''A Man Called Hero'' is a 1999 Hong Kong

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 ...

film directed by

Andrew Lau Andrew Lau Wai-keung ( zh, t=劉偉強, born 4 April 1960) is a Hong Kong film director, producer, and cinematographer. Lau began his career in the 1980s and 1990s, serving as a cinematographer to filmmakers such as Ringo Lam, Wong Jing and Wong ...

. It is loosely based on the

manhua () are Chinese-language comics produced in China and Taiwan. Whilst Chinese comics and narrated illustrations have existed in China in some shape or form throughout its imperial history, the term first appeared in 1904 in a comic titled ''Cu ...

series '' Chinese Hero: Tales of the Blood Sword'' by Hong Kong artist

Ma Wing-shing Ma Wing-shing (born 16 January 1961) is a Hong Kong manhua artist, writer and publisher. He is best known for creating the ''Fung Wan'' and '' Chinese Hero'' series. Biography Ma quit his studies and became a comic artist in 1976 at the age ...

. It won the 1999

Golden Horse Award The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards () is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan. The awards ceremony is us ...

for Best Visual Effects.

Plot

The story begins in early Republican China. After passing a test, Hero Hua is accepted by Pride, a master swordsman, as his second apprentice. When he returns home, he is horrified to see that his parents have been murdered by foreigners for opposing the

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

trade. That night, Hero breaks up the foreigners' party and kills them in revenge. He spends the rest of the night with his lover, Jade. The next morning, he flees from China to avoid arrest and sails to America. 16 years later, Hero's childhood friend, Sheng, and Hero's son, Sword Hua, arrive in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on the first day of the

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...

. They visit China House, the biggest inn in

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

, where they see a

lion dance F Lion dance () is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture and other Asian countries in which performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume to bring good luck and fortune. The lion dance is usually performed during the Chinese New ...

performance led by the Boss of China House. A group of thugs show up and demand that the Boss hand over a monk, Luohan, whom they believe is hiding in China House. After defeating and driving away the thugs, the Boss brings Sword and Sheng to meet Luohan. Luohan tells them how he met and befriended Hero on board the ship bound for America, and their experiences as labourers in Steel Bull Canyon. Later, Sword and Sheng visit Jade's grave, where Sheng tells Sword how he and Jade travelled to New York City 16 years ago in search of Hero. Hero and Jade were reunited and married in New York City. While visiting the shop where Sword's parents took their wedding photographs, Sword and Sheng sense someone following them. Sword surprises the stalker and corners her after a brief chase through the streets. She identifies herself as Kate, the daughter of Hero's senior, Shadow. Kate leads Sword and Sheng to her father. Shadow tells them how he rescued Hero from Steel Bull Canyon when Hero was buried in the sand after being falsely accused of murdering two men. Hero and Shadow encountered the Five Elements Ninjas and defeated them. During the fight, Hero injured the female ninja, Wood, but spared her life and sent her for medical treatment. When Wood develops a crush on Hero, the Gold Ninja, who is secretly in love with Wood, becomes very jealous. Jade had just given birth to a pair of twins in China House when the Gold Ninja set fire to the building. During the chaos, Bigot, a traitor, kidnapped Sword's twin sister and disappeared. There have been no news of her since then. Jade died in Hero's arms shortly after due to excessive blood loss during childbirth. Shadow continues narrating the story. After Jade's death, Hero met a fortune teller, who told him he was born under the Star of Death and is destined to lead a life of loneliness because misfortune will befall those who are close to him. Hero entrusted his baby son, Sword, to Sheng before leaving with Shadow to meet their master, Pride. In Japan, they witnessed a duel between Pride and his rival, Invincible. Pride defeated Invincible but sustained internal injuries and died not long after the duel. Before his death, Pride passed Hero the martial arts manual ''China Secret'' and transferred all his inner energy to him. Back in the present at China House, the Boss, Sword, Sheng, Luohan and others come up with a plan to liberate the labourers at Steel Bull Canyon. They disguise themselves as a

Chinese opera Traditional Chinese opera (), or ''Xiqu'', is a form of musical theatre in China with roots going back to the early periods in China. It is an amalgamation of various art forms that existed in ancient China, and evolved gradually over more tha ...

