Despite its small size, Hong Kong has seen over a century of film production. The action genre, particularly martial arts, is still a crowd favourite and first saw a surge in popularity in the post World War 2 era. Although most may agree that Hong Kong has employed a quantity over quality approach in the past, it is undeniable that Hong Kong’s action movies have changed drastically since its inception in the late 30s.
Hong Kong’s first directed martial arts film premiered in 1938 – titled The Adventures of Fong Sai-yuk [方世玉打擂台] directed by Hung Jong-ho (洪仲豪). The film was in black and white, with Cantonese dubs, and was about a tale of vengeance featuring folk hero Fong Sai-yuk against antagonist “Thunder Tiger” in the ring. Allegedly, no copies of the film exists, possibly due to the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong and the raiding of film archives. The film was novel for its time, as other films of the era generally fell under the romance and opera genre, and carried simple plots that appealed to semi-literate and illiterate audiences. Prior to martial arts action films, the predominant and fantastical “Wuxia 武俠” style of action films often featured over exaggerated characters with supernatural powers like being able to fly and crush boulders. Audiences found martial arts films more realistic and looked towards the genre for their viewing pleasures.
Martial arts film achieved a new peak in the 1970s, now in full color and stereo sound, with international stars like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan making an entrance and doing all of their own stunts. One of the most prominent martial arts films produced at the time was Enter the Dragon [龍爭虎鬥] (1973) by Robert Clouse starring Bruce Lee. Having become a cult classic today, the film was Hong Kong’s first co-production with the United States, and centred around the skilled Shaolin martial artist Lee (Bruce Lee) and his mission undercover in a high-profile martial arts tournament to expose a crime lord.
Alternatively, comedy martial arts films also began seeing a rise in popularity. Jackie Chan perfected the genre in films like Drunken Master [醉拳] (1978) by Yuen Woo-ping – a film about a boy who has to learned the ancient technique of Drunken Fist Kung Fu to stop an assassin. What made the genre so popular, or rather, Chan so popular, was because he was able to combine exaggerated fighting and stunts with slapstick humour. Additionally, both Lee and Chan were perfectionists, and would often redo a scene dozens of times until they got the choreography and stunts down perfectly. These types of action movies became an archetype for other martial arts films to follow, featuring a more complex storyline and more fleshed out characters compared to their predecessors in the past.
Unfortunately, Enter the Dragon was Lee’s last movie before his death at age 32 due to cerebral edema, or the excess accumulation of water in the brain – likely due to the intense stress of moviemaking and Lee pushing himself too hard, but some conspiracy theorists also believe the triads to be involved with his death.
The 70’s was the era where triad involvements in film productions became increasingly common. From simple “protection services” to investments and partnerships, triad members became strong influential stakeholders. According to Michael Curtin (2007), the triads believed the film industry to be a “simple scam” for making and laundering money – as long as movies contained stars, the movie was guaranteed to make money – this sort of thinking lead to Hong Kong’s movie industry producing movies at an astounding pace with little regard for quality, with the triads often relying on coercion to force actors and production staff into working for them.
This frustration peaked in January 1992. Hong Kong’s actors, directors and film workers had had enough with the triads, and some three hundred people marched to the police headquarters in protest and demanding the police take control. The police took little action, but external factors eventually lead to the triads leaving the film industry alone. Firstly, big talents like director John Woo left for Hollywood, leaving few successors behind. Secondly, with the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong back to China, films lost their identity. Video piracy was also a major problem during the 90s that ate into profits. Last and most importantly, foreign films like Jurassic Park (1993) became a new sensation among audiences and dominated Hong Kong’s silver screens. With the industry sliding, triads began seeing film production as more of a liability instead of a quick buck, and they gradually pulled out.
Today, successful martial arts films follow the archetypes set by Lee and Chan, notably action-comedy films like Kung Fu Hustle [功夫] (2004) by Stephen Chow and action-drama films like Dragon [武俠] (2011) by Peter Chan. With the exception that these are much larger productions with multi million dollar budgets and CGI, the amount of focus on storytelling and fighting choreography are roughly the same.