Wong Fei-hung Hong Kong New Wave director Tsui Hark’s Once Upon a Time in China made a star of Chinese-born martial artist Jet Li Lianjie and started a trend for films set in historical China with postmodern characteristics.
While Wong was one of Lee’s most memorable characters, he is not the only real-life Cantonese martial arts hero that the action star has portrayed on screen. He also played the role of Fong Sai Yuk in two 1993 films of the same name.
“Fong Sai Yuk” and “Fong Sai Yuk II” were directed by Corey Yuen Kwai and featured acting legend Josephine Hsiao Fong-fong, “a veteran of numerous sword-fighting films from the 1960s,” and former Miss Hong Kong Michelle Reyes , who was then at the peak of her career. about her popularity.
Fong Sai-yuk (or Fang Shiyu) the martial artist is thought to have existed sometime in China’s Qing dynasty. Legend has it that his mother, a martial arts expert called Miu Tsui-fa, whose lineage extended back to the Shaolin Temple through her father, bathed the baby Sai-yuk in an elixir of Chinese herbs which gave him “copper skin and metal bone”.
Fong is known mainly for killing a tough opponent called Tiger Lu, a fighter who was known for humiliating Cantonese martial arts practitioners. He killed him when he was just 15 years old with his “Black Tiger Steals Heart” kick. Tiger Lu and Fong’s mother, Miu Tsui-fa, appear in the Fong Sai Yuk films, whose storylines are inventions.
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Fong Sai Yuk (1993) Biography, Plot, Release, Home Media, Reception, Fight.
Fong Sai Yuk’s films also marked Lee’s foray into production with his own film company, Eastern Production. Lee stepped down from Once Upon a Time in China to start Eastern Production. “There were rumors that Lee asked for too much money to continue acting as Wong Fei-hung.
Lee’s manager Jimmy Choi Chin-ming was gunned down by triads in his Tsim Sha Tsui office in 1992, a year before the film Fong Sai Yuk was filmed. But in an interview the following year before the cinematic launch of Fong Sai Yuk, Lee said: “My company is on the right track and stable, and no one is going to create problems or bother me.”
Li gave the following interview to this writer at the premiere of Fong Sai-yuk II in 1993. The actor did not go on to make a Fong Sai Yuk III.Q: You’re well-known for portraying Wong Fei-hung. What made you decide to take on the role of another Cantonese martial arts hero, Fong Sai-yuk?
A: As an actor, I don’t want to become typecast. I don’t want to be known for just playing one character, or for only playing one type of role. That’s why I decided to attempt Fong Sai-yuk ” it gives me the chance to do something different. Fong Sai-yuk is definitely a very different kind of character to Wong Fei-hung.
In what way are the two heroes different?
Wong Fei-hung is a very righteous person ” he is someone that you would respect. But Fong Sai-yuk is very mischievous. Audiences seem to like both characters, even though they are very different.
Fong Sai-yuk is said to have existed in real life. Does that influence the way that you portray him?
Yes, the fact that he really existed did influence me. But even so, when you are playing someone real like that, it comes down to how you perceive them, what your view of the real-life person is. Plus you have to take into account what the scriptwriter and the director think of the character, too.
Are you similar to Fong Sai-yuk in any way?
I’m not sure if I am like him at all, but you do have to like the characters that you play. Fong Sai-yuk is one of my idols, so I put a lot of effort into making it a good performance.The scene where you are trying to save Siao Fong-fong from dying on the rope at the end ofFong Sai Yuk IIis very intricate.
Yes, that was a very difficult scene to put together. It took a lot of time to prepare it. But it is always worth taking the time to do something special. There are a lot of action films being made in Hong Kong these days, and a lot of them are costume dramas. So you have to work really hard to do something different, to do something innovative.
What do you think is special about Fong Sai-yuk’s style in the films?
He is very quick and he gets straight to the point ” he hits someone hard and they fall down. That’s one way that he differs from Wong Fei-hung. It’s a bit like the way Bruce Lee used to fight.How do you feel about performing kung fu in front of the cameras?
As I trained in wushu, I am used to performing. I am always looking for different ways to present my wushu skills in front of the cameras.
Was there a script for theFong Sai Yukfilms or was it “flying paper” ” that is, you made it up as you went along?
There were scripts for both of them, but the scripts were very loosely written. When we shot the scenes, things changed a lot, and even more changes happened in the editing room. Actually, everything about Fong Sai Yuk was a group effort ” the directing, the stunts, everything. We discussed everything between us before we made the shot.
Will there be aFong Sai Yuk III?
When I was making part one, I already had part two in mind. But whether we do a part three or not depends on how it performs in all our different markets.In this regular feature series on the best of Hong Kong martial arts cinema, we examine the legacy of classic films, re-evaluate the careers of its greatest stars, and revisit some of the lesser-known aspects of the genre.