, the flight attendant visits the store and waits for the man. She learns he is on his day off and leaves a letter for him with the buffet owner containing a set of keys to the officer's apartment. Faye tells the officer of the letter, but he delays reading it and asks the buffet to keep it for him. Faye uses
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#17327870196292640-478: Is heavily concentrated along the northern shore. The combined population of Central and Western, Wan Chai, and Eastern is 925,200, giving this urbanised part of the island a density of around 22,500 per km , or 58,000 per mi , in its approximately 41.3 km (15.9 sq mi). The residents living in the Central and Western District and Wan Chai District have the highest median household income compared with
2760-504: Is no mistaking Wong's talent. His hypnotic images of love and loss finally wear down your resistance as seemingly discordant sights and sounds coalesce into a radiant, crazy quilt that can make you laugh in awe at its technical wizardry in one scene and pierce your heart in the next. Janet Maslin of The New York Times criticized the film's MTV-like "aggressive energy": Mr. Wong has legitimate visual flair, but his characters spend an awful lot of time playing impish tricks. A film in which
2880-569: Is often referred to locally as "Hong Kong side" or "Island side". The suffix "-side" is also applied to other locations in Hong Kong (e.g. China-side and Kowloon Walled City -side), the sole remnant of which being the "Kowloon side" when referring to the two sides of the Victoria Harbour. Human settlement of the area dates back 6,000 years ago, as evidenced by Neolithic artifacts discovered in Stanley , Hong Kong Island. In 214 BC,
3000-469: Is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese-language cinema, alongside the cinema of China and the cinema of Taiwan . As a former Crown colony , Hong Kong had a greater degree of political and economic freedom than mainland China and Taiwan , and developed into a filmmaking hub for the Chinese-speaking world (including its worldwide diaspora ). For decades, Hong Kong
3120-714: Is the second largest island in Hong Kong, with the largest being Lantau Island . Hong Kong Island forms one of the three areas of Hong Kong , with the other two being Kowloon and the New Territories . In 1842, following the Qing dynasty 's defeat at the First Opium War (1839–1842), Hong Kong Island was formally ceded in perpetuity to the United Kingdom under the Treaty of Nanking . The City of Victoria
3240-402: Is the second-largest island of the territory, the largest being Lantau Island . Its area is 78.59 km (30.34 sq mi), including 6.98 km (2.69 sq mi) of land reclaimed since 1887 and some smaller scale ones since 1851. It makes up approximately 7% of the total territory. It is separated from the mainland of the territory ( Kowloon Peninsula and New Territories ) by
3360-569: The Cape D'Aguilar Marine Reserve , is located on the southern tip of the island in Cape D'Aguilar . It was opened in July 1996 and has a sea area of approximately 20 hectares. The reserve was set up for the purpose of the conservation of marine resources, scientific studies and education for the appreciation of precious marine resources. Visits to the marine reserve by the public is discouraged, with water sports and costal recreational activities prohibited in
3480-586: The China Sun Motion Picture Company . In 1924, they moved their operation to the Mainland after government red tape blocked their plans to build a studio. With the popularity of talkies in the early 1930s, the problem of China's various spoken dialects had to be grappled with. Hong Kong was a major center for Cantonese , one of the most widely spoken, and political factors on the Mainland provided other opportunities. In 1932,
3600-736: The Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal is located in Sheung Wan to provide turbojet ferry services to Macau . A tourist sightseeing ferry service, branded as the "Water Taxi" is also offered. The ferry service travels in the Victoria Harbour to sightseeing attractions of Hong Kong, such as the Hong Kong Observation Wheel , International Financial Centre , Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade, West Kowloon Cultural District and Kai Tak Cruise Terminal . It has 4 drop off points. Public piers are also alongside
3720-703: The Hong Kong Stock Exchange , Hong Kong Monetary Authority , HSBC and Bank of China are also based in the area. The northern coast of the island forms the southern shore of the Victoria Harbour , which is largely responsible for the development of Hong Kong due to its deep waters favoured by large trade ships. The island is home to many famous tourists sights, such as " The Peak ", Ocean Park , Former Central Police Station Compound , Murray House , and many other historical sites and various large shopping centres. The mountain ranges across
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3840-639: The Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Forces resisted the Japanese invasion commanded by Sakai Takashi , which began eight hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor . However, the Japanese took control of the Hong Kong skies on the first day of attack and outnumbered the defenders, which retreated from the Gin Drinkers Line and consequently from Kowloon under heavy aerial bombardment and artillery barrage. On 18 December,
3960-517: The Leisure and Cultural Services Department . Due to the early development of Hong Kong Island, many historical buildings can be found on Hong Kong Island. As of 2023, the population of Hong Kong Island is approximately 1,188,500, making up approximately 15.8% of the 7,536,100 in Hong Kong . Its population density is higher than the whole of Hong Kong , c. 18,000 per km . However, the population
