#HK Cinema

[ladamarossa]

厲鬼纏身 - Split of the Spirit (1987)

[crazyrichxplainr]

Daniel Wu for Esquire Singapore (ph: Kigon Kwak)

[anjellynajolie]

FASCINATED by Anita Mui’s queer presence in HK films, where she has been cast variously as a masculine /cross-dressing woman; a pansexual woman; a woman acting as a man; and a straight-up man. 

Rouge (1987) 

Kawashima Yoshiko (1990)

Fight Back to School III (1993)

Who’s the Man Who’s the Woman (1996)

Emperor Qi-Wu Yuen (2001) 

[cinemaronin]

[teledyn]

Super Inframan (1975)

[pikachufacedesune]

So, Mile and Apo confirmed in the recent Esquare HK interview that KP's aesthetic is inspired by Hong Kong cinema. I saw Wong Kar-wai and Christopher Doyle's references in the visual aspects and the colours of the show since the very start of it, and so I love every single scene, visually speaking. Artistically, KP might be the best Thai series ever filmed. I've watched a lot of Thai series and none of the the photography, the camera work and the editing of them can compare to those of KinnPorsche. Such an amazing work they did.

[gokaiju]

黑俠 (Black Mask) (Daniel Lee, 1996) Cover for the Blu-ray release by Eureka Entertainment. Design by Gokaiju

[dailylesliec]

[TRANSLATION] Art and Piece Issue 16 - Alan Chan about Leslie Cheung

“He climbed out of the pool and asked me, 'Don't you just think my shorts look so gorgeous and sexy today?'”

A BEAUTIFUL TUNE IN THE MIDST OF EMPTINESS

Alan Chan - Renowned Hong Kong designer

I am Alan Chan. I am a designer, and designed multiple album covers for Leslie Cheung.

In the 80s and 90s, I designed album covers for several big names and superstars. Some people even called me Leslie's "go-to designer" because of that, and I also witnessed a lot of high points in Leslie's music career. As I work in graphic design as well as advertising, I don't use a very personal angle in creating an album cover. Rather, I use the artist as a starting point, to accentuate the public image the artist had at that point in time.

The first time I helped Leslie create an album cover was in 1984. Capital Artists was beginning to realise that they needed to "package" or "dress up" their artists and came to me for help. And like that, I worked with Leslie for the first time on his album Craziness. Leslie was a gentleman - once he even invited me to have dinner at his then-home in Taikoo Shing after the album was done. To be honest, Leslie and I weren't very close, but we were both very emotional people. We didn't need to say much to understand each other. It was quite fun working on Craziness though. At the time Capital Artists was still quite new and our budget was quite small. The waistcoat, shirt and bowtie that Leslie wore during the photoshoot were actually mine, I just lent them to him. Fortunately, they fit.

I still remember when Florence Chan, Alex Chan and I waited outside the recording studio from noon until late night. When we heard the finished product of Sleepless Night, I really couldn't help but let out a "WOW" in my heart. We knew that this song would make him a superstar. Later when we went to Japan for the Summer Romance photoshoot, I had my eye on a pair of shoes while shopping there. When I went to pay, I found out that gor-gor had already kindly bought them for me. It's an unforgettable memory of mine. Those pair of shoes are almost completely worn out but I still keep them.

I don't really know a lot of artists, but Leslie is definitely the most artistic one. You can see this even in the details of his everyday life. When he moved from Repulse Bay to Kadoorie Hill, he did all of the interior design himself. The furnishing was very tasteful - he just knew how to pick and arrange elegant furniture. He was also a really easy person to communicate with about creating. We both trusted each other a lot in the design process. I knew very well that at some point, o matter if it's singing, acting, or any other sort of artistic approach, an artist should be able to think for themselves and not just follow the crowd.

Just like for the later Leslie '89, Leslie himself took the album cover photo, while I added some finishing touches and colour with aerosol paint. Or take For Your Heart Only. He knew what he wanted to do from the start and even prepared his own outfit. When he arrived, he put on the ring his lover gave him for the photoshoot, so in the end we used a more soft way to handle the cover in order to show Leslie's pure, loving side. Rather than expressing it to the fans, I feel like the concept of the album was for Leslie's own heart. Virgin Snow's aesthetic and typography doesn't look outdated even today. Final Encounter is also really worth remembering - I constructed a ten-or-so feet tall podium and used a vertical ladder to climb up there and take photos, it actually wasn't very stable or safe.

Mirages exist in all of entertainment business. All performances will have parts where we are "pretending" and this is called showmanship. The personality of an artist shows through your showmanship. I felt that the natural, creative energy that Leslie had was unique. No other artist had it. Leslie's beauty came with a sort of feminine sexiness, it was soft-spoken, and he wasn't afraid to show off his attractiveness. I remember during the photoshoot for the Leslie album cover, he climbed out of the pool and asked me, "Don't you just think my shorts look so gorgeous and sexy today?"

Not everyone can be him.

Translated by me (aka @dailylesliec on Twitter/Tumblr), do not repost without credit. If you like this translation, consider following me or buying me a Ko-fi! For the formatted PDF version of the article, click here.

[cine-odyssey-blog]

Fallen Angels  aka  Do lok tin si  (1995)  | dir.  Kar-Wai Wong | Hong Kong

Michelle Reis

[afragmentcastadrift]

Weekend viewing - a million years later, I can finally watch a proper restoration of these films, and not rely on the VHS copies acquired at a con

[cinemajunkie70]

I got this on vhs back in 1997 and we watched this on Thanksgiving that year. I miss those times very badly!

[ladamarossa]

鬼眼 - Ghost Eyes (1974)

[aj2k]

An edited version of the final fight scene (the dojo and the twins) of Jet Li's Kiss of the Dragon re-scored to Bruce Lee's Game of Death soundtrack by John Barry. This gave me a new appreciation for score mixing and sound editing.

[theoryofmine]

黑社會2: 以和為貴

Election 2 (2006)

You are more than sure now: being a gangster is not a good thing.

[cinemaronin]

Passion (1986)

最愛 Passion (1986)  directed by Sylvia Chang

[4eternal-life]

Ashes of Time  (1994) /dir. Wong Kar Wai