Hong Kong Film Archive's 100 Must-See Movies

[One Armed Boxer]

The Hong Kong Film Archive today released their Top 100 Must-See list. There are some pretty interesting choices, and it's worth noting that not a single move made on or after the year 2000 made the cut....whether that's a sign of how little quality there's been in the last 10 years to come out of Hong Kong, or the criteria cut-off was the year 2000, I'd be interested to hear peoples opinions on.

Personally I think there's some good choices on there, as well as some bewildering ones, for example I'm not sure if it's really necessary to have the original 'Fong Sai Yuk' AND it's sequel, but there they are. What do other people think, any movie been criminally missed off?

1916 - A Trip Through China (Benjamin Brodsky)

1939 - Orphan Island Paradise (Tsai Chu Sang)

1941 - Scenes of Yan'an aka On The Northwest Front Line (Lam Chong, Tsui Tin Cheung)

1941 - Roar of the People (Tang Xiaodan)

1941 - A Page of History (Lai Man Wai)

1948 - Sorrows of the Forbidden City (Zhu Shilin)

1949 - Blood Will Tell Griffin (Yue Feng)

1949 - Wong Fei Hung's Whip That Smacks The Candle (Wu Pang)

1949 - Wong Fei Hung Burns The Tyrants' Lair (Wu Pang)

1950 - Dawn Must Come (Wong Wai Yat)

1950 - The Kid (Fung Fung)

1950 - Awful Truth (Li Pingqian)

1950 - The Misarranged Love Trap (Mok Hong Si)

1951 - Blood-stained Azaleas (Lee Sun Fung)

1951 - Should They Marry? (Zhu Shilin, Bai Chen)

1951 - Mysterious Murderer Part 1 (Tong Tik Sang)

1951 - Mysterious Murderer Part 2 (Tong Tik Sang)

1952 - The Prodigal Son (Ng Wui)

1953/1954 - Family/Spring/Autumn (Ng Wui/Lee Sun Fung/Chun Kim)

1953 - Festival Moon (Zhu Shilin)

1953 - In The Face of Demolition (Lee Tit)

1954 - Story of Father and Son (Ng Wui)

1954 - Mutual Understanding (Chun Kim)

1955 - It Was A Cold Winter Night aka Cold Night (Lee Sun Fung)

1955 - Parents' Hearts (Chun Kim)

1955 - Eternal Love (Lee Tit)

1955 - Anna Lee (Sun Fung)

1956 - Blood In Snow (Li Han Hsiang)

1956 - The Wall (Wong Hang)

1956 - The Seventh Heaven (Ng Wui)

1957 - Golden Lotus Griffin (Yue Feng)

1957 - Love Lingers On (Tso Kea)

1957 - The Sorrowful Lute (Tso Kea)

1957 - Our Sister Hedy (Doe Ching)

1959 - Money (Ng Wui)

1959 - Butterfly and Red Pear Blossom (Lee Tit)

1959 - The Chair (Tso Kea)

1960 - Laugh, Clown, Laugh (Li Pingqian)

1960 - Forever Yours (Evan Yang)

1960 - Motherhood (Tso Kea)

1960 - The Wild, Wild Rose (Wong Tin Lam)

1960 - The Eternal Love (Zhu Shilin)

1961 - Father Is Back (Lee Tit)

1961 - How To Get A Wife (Chun Kim)

1963 - Empress Wu Tse Tien (Li Han Hsiang)

1963 - Father Takes A Bride (Wong Tin Lam)

1965 - Ungratefulness aka Remorse (Chor Yuen)

1966 - Come Drink With Me (King Hu)

1967 - Story of a Discharged Prisoner (Patrick Lung Kong)

1967 - Paragon of Sword & Knife Part 1 (Chan Lit Bun)

1968 - Paragon of Sword & Knife Part 2 (Chan Lit Bun)

1968 - The Golden Swallow (Chang Cheh)

1968 - The Pregnant Maiden aka Young, Pregnant and Unmarried (Chor Yuen)

1970 - The Arch (Tong Shu Shuen)