4080-651: The Qin dynasty defeated the Baiyue , and absorbed areas of what is now Guangdong , Guangxi , and northern Vietnam . Hong Kong Island was part of the annexed land and was listed under the jurisdiction of Panyu County ( 番禺縣 ) of the Nanhai Commandery ( 南海郡 ). On the sixth year of the Eastern Jin dynasty (AD 331), Hong Kong Island was listed under the jurisdiction of Baoan County ( 寶安縣) . Copper coins from
4200-798: The Shaw brothers , who formed the Tianyi Film Company , teamed up with Cantonese opera singer Sit Gok-Sin [ zh ; 薛覺先 ] to make the first Cantonese talkie, White Gold Dragon [ zh ] , in Shanghai. This film proved to be very successful, and in 1934, they established a branch of the Tianyi Studio in Kowloon to make Cantonese films. The government of the Kuomintang or Nationalist Party wanted to enforce
4320-559: The Sui , Tang and Song dynasty were unearthed in where the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club is presently located at, on where Kellett Island would have been prior to the land reclamation connecting the island to Causeway Bay in 1969. This suggests that during these periods of times, the island already had its own commercial activity. Song dynasty copper coins served as universal currency in transregional trade. During
4440-549: The Treaty of Nanking and the territory became a Crown colony . At the time, the island's population was only 7,450. The Second World War was a dark period for Hong Kong. In the 1930s, the British anticipated a Japanese attack on Hong Kong. As Wong Nai Chung Gap was a strategically important location of defence, large-scale defensive works were constructed there, including anti-aircraft batteries , howitzers and machine gun nests. The Battle of Hong Kong began on 8 December 1941. British , Canadian and Indian armies and
4560-632: The Tseung Kwan O line and road traffic in separate parallel conduits). Besides these harbour crossing tunnels, Hong Kong Island also has two tunnels travelling across the island itself, the Aberdeen Tunnel and Central–Wan Chai Bypass , which were opened in March 1982 and January 2019 respectively. The Aberdeen Tunnel provides a link from Happy Valley and Wong Chuk Hang , with the toll fee being HK$ 5. The Central–Wan Chai Bypass provides
4680-461: The Twins ) to attract the all-important youth audience is endemic. In the small and tightly knit industry, actors (as well as other personnel, such as directors) are kept very busy. During previous boom periods, the number of movies made by a successful figure in a single year could routinely reach double digits. Films are typically low-budget when compared with American films . A major release with
4800-832: The Victoria Harbour . Most hills across the middle of the island are included within the country parks . The main hiking trail on Hong Kong Island is the Hong Kong Trail , which is 50 kilometers long and is divided into 8 sections. The trail starts in Victoria Gap on the peak and ends in Big Wave Bay . Sections 1 and 2 of the Wilson Trail across the New Territories of Hong Kong and Kowloon also passes through Tai Tam Country Park and its Quarry Bay Extension . The only marine reserve in Hong Kong,
4920-638: The Wanli period of the Ming dynasty (1573), Hong Kong Island belonged to the territory of Xin'an County , and remained so until 1661, when the great clearance was issued by the Shunzhi Emperor of the Qing dynasty , forcing residents in coastal areas of Guangdong , Fujian , Zhejiang , Jiangnan , and Shandong to move in-land, to prevent the loyalists of the Ming dynasty in Formosa from approaching
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5040-538: The costume film and especially comedy. Violence also grew more intense and graphic, particularly at the instigation of martial arts filmmakers. Director Lung Kong blended these trends into the social-issue dramas which he had already made his speciality with late 1960s Cantonese classics like The Story of a Discharged Prisoner (1967) and Teddy Girls (1969). In the 1970s, he began directing in Mandarin and brought exploitation elements to serious films about subjects like prostitution ( The Call Girls and Lina ),
5160-506: The two major stations . Possibly even more important is the overlap with the Cantonese pop music industry . Many, if not most, movie stars have recording sidelines, and vice versa; this has been a key marketing strategy in an entertainment industry where American-style, multimedia advertising campaigns have until recently been little used. In the current commercially troubled climate, the casting of young Cantopop idols (such as Ekin Cheng and
5280-610: The 1930s. Major studios that thrived in this period were Grandview, Universal, and Nanyang (which later became the Shaw Brothers Studio that would have an enduring influence on Chinese film). Another important factor in the 1930s was the second Sino-Japanese War . "National defense" films—patriotic war stories about Chinese resisting the Japanese invasion—became one of Hong Kong's major genres; notable titles included Kwan Man Ching's Lifeline (1935), Chiu Shu Sun's Hand to Hand Combat (1937) and Situ Huimin 's March of
5400-614: The 1960s to mid-1970s, Mandarin film productions became dominant, especially those made by the Shaw Brothers studio in Hong Kong. There was also a short-lived period whereby Hokkien films were produced in Hong Kong, and there were also films made in the Teochew dialect . Cantonese films made a comeback in the 1970s, and since the 1980s, films have been made mostly in Cantonese. For decades, films were typically shot silent , with dialogue and all other sound dubbed afterwards. In
