Tsui Hark

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Tsui Hark (2008)

Tsui Hark ( Chinese  徐克 , Pinyin Xú Kè , W.-G. Hsü K'o , Jyutping Ceoi 4 Hak 1 ; born February 15, 1950 in Canton ) is a director, producer and actor from Hong Kong .

Life

As a child, Tsui Hark lived with his family in Saigon , the capital of South Vietnam . His father worked there as a pharmacist. In 1966 the Tsui family moved to Hong Kong . Two years later, Tsui Hark graduated from high school there and studied radio, TV and film design at Southern Methodist University in Dallas , Texas from 1969 . After graduating in 1975, he worked for two years in New York for the cable television station "Chinatown Community TV". At the same time he is involved in several cultural projects of the Chinese minority in New York.

Director

In 1977 Tsui Hark returned to Hong Kong and initially worked for TVB as a director for television series, where he soon made a name for himself. Only a year later he was able to shoot his first feature film, The Shaolin Death Grottoes ( The Butterfly Murders , 1979), which attracted a lot of attention from film critics .

This film, together with the following feature films, We Come and Will Eat You ( We're going to eat you , 1980) and Mercenaries Know No Mercy ( Don't Play With Fire , Dangerous Encounters - First Kind ) (1980), the starting shot for the so-called New Wave of Hong Kong Cinema , which lasted from 1980 to 1996.

In the years from 1980 onwards, Tsui Hark directed a large number of films in a wide variety of genres. The main focus of his work is on wuxia films. He suggested a renewal of this genre. In contrast to the Wuxia films from the 60s and 70s, e.g. B. from the director King Hu they have a lot more fantastic elements. With the help of special effects , the brightly colored worlds of Chinese mythology and popular Wuxia novels can now be brought to life better. The martial art shown is more fantastic than real, e.g. For example, many figures have the ability to fly through the air using “weightless kung fu ”. The fight scenes are far more dynamic than they used to be and are mostly cut very quickly. Further characteristics are the humor, which is often bizarre by Western standards, and strong, independent female characters. Examples of such wuxia films are Zu Warriors and Swordsman .

One of his best films is Peking Opera Blues from 1986. It is set at the time of the first Chinese revolution around 1911. Three strong women, played by Brigitte Lin , Sally Yeh and Cherie Chung , are at the center of a dramatic and turbulent story stolen documents, the Peking Opera and intrigues between the warlords . With this film, the new Hong Kong cinema reached a broader audience in the West for the first time. Even today the fight scenes, which were cut extremely quickly for the time, are still remarkable. This style was later adopted by western directors, e.g. B. in the movie Matrix .

He achieved his greatest commercial success in Hong Kong with the film The Black Tigers of Hong Kong (orig .: Wong Fei-hung , 1991), a story about the Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung , which is set at the time of the Boxer Rebellion .

In 1997 and 1998, Tsui Hark made two Hollywood films, Double Team and Knock Off . These were not particularly successful.

producer

In 1984 Tsui Hark founded his own production company, Film Workshop, with its own special effects department. Since then, he has also worked as a producer, promoting the use of special effects in Hong Kong cinema in particular.

Tsui Hark has a habit of interfering very heavily in the design of the films he produces. He often demands changes to the set or even directs some scenes himself. This is why numerous films show the typical "Tsui Hark style" that were only produced by him. An example are the movies A Chinese Ghost Story I-III , where Ching Siu-tung , the Director led. Many colleagues therefore find it difficult to work with him.

actor

In addition to his work as a director and producer, Tsui Hark also appeared as an actor in several films in the 1980s, e. B. in Yes, Madam (1985), where he made a strong grimace and gesticulation for humorous interludes in the really tough action thriller with Michelle Yeoh . He also appeared in many of the films in which he was a producer or director, in small roles or as a speaker.

Filmography (selection)

Director

  • 1979: The Shaolin Death Caves (Dip bin)
  • 1980: We come and will eat you (Di yu wu men)
  • 1980: Mercenaries know no mercy (Ti yi lei hsing wei hsien)
  • 1984: Mad Mission III - Our Man from Bond Street (Zui jia pai dang 3: Nv huang mi ling)
  • 1984: Shanghai Blues (Shang Hai zhi yen)
  • 1986: Five Swords for Freedom (Peking Opera Blues) (Do ma daan)
  • 1989: Saigon cauldron (Ying hung boon sik III: Zik yeung ji gor)
  • 1990: Master of the Sword (Xiao ao jiang hu)
  • 1991: The Black Tigers of Hong Kong (Wong Fei Hung)
  • 1992: The Master (Long hang tian xia)
  • 1992: Once Upon a Time in China 2 (Wong Fei Hung II: Nam yee tung chi keung)
  • 1992: Twin Dragons - Das Powerduo (Seong lung wui) (co-director)
  • 1993: Once Upon A Chinese Fighter (Once Upon In China 3) (Wong Fei Hung III: Si wong jaang ba)
  • 1995: The Emperor's Banquet (Jin yu man tang)
  • 1995: The Blade (Dao)
  • 1997: Double Team (Double Team)
  • 1998: Knock Off (Knock Off)
  • 2000: Tyler and Jack - Time and Tide (Shun liu ni liu)
  • 2001: To Warriors (Shu shan zheng zhuan)
  • 2002: Black Mask 2: City of Masks (Hak hap 2)
  • 2005: The Seven Swords (Qi jian)
  • 2007: Triangle (Tie saam gok) (co-director)
  • 2008: Missing (Sam hoi tsam yan)
  • 2008: All About Women (Nu ren bu huai)
  • 2010: Detective Dee and the secret of the phantom flames (Di renjie: Tong tian di guo)
  • 2011: Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (Long men fei jia)
  • 2013: Detective Dee and the curse of the sea monster (Di Renjie: Shen du long wang)
  • 2014: The last battle on Tiger Mountain (Zhì qu weihu shan)
  • 2017: Journey to the West: Demon Chapter

