Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Video production and distribution |
Founded | 1999 |
Defunct | 2007 |
Key people | Bey Logan Brian White |
Products | DVDs |
Parent | Medusa Communications (1999–2004) Contender Entertainment Group (2004–2007) |
Hong Kong Legends was a United Kingdom DVD distribution company, based in Hertfordshire and operating from the UK and Australia between 1999 and 2007. Hong Kong Legends was initially part of Medusa Communications, [1] who, along with Soulblade bought up the UK distribution rights for film titles previously owned by Eastern Heroes label.
Hong Kong Legends released 101 Hong Kong classic films, primarily martial arts films and other action films. In preparing the DVDs, they gained access to the vaults of Hong Kong studios such as Golden Harvest, selecting the films with the highest quality prints available. Hong Kong Legends also added audio commentaries, most notably by Hong Kong cinema expert Bey Logan, conducted interviews with key actors, directors and other film crew, performed new translations for subtitles and cleaned up damage to the films.
Their catalogue of films included releases featuring Hong Kong stars such as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Jet Li, Chow Yun-fat, Donnie Yen and Michelle Yeoh.
In 2004, Contender Entertainment Group took over Medusa Communications, including both Hong Kong Legends, and their sister brand, Premier Asia. [2] [3]
Brian White, who had been the Brand Manager and prime mover of the label, left Contender. He was also a close personal friend of Bey Logan. Logan decided it was time to leave Contender as well and shortly afterwards moved to the US.
Harvey Weinstein would bring on board both Bey Logan & Brian White to begin working in a similar capacity for The Weinstein Company's East Asian DVD distribution company Dragon Dynasty, with White also serving as Vice-President of Asian Brand Management and Post Production. [4]
With the loss of both Bey Logan & Brian White (Logan having done his popular commentaries; and White having created the exclusive extras), Contender had to cancel many of the planned Hong Kong Legends releases and as there was no attempt to bring in replacement staff to perform audio commentaries, or to create bonus features, the release schedule significantly dropped.
The directors of Medusa went on to start a new company, Showbox Media Group (which several years later launched the Cine-Asia label). [5]
In September 2005, Contender entered into a co-operation pact with magazine / partwork publisher De Agostini to bring a selection of the more better known Hong Kong Legends titles, which were released as part of a fortnightly magazine giving facts and backgrounds on the featured film. The titles that were released included Fist of Fury , Drunken Master , Island of Fire , Once Upon a Time in China and The Killer . The series continued for 47 issues. [6]
On 5 November 2007, Contender discontinued the Hong Kong Legends label after releasing the last few DVDs (which by then were released as Ultra Bit editions, implying DVDs with improved bitrates or in otherwise "special editions". In fact, the releases were significantly more basic, the company having lost the rights for additional features other than trailers, and the bitrate was no higher than their previous releases).
On 18 March 2011, Cine-Asia announced a revival of the Hong Kong Legends titles under the banner of Cine-Asia Presents Hong Kong Legends (which were released under license from eOne (now Lionsgate Canada) which had purchased Contender 4 years earlier). The press release featured new artwork for The Big Boss , Fist of Fury , Game of Death , and Way of the Dragon . [7]
Release information taken from various sources, including the now defunct official Hong Kong Legends website, [8] IMDB [9] and online stores such as HKFlix. [10]
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.
Drunken Master, also known as Drunken Master The Beginning, is a 1978 Hong Kong martial arts comedy film directed by Yuen Woo-ping and produced and co-written by Ng See-yuen. The film features much of the same crew as Yuen's Snake in the Eagle's Shadow released earlier the same year, including lead actors Jackie Chan, Yuen Siu-tien, and Hwang Jang-lee; although narratively unrelated, Drunken Master bears similarities to its predecessor in its story and style.
Yuen Biao 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 the Seven Little Fortunes from the China Drama Academy at the Peking Opera School along with his "brothers" Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan. Throughout the 1980s, he was part of the "Three Dragons" along with Chan and Hung; the three starred in six Hong Kong films together. Yuen Biao has appeared in over 130 films. He has played roles in eight television series for the Hong Kong channel TVB.
Come Drink with Me is a 1966 Hong Kong wuxia film produced by Shaw Brothers Studio and directed by King Hu. Set during the Ming Dynasty, it stars Cheng Pei-pei, Yueh Hua and Chan Hung-lit in the leading roles, and features action choreography by Han Ying-chieh.
Fist of Fury is a 1972 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Lo Wei and produced by Raymond Chow. The film stars Bruce Lee in his major role after The Big Boss (1971). Bruce Lee also worked as the film's action choreographer. In the film, Chen Zhen, a student of Huo Yuanjia, fights to defend the honor of the Chinese in the face of foreign aggression and also exact vengeance responsible for Huo's death.
Chopsocky is a colloquial term for martial arts films and kung fu films made primarily by Hong Kong action cinema between the late 1960s and early 1980s. The term was coined by the American motion picture trade magazine Variety following the explosion of films in the genre released in 1973 in the U.S. after the success of Five Fingers of Death. The word is a play on chop suey, combining "chop" and "sock".
Yuen Woo-ping is a Hong Kong martial arts choreographer and film director who worked in Hong Kong action cinema and later Hollywood films. He is one of the inductees on the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong. Yuen is also a son of Yuen Siu-tien, a martial arts film actor. He attended the China Drama Academy for one year as a day student of Master Yu Jim-yuen as well.