5520-1083: The Allies. As a result, the unemployed were deported to the Mainland , and the population of Hong Kong had dwindled from 1.6 million in 1941 to 600,000 in 1945. The population of Hong Kong Island grew exponentially after the Second World War and the Communist revolution in China . It became apparent that the lands in the old Central District were insufficient to accommodate the population. Many undeveloped or underdeveloped areas Hong Kong Island such as North Point , Shau Kei Wan , Aberdeen and Wong Chuk Hang began its development and urbanisation. These areas initially started off as industrialised areas, with some areas such as Quarry Bay , Wan Chai and Causeway Bay later becoming new commercial centres when Hong Kong moved away from its period of industrialisation , as these areas provided relatively cheaper rent than
5640-547: The British authorities passed a law in 1963 requiring the subtitling of all films in English, supposedly to enable a watch on political content. And that making a virtue of necessity, studios included Chinese subtitles as well, enabling easier access to their movies for speakers of other dialects. Subtitling facilitated the movies' popularity in the West. During this period, Cantonese opera on film dominated. The top stars were
5760-436: The British returned in 1945. A more important move by the Japanese may have been to melt down many of Hong Kong's pre-war films to extract their silver nitrate for military use. Postwar Hong Kong cinema, like postwar Hong Kong industries in general, was catalysed by the continuing influx of capital and talents from Mainland China. The Hong Kong population in 1940 was around 1 million and rose to around 3.9 million in 1967;
5880-458: The Chinese literally brush shoulders with westerners, and is uniquely Hong Kong." He was drawn to Chungking Mansion for its many lodgings, mix of cultures, and its significance as a crime hotspot; he felt that, as a "mass-populated and hyperactive place", it worked as a metaphor for Hong Kong itself. The director once talked about his inspiration by the works of Haruki Murakami . As an example,
6000-457: The Dragon (a.k.a. The Return of the Dragon , 1972), each of which broke Hong Kong box office records. Bruce Lee appeared with minor Hollywood actors in the larger budget Enter the Dragon (1973), a co-production with Warner Bros. Lee's death under mysterious circumstances made him a cult hero. Lee played a key role in opening foreign markets to Hong Kong films. Lee's films, enjoyed throughout
6120-736: The Fire Formation (1970) (Logan, 1995). Fantasy wuxia (swordplay) serials with special effects drawn on the film by hand, such as The Six-Fingered Lord of the Lute (1965) starring teen idol Connie Chan Po-chu in the lead male role, were also popular, as were contemporary melodramas of home and family life, including the dramatisation of sibling rivalries in Our Sister Hedy (1957) starring Julie Yeh Feng . In Mandarin production, Shaw Brothers and Motion Picture and General Investments Limited (MP&GI, later renamed Cathay) were
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#17327870196296240-465: The Hong Kong island to Ap Lei Chau . The Ap Lei Chau Bridge is a combination of two bridges, built separately in 1980 and 1994. It was built to accommodate the growing population in Ap Lei Chau, which the residents could only access the island by boats prior to the construction of the bridge. The Central-Mid Levels escalator and walkway system is the longest outdoor covered escalator system in
6360-593: The Hui Brothers, and allowed them greater creative latitude than was traditional. California-born, Bruce Lee only found minor roles in U.S. films and television at first, as foreign actors were often criticized and not widely accepted by the audience during the 1970s in North America. Bruce expressed that the true orientals were not shown, especially in Hollywood, and most audiences still viewed Asian people as stereotypes (e.g. with flat eyes and pigtails). Moreover,
6480-577: The Japanese had conquered North Point , reaching the Wong Nai Chung Gap on the following day. English, Scottish forces and the Canadian Winnipeg Grenadiers vigorously defended the crucial point of Wong Nai Chung Gap, and for a while successfully secured the passage between Central and the secluded southern parts of the island. Japanese casualties were about 600. However, Allied forces there were ultimately defeated by
6600-420: The Japanese on 23 December, and Wong Nai Chung Reservoir was lost. As Wan Chai Gap had also fallen that same day, the British had no choice but to surrender. Hong Kong surrendered to the Japanese on 25 December 1941, thereafter often called " Black Christmas " by locals as the surrender was on Christmas. The Governor of Hong Kong , Mark Young , surrendered in-person at the temporary Japanese headquarters, on
6720-548: The Papas plays in the key scenes in the second story, which also features Faye Wong 's Cantonese cover version of " Dreams " by The Cranberries , which is also played over the end credits (titled "Mung Zung Yan", it is also included in her 1994 album Random Thoughts while her next album, Sky , includes a Mandarin cover). " California Dreamin' " is played numerous times by Faye Wong's character, indicative of "the simultaneity of her aversion to and desire for change". " What
6840-609: The Partisans (1938). The genre and the film industry were further boosted by emigre film artists and companies when Shanghai was taken by the Japanese in 1937. This of course came to an end when Hong Kong itself fell to the Japanese in December 1941. But unlike on the Mainland, the occupiers were not able to put together a collaborationist film industry. They managed to complete just one propaganda movie, The Attack on Hong Kong (1942; a.k.a. The Day of England's Collapse ) before
6960-592: The Red Lotus (1965), King Hu 's Come Drink with Me (1966) and Dragon Inn (1967, made in Taiwan; a.k.a. Dragon Gate Inn ), and Chang Cheh 's Tiger Boy (1966), The One-Armed Swordsman (1967) and Golden Swallow (1968). Mandarin-dialect film in general and the Shaw Brothers studio in particular began the 1970s in apparent positions of unassailable strength. Cantonese cinema virtually vanished in
