John Woo Yu-sen is a Hong Kong film director known as a highly influential figure in the action film genre. The recipient of various accolades, including a Hong Kong Film Award for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Editing, as well as a Golden Horse Award, an Asia Pacific Screen Award and a Saturn Award, he is regarded as a pioneer of heroic bloodshed films and the gun fu genre in Hong Kong action cinema. He is known for his highly chaotic "bullet ballet" action sequences, stylized imagery, Mexican standoffs, frequent use of slow motion and allusions to wuxia, film noir and Western cinema.
Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expression and development. Martial arts are frequently featured in training scenes and other sequences in addition to fights. Martial arts films commonly include hand-to-hand combat along with other types of action, such as stuntwork, chases, and gunfights. Sub-genres of martial arts films include kung fu films, wuxia, karate films, and martial arts action comedy films, while related genres include gun fu, jidaigeki and samurai films.
Samuel "Sammo" Hung Kam-bo is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and film director, known for his work in martial arts films, Hong Kong action cinema, and as a fight choreographer for other actors such as Kim Tai-chung, Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, and Yuen Wah. Throughout the 1980s, he was part of the "Three Dragons" along with Chan and Biao; the three starred in six Hong Kong films together.
The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese-language cinema, alongside the cinema of China and the cinema of Taiwan. As a former Crown colony, Hong Kong had a greater degree of political and economic freedom than mainland China and Taiwan, and developed into a filmmaking hub for the Chinese-speaking world.
Tommy Tam Fu-wing, known professionally by his stage name Ti Lung, is a Hong Kong actor, known for his numerous starring roles in a string of Shaw Brothers Studio's films, particularly The Duel, The Blood Brothers, Clans of Intrigue, The Avenging Eagle, The Sentimental Swordsman and its sequel, as well as the classic John Woo film A Better Tomorrow and its sequel.
Albert Stotland Ruddy was a Canadian-American film and television producer. He produced The Godfather (1972) and Million Dollar Baby (2004), both of which won him the Academy Award for Best Picture, and co-created the CBS sitcom Hogan's Heroes (1965–1971).
Stanley Tong is a Hong Kong film director, producer, stunt choreographer, screenwriter, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is known for directing action-adventure films, including several with Jackie Chan.
The Bloody Fists is a 1972 Hong Kong action film directed by See-Yuen Ng and starring Chen Siu Sing and Kuan Tai Chen. The memorable fight scenes were choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping, better known for choreographing Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Matrix.
Angela Mao Ying is a Taiwanese actress and martial artist who appeared in martial arts films in the 1970s. One of the most prominent martial artist actresses of her time, she is nicknamed "Lady Whirlwind" and "Lady Kung Fu". She was positioned as a female version of Bruce Lee.
The Shrine of Ultimate Bliss, also known as Stoner, A Man Called Stoner, and Hong Kong Hitman is a 1974 Hong Kong action film which was produced by Raymond Chow and directed by Huang Feng.
David Chiang Tai-wai is a Hong Kong actor, director, producer and martial artist. A well-known martial arts actor formerly from Shaw Brothers Studio in the 1970s, he has appeared in over 130 films and 30 television series.
Dennis Law Sau-yiu is a Hong Kong film producer, screenwriter, actor, director and presenter. He is the former chairman and executive director of Milkyway Image, and a founder of its subsidiary company Point of View Movie Production Co. Ltd. Films directed by Law include teen comedies such as The Unusual Youth and Love @ First Note, and martial arts action films that include Fatal Contact and Fatal Move.
Conan Lee Yuen-Ba 李元霸, is a Hong Kong-born American film actor and martial artist.
Ip Man is a 2008 Hong Kong biographical martial arts film based on the life of Ip Man, a grandmaster of the martial art Wing Chun and teacher of martial artist legend Bruce Lee. The film focuses on events in Ip's life that supposedly took place in the city of Foshan during the Sino-Japanese War. The film was directed by Wilson Yip, and stars Donnie Yen as the titual character, with martial arts choreography by Sammo Hung. The film co-stars Simon Yam, Lynn Hung, Lam Ka-tung, Xing Yu, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, and Tenma Shibuya. The film was a co-production between China and Hong Kong, and was the last film to be distributed by Mandarin Films.
When Taekwondo Strikes is a 1973 Hong Kong martial arts film directed and written by Feng Huang, and produced by Raymond Chow. The film is known for the collective martial arts experience of its cast and the high-quality fight choreography. The film stars an international cast of martial arts film actors, including Angela Mao, Jhoon Rhee, Anne Winton, Wong In Sik, Carter Wong, Kenji Kazama, Sammo Hung, Biao Yuen, and Golden Harvest producer Andre Morgan. This was Jhoon Rhee's only film, and Anne Winton's debut film.
The Scorpion King is a 1992 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by David Lai, and produced by Sammo Hung. The film stars Chin Kar-lok, Lau Kar-leung and Kim Won-jin. The film was released theatrically in Hong Kong on 12 November 1992.
Tan Tao-liang is a Chinese-South Korean martial artist and former film actor. He used numerous pseudonyms throughout his career, mostly Delon Tam, Dorian Tan Tao-liang, Tan Tao-liang, Delon Tan, Dorian Tan and Delon Tanner. Noted for his leg holding and hopping skills, Tan was nicknamed "Flash Legs".
Mr. Hercules Against Karate/Ming, ragazzi! is a 1973 Italian comedy Kung fu film directed by Antonio Margheriti that was filmed in Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney and Bangkok. Produced by Carlo Ponti, the film features Bud Spencer and Terence Hill impersonators Alberto Terracina and Fernando Bilbao in a satire of the Kung-fu craze.
Chui Chung-San was a Hong Kong actor, director, choreographer, martial artist and stuntman. He was known for being an action director and stuntman. Chui was known for films such as The Rebellious Reign, Kung Fu Vs. Yoga, Two Fists Against the Law and 7 Grandmasters as well as other various Hong Kong and Taiwanese television shows.
Anne Winton was an American ballerina, martial artist and film actress. Hailing from Brewster County, Texas, she starred in two films during the 1970s. Her first film was When Taekwondo Strikes (1973), which she co-starred in. She was the first Caucasian female martial artist to star in an Asian film production. Her second film was Bruce Lee: A Dragon Story (1974), opposite Bruce Li. She was murdered in 1982.