producer

  • 1986: City Wolf (Ying hong boon sik)
  • 1987: City Wolf II - billing in installments (Ying hong boon sik II)
  • 1987: A Chinese Ghost Story (Sien nui yau wan)
  • 1988: The Big Heat (Seng fat dak went)
  • 1988: Roboforce (Tie jia wu di Ma Li Ya)
  • 1988: Gunmen (Tian luo di wang)
  • 1989: The Emperor's Warrior (Qin yong)
  • 1989: The Killer (Dip huet seung hung)
  • 1989: Hard-Boiled 2 (Yi dan qun ying)
  • 1990: Spy Games (Zhong Ri nan bei he)
  • 1990: A Chinese Ghost Story II (Sien nui yau wan II: Yan gaan do)
  • 1991: A Chinese Ghost Story III (Sien nui yau wan III: Do do do)
  • 1992: China Swordsman (Xiao ao jiang hu: dong fang bu bai; International: Swordman II)
  • 1993: China Swordsman (Dong Fang Bu Bai: Feng yun zai qi; International: Swordman III)
  • 1992: Once Upon a Time in China 2 (Wong Fei Hung II: Nam yee tung chi keung)
  • 1992: Dragon Inn (Sun lung moon hak chan)
  • 1992: Mutant City (Yao shou du shi)
  • 1993: Iron Monkey (Siu nin Wong Fei Hung chi: Tit ma lau)
  • 1993: Green Snake (Ching se)
  • 1994: The Lovers (Liang zhu)
  • 1994: Burning Paradise (Huo shao hong lian si)
  • 1994: Last Hero II (Wong Fei Hung IV: Wong je ji fung)
  • 1994: Once upon a Time in China V (Wong Fei Hung chi neung: Lung shing chim pa)
  • 1996: Black Mask: Mission Possible (Hak hap)
  • 1996: Shanghai Grand (Xin Shang Hai tan)
  • 1997: Once Upon a Time in China and America (Wong fei hung VI: Sai wik hung see)
  • 2001: Old Master Q 2001 (Lao fu zi)
  • 2002: The Era of Vampires (Jiang shi da shi dai)
  • 2002: Black Mask 2: City of Masks (Hak hap 2)
  • 2004: Sandaô (Xanda)
  • 2007: Triangle - The Hunt for the Pot of Gold (Tie saam gok)
  • 2008: Missing (Sam hoi tsam yan)
  • 2010: Detective Dee and the secret of the phantom flames (Di renjie: Tong tian di guo)
  • 2013: Detective Dee and the curse of the sea monster (Di Renjie: Shen du long wang)
  • 2013: Christmas Rose (Sheng Dan Mei Gui)
  • 2016: Sword Master (San Shao Ye De Jian)

actor

  • 1982: Mad Mission (Zui jia pai dang)
  • 1983 Mad Mission II - Aces Go Places (Zui jia pai dang 2: Da xian shen tong)
  • 1983: All the Wrong Spies (Wo ai Ye Laixiang)
  • 1985: Ultra Force - Part 2 (Huang jia shi jie)
  • 1986: City Wolf (Ying hung boon sik)
  • 1988: Roboforce (Tie jia wu di Ma Li Ya)
  • 1988: The Big Heat (Seng fat dak went)
  • 1992: Twin Dragons - Das Powerduo (Seong lung wui)
  • 2011: Tao Jie - A Simple Life (Tou ze)
  • 2011: The Great Magician (Daai mo seut si)
  • 2016: The Mermaid (Mei ren yu)
  • 2016: My Beloved Bodyguard (Wo de te gong ye ye)

literature

  • Ralph Umard: Film without borders: the new Hong Kong cinema. Kerschensteiner, Lappersdorf 1996, ISBN 3-931-95402-1 .
  • Andrew Schroeder: Tsui Hark's To: Warriors from the Magic Mountain. (New Hong Kong Cinema, paperback), Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong 2004, ISBN 9-622-09651-4 .
  • Lisa Morton: The Cinema of Tsui Hark. Mcfarland & Co, Jefferson (North Carolina) 2009, ISBN 0-786-44460-6 .

Web links

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Chinese. Tsui is the family name here, Hark is the first name.
personal data
SURNAME Tsui Hark
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 徐克 (Chinese); Xú Kè; Hsü K'o
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Sino-Vietnamese director and producer
DATE OF BIRTH February 15, 1950
PLACE OF BIRTH Canton