7080-781: The South Island line connecting four stations on Ap Lei Chau and in Wong Chuk Hang to the north shore at Admiralty station . Five MTR lines – the Tsuen Wan line , the Tseung Kwan O line , the Tung Chung line , the Airport Express – connect the north shore with Kowloon and provide onward service to the New Territories , and the East Rail line which provides another cross-harbour connection upon its extension from Hung Hom station to Admiralty station. In future,
7200-489: The Southern District. Major roads on Hong Kong Island include Connaught Road , Des Voeux Road , King's Road , Queen's Road . Hong Kong Island is connected to the Kowloon Peninsula on the mainland by two road-only tunnels (the Cross-Harbour Tunnel and the Western Harbour Crossing ), three MTR railway tunnels ( East Rail line , Tsuen Wan line and Tung Chung line / Airport Express ) and one combined road and MTR rail link tunnel ( Eastern Harbour Crossing , containing
7320-450: The Third World, were often taken as symbolising the rebellious pride of insurgent Asia. Meanwhile, the explosions of Cantonese and kung fu and the success of Golden Harvest created more space for independent producers and production companies. The era of the studio juggernauts was past. The Shaws nevertheless continued film production until 1985 before turning entirely to television. The rapidly growing permissiveness in film content that
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#17327870196297440-728: The United States, opening on four screens, it grossed $ 32,779 ($ 8,194 per screen) in its opening weekend. Playing at 20 theatres at its widest point, it went on to gross $ 600,200 total. During its release in North America, Chungking Express drew generally positive, sometimes ecstatic reviews from critics. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , the film holds an approval rating of 88% based on 65 reviews, and an average rating of 7.80/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Even if all it had to offer were writer-director Wong Kar-wai's thrillingly distinctive visuals, Chungking Express would be well worth watching; happily, its thoughtfully drawn characters and naturalistic performances also pack
7560-407: The Victoria Harbour, such as the famous now-demolished Queen's Pier in Central and now-relocated Blake Pier in Stanley, which mainly provides passenger pick-up and drop-off services for small barges, yachts and sightseeing boats. Public piers are located mainly along the Victoria Harbour mainly in Causeway Bay, Central, Shau Kei Wan, Wan Chai, and also in Aberdeen, Ap Lei Chau and Stanley, places in
7680-682: The West, building upon the attention gained during the 1970s kung fu craze. Availability in Chinatown theatres and video shops allowed the movies to be discovered by Western film cultists attracted by their "exotic" qualities and excesses. An emergence into the wider popular culture gradually followed over the coming years. The trailblazer was production company Cinema City , founded in 1980 by comedians Karl Maka , Raymond Wong and Dean Shek . It specialised in contemporary comedy and action, slickly produced according to explicitly prescribed commercial formulas. The lavish, effects-filled spy spoof Aces Go Places (1982) and its numerous sequels epitomised
7800-479: The area. It is managed by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department . Many public beaches are also located in the Southern District of Hong Kong Island, which being the Deep Water Bay , Repulse Bay , Middle Bay , South Bay , Chung Hom Kok Beach , St. Stephen's Beach , Stanley Main Beach , Hair Pin Beach , Turtle Cove Beach , Shek O , and Big Wave Bay . These are all popular locations for water sports and activities. Public beaches are managed by
7920-442: The atomic bomb ( Hiroshima 28 ) and the fragility of civilised society ( Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1970), which portrayed a plague-decimated, near-future Hong Kong). The brief career of Tang Shu Shuen , the territory's first noted woman director, produced two films, The Arch (1968) and China Behind (1974), that were trailblazers for a local, socially critical art cinema . They are also widely considered forerunners of
8040-400: The best films of 1994, of the 1990s, of the 20th century and of all time , as well as one of the best anthologies and romantic comedies ever made. In 2022, the film appeared at number 88 on the decennial Sight and Sound critics' poll of the greatest films of all time. Hong Kong police officer He Zhi Wu's girlfriend, May, breaks up with him on 1 April. To verify her earnestness in ending
8160-529: The bifurcation of the industry into two parallel cinemas, one in Mandarin, the dominant dialect of the Mainland emigres, and one in Cantonese , the dialect of most Hong Kong natives. The distinction between the two languages is in sound. During the silent film age the written language was Chinese and was known to all, no matter the language spoken. Subtitles allow both markets access to films. Mandarin movies sometimes had much higher budgets and more lavish production. Reasons included their enormous export market and
8280-416: The characters had the same problems." Originally, Wong envisioned the stories as similar but with contrasting settings: one in Hong Kong Island in daylight, and the other in Kowloon at night. He felt that "despite the difference, they are the same stories": one was about encountering love in the tight city, the other was about the keeping love without physical connection. The screenplay was not finished by
