Echoes of the Rainbow

Yesterday’s years and tears



SOMETIMES we unexpectedly meet scenes in a movie that open the floodgates of childhood memories. Echoes of the Rainbow (Chinese title: Sui Yuet San Tau) has a whole cupboard full of these mementos, keepsakes and tokens that have long been forgotten with the passing of the elders.
Sometimes we wish we wouldn’t have to travel down that lane again because it can be heart-retching because of its bitter-sweet taste. This is one of the few Hong Kong films that embarks on a different path, unlike its usual fare of gangsters, murder or insane comedy.
Not surprisingly, Echoes of the Rainbow has struck a chord, and quite loudly too, in the hearts and minds of its middle-aged viewers.
We who are old enough have now arrived at that plateau in our lives when reflections of old friends, schoolmates, parents, relatives and the difficult times occur more often than expected.
In Echoes of the Rainbow, Simon Yam plays a struggling cobbler, Mr Law, who tries to make ends meet to put food on the table for his wife and two sons.
Sandra Ng, the backbone of the household, is the kind of mother who may remind many of us of our own.
She puts a protective arm around our shoulders when dad comes with the cane, and makes us forget about our outrageous demands with some funny stories.
She is also constantly at our bedside when we are sick, feeding us with spoonfuls of bland porridge whether we like it or not
This then is where the past catches up with our present and makes us appreciate what awaits us in the future.
Director Alex Law who is also responsible for the excellent script belongs that age group where flashbacks of the past are in abundance and as vivid as ever.
The dialogue is superb in this movie. It is reality par excellence because it jolts our memory of what our parents had always told us “to keep us in the right path”.
Naturally, there is a touch of adolescent romance that will put a smile on many faces. It’s that distant admiration of a girl just quite beyond our reach.
Desmond’s fledgling romance with schoolmate Flora (Evelyn Choi) may conjure similar emotional experiences which some of us have experienced.
In the realm of love, time has no relevance. The young heart often remembers with greater intensity than what mature minds may have unintentionally forgotten.
The tale is seen through a pair of young eyes, Big Ears (Buzz Chung), who is the dunce of his class. The lad is the opposite of his older brother Desmond (Aarif Lee) who’s the favourite of his parents.
Desmond excels in sports and is one of the top students at the Diocesan Boys School, which by the way is also director Law’s alma mater.
A major part of the plot focuses on Desmond who serves as the rallying point of the Law family when tragedy follows closely the heels of a typhoon that destroys the tiny family shop.
The pathos of Echoes of the Rainbow is founded upon the ground of past realities that is so familiar with Chinese communities in Malaysia and Singapore.
It will have special appeal for the older generations who will remember this story only too well because family quarrels and dinner conversations in the movie will resurrect old scenes of our forgotten years.
It is no wonder that Echoes of the Past won the Crystal Bear Award for Best Film at the Berlin International Film Festival in February this year.
On top of that, it has garnered six nominations for the 2010 Hong Kong Film Awards. It is a movie well worth watching at least once. Bring along your parents. They will thank you for it.
Echoes of the Rainbow opens in cinemas this April.

Say Yes to life, just like Jim Carey

There are times in life when you need to laugh out loud. And when you have finished laughing, you suddenly realise there's something to be learnt from the hilarious situation.

I found that out when Jim Carrey and I had a rib-ticklin' time in the darkened hall of the cineplex near my home. Yes Man is one of the funniest movies in recent years.

Carey is known as "rubber face" in parts of Hollywood. Even though he's not an American and is actually a Canadian, he's definitely one of the best movie imports in the past two decades.

I have enjoyed Carrey's Bruce Almighty in the past. It made my day whenever I think of God and then Carrey (in that order).

With Yes Man, there's an underlying message. Most of us lead sedentary lives. We couldn't care less about the happenings around us. Most of the time, we don't have time to consider other options in life.

It would be great if we give in to our whims and fancies now and then. However, most of us are afraid to. We think our friends will consider us crazy. Our family may disown us, and we may just regret our actions.

Yes Man is basically about a man who decides one day to say "yes" to all and any challenges that come his way. Once he has made that life-altering decision, he went on to try bungee jumping, attend wacky parties and giving loans to all dubious bank customers.

Suddenly his life began to careen off the usual run-of-the-mill tracks. Along the way, he encounter strange and sometimes wonderful people.

His boss gives him a raise and promotion due to his spontaneity and as bank officer Carl Allen, he even manages to find the love of his life in Allison.

There were times in my life when I too found walking down the road less travelled daunting but on those rare occasions when I tried trudging down the unknown path, I had some interesting experiences.

So Yes Man did bring back a bucketful of feel-good sensations. After watching this movie, I reminded myself that I must say yes to some offbeat but reasonable challenges in life.