troupe, infiltrate the canyon, and catch the supervisors off guard in a surprise attack. Luohan sacrifices himself in a

suicide attack A suicide attack is any violent Strike (attack), attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has suicide, accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have oc ...

to stop the supervisors from throwing explosives at the escaping labourers. Sword corners Bigot and demands the whereabouts of his twin sister, but Bigot suddenly pulls out a pistol and shoots him. Bigot is about to kill Sword when Hero shows up and finishes him off. Hero uses his inner energy to create an explosion and prevent a group of horsemen from advancing further. They return to China House in triumph. Sword is happy to see his father in person for the first time after hearing the stories about him. However, Hero appears cold towards his son and constantly keeps a distance away because he strongly believes the fortune teller's words that he will lose his loved ones if he gets close to them. Hero also meets Wood, who has maintained her crush on him for the past 16 years, but he refuses to accept her. She warns Hero that her master, Invincible, has arrived in New York City. Since Pride is dead, Invincible turns on Hero, Pride's successor, to finish the duel. The next morning, Invincible shows up at China House and fights with the Boss and Sword until Hero appears and stops him. Hero and Invincible then duel on top of the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...

. In the meantime, Black Dragon Commander leads his men to attack China House but are eventually forced to leave by the police. At the Statue of Liberty, Hero eventually defeats and destroys Invincible. Before the movie ends, Sword and Sheng prepare to leave America while Hero watches them from a distance and walks away in the opposite direction.

Cast

Ekin Cheng Ekin Cheng is a Hong Kong actor and singer. Early in his career, he used the name Dior as a first name (because that was what it sounded like when his younger sister tried to call him 二哥 in Cantonese). He has also been referred to as Noodl ...

as Hero Hua *

Shu Qi use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinate ...

as Wood Ninja *

Kristy Yang Kristy Yang (born 7 January 1974), also known as Yang Gongru, is a Chinese-born Canadian actress based in Hong Kong. Early life Yang was born in Shanghai, China, to a Chinese father and Jenny Liu, a half American-half Chinese. Ms.Liu was invited ...

as Jade *

Nicholas Tse Nicholas Tse Ting-fung (born 29 August 1980) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and chef.EEGmusic.EEGmusic." ''Nicolas Tse profile.'' Retrieved on 22 April 2008. As multi talented celebrity, he became a TV ch ...

as Sword Hua *

Yuen Biao Yuen Biao (born Ha Lingchun; 26 July 1957) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist and stuntman. He specialises in acrobatics and Chinese martial arts and has also worked on over 80 films as actor, stuntman and action choreographer. He was one of t ...

as Boss of China House * Jerry Lamb as Sheng *

Dion Lam Dion Lam (林迪安; Lam Dik-On) is a Hong Kong action choreographer and actor. Filmography * 1980 ''The Hangman'' * 1982 ''Energetic 21'' * 1983 ''Crazy Blood'' * 1988 ''Mistaken Identity'' * 1989 '' The Killer'' * 1989 ''Ghost Ballroom'' * 1 ...

as Shadow **

Jordan Chan Jordan Chan Siu-chun (born Chan Siu-tsun on 8 July 1967) is a Hong Kong actor, singer and dancer, known for starring in the ''Young and Dangerous'' film series and for his role in the 1998 TV adaptation of Louis Cha's novel, '' The Duke o ...

as Shadow (voice) * Anthony Wong as Pride *

Ken Lo Ken Lo (Kenneth Houi Kang Low) (born 19 March 1957) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and stuntman. He is known for his martial arts and stunt work as a former member of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team, most notably for his antagonistic role as Jo ...

as Monk Luohan *

Francis Ng Francis Ng Chun-yu (; born 21 December 1961) is a Hong Kong actor and director. He is known for his roles in the TVB series ''Triumph in the Skies'' and in films such as ''Young and Dangerous'', '' Once Upon a Time in Triad Society'', ''A Ma ...

as Invincible *

Elvis Tsui Elvis Tsui Kam-kong (born October 12, 1961) is a Hong Kong actor and artist. Tsui is primarily known for his roles in erotic films and martial arts films, where he's more often cast as villains. Some of the famous characters he has portrayed repe ...

