one of the most popular and best actors in Hong Kong; a really big star
in Asia (and now conquering Hollywood)
Movie Facts
Golden Horse Award and Best Actor at the Asia Pacific Film Festival for
his role in Hong Kong 1941 (1984)
began his career in the TV-business (for TVB), starting in 1972
starring role in the Hotel TV series in 1976
his first important movie appearance was in Ann Hui's The Story of Woo
Viet in 1981
together with Sylvia Chang and Raymong Wong he wrote the script for All
About Ah Long
current project is Anna and the King (remake of The King and
I)
Though a busy and good actor before his breakthrough came with John Woo's
A Better Tomorrow in 1986, an important movie that started the whole
subgenre of Heroic Bloodshed. This success came rather surprisingly since
most of Yun-Fats earlier movies disappointed at the box-office, which is
why he was seen as "bad luck" for the financial success of a film. Though
he wasn't even the main star of the movie, his interpretation of the Mark
Gor role (people even imitated this look wearing long coats and shades)
finally made him one of Asia's most popular actors.
The John Woo/Chow Yun-Fat team continued making movies and thus created
some of the greatest classics of Hong Kong cinema, including The Killer,
a must see for everyone who hasn't already seen it and included in many
Top Ten lists of fans, Hard Boiled which took action to new hights
and A Better Tomorrow 2, the sequel with a showdown (including the
famous gun-trading-scene) to be remembered (it was during the shooting
of this finale when one explosion didn't go as planned and came dangerously
close to killing the film's star). Tsui Hark took the director's chair
on A Better Tomorrow 3 - Love and Death in Saigon which is actually
a prequel. Being different in style it perhaps would have been better to
make it as a stand-alone film without connection to the A Better Tomorrow
series. It's a good movie that doesn't need the reputation of its predecessors.
The other star of A Better Tomorrow was Ti Lung who played together
with Chow Yun-Fat at more opportunities. Tiger on the Beat and City
War are worth seeking out just to see these great actors side by side.
Besides John Woo there is one more director who used Chow Yun-Fat's talents
to their very best. Under the direction of Ringo Lam he gave an excellent
performance in City on Fire (which was the inspiration for Quentin
Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, though both films are actually quite
different). Prison on Fire, Wild Search and Full Contact
are other examples of his collaboration with Ringo Lam.
He gave his Hollywood debut with The Replacement Killers in 1997.
Sadly, this film continued the tradition of Hong Kong filmmakers making
worse movies in the West compared to their previous Hong Kong efforts.
Though Yun-Fat's English definitely needs improvement this is not a problem
(he doesn't have too many lines). Actually it's his presence in the film
that makes it worth watching. Admittedly it's a stylish action thriller
showing its star in the role which is his most famous one, but the action
scenes just look like imitations of Hong Kong style action (and happen
mostly in the dark, so you can't see that much anyway). As an action movie
it's okay for American standards, but don't expect something like a well
written plot or characters who have some depth. Replacement Killers
made Chow Yun-Fat famous, but it didn't give him the chance to show the
world what he is capable of (besides looking cool with a gun or two in
his hand).
FILMOGRAPHY
(ACTOR unless noted otherwise)
The Hunter, the Butterfly, and the Crocodile (1976)