I am glad this movie showed up when it did. Very often, we lead very mundane and dull lives. We grow into adulthood and allow others to convince us that being a non-conformist is bad for our health.

Then somehow after entering the portal of matrimony, we convinced ourselves that we have to be careful all the time because we are now "family men".

This movie tells us in a hilarious way that we could live life to the fullest and have a whale of a time when we let our hair down. In other words, we must learn to let go and let the fun in.

I say a big "yes" to this movie. I am grateful it has jolted my sense of inertia that has got a lockdown on my life. Thank you Jim Carrey for the reminder.

Okay, let get off the road and drive straight down that country road and smell the wild flowers, if they are any.

Just grab those balls of fury

It's nice to sometimes come across a senseless, wacky and out-of-the-ordinary movie fare that offers nothing but fun, laughter and hilarious situations.

I am talking of Balls of Fury. If not for a couple of famous names and faces like Christopher Walken and Maggie Q, I would have given this film a pass.

But like all armchair movie critics of little significance, I made a pit-stop at this cinema hall for a brief glimpse into the window of incredible laughs.

I wasn't disappointed. Randy Daytona (Dan Fogler) is a ping-pong has-been who prefers to forget the good old days. One day, a FBI agent of equally dubious repute, Rodriguez (George Lopez) came a-visiting to recruit him to flush out a fiend who had eliminated Randy's dad with extreme prejudice.

From the moment Randy accepted the dangerous assignment, it was a roller coaster of laughs.

Nobody in his right mind is expected to take the movie seriously but you will be pleased to know that there's a smattering of familiar faces popping up on the screen now and then; people like Jason Scott Lee and James Hong.

If you want to know who is James Hong, then you haven't been sitting in front of the TV long enough. Mr Hong is that familiar looking chinaman who has appeared in countless TV shows over the decades. He's not particularly famous but his face is rather familiar in an insignificant way.

Maggie Q is sexy without being salacious or wicked. She's fun and has that kind of Eastern charm that most men, Oriental and Occidental, find rather attractive.
This 90-minute show probably wasn't a dramatic box office hit but I am sure it did make a commendable pile of cash at video rentals.

Most weekenders who have nothing better to do will rent this video on a lonely Saturday afternoon. I have caught this show in its re-run on Astro at least twice.
Each time, it came across as something like you want to view over and over again.

Perhaps it's just me but I find some of the comedic plots too insane to ignore. Christopher Walken was a small time tour de force back in the good old days. I was referring to the Deer Hunter that came out a generation ago.

These days, Walken find it personally satisfying to play roles in movies like Hairspray and Balls of Fury, and he's doing a good job at it too. Good for you, Walken!

You are in absolutely no danger of going into hysterics in praising this movie but you certainly won't want to watch it alone. See Balls of Fury who also have funny bones in their body.

Buy a couple of packets of pistachios, cashew nuts and macadamia buts and gallons of beverages and then turn on the DVD to see Balls of Fury.

Laughter is free. Laugh as if there's no tomorrow. For all of us, one day, tomorrow may never come. Think about it. Meanwhile, just laugh.

Love follows the scent of three women

Producer/director Tsui Hark who is better known for producing movies like Swordsman, Once Upon A Time in China and Seven Swords has ignited a trail of aromatic pheromone that has triggered packs of men and women catching its scent and following it.

After having sniffed it, they have either got lost or may have continued to walk in a daze.

All About Women is the story of three women who are a mixture of bohemian, oddball and corporate types. It is amazing that the entire plot was born on the cradle of pheromone. Pheromone is a chemical substance secreted by animals, including humans regardless of gender, that normally sparks sexual attraction.

On such a premise, the plot is born and before long, becomes quite convoluted that the ordinary movie goer may struggle to keep up with its pace.

Tsui Hark's brand of humour in this instance is fired simultaneously in several directions. Even though it is a romantic comedy of the slightly weird kind, it manages to draw some feeble sniggers from the audience.

However, Tsui Hark shares the credit of writing the screenplay with Korean director Kwak Jae-yong. One wonders what these two men were up to when they conjured the story in their minds.

There's an allusion that links All About Women to that Korean hit movie My Sassy Girl. Those who watch this movie can arrive at their own conclusion.

The focus of the show is on Tang Lu (Kitty Zhang Yugi), a beautiful, top-notch corporate powerhouse who has everyone running to her office when she barks an order. However, she doesn't hold a high opinion of men because she believes intelligence is the key to happiness, until one day a pheromone bullet went right up her nose.

Fan Fan (Zhou Xun) on the other hand is a dedicated lab rat who one day discovers that the secret of a woman's sexual success lies in a substance that will bring down any man to his knees. Thus, begins her experiments and the consequences that later leads to the intertwining of three women's lives.

The third party involved is Tie Ling (Kwai Lun-mei) who is an unusual specimen of a woman because she boxes in her spare time, turns rocker at night and has a handsome boyfriend that's the figment of her imagination.