8400-437: The destination to be, to which he replies, "Wherever you want to take me." Wong Kar-wai made Chungking Express during a two-month break from the editing of his wuxia film Ashes of Time . He said: "While I had nothing to do, I decided to make Chungking Express following my instincts," and that: "After the very heavy stuff, heavily emphasized in Ashes of Time , I wanted to make a very light, contemporary movie, but where
8520-400: The development of early films was tightly bound to Chinese opera , for centuries the dominant form of dramatic entertainment. Opera scenes were the source for what are generally credited as the first movies made in Hong Kong, two 1909 short comedies entitled Stealing a Roasted Duck and Right a Wrong with Earthenware Dish . The director was stage actor and director Liang Shaobo. The producer
8640-699: The directors usually got him to do something just to be exotic. When Golden Harvest's The Big Boss (a.k.a. The Fists of Fury , 1971) came into theatres, it jump-started Lee's career into stardom and made martial arts and kung fu a global trend. In 1976, Shaw Brothers made a series of true crime films. The first, The Criminals , took in HK$ 838,067, ranking at #33 in the Hong Kong box office for that year. Following its success, Shaw Brothers made The Criminals 2 – Homicides that same year, followed by three more films ( The Criminals 3 – Arson , The Criminals 4 – Assault and The Criminals 5 – The Teenager's Nightmare )
8760-471: The early 1980s, but has been relatively rare onscreen since. In 1970, former Shaw Brothers executives Raymond Chow and Leonard Ho left to form their own studio, Golden Harvest . The upstart's more flexible and less tightfisted approach to the business outmaneuvered the Shaws' old-style studio. Chow and Ho landed contracts with rising young performers who had fresh ideas for the industry, like Bruce Lee and
8880-422: The energy and surreal imagination that foreign audiences note in Hong Kong cinema. In 2010, the box office gross in Hong Kong was HK$ 1.339 billion and in 2011 it was HK$ 1.379 billion. There were 56 Hong Kong films and 220 foreign films released in 2011. In 2017, the box office gross was HK$ 1.85 billion compared with HK$ 1.95 billion in 2016. 331 films were released in 2017, dropped from 348
9000-400: The entire film production operation from Shanghai to Hong Kong and reorganised Tianyi into Nanyang ( 南洋 ) Productions. The name 粵語長片 ( pinyin : Yuèyǔ cháng piàn ; Jyutping : jyut6 jyu5 coeng4 pin3*2 ) soon became the standard name for black and white Cantonese movies. Filmed Cantonese operas proved even more successful than wuxia and constituted the leading genre of
9120-713: The expertise and capital of the Shanghai filmmakers. For decades to come, Cantonese films, though sometimes more numerous, were relegated to second-tier status. Most of the films reviewed by the Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration come with subtitles, although there is no law requiring them. According to Shu Kei (also known as Kenneth Ip), the reason for the inclusion of English subtitles must have been to target overseas audiences, while Chinese subtitles were added to reach those who could read Chinese, but could not understand Cantonese. The books City on Fire: Hong Kong Cinema (1999) and "Yang, 2003" falsely claim that
9240-459: The face of Mandarin studios and Cantonese television, which became available to the general population in 1967; in 1972 no films in the local dialect were made. The Shaws saw their longtime rival Cathay ceasing film production, leaving themselves the only megastudio. The martial arts subgenre of the kung fu movie exploded into popularity internationally, with the Shaws driving and dominating the wave. But changes were beginning that would greatly alter
9360-524: The female duo of Yam Kim Fai and Pak Suet Sin (Yam–Pak for short). Yam specialised in male scholar roles to Pak's female leads. They made over fifty films together, The Purple Hairpin (1959) being one of the most enduringly popular (Teo, 1997). Low-budget martial arts films were also popular. 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
9480-420: The first forays into up-to-date special effects technology, sprang up quickly. To this surface dazzle, the new cinema added an eclectic mixing and matching of genres, and a penchant for pushing the boundaries of sensationalistic content. Slapstick comedy, sex, the supernatural, and above all action (of both the martial arts and cops-and-criminals varieties) ruled, occasionally all in the same film. Some of
9600-453: The first part of the movie: during the opening and when Brigitte Lin's character takes the gun in the closer. This track does not appear on the soundtrack album, although three other tracks are similar to it: "Fornication in Space" (track 3), "Heartbreak" (track 8) and "Sweet Farewell" (track 9), played respectively on synth, guitar and piano. The song " California Dreamin' " by The Mamas &
9720-593: The following year. The first movie in The Criminals series included three true stories: The Human Torsos , The Stuntmen, and Valley of the Hanged ; each story was filmed by a different director. Valley of the Hanged told the story of a triple murder in Hong Kong, as well as a story about an unfaithful wife humiliating her husband. The Shaw Brothers' films attracted audiences with bizarre true stories featuring erotic and violent scenes. Their films also portrayed
9840-708: The genre. Historical costume epics often overlapped with the Huángméidiào , such as in The Kingdom and the Beauty (1959). (Both of the above examples were directed by Shaw's star director, Li Han Hsiang ). Romantic melodramas such as Red Bloom in the Snow (1956), Love Without End (1961), The Blue and the Black (1964) and adaptations of novels by Chiung Yao were popular. So were Hollywood-style musicals , which were
