Direction of the engagements by Ching Siu-tung

A choice of films

1980: The Sword by Patrick Tam
A young epeist (Adam Cheng) in search of glory wanted to fight a famous swordman.

With this first film, Patrick Tam updates the wu xia pian, a kind then in decline. He has a new look on this conceited search of glory thanks to fight, a search that Tam find vain because the epeist will always find a stronger man. This movie is a classical of the kind thanks to the choreographies of Ching Siu-tung, already very fast and cut out.

1980: Don't Play With Fire by Tsui Hark
The bloody flight of 3 young chinese men and a girl sought by traffickers of weapons.

Tsui Hark always needs a choreographer to set up the scenes of action of his films. The first association of the two men which announces a profitable collaboration.

1986: Peking Opera Blues by Tsui Hark
The destiny of three women (Brigitte Lin, Cherie Chung and sally Yeh) in Pekin where there are many conflicts at the beginning of the century.

A major film in the development of the Workshop's style , Ching Siu-tung sets up the scenes of action in the opera and the final fight on the roofs of Pekin. Shootings, flying characters. Some of the great moments of cinema..

1987: A better tomorrow 2 by John Woo
The Ho (Ti Lung) return, out of prison to help his brother (Leslie Cheung), a police officer infiltrated in the syndicates.

Contrary to Tsui Hark, John Woo likes to organize his choreographies alone. Ching Siu-tung thus didn't work a lot, he managed the stuntmen. Nevertheless he had the idea of the famous shooting in the staircase where Chow Yun-Fat descend the steps on the back.

1988: I Love Maria aka Roboforce by David Cheung
A group of terrorists used robots to try to dominate the world. An insane inventor (John Sham) and Whisky (Tsui Hark) a ex-member of the group would succeed in taking the control of Maria, a robot who looks like the childhood friend of Whisky (Sally Yeh), herself head of the group. Helped by this machine, they would fight against the terrorists..

Like Heroic Trio, this film draws his inspiration in the pop Western and Chinese culture. And always like Heroic Trio, this movie does not manage to offer a good synthesis of these two universes. However, a very beautiful scene of pursuite in the trees influenced by Ching Siu-tung.

1989: The Killer by John Woo
The tragic story of a killer (Chow Yun-Fat) that wanted to help a singer (Sally Yeh) wounded by CYF.

Ching Siu-tung helped John Woo.

1990: Swordsman by Tsui Hark
Several clans clashed to discover a mysterious parchment.

The project, that could have been the come back of King Hu was a very hard project. King Hu fired, several directors tried before Tsui Hark finished the production. Ching Siu-tung directed a third of Swordman.One can recognize his style in the scenes of action. In comparison with Duel To The Death, they are even faster, close to the illegibility, a stylization which would influence the wave of the new wu xia pians produced in the Nineties.

1992 Inn Dragon by Raymond Lee
A eunuch tried to eliminate his political enemies. The two clans were blocked by the rain in an inn..

The same work like on Swordsman for the scenes of action. The film owns a good esthetics thanks to Ching Siu-tung, as artistic director.

1992 Justice, My Foot! by Johnny To

1992: Royal Tramp by Wong Jing
Wilson Bond (Stephen Chow) was sent to the forbidden city to take a book hidden in the imperial palate.

Parodies of Swordsman, Ching Siu-tung does a less good work as he used to do for the Workshop productions. The style is less precise, less inventive, coarser. The example of a movie which continues to popularize his style while wearying the spectators.

1992: Royal Tramp 2 by Wong Jing

1992: Moon Warriors by Samo Hung
A young fisherman (Andy Lau), friend of an orc and having great martial qualities, helped the emperor betrayed (Kenny Bee) by his brother. But he fell in love with his girlfriend (Anita Mui).

A good work.

1993: Holy Weapon by Wong Jing
To defeat a dangerous Japanese epeist, seven young women (Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung...) would fight together.

A typical work of Wong Jing, the film mixes all and anything. Good moments are followed by pitiful scenes. However the casting is fabulous and Ching Siu-tung has a sufficient budget to direct beautiful fights. The success of theSwordsmans is wasted by an excessive exploitation of the kind.

1993: Flying Dagger by Wong Jing

1993: Butterfly And Sword by Michael Mak

1993: Mad Monk

1995: In Chinese Odyssey I : Pandora's Box by Jeff Lau
A robber (Stephen Chow) realizes that he is the reincarnation of the king monkey.

One of the last Chinese fairy plays, a project that Tsui Hark wanted to do during a long time, but he had to gave up because of too complicated special effects. Less hysterical but always very studied, his scenes of actions are wonders. Truly the kind of subject made for him.

1995: In Chinese Odyssey II : Cinderella search by Jeff Lau
Back in the past, 500 years ago, the king monkey (Stephen Chow) was the victim of a curse, that he had to destroy.

A perfect sequel.

1996: Ah Kam by Ann Today
Ah Kam (Michelle Yeoh) is a stuntwoman. She was integrated into the team of Tung (Samo Hung), a choreographer well known in the world of the cinema.

Ann Hui made us see the cinema sets. The start of the film in particular is very impressive, the spectators seeing the adjustment of scenes of fights in the style of Swordsman. The choice of Ching Siu-tung as choreographer is not a luck Irony of the fate, Michelle Yeoh was really wounded . This serious incident forced the director to re-examine her scenario by adding a story love to the original one. Obviously the structure of film suffers from this adding. Remain the possibility of discovering Michelle Yeoh in a complex role, you can see here her great talent.

1998: Blacksheep Affair
A man of the special forces of China (Zhao Wen-zhou) went to Eastern Europe to escort the dangerous gourou of a Japanese sect.

Mix the style of Ching Siu-tung with a story based on a real event is obviously absurd. One can see it when Zhao Wen-zhou fight against the gourou of the sect !

Laurent Henry.