as Bigot *

Mark Cheng Mark Cheng Ho-nam (born 6 October 1964) is a Hong Kong actor. He made his name with his first starring role in the movie ''Cupid One'' with Sally Yeh. He is also known for his role as "Lam Wing" in the 1996 film ''Tai Chi Boxer'' and FuXi in ''My ...

as Gold Ninja * Sam Lee as Fire Ninja * Grace Yip as Kate * Jude Poyer as Bull *

Cheng Pei-pei Cheng Pei-pei (born 6 January 1946) is a Chinese actress, who is considered cinema's first female action hero. She is known for her performance in the 1966 King Hu ''wuxia'' film ''Come Drink with Me'', as well as her portrayal of Jade Fox in t ...

as Hero's mother * Wong Ban as Manager of China House * Yu Ka-ho as Earth Ninja *

Benjamin Yuen Benjamin Yuen Wai-ho (Simplified Chinese: 袁伟豪; Traditional Chinese: 袁偉豪, born May 11, 1981) is a Hong Kong actor and singer contracted to TVB and Shaw Brothers Pictures. Yuen’s career started when he became the winner of Hong ...

as Water Ninja * Thomas Hudak as Black Dragon commander * Hon San as Big Stone * Frankie Ng as Moon * Wong Chi-hung * Fung Wai-lun * Huang Kai-sen * Lam Chi-tai * Wang Xin-fen * Wong Chun-chung * Liu Yue * Wang Xin-feng * He Jun * Wang Jiang-hua * Zhang Jin-shuang * Lu Yang

Music

The music and songs for the film were composed by

Chan Kwong-wing Punk Chan Kwong-wing (; born June 15, 1967), also known as Comfort Chan Kwong-wing, is a music composer for Hong Kong films. Some of his well-known works in films include the ''Infernal Affairs'' trilogy, '' SPL: Sha Po Lang'', '' Initial D'', ' ...

. * ''Tin Sat Ku Hsing'' (天煞孤星; ''Star of Death''), the theme song, performed in Cantonese by

. Cheng also sang the Mandarin version of this song, titled ''Tianya Haijiao'' (天涯海角; ''To the Ends of the Earth''). * ''Faa Cheng Ho'' (花正好; ''The Flower is Good''), insert song, performed in Cantonese by Ekin Cheng. Cheng also sang the Mandarin version of this song, titled ''Ni Zou Dao Na Li'' (你走到哪裡; ''Wherever You Go''). * ''Dai Yat Ngan'' (第一眼; ''First Glance''), insert song, performed in Cantonese by

Awards and nominations

Awards

* 1999

Golden Horse Film Awards The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards () is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan. The awards ceremony is us ...

** Best Visual Effects -

Centro Digital Pictures Limited Centro Digital Pictures Limited was a visual special effects and animation company based in Hong Kong that provided visual effects for film, interactive media, and video games. History Centro Digital Pictures was founded by John Chu in 1985. Cen ...

Nominations

* 1999

** Best Film Editing - Danny Pang ** Best Action Choreography -

19th Hong Kong Film Awards The 19th Hong Kong Awards ceremony, honored the best films of 1999 and took place on 16 April 2000 at the Hong Kong Coliseum, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The ceremony was hosted by Eric Tsang, Sandra Ng and Vincent Kok Vincent Kok Tak-chiu ...

(2000) ** Best Action Choreography - Dion Lam ** Best Costume Make Up Design - Lee Pik-kwan ** Best Original Film Score -

** Best Original Film Song -

Albert Leung Albert Leung (born 7 December 1961, ) is a lyricist and writer based in Hong Kong. Education Leung attended all-boy secondary schools at Chan Sui Ki (La Salle) College and La Salle College. He received a bachelor of arts in translation from th ...

, Chan Kwong-wing ** Best Sound Design - Zeng Jingxiang

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Man Called Hero 1999 films Hong Kong martial arts films Wuxia films Films directed by Andrew Lau Adaptations of works by Ma Wing-shing Films based on Hong Kong comics Live-action films based on comics Japan in non-Japanese culture 1990s Hong Kong films