Tsui Hark was born in Saigon in 1950, when he was 13 his family moved to Hong Kong. He studied film in Texas and worked in New York before returning to Hong Kong in 1977. His first film was the 1979 film The Butterfly Murders. He's worked on over 60 films as an actor, writer, producer or director. Sometimes all at once. Here's some of them from the first ten years of his career. YouTube has some of them, others you can find other ways. There are plenty of places online that sell Hong Kong movies and they are often quite cheap to purchase. Some are available on NetFlix and the like. I also used to rent VHS tapes and DVDs from Asian video stores, though I haven't been to any of them in 7 or 8 years now.
The Butterfly Murders 1979 Director - Haven't seen it since 1998 and I can't remember much of anything about it. I wasn't that fond of it when I did see it.
We're Going to Eat You 1980 Director - I haven't see this one at all.
Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind 1980 Director - This is a sort of restored version of the film. It was cut for being rather brutal by the censors.
All the Wrong Clues for the Right Solution 1981 Director Co-writer - A funny crime farce with Karl Maka, George Lam and Teddy Robin Kwan. Plenty of slapstick and action. There's a sequal that's directed by Teddy Robin Kwan.
Aces Go Places 1982 Cameo - Samuel Hui and Karl Maka star in this action comedy directed by Eric Tsang. I enjoyed it the couple of times I've watched it. I got a DVD from overseas several years ago.
Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain 1983 Director Actor - A fantasy film with Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. It's pretty astounding what goes on.
Search for the Gods 1983 Director - Haven't seen this one.
Aces Go Places 2 1983 Camero - Sam Hui and Karl Maka are back in this action crime comedy directed by Eric Tsang.
Shanghai Blues 1984 Director - A musical comedy that starts in 1937 Shanghai during Sino Japan War.
Aces Go Places 3 1984 Director - More of the same with Sam Hui and Karl Maka.
Working Class 1985 Director - Not one I'd seen.
Peking Opera Blues 1986 Director - One of my favorites of Tsui's movies. The story is set in the world of the Peking Opera. It's 1913 Beijing and we have a trio of beautiful ladies playing the main characters: Brigitte Lin, a patriotic rebel who dresses as a man; Cherie Chung, a woman in search of a missing box of jewels; and Sally Yeh, the daughter of a Peking Opera impresario. Their paths cross and there's plenty of action, some of it totally incredible.
Spirit Chaser Aisha 1986 Director - Haven't seen this one.
A Better Tomorrow 1986 Producer Cameo - This is the film that brought John Woo to the foreground as an action director. It's got nice rolls for Chow Yun-fat, Ti Lung and Leslie Cheung. It's well worth watching. Look for John Woo, Tsui Hark and Stephen Chow in small parts.
A Chinese Ghost Story 1987 Producer - A romantic comedy set in the world of the supernatural. Leslie Cheung and Joey Wong are the main characters. It's pretty much fun right from the start. It's directed by Ching Siu-tung who directed quite a few other good movies.
A Better Tomorrow 2 1987 Producer Writer - Chow Yun-fat, Ti Lung and Leslie Cheung return in John Woo's sequel. Chow's character was killed in the first movie so they had him play his twin brother.
I Love Maria 1988 Actor Director (uncredited) - Criminals are terrorizing Hong Kong with robots. One of them, the one that looks like a woman, is captured and reprogrammed by a police scientist. There's plenty of mayhem and collateral damage. When I started getting DVDs I thought this one was one I needed and I ordered it from Singapore. You can watch it on YouTube.
The Big Heat 1988 Director Actor - It's directorial credits go to Yeung-Wah Kam and Johnnie To, Tsui is uncredited on the movie. It's not one I've seen but from a brief description on the IMBd and a look at the beginning on YouTube it's a crime drama. I'll watch it later.
The Master 1989 Director Producer Writer - Jet Li arrives in Los Angeles to start training with his old Master. He arrives to find the store in shambles and criminals stealing stuff. He chases them down, while they are in a car, and they ask him to be their Master. I first saw this in 1997 but haven't seen it since.
A Better Tomorrow 3 Love and Death in Saigon 1989 Director Producer Writer - John Woo had issues with Tsui during the filming of the 2nd film in this series. He took his script and went off to make Bullet In The Head and Tsui wrote the story for his own movie. It's a prequel and there isn't hardly any Chow Yon-Fat in the movie. Not a bad one but not a favorite of mine.
The Killer 1989 Producer - There isn't much to be said about one of the most influencial films to come out of Hong Kong. It put Chow Yun-fat and John Woo on the global film map and brought them to America. Many film makers have borrowed from the movie. It's worth seeing. I have a couple of copies of the movie myself. I have a DVD and the Criterion laserdisc set.
IIt's too bad not more of them are available on the Internet. Still, the ten that are aren't too bad to be getting on with. You might like some of them and it's a good intro to the world of Hong Kong film. I'll post more of Tsui's films at a future date.
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