Tony Ching Siu-Tung
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Ching Siu-tung (Chinese: 程小東, born October 31st, 1953), also known as Tony Ching, is a Hong Kong action choreographer, actor, film director and producer, who has directed over 20 films, including the critically acclaimed supernatural fantasy '' A Chinese Ghost Story'' (1987). He produced the expensive music video for "
L'Âme-Stram-Gram "L'Âme-stram-gram" is a 1999 song recorded by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. It was the lead single from her fifth studio album ''Innamoramento'' and was released on 9 March 1999. The lyrics were written by Farmer and the music was com ...
" by the French singer
Mylène Farmer Mylène Jeanne Gautier (; born 12 September 1961), known professionally as Mylène Farmer (), is a Canadian-born French singer, songwriter, occasional actress, writer, and entrepreneur. Having sold more than 30 million records in France, she is ...
in the style of ''A Chinese Ghost Story'' at a cost of €1 million. He studied in the Eastern Drama Academy and trained in Northern Style Kung Fu for 7 years.


Career

Ching began as an actor and martial arts instructor working in
Hong Kong action cinema Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. Action films from Hong Kong have roots in Chinese and Hong Kong cultures including Chinese opera, storytelling and aesthetic traditions, which Hong Ko ...
in the 1960s and 1970s (his father,
Ching Gong Ching may refer to: People * Ching (given name), a unisex name * Ching (surname), a romanization of some Chinese surnames such as Cheng and Zhuang * Ching Hammill (1902–1925), American football player * Ivan Ching Johnson (1898–1979), Canadia ...
, was a Shaw Brothers Studio director, and Ching Siu-tung had been trained in Peking opera as a child), but he made his directorial debut in 1982 with the ground-breaking
wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted f ...
classic ''
Duel to the Death ''Duel to the Death'' is a 1983 Hong Kong ''wuxia'' film starring Norman Chui and Damian Lau. It is the directorial debut of Ching Siu-tung. Plot In 16th century, during the Ming dynasty era, every ten years the greatest swordsman from Japan face ...
''. Ching worked with producer Tsui Hark on 1987's ''A Chinese Ghost Story'', which became an international sensation, although it was usually Tsui Hark who took most of the plaudits. He continued to work with Tsui Hark, directing sequels to that film in 1990 and 1991, and co-directing all three parts of the '' Swordsman'' series, starting in 1990. Other directorial highlights included the highly successful '' Royal Tramp'' films (both 1992) which starred
Stephen Chow Stephen Chow Sing-chi (, born 22 June 1962), known professionally as Stephen Chow, is a Hong Kong filmmaker, former actor and comedian, known for ''Shaolin Soccer'' and ''Kung Fu Hustle''. Early life and education Stephen Chow was born in British ...
and
Brigitte Lin Brigitte Lin Ching-hsia (; born 3 November 1954) is a Taiwanese actress. She is regarded as an icon of Chinese language cinema for her extensive and varied roles in both Taiwanese and Hong Kong films. Biography Lin was born in Chiayi, Taiwan. S ...
. Ching continued his role as action director / choreographer throughout this period, and has continued to work in that role on high-profile international successes like '' Shaolin Soccer'' (2001), ''
Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...
'' (2002), and ''
House of Flying Daggers ''House of Flying Daggers'' (Chinese: 十面埋伏) is a 2004 ''wuxia'' romance film directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Andy Lau, Zhang Ziyi and Takeshi Kaneshiro. Unlike other ''wuxia'' films, it is more of a love story than purely a martial ...
'' (2004). In 2002, Ching was nominated twice for Best Action Choreography at the Hong Kong Film Awards, and won in 2003 for his efforts on ''Hero''. That same year, he made his American film debut, directing Steven Seagal in the
direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...
feature '' Belly of the Beast''. In 2006, he choreographed the action scenes in the Indian superhero film '' Krrish'', for which he won a Filmfare Best Action Award and
Zee Cine Award The Zee Cine Award (ZCA) is an Indian awards ceremony for the Hindi film industry. They were instituted in November 1997 to award "Excellence in cinema - the democratic way". They were first held in Mumbai until 2004, when the ZCA went interna ...
. In 2008, Ching directed ''
An Empress and the Warriors ''An Empress and the Warriors'' is a 2008 Hong Kong-Chinese historical drama action film directed by Ching Siu-tung and starring Donnie Yen, Kelly Chen, Leon Lai and Kou Zhenhai. Plot The film is set in ancient China, probably during the peri ...
'', in which he also served as action choreographer. The film stars Kelly Chen,
Donnie Yen Donnie Yen Chi-tan (; born 27 July 1963) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and action director. Yen is one of Hong Kong's top action stars. Yen is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts (MMA) into the mainstream Asian cinema by cho ...
and
Leon Lai Leon Lai Ming SBS BBS MH (born 11 December 1966), is a Hong Kong actor, film director, businessman and Cantopop singer. He is one of the " Four Heavenly Kings" of Hong Kong pop music. He uses his Chinese name "Li Ming" or "Lai Ming", whi ...
.


Filmography


Director


Action choreographer

Ching Siu-tung at chinesemov.com
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References


External links



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HK cinemagic entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ching, Siu-Tung Hong Kong film directors 1953 births Living people Hong Kong film producers Action choreographers Asian film producers Horror film directors People from Anhui