9960-406: The hectic and low-budget industry, this method was faster and more cost-efficient than recording live sound, particularly when using performers from different dialect regions; it also helped facilitate dubbing into other languages for the vital export market (for example, Standard Mandarin for mainland China and Taiwan). Many busy stars would not even record their own dialogue, but would be dubbed by
10080-606: The iconic films during this period include The Killer (1989), by John Woo , which is archetypal of the heroic bloodshed genre. During this period, the Hong Kong industry was one of the few in the world that thrived in the face of the increasing global dominance of Hollywood. Indeed, it came to exert a comparable dominance in its own region of the world. The regional audience had always been vital, but now more than ever Hong Kong product filled theatres and video shelves in places like Thailand , Singapore , Malaysia , Indonesia and South Korea . Taiwan became at least as important
10200-402: The industry by the end of the decade. Paradoxically, television would soon contribute to the revival of Cantonese in a movement towards more down-to-earth movies about modern Hong Kong life and average people. The first spark was the ensemble comedy The House of 72 Tenants , the only Cantonese film made in 1973, a resounding hit. It was based on a well-known play and produced by the Shaws as
10320-404: The island are also famous for hiking . The northern part of Hong Kong Island, together with Kowloon and Tsuen Wan New Town , forms the core urban area of Hong Kong. Their combined area is approximately 88.3 square kilometres (34.1 square miles) and their combined population is approximately 3,156,500, reflecting a population density of 35,700 people/km (92,000 people/sq mi). The island
10440-469: The keys to repeatedly enter the man's apartment to clean and redecorate. Gradually, her ploys help him cheer up. He finds Faye coming to his apartment and realises that she likes him; he arranges a date at a restaurant named California. Faye does not arrive, and the buffet owner, her cousin, goes to the restaurant to tell him that Faye has left for the US state of California. She leaves him a boarding pass drawn on
10560-579: The last major milestone of the decade, the so-called Hong Kong New Wave that would come from outside the traditional studio hierarchy and point to new possibilities for the industry. The 1980s and early 1990s saw seeds planted in the 1970s come to full flower: the triumph of Cantonese, the birth of a new and modern cinema, superpower status in the East Asian market, and the turning of the West's attention to Hong Kong film. A cinema of greater technical polish and more sophisticated visual style, including
10680-571: The late 1990s and this method is now the norm, partly because of a widespread public association with higher quality cinema. During its early history, Hong Kong's cinema played second fiddle to that of the mainland , particularly the city of Shanghai, which was then the movie capital of the Chinese-speaking world. Very little of this work is extant: one count finds only four films remaining out of over 500 produced in Hong Kong before World War II . Detailed accounts of this period therefore have inherent limitations and uncertainties. As in most of China,
10800-510: The local audience for Hong Kong cinema paid off immediately. Games Gamblers Play initially made US$ 1.4 million at the Hong Kong box office, becoming the highest-grossing film up to that point. The Hui movies also broke ground by satirising the modern reality of an ascendant middle class, whose long work hours and dreams of material success were transforming the colony into a modern industrial and corporate giant. Cantonese comedy thrived and Cantonese production skyrocketed; Mandarin hung on into
10920-434: The much-imitated "Cinema City style". Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island ( Chinese : 香港島 ; Jyutping : Hoeng1 gong2 dou2 ; Cantonese Yale : Hēunggóng dóu ) is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong . The island, known originally and on road signs simply as "Hong Kong", had a population of 1,289,500 and a population density of 16,390 per square kilometre (42,400/sq mi), as of 2023 . It
11040-437: The narrow selections at video stores, are not as curious or knowledgeable and may simply be puzzled by Chungking Express instead of challenged. It needs to be said, in any event, that a film like this is largely a cerebral experience: You enjoy it because of what you know about film, not because of what it knows about life. Rolling Stone ' s Peter Travers praised the film as both "exasperating and exhilarating": There
11160-458: The ordinary aspects of Hong Kongers' lives, such as playing mahjong, a popular form of gambling. By the end of the 1970s, Golden Harvest was the top studio, signing with Jackie Chan, the kung fu comedy actor-filmmaker who would spend the next 20 years as Asia's biggest box office draw. Raymond Chow built upon Lee's success with The Big Boss (a.k.a. Fists of Fury , 1971), Fist of Fury (a.k.a. The Chinese Connection , 1972) and The Way of
11280-418: The original title of the film is " 重慶森林 ", while the Chinese title of Haruki Murakami's " Norwegian Wood " (1987) is " 挪威的森林 ". The second story was shot in Central , including Lan Kwai Fong , near a popular fast food shop called Midnight Express. "In this area, there are a lot of bars, a lot of foreign executives would hang out there after work," Wong remembers. The fast food shop is forever immortalized as
11400-634: The other districts in Hong Kong. Affluent districts on Hong Kong Island are The Peak , Western Mid-Levels ( Conduit Road / Robinson Road / Magazine Gap Road / Kotewall Road etc.), Eastern Mid-Levels ( Happy Valley / Tai Hang / Jardine's Lookout ), Tai Tam , Deep Water Bay and Repulse Bay . As of 2021, 85% of Hong Kong Island's residents are of Chinese descent. The largest ethnic minority groups are Filipinos (5.6%), Indonesians (2.6%), and White people (2.5%) As of 2021, 80.4% of Hong Kong Island's residents use Cantonese as their usual language, while 10.6% use English and 3.3% use Mandarin . 2.8% of
