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Johnnie To
Johnnie To Kei-fung (born 22 April 1955) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter and film producer. Popular in his native Hong Kong, To has also found acclaim overseas. Intensely prolific, To has made films in a variety of genres, though in the West he is best known for his action and crime movies, which have earned him critical respect and a cult following (which include Quentin Tarantino, who once said that he really loves to watch To's gangster films). To's biggest international successes include ''Breaking News'', ''Election'', ''Election 2'' (a.k.a. ''Triad Election''), ''Exiled'', ''Mad Detective'' and '' Drug War''; these films have appeared in a number of international film festivals, been distributed theatrically in France and the United States, and been widely sold to foreign countries. His films, often made in collaboration with the same group of actors, screenwriters and cinematographers, frequently explore themes of friendship, fate and the changing face of Ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Du (surname)
Du () is a Chinese surname. The name is spelled ''Tu'' in Taiwan, in Hong Kong it is translated as ''To'', in Macao it is spelled as ''Tou'', the pronunciation of 杜 in Cantonese. The Vietnamese equivalent of the surname is Đỗ. However, when diacritics are dropped, it can also be from the Vietnamese surnames Dư 余 or Dũ 俞 (Chinese equivalent is both Yu). It is the 129th surname in ''Hundred Family Surnames'' and is the 42nd most common surname in Mainland China as of 2020. Origin and Branches of ''Du'' (杜) The ancestors of the ''Du'' family are known as the Tangdu. The Tangdu resided southeast of Xi'an in Shaanxi province. The '' Fan'' (范) and ''Du'' clans share a common ancestor. Some members of the ''Du'' (杜) family are the Tuoba (拓跋) family of Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei. "Dugu" is the surname of Xianbei. Meanings of ''Du'' (杜) * The Chinese name of Pyrus betulifolia, a deciduous tree of the genus pear in the rosaceae. * A verb: to stop; to prevent; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crime Film
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as drama or gangster film, but also include comedy, and, in turn, is divided into many sub-genres, such as mystery, suspense or noir. Screenwriter and scholar Eric R. Williams identified crime film as one of eleven super-genres in his Screenwriters Taxonomy, claiming that all feature-length narrative films can be classified by these super-genres. The other ten super-genres are action, fantasy, horror, romance, science fiction, slice of life, sports, thriller, war and western. Williams identifies drama in a broader category called "film type", mystery and suspense as "macro-genres", and film noir as a "screenwriter's pathway" explaining that these categories are additive rather than exclusionary. '' C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Legend Of The Condor Heroes
''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' is a wuxia novel by Chinese writer Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It is the first part of the ''Condor Trilogy'' and is followed by ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' and ''The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber''. It was first serialised between 1 January 1957 and 19 May 1959 in ''Hong Kong Commercial Daily''. Jin Yong revised the novel twice, first in the 1970s and later in the 2000s. The English title is imprecise since neither species of the condor, the Andean condor and Californian condor, is native to China. Plot The story is set in China during the wars between the Jurchen-led Jin Empire and the predominantly ethnic Han Song Empire. Yang Tiexin and Guo Xiaotian, a pair of sworn brothers, pledge that their unborn children will become either sworn siblings (if both are of the same sex) or a married couple (if they are of opposite sexes). One day, Yang Tiexin's wife, Bao Xiruo, saves a wounded Jurchen warrior, who turns out to be Wanyan Honglie, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Legend Of The Condor Heroes (1983 TV Series)
''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' is a Hong Kong ''wuxia'' television series adapted from Louis Cha's novel of the same title. It was first broadcast on TVB Jade in Hong Kong in 1983. The 59 episodes long series is divided into three parts.The serial was re-aired in 1990, 1995, 2012, and 2013 on TVB Jade. This 1983 version is considered by many to be a classic television adaptation of the novel and features the breakthrough role of Barbara Yung, who played Huang Rong, During that time, Barbara Yung immediately became tvb's most popular actress. The series became the highest rated series of that year with a high rating of 99%, The series averaged a rating of 65 points, and has become the most watched series in Hong Kong history so far. In 1985, it was introduced and broadcast in mainland China by Guangdong TV Station, which triggered a frenzy of people watching it and caused a great sensation.and one of the most watched TVB series by Chinese people in Hong Kong, Southeast Asi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wai Ka-Fai
Wai Ka-Fai (born 21 September 1962) is a Hong Kong screenwriter, producer, film director, and former TV screenwriter and producer. Wai is best known for his frequent collaborations with Johnnie To, another former TV turned film director and producer. In 1996, they formed Milkyway Image, which is now one of the most successful independent film studios in Hong Kong. The films that the two have made together as directors and producers include '' Needing You...'', ''Fat Choi Spirit'', ''Love on a Diet'', ''Fulltime Killer'', ''Turn Left, Turn Right'', ''Running on Karma'', and ''Mad Detective''. His solo directorial efforts include films such as '' Too Many Ways to Be No. 1'' and ''Written By''. Two of his films were released in the US theatrically: ''Fulltime Killer'' and ''Mad Detective''. Filmography Filmography as director *''Peace Hotel'' 和平飯店 (1995) *'' Too Many Ways to Be No. 1'' 一個字頭的誕生 (1997) *''Help!!!'' 辣手回春 (2000) (co-directed with Johnn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Milkyway Image