Corey Yuen Kwai was a Hong Kong film director, film producer, action choreographer, and actor. Yuen attended the China Drama Academy and was one of the Seven Little Fortunes. In Hong Kong, he worked on several films such as Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury (1972), Hwang Jang-lee's Snuff Bottle Connection, Secret Rivals 2, The Invincible Armour, Dance of the Drunk Mantis (1979), Ninja in the Dragon's Den (1982), Millionaire's Express (1986), and Jet Li's Fong Sai-yuk II (1993), The New Legend of Shaolin (1994), High Risk, and My Father Is a Hero.
Bruceploitation is an exploitation film subgenre that emerged after the death of martial arts film star Bruce Lee in 1973, during which time filmmakers from Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea cast Bruce Lee look-alike actors ("Lee-alikes") to star in imitation martial arts films, in order to exploit Lee's sudden international popularity. Bruce Lee look-alike characters also commonly appear in other media, including anime, comic books, manga, and video games.
Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. Action films from Hong Kong have roots in Chinese and Hong Kong cultures including Chinese opera, storytelling and aesthetic traditions, which Hong Kong filmmakers combined with elements from Hollywood and Japanese cinema along with new action choreography and filmmaking techniques, to create a culturally distinctive form that went on to have wide transcultural appeal. In turn, Hollywood action films have been heavily influenced by Hong Kong genre conventions, from the 1970s onwards.
Wang Lap Tat, better known by his stage name Lo Lieh, was an Indonesian-born Hong Kong martial artist and film actor. Lo was perhaps best known as Chao Chih-Hao in the 1972 martial arts film King Boxer, Priest Pai Mei in Executioners from Shaolin and Clan of the White Lotus, Miyamoto in the 1977 film Fist of Fury II, and General Tien Ta in the 1978 film The 36th Chamber of Shaolin.
Nora Miao is a Hong Kong film actress. She is best known for appearing in many kung fu films in the 1970s, opposite Hong Kong action film stars such as Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.
New Fist of Fury is a 1976 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Lo Wei and starring Jackie Chan. It is the first of several films that Lo directed Chan in, and the first using Chan's stage name Sing Lung.
Fist of Fury III fully titled as Fist of Fury Part III: Jeet Kune the Claws and the Supreme Kung Fu is a 1979 Hong Kong exploitation kung fu film directed by Lee Tso-nam, and written by Lung Yueh. The film stars Bruce Li, Ku Feng, Tong Yim-chan, and Chow Siu-loi. It was originally released in Hong Kong as Jie quan yingzhua gong, and has been informally called Chinese Connection III. It continues the story of Chen Shen from Fist of Fury II: Fistful of the Dragon (1977), the brother of the Bruce Lee character in Fist of Fury: The Chinese Connection (1972).
Chen Zhen is a fictional character created by Hong Kong writer Ni Kuang. First portrayed by Bruce Lee in the 1972 film Fist of Fury, the character has been the subject of numerous film and television series, including remakes and adaptations of Fist of Fury. Many notable actors, including Jet Li and Donnie Yen, have portrayed Chen Zhen on screen after Bruce Lee. Although Chen Zhen's story varies in the different remakes and adaptations, most have an ending similar to the original Fist of Fury. Chen Zhen is believed to be based on Liu Zhensheng (劉振聲), an apprentice of Huo Yuanjia, a martial artist who lived during the late Qing dynasty of China.
This article details the filmography of actor and martial artist Bruce Lee.
Skinny Tiger, Fatty Dragon is a 1990 Hong Kong action comedy film directed by Lau Kar-wing. The film stars Sammo Hung and Karl Maka. The trio had worked together in the late 1970s, making two films for Lau and Hung's short-lived Gar Bo Motion Picture Company. Whilst Lau continued to appear in Hung's films for Golden Harvest throughout the 1980s, Maka had gone on to co-run Cinema City. Skinny Tiger, Fatty Dragon was therefore something of a reunion for the three actors.
Fatal Contact is a 2006 Hong Kong martial arts film written and directed by Dennis Law, who also producer with Herman Yau. The film stars Wu Jing, Ronald Cheng, Miki Yeung, Theresa Fu, Cheung Siu-fai, Ken Lo, Andy On, Lam Suet and Timmy Hung. Wu Jing played Kong Ko who is trained with the fighting techniques of Sanshou martial arts, and lured into the world of illegal martial arts fighting.
Premier Asia was a UK DVD distribution company, operating between the years 2003 and 2008. It was owned by Medusa Communications throughout its first year. In 2004, Contender Entertainment Group took over Medusa Communications, including both Premier Asia and its sister label, Hong Kong Legends. In 2007, Contender was themselves purchased by Entertainment One. Premier Asia is the sister company of Hong Kong Legends, and whilst that company specialised only in Hong Kong films, Premier Asia encompassed films from all of the major film making centres of Asia, specifically Japan, South Korea & Thailand.
Billy Chow Bei-lei is a Hong Kong-Canadian former professional kickboxer and actor. He competed in the Welterweight and Super Welterweight divisions from 1977 to 1992. He was the WKA Super Welterweight champion from 1984 to 1986, and retired with a professional record of 45-0-8.