CHENG Pei Pei can be considered the forerunner of women martial arts exponents
who made an impact in the Eastern cinema. Born on January 1, 1946, in China,
Cheng acted in 45 movies before she finally called it a day.
In the riotous decade that was the 60s, Cheng held sway as the most prominent
swordswoman in the Shaw Brothers' stable of actors and actresses. Her training
in dancing helped her immensely in acquiring some martial arts skills that were
essential for her roles in the movie industry.
Her career in acting began after she graduated from the Southern Screen
Experimental Theatre in 1963. She joined Shaw Brothers soon after and was
received minor parts in music and drama films. Before long, fate intervened and
a relatively unknown director (then) name King Hu cast her in his movie Come
Drink With Me.
King Hu was considered to be one of those avant garde directors who had been
credited with changing the face of Hong Kong martial arts movies. In Come Drink
With Me (1966), Cheng Pei Pei became an overnight sensation. Today, it is
considered by many as a cult movie in which Cheng as a newcomer to an action
movie held her own firmly against actors who were more experienced than her.
Her role in Come Drink With Me was in the character nicknamed Golden Swallow. I
remember this movie particularly well because it left such an impact on a close
friend of mine that he could still recall quite vividly some of the scenes in
the film. Apparently the inn and temple scenes were quite remarkable. The DVD
and VCD versions of Come Drink With Me are much sought after.
Shaw Brothers later recast her in a lead role in a subsequent movie called
Golden Swallow (1968). But this time, the director was Chang Cheh. Cheng Pei Pei
stood out among her Chinese contemporaries because of her graceful movements in
action scenes and her forceful on-screen personality that often left an
indelible mark on movie-goers. The fact that she was actually quite fetching in
her 20s did help young men to retain some beautiful memories of a very talented
young Hong Kong actress.
Some of the other action movies in which Cheng played prominent roles were Kung
Fu Girl, Flying Dagger, Jade Raksha, Whiplash and Shadow Whip. By the middle of
1970s, the sun began to set on Cheng Pei Pei's acting career.
Through the years and well into the next decade (80s), there was a trickle of
movies which she starred in but perhaps family considerations weighed in heavily
against her pursuing the movie career further. For a while back in the 80s, she
had a cooking show in America.
Cheng did make occasional appearances in some movies like Painted Faces (1988)
and Flirting Scholar (1993). Her biggest comeback movie was Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon (2000) in which she played Chow Yun Fatt's deadly adversary.
Michelle Yeoh was the other main character in the movie.
In 2002, Cheng Pei Pei produced and starred in a film entitled Flying Dragon,
Leaping Tiger. It was probably not her most memorable performance because I have
neither heard of it nor have my friends seen it.
Her latest movie is one called The Counting House. According to the grapevine,
Cheng's daughter has recently decided to follow in her mother's footsteps -
acting.
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