11520-654: The planned North Island line infrastructure project would extend both the Tung Chung line and the Tseung Kwan O line to connect them to each other, forming a route parallel to the middle section of the Island line. Two other rail systems, Hong Kong Tramways and the Peak Tram , also run exclusively on Hong Kong Island. The former runs mostly parallel to the Island line between Kennedy Town and Shau Kei Wan , with
11640-677: The population increased around 2.9 million during this period. This became a flood with the 1946 resumption of the Chinese Civil War (which had been on hold during the fight against Japan) and then the 1949 Communist victory. These events definitively shifted the center of Chinese-language cinema to Hong Kong. The colony also did big business exporting films to Southeast Asian countries (especially but not exclusively due to their large Chinese expatriate communities) and to Chinatowns in Western countries. The postwar era also cemented
11760-491: The relationship, Zhi Wu chooses to wait for a month. Every day he buys a tin of pineapples with an expiration date of 1 May, because May enjoyed pineapples and 1 May is his birthday. Meanwhile, a woman in a blonde wig tries to survive in the drug underworld after a smuggling operation goes sour. On 1 May, Zhi Wu approaches the woman in the blonde wig at the Bottoms Up Club . However, she is exhausted and falls asleep in
11880-504: The release of Chungking Express , and contemporary Canto-pop stars such as Candy Lo began adopting a more dream-pop sound, such as in Lo's 1998 EP Don't Have to be... Too Perfect and subsequent album Miao... . On 8 March 1996, the film began a limited theatrical run in North America through Quentin Tarantino 's Rolling Thunder distribution company under Miramax . The Region 1 DVD
12000-458: The residents use Chinese dialects other than Cantonese and Mandarin as their usual language and 2.9% use languages not listed above as their usual language. Seven of the MTR rapid transit system's ten lines service Hong Kong Island. The Island line and South Island line run exclusively on the four districts of Hong Kong Island, with the Island line serving the north shore at 17 stations, and
12120-496: The second half of the 1960s, the Shaws inaugurated a new generation of more intense, less fantastical wuxia films with glossier production values, acrobatic moves and stronger violence. The trend was inspired by the popularity of imported samurai movies from Japan, as well as by the loss of movie audiences to television. This marked the crucial turn of the industry from a female-centric genre system to an action movie orientation. Key trendsetters included Xu Zenghong's Temple of
12240-490: The shores of the Mainland and seek help from residents of the coastal areas. The ban was lifted when the remnants of the Ming dynasty were exterminated in 1669, though not many original residents of Hong Kong Island returned to the area. Piracy was rampant in the area until the island was ceded to the United Kingdom in 1842. Following the First Opium War (1839–1842), Hong Kong Island was ceded to Great Britain in 1842 under
12360-401: The spot where Tony Leung and Faye Wong's characters met and became attracted to one another. Wong was also drawn to "the escalator from Central to the mid-levels . That interests me because no one has made a movie there. When we were scouting for locations we found the light there entirely appropriate." The apartment of Tony Leung's character was cinematographer Christopher Doyle 's apartment at
12480-488: The studios also owned the stars. As is common in commercial cinema, the industry's heart is a highly developed star system . In earlier days, beloved performers from the Chinese opera stage often brought their audiences with them to the screen. For the past three or four decades, television has been a major launching pad for movie stardom, through acting courses and widely watched drama, comedy and variety series offered by
12600-530: The third floor of the Peninsula Hotel , thus beginning the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong . Isogai Rensuke became the first Japanese governor of Hong Kong. Hyper-inflation and food rationing followed; and the Japanese declared Hong Kong Dollars illegal. The Japanese enforced a repatriation policy throughout the period of occupation due to the scarcity of food and the possible counter-attack of
12720-433: The time filming began; Wong finished it when filming paused over New Year. He wrote the second story in a single day. He developed a third story, about a love-sick hitman, but as he felt it would make Chungking Express overlong, he produced it as a separate film, Fallen Angels (1995). Wong wanted to film in Tsim Sha Tsui , since he grew up in the area and felt a strong connection to it. He described it as "an area where
12840-599: The time of filming. Wong narrates the story in a fragmented structure and connects the fragments through monologues. By looking at the pictures created by Wong, the emotions and themes central to the story become clear. The film's marketing posters were designed by artist Stanley Wong , under his pseudonym "Another Mountain Man". The main recurring music for the first story is Dennis Brown 's "Things in Life". The song "Baroque", composed by Michael Galasso , can be heard twice during
12960-408: The top studios by the 1960s, and bitter rivals. The Shaws gained the upper hand in 1964 after the death in a plane crash of MP&GI founder and head Loke Wan Tho . The renamed Cathay faltered, ceasing film production in 1970 (Yang, 2003). A musical genre called Huángméidiào ( 黃梅調 ) was derived from Chinese opera ; the Shaws' record-breaking hit The Love Eterne (1963) remains the classic of