Milkyway Image (Hong Kong) Ltd. () is a production company based in Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The company was established in 1996 by prolific director Johnnie To in joint partnership with frequent collaborator Wai Ka-Fai. The company is known best for producing dark crime films inspired by the work of French director Jean-Pierre Melville and the genre of film noir. Milkyway Image's productions have been repeatedly praised as a bold move against the commercialism found in post-handover Hong Kong cinema, and have also attracted a significant international fan base. Company Milkyway Image is principally engaged in providing comprehensive film production services for film companies, such as pre-production, shooting, and post-production services. Milkyway Image's films are not only box office hits, but they are also produced with cost-effectiveness and efficiency, bringing film investors promising revenue. History Johnnie To founded Milkyway Image (HK) Ltd. in 1996, together with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Hu
Hu Jinquan (29 April 1932 – 14 January 1997), better known as King Hu, was a Chinese film director and actor based in Hong Kong and Taiwan. He is best known for directing various ''wuxia'' films in the 1960s and 1970s, which brought Hong Kong and Taiwanese cinema to new technical and artistic heights. His films ''Come Drink with Me'' (1966), ''Dragon Inn'' (1967), and ''A Touch of Zen'' (1970–1971) inaugurated a new generation of ''wuxia'' films in the late 1960s. Apart from being a film director, Hu was also a screenwriter and set designer. Early life Hu was born in Beijing to a well-established family originating from Handan, Hebei. His grandfather was the governor of Henan in the late Qing Dynasty. His father had studied in Japan and was the owner of the local coal mine. His uncle was a high ranking official in the Republican government. Several of his brothers held high positions in the Communist government. Hu grew up in Beijing as a child. He emigrated to Hong Kong in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auteur Theory
An auteur (; , 'author') is an artist with a distinctive approach, usually a film director whose filmmaking control is so unbounded but personal that the director is likened to the "author" of the film, which thus manifests the director's unique style or thematic focus. As an unnamed value, auteurism originated in French film criticism of the late 1940s, and derives from the critical approach of André Bazin and Alexandre Astruc, whereas American critic Andrew Sarris in 1962 called it auteur theory. Yet the concept first appeared in French in 1955 when director François Truffaut termed it ''policy of the authors'', and interpreted the films of some directors, like Alfred Hitchcock, as a body revealing recurring themes and preoccupations. American actor Jerry Lewis directed his own 1960 film ''The Bellboy'' via sweeping control, and was praised for "personal genius." By 1970, the New Hollywood era emerged with studios granting directors broad leeway. Pauline Kael argued, howeve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Destiny
Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words ''fate'' and ''destiny'' have distinct connotations. *Traditional usage defines fate as a power or agency that predetermines and orders the course of events. Fate defines events as ordered or "inevitable" and unavoidable. This is a concept based on the belief that there is a fixed natural order to the universe, and in some conceptions, the cosmos. Classical and European mythology feature personified "fate spinners," known as the Moirai in Greek mythology, the Parcae in Roman mythology, and the Norns in Norse mythology. They determine the events of the world through the mystic spinning of threads that represent individual human fates. Fate is often conceived as being divinely inspired. *Fate is about the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Friendship
Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. In some cultures, the concept of friendship is restricted to a small number of very deep relationships; in others, such as the U.S. and Canada, a person could have many friends, plus perhaps a more intense relationship with one or two people, who may be called ''good friends'' or ''best friends''. Other colloquial terms include ''besties'' or ''Best Friends Forever'' (''BFF''s). Although there are many forms of friendship, some of which may vary from place to place, certain characteristics are present in many such bonds. Such features include choosing to be with one another, enjoying time spent together, and being able to engage in a positive and supportive role to one another. Sometimes friends are distinguished from family, as in the saying "friends and family", and s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Screenwriters
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. Terminology In the silent era, writers now considered screenwriters were denoted by terms such as photoplaywright, photoplay writer, photoplay dramatist and screen playwright.Steven Maras. ''Screenwriting: History, Theory and Practice.'' Wallflower Press, 2009. pp. 82–85. Screenwriting historian Steven Maras notes that these early writers were often understood as being the authors of the films as shown and argues that they cannot be precisely equated with present-day screenwriters because they were responsible for a technical product, a brief "scenario", "treatment", or "synopsis" that is a written synopsis of what is to be filmed. Profession Screenwriting is a freelance profession. No education is required to be a professional screenw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drug War (film)
''Drug War'' () is a 2012 action thriller film directed and produced by Johnnie To. The film stars Sun Honglei as Police Captain Zhang, who partners with a drug lord named Timmy Choi (Louis Koo) after Choi is arrested. To avoid the death penalty, Choi agrees to reveal information about his partners' methamphetamine ring. Zhang starts to harbor doubts about Choi's honesty as the police begin to take on the drug ring. The film premiered at the Rome Film Festival on November 15, 2012. It has received positive reviews. Plot Fleeing from an explosion at his drug manufacturing facility, Timmy Choi crashes his car into a restaurant and as he revives he is captured by Captain Zhang Lei. Realizing that he will receive the death penalty for his crimes, he bargains information on his colleagues to survive and introduces Captain Zhang Lei as "Uncle Bill", to become a supplier to Haha, who owns a port and can distribute drugs to other countries. Captain Zhang Lei poses as Haha to the real "Un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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