1970 - Yesterday Today Tomorrow (Patrick Lung Kong)

1971 - A Touch of Zen (King Hu)

1972 - Intimiate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan (Chor Yuen)

1972 - The Way of the Dragon (Bruce Lee)

1973 - The Blood Brothers (Chang Cheh)

1974 - China Behind (Tong Shu Shuen)

1976 - The Magic Blade (Chor Yuen)

1976 - The Private Eyes (Michael Hui)

1978 - Drunken Master (Yuen Woo Ping)

1979 - Dirty Ho (Lau Kar Leung)

1979 - Raining In The Mountain (King Hu)

1979 - The Butterfly Murders (Tsui Hark)

1979 - The Secret (Ann Hui)

1980 - The Spooky Bunch (Ann Hui)

1980 - Dangerous Encounter - First Kind (Tsui Hark)

1981 - Man On The Brink (Alex Cheung)

1981 - Martial Club (Lau Kar Leung)

1981 - The Prodigal Son (Sammo Hung)

1982 - Boat People (Ann Hui)

1982 - Nomad (Patrick Tam)

1983 - Reign Behind a Curtain (Li Han Hsiang)

1983 - Ah Ying (Allen Fong)

1984 - Long Arm of the Law (Johnny Mak)

1984 - Homecoming (Yim Ho)

1984 - Shanghai Blues (Tsui Hark)

1985 - Mr. Vampire (Ricky Lau Koon Wai)

1985 - Police Story (Jackie Chan)

1986 - A Better Tomorrow (John Woo)

1986 - Just Like Weather (Allen Fong)

1987 - City on Fire (Ringo Lam)

1987 - An Autumn's Tale (Mabel Cheung)

1987 - A Chinese Ghost Story (Ching Siu Tung)

1987 - Wonder Women (Kam Kwok Leung)

1987 - The Romance of Book and Swords (Ann Hui)

1988 - Rouge (Stanley Kwan)

1989 - The Killer (John Woo)

1989 - God of Gamblers (Wong Jing)

1990 - Days of Being Wild (Wong Kar Wai)

1991 - Once Upon A Time In China (Tsui Hark)

1992 - Swordsman II (Ching Siu Tung)

1992 - The Legendary La Rose Noire (Jeff Lau)

1992 - Autumn Moon (Clara Law)

1993 - Fong Sai Yuk (Corey Yuen)

1993 - Fong Sai Yuk II (Corey Yuen)

1993 - C'est La Vie, Mon Cheri (Derek Yee)

1994 - Ashes Of Time (Wong Kar Wai)

1995 - A Chinese Odyssey - Part 1: Pandora's Box (Jeff Lau)

1995 - A Chinese Odyssey - Part 2: Cinderella (Jeff Lau)

1996 - Comrades, Almost a Love Story (Peter Chan)

1997 - Made in Hong Kong (Fruit Chan)

1999 - The Mission (Johnnie To)

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

Only watched 24 of those.....

Some glaring omissions comes to mind though....

[DiP]

Way too many movies are missing, including those made post-1999.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Here's the link to the article: HKFA 100 Must See

EDIT: here is the pdf of the booklet.

Here is the criteria (so yes there was a cut-off date which is why no post 1999 films):

The programme features one hundred titles, representing Hong Kong cinema from its early years to the end of the 20thCentury. Films were selected mostly on artistic grounds but in some instances on historical significance. As the program title indicates, these are films that must be seen. Availability is another selection criterion. The idea of "must see" loses meaning if the films cannot be seen. As such, all of the titles on the list are, as far as we can determine, available for screening.

A couple of notes:

While A Touch of Zen (King Hu) is a great film (I really wish there was a better DVD/BD release of this) technically isn't this normally considered a Taiwanese film?

I understand the importance of The Butterfly Murders (Tsui Hark) for the HK New Wave, I just never felt it was top 100 HK material. It may just be me but I've seen much of the attributes in earlier films (handheld, plot, etc...).

Personally I've always like Center Stage (aka Centre Stage aka Actress) much better than Rouge from Stanley Kwan.

I need to find a lot of the pre-1960 films (and some of the later ones ).

