Cherie Chung - The Chinese Cinema

The Chinese Cinema

Sign in Subscribe

Cherie Chung

A collection of 7 posts

Thrice a Thief (Ralph Nelson, 1965 and John Woo, 1991 & 1996)

Paid-members only

Thrice a Thief (Ralph Nelson, 1965 and John Woo, 1991 & 1996)

The Eighth Happiness (Johnnie To, 1988)

The Eighth Happiness (Johnnie To, 1988)

Following up on the Cinema City romantic comedy Seven Years Itch, To re-teamed with producer-writer-star (not necessarily in that order) Raymond Wong Bak-Ming for an ensemble film designed for release during the Lunar New Year holiday, a week-long (more or less) celebration that is the highlight of the Hong Kong

Zodiac Killers (Ann Hui, 1991)

Zodiac Killers (Ann Hui, 1991)

A somewhat misleading title, as the movie doesn’t have anything to do with a Zodiac, or really even any Killers. Instead this 1991 film is a portrait of Chinese students in Tokyo leading desperately miserable lives. Directed by the great New Wave filmmaker Ann Hui, it was apparently [http:

Once a Thief (John Woo, 1991)

Once a Thief (John Woo, 1991)

If Cherie Chung hadn’t retired after making this movie, and maybe had gone on to star in some Wong Kar-wai movies, would she be better known today? She was one of the key Hong Kong actresses of the 1980s, beginning with her debut in Johnnie To’s first film,

Peking Opera Blues (Tsui Hark, 1986)

Peking Opera Blues (Tsui Hark, 1986)

A great movie, perhaps the best melding of director Tsui Hark’s twin impulses toward subversion and entertainment. The setup follows two plotlines that will come together and intertwine with a third, each focused on a female protagonist. Brigitte Lin plays the daughter of a local warlord. She dresses like

The Enigmatic Case (Johnnie To, 1980)

The Enigmatic Case (Johnnie To, 1980)

After getting his start working in television at Hong Kong’s TVB studio in the mid-1970s, Johnnie To made his feature debut in 1980 with a dark, stylish martial arts film made on the cheap for a small, leftist studio. Though quite similar in tone and style to the debut

Winners & Sinners (Sammo Hung, 1983)

Winners & Sinners (Sammo Hung, 1983)

More a straight comedy than any of the other Sammo Hung films I’ve seen, though it does contain some interesting stunts. An amiable hangout movie, with Sammo and his buddies just playing around with goofy jokes and the barest necessities of a plot. Sammo and his four ex-con friends