If this movie wasn't so ambitious, it would have succeed magnificently from the word "go". But Tsui Hark may have momentarily forgotten that All About Women is not all about swordplay where battlefield melee adds to the attraction.

Numerous sexual tension filled scenes were deliberately exaggerated in their effects. That technique could have scored if it had been a novelty, except that it has been overused in countless films.

It would be unfair to Tsui Hark who is regarded as somewhat of a legend in Hong Kong if the conclusion is drawn that he has fumbled and fallen flat on his face.

All About Women does have its moments. They were far and few between but nonetheless they were there at unexpected moments. It wasn't a total washout.

I won't venture to say that this movie rates a "must-see". It would be more accurate to say "see it if you so wish and have some hours to kill".

Apart of Kitty Zhang who instantly draws any hot-blooded man's attention with her stunning looks, Zhou Xun and Kwai merely make up the numbers in the show. Since this movie is written, produced and directed by men, it is assumed that it also caters to men. So we get to decide where the axe falls.

This pheromone scented film is not designed to be intellectually stimulating but it seems to make a valiant attempt at arousing our physical senses in a season of Hong-Kong-no-hit-movies.

The limpid conclusion of All About Women makes one almost regret leaving Cecelia Ahern's The Gift lying unread at the bottom drawer. May be Tsui Hark will have better luck next time. We all know he can do much better.

Fire and steel mark Quantum of Solace

WHO could resist the temptation of watching the latest James Bond movie? I could. I have been doing it for years. I am not one of those diehard Bond fans.

Since Sean Connery "left M's Office", I am quite oblivious to the fact that there have been a series of Bonds gracing the screen over the decades. But recently, I yielded to temptation by walking into the cinema and watched Quantum of Solace.

I recalled reading in the newspaper that an overseas movie critic has said that unlike the previous Bond movies, Quantum of Solace was found wanting in the electronic gadgets category and a trifle shy in the sexy girls department.

After nearly two hours (106 minutes to be exact) of coming face to face with Daniel Craig, I found that comment to be true. While Craig as the latest Bond is a very physical guy, there was a notable absence of Nasa-type electronic devices to impress the non-science guys like me. That's not like James Bond at all!

To compound the thorny and stereotyped issue, the Bond girls were very much less than sexy.

Whoever heard of a James Bond movie that scores a low rating on girls? That wouldn't be a British spy flick of Bond calibre. Olga Kurylenko who starred as Camille in Quantum of Solace is probably one of the least sexy Bond girls in recent decades.

Ogla came across as an Eurasian damsel, not exactly in distress. In fact, she gave Bond a run for the money as far as fights are concerned. She could even turn dangerous turns in a street car chase.

I caught that Hollywood One On One on Astro that showed Olga commenting how she trained for months on fighting techniques. Well, there was little of all that training on screen.

I guess when you have grown up on a steady diet of martial arts type actresses a la Hong Kong, anybody would come to expect much more from fighting women.

On that matter, just look at Michelle Yeoh. When she acted in those Hong Kong movie, she was more than a match for a lot of guys on the screen who were attacking her. And she could really fight. In Hong Kong, either you stay really fighting fit or you take out a big insurance policy on physical injuries.

Most Bond girls would come across as "drop-dead gorgeous" or "beautiful but lethal". Olga was neither. In fact, in one scene, the director deliberately exposed her back and reveal the burnt scars on her back. I guess the cinema colour wasn't that great because I thought she had a bad case of ringworm.

It was only when the movie progressed that I realised that those "spots" on her back were the result of a childhood tragedy that involved her family.

The plot in Quantum of Solace is a bit weak. We are made to understand that it is the continuation of Craig's first Bond outing in Casino Royale.

Bond's arch-nemesis Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) came across more as a psychopath than a ruthless villain. They really don't make Bond villains like they used to. These days, Bond villains looked like my benign next-door neighbour.

On the plus side, Quantum of Solace tried to make up for its shortfalls with lots of action. From start to finish, there is an endless stream of action scenes that involved Craig jumping from one window ledge to the next. That jumping scene reminded me of Jason Bourne in Bourne Supremacy.

Then there was that scene where one of Bond's paramour was killed and coated with black oil from head to toe. She was naked of course. It was reminiscent of Goldfinger when Sean Connery starred in it.

Director Marc Forster tried his best to make it a watchable Bond but I believed he tried a bit too hard and forgot the essence of Bond. All successful Bond movies must have that edge that defies explanation.

It must have that sense of suspence and sexual tension that force all men to ogle at the girls with undesirable intentions.

Of course, there must be those special tools that make James Bond stand head and shoulders above the rest of the super spies.

So without further ado, I give Quantum of Solace a four out of 10 rating. But if you are Bond fanatic, you would