13080-604: The traditional commercial district of Central. On 1 July 1997, the sovereignty of Hong Kong Island was transferred to the People's Republic of China alongside Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories , ending 156 years of British rule on Hong Kong Island. Despite Hong Kong Island being an island, it is not part of the Islands District . Four districts of Hong Kong are located on the island: Since 2021, Hong Kong Island West and Hong Kong Island East have been
13200-669: The two Legislative Council geographical constituencies in Hong Kong Island. Between 1997 and 2021, Hong Kong Island was one geographical constituency of itself . Between 1995 and 1997 however, Hong Kong Island consisted of four geographical constituencies, with them being Hong Kong Island Central , Hong Kong Island East , Hong Kong Island South and Hong Kong Island West . In the previous council from 1991 to 1995 , Hong Kong Island consisted of two geographical constituencies, Hong Kong Island West and Hong Kong Island East , similar to current arrangements. Hong Kong Island
13320-513: The world. It was opened in 1993 with the initiative of providing relief to traffic in the Mid-Levels . It travels from Queen's Road Central to Conduit Road , with the total horizontal distance being over 800 m (2,600 ft) and total vertical distance being over 135 m (443 ft). It consists of covered walkways, 16 reversible one-way escalators and 3 reversible one-way travelators. Restaurants, bars and shops can be found alongside
13440-456: The year before. According to Paul McDonald, a star system emerged in Hollywood as talent scouts, coaches, and publicists were involved with finding performers and making them into stars. In the vertically integrated Hollywood film industry of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, these responsibilities were all undertaken by the studios themselves. The studios made the stars and, due to notoriously restrictive terms imposed by exclusive services contracts,
13560-402: Was a theatrical colleague of Liang Shaobo's who would become known as the "Father of Hong Kong Cinema". In another borrowing from opera, 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. Zhuangzhi
13680-588: Was an American, Benjamin Brodsky (sometimes transliterated 'Polaski'), one of a number of Westerners who helped jumpstart Chinese film through their efforts to crack China's vast potential market. Credit for the first Hong Kong feature film is usually given to Zhuangzi Tests His Wife (1913), which also took its story from the opera stage, was helmed by a stage director and featured Brodsky's involvement. Director Lai Man-Wai (Li Ming Wei or Li Minwei in Mandarin )
13800-630: Was distributed by Rolling Thunder as Tarantino is an admirer of Wong Kar-wai. Chungking Express was later released by The Criterion Collection on DVD and Blu-ray Disc (their first release on that format) in 2008. Criterion has since reclaimed the rights and the film is currently available on its streaming platform, the Criterion Channel (as of July 2022). In March 2021, it was remastered and re-released by Criterion as part of their Blu-ray box set, The World of Wong Kar Wai . Chungking Express earned HK$ 7,678,549 during its Hong Kong run. In
13920-517: Was general in much of the world affected Hong Kong film as well. A genre of softcore erotica known as fengyue became a local staple (the name is a contraction of a Chinese phrase implying seductive decadence). Such material did not suffer as much of a stigma in Hong Kong as in most Western countries; it was more or less part of the mainstream, sometimes featuring contributions from major directors such as Chor Yuen and Li Han Hsiang and often crossbreeding with other popular genres like martial arts,
14040-504: Was included in Time ' s All-Time 100 best movies list in 2005. The film ranked 56th in BBC's 2018 list of The 100 greatest foreign language films voted by 209 film critics from 43 countries around the world. Academy Award -winning director Barry Jenkins ( Moonlight ) is said to be influenced by this film. Cinema of Hong Kong The cinema of Hong Kong ( Chinese : 香港電影 )
14160-501: Was the only film made by Chinese American Film, founded by Lai and Brodsky as the first movie studio in Hong Kong, and was never actually shown in the territory. The following year, the outbreak of World War I put a large crimp in the development of cinema in Hong Kong, as Germany was the source of the colony's film stock. It was not until 1923 that Lai, his brother and their cousin joined with Liang Shaobo to form Hong Kong's first entirely Chinese-owned-and-operated production company,
14280-474: Was the third largest motion picture industry in the world following US cinema and Indian cinema , and the second largest exporter. Despite an industry crisis starting in the mid-1990s and Hong Kong's transfer to Chinese sovereignty in July 1997, Hong Kong film has retained much of its distinctive identity and continues to play a prominent part on the world cinema stage. In the West, Hong Kong's vigorous pop cinema (especially Hong Kong action cinema ) has long had
14400-645: Was then established on the island by British forces in honour of Queen Victoria . At the time, the island had a population of about 3,000 inhabitants scattered in a dozen fishing villages. The northern-east part of the island, being known as the Central area is the historical, political, and economic centre of Hong Kong, with many government buildings being in the area, namely the Government House , Central Government Complex , Legislative Council Complex , Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal and High Court of Hong Kong . Many financial institutes and banks such as
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