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 ''A Chinese Ghost Story'' ( zh, t=倩女幽魂, w=Ch'ien-nü Yu-hun, l=The Ethereal Spirit of a Beauty) is a 1987 Hong Kong romantic comedy horror film starring Leslie Cheung, Joey Wong and Wu Ma, directed by Ching Siu-tung and produced by Ts ...
'' (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 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 Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd. () was the largest film production company in Hong Kong, and operated from 1925 to 2011. In 1925, three Shaw brothers— Runje, Runme, and Runde—founded Tianyi Film Company (also called "Unique") in Shangh ...
director, and Ching Siu-tung had been trained in
Peking opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...
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 Tsui Hark (, vi, Từ Khắc, born 15 February 1950), born Tsui Man-kong, is a Hong Kong film director, producer and screenwriter. Tsui has directed several influential Hong Kong films such as ''Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain'' (1983), the ...
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 Swordsmanship or sword fighting refers to the skills and techniques used in combat and training with any type of sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to a ...
'' series, starting in 1990. Other directorial highlights included the highly successful '' Royal Tramp'' films (both 1992) which starred Stephen Chow and Brigitte Lin. 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 ''Shaolin Soccer'' ( Chinese: ) is a 2001 Hong Kong sports comedy film directed by Stephen Chow, who also stars in the lead role. The film revolves around a former Shaolin monk who reunites his five brothers,"Brothers" here does not mean biolo ...
'' (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 marti ...
'' (2004). In 2002, Ching was nominated twice for Best Action Choreography at the
Hong Kong Film Awards The Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA; ), founded in 1982, is an annual film awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The ceremonies are typically in April. The awards recognise achievement in various aspects of filmmaking, such as directing, screenwriting, ...
, and won in 2003 for his efforts on ''Hero''. That same year, he made his
American film The cinema of the United States, consisting mainly of major film studios (also known as Hollywood) along with some independent film, has had a large effect on the global film industry since the early 20th century. The dominant style of Ame ...
debut, directing
Steven Seagal Steven Frederic Seagal (; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, screenwriter and martial artist. A 7th-dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan and eventually ended up running his father-in-l ...
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 ''Belly of the Beast'' is a 2003 American action film directed by Hong Kong film director Ching Siu-tung in his American directorial debut, and starring Steven Seagal, who also produced. The film co-stars Byron Mann, Monica Lo and Tom Wu. Se ...
''. In 2006, he choreographed the action scenes in the Indian superhero film ''
Krrish ''Krrish'' () is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language superhero film directed and produced by Rakesh Roshan. It stars Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra while Naseeruddin Shah, Rekha, Manini Mishra, Archana Puran Singh and Sharat Saxena feature in ...
'', for which he won a
Filmfare Best Action Award The Filmfare Best Action Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. Although the awards started in 1954, the category was not started until 1993. Superlatives ;Most Awards *Sham Kaushal ...
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 Kelly Chen Wai-lam (born Vivian Chen Wai-man on 13 September 1972) is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress. She has been referred to as a " Diva of Asia" (). Chen has great success in the East Asian entertainment industry with nearly 20 m ...
,
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



*
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