I might add this list to listsofbests (I'm not sure if anyone else here uses that) since HKFA's other 100 list from a few years back is there too.

[Sheng]

Of course I can only judge the entries from the mid 60s on, but there are some very, very odd choices here and some very surprising ones too...

Good to see that Ann Hui's magnificent ROMANCE OF THE BOOK & THE SWORD in there (but hey, four picks for '87 alone?). Still remember being awestruck when I saw this premiered at the Berlin film festival in, I think, 1988. To my knowledge this never came on DVD.

Originally Posted by masterofoneinchpunch

While A Touch of Zen (King Hu) is a great film (I really wish there was a better DVD/BD release of this)

There is actually a halfway decent French DVD on Films Sans Frontiers. And, yes, it does come with English subs! To my knowledge its still available, you can order it from them directly.

[Guest Markgway]

The 47 that I've seen:

1966 - Come Drink With Me (King Hu)

1968 - The Golden Swallow (Chang Cheh)

1971 - A Touch of Zen (King Hu)

1972 - Intimiate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan (Chor Yuen)

1972 - The Way of the Dragon (Bruce Lee)

1973 - The Blood Brothers (Chang Cheh)

1976 - The Magic Blade (Chor Yuen)

1976 - The Private Eyes (Michael Hui)

1978 - Drunken Master (Yuen Woo Ping)

1979 - Dirty Ho (Lau Kar Leung)

1979 - Raining In The Mountain (King Hu)

1979 - The Butterfly Murders (Tsui Hark)

1980 - Dangerous Encounter - First Kind (Tsui Hark)

1981 - Man On The Brink (Alex Cheung)

1981 - Martial Club (Lau Kar Leung)

1981 - The Prodigal Son (Sammo Hung)

1982 - Boat People (Ann Hui)

1982 - Nomad (Patrick Tam)

1983 - Reign Behind a Curtain (Li Han Hsiang)

1983 - Ah Ying (Allen Fong)

1984 - Long Arm of the Law (Johnny Mak)

1984 - Shanghai Blues (Tsui Hark)

1985 - Mr. Vampire (Ricky Lau Koon Wai)

1985 - Police Story (Jackie Chan)

1986 - A Better Tomorrow (John Woo)

1987 - City on Fire (Ringo Lam)

1987 - An Autumn's Tale (Mabel Cheung)

1987 - A Chinese Ghost Story (Ching Siu Tung)

1987 - Wonder Women (Kam Kwok Leung)

1987 - The Romance of Book and Swords (Ann Hui)

1988 - Rouge (Stanley Kwan)

1989 - The Killer (John Woo)

1989 - God of Gamblers (Wong Jing)

1990 - Days of Being Wild (Wong Kar Wai)

1991 - Once Upon A Time In China (Tsui Hark)

1992 - Swordsman II (Ching Siu Tung)

1992 - The Legendary La Rose Noire (Jeff Lau)

1992 - Autumn Moon (Clara Law)

1993 - Fong Sai Yuk (Corey Yuen)

1993 - Fong Sai Yuk II (Corey Yuen)

1993 - C'est La Vie, Mon Cheri (Derek Yee)

1994 - Ashes Of Time (Wong Kar Wai)

1995 - A Chinese Odyssey - Part 1: Pandora's Box (Jeff Lau)

1995 - A Chinese Odyssey - Part 2: Cinderella (Jeff Lau)

1996 - Comrades, Almost a Love Story (Peter Chan)

1997 - Made in Hong Kong (Fruit Chan)

1999 - The Mission (Johnnie To)

Some excellent choices... almost as many baffling ones.

[odioustrident]

Would have been funny if they inserted something like Reckless Cricket in there with a wink.

[Guest Markgway]

A few remarks...

1968 - The Golden Swallow (Chang Cheh)

Not even in Chang Cheh's top ten best films and far below Come Drink with Me.

1972 - The Way of the Dragon (Bruce Lee)

Fist of Fury is vastly superior... but I assume this was included because Bruce also wrote and directed it.

1976 - The Private Eyes (Michael Hui)

Not surprised they included a Hui Bros comedy; even though they're not my cup of tea, I think they've done better.

1976 - The Magic Blade (Chor Yuen)

Chu Yuan has done better wuxia (though none of them are classics IMO)

1978 - Drunken Master (Yuen Woo Ping)

Better than The Young Master? Nope. I actually prefer SITES myself.

1979 - Dirty Ho (Lau Kar Leung)

1981 - Martial Club (Lau Kar Leung)

Lau has made some crackers... but I wouldn't say these two are among them. Odd choices to say the least.

1979 - The Butterfly Murders (Tsui Hark)

1980 - Dangerous Encounter - First Kind (Tsui Hark)

Tsui has made more great films than you can shake a stick at... I can only assume these are included for 'cultural importance'.

1982 - Nomad (Patrick Tam)

Another 'critics' film. Anything 'new wave' has them creaming their shorts.

1984 - Long Arm of the Law (Johnny Mak)

See above. Frankly I prefered the sequel (as unfashionable as that is).

1987 - Wonder Women (Kam Kwok Leung)

Where did that come from!?!

1989 - God of Gamblers (Wong Jing)

Influential... but great? Not really.

1992 - The Legendary La Rose Noire (Jeff Lau)

One of the most overrated pieces of tripe I've seen.

1993 - Fong Sai Yuk II (Corey Yuen)

I don't think both needed to be there, especially when the first is clearly superior.

1995 - A Chinese Odyssey - Part 1: Pandora's Box (Jeff Lau)

1995 - A Chinese Odyssey - Part 2: Cinderella (Jeff Lau)

I just don't get critics' love for Jeff Lau.

[blue_skies]

1993 - Fong Sai Yuk II (Corey Yuen)

I don't think both needed to be there, especially when the first is clearly superior.

.

In your opinion. I personally prefer the sequel.

As far as this list goes I can only really comment on the modern era, from perhaps the late 70s but for me there are so many great films not included on this list that I just don't know where to begin. The thing to remember is just because a film was influential back in the day it doesn't mean it stood the test of time to be in a top 100 all-time list. I personally would have liked to have seen a larger selection of modern martial arts action moviesand classic kung fu, in the hope that it would hopefully encourage audiences back to wanting more martial arts movies being made and a resurgence in Hong Kong action cinema.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

A few remarks...

...

1972 - The Way of the Dragon (Bruce Lee)

Fist of Fury is vastly superior... but I assume this was included because Bruce also wrote and directed it.

..

What is interesting about this pick from them was that in their 2005 list 103 Best Chinese Films that had Fist of Fury at pick 16 and that list included Mainland/Taiwanese as well. How that movie went from being that high to disappearing off the list is a bit weird (doesn't make sense unless HKFA has a different set doing this list than the previous one).

FYI: here is the 2005 103 list.

Honestly I'm not that big of a fan of The Kid (Fung Fung); though I do need to go over the movie again. I know it's historical influence like The Butterfly Murders, but I don't know if I would include it (I even prefered The Guiding Light (1953: Chun Kim) for 50's Cantonese films).

[DiP]

As far as this list goes I can only really comment on the modern era, from perhaps the late 70s but for me there are so many great films not included on this list that I just don't know where to begin. The thing to remember is just because a film was influential back in the day it doesn't mean it stood the test of time to be in a top 100 all-time list. I personally would have liked to have seen a larger selection of modern martial arts action moviesand classic kung fu, in the hope that it would hopefully encourage audiences back to wanting more martial arts movies being made and a resurgence in Hong Kong action cinema.

I can't see action movies dominating the list and meeting the standards of being good movies in only one single aspect. The list is based on movies by genre anyway.

[OpiumKungFuCracker]

Which ones are Shaw Bros????

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

I only see 6 SB flicks that I know by name. There might be more, since im not really familiar with their earlier efforts pre Come Drink With Me....

[Guest Yi-Long]

No Chungking Express? No Happy Together? No Hard Boiled? No Fist of Fury? No Fist of Legend? No Drunken Master 2!?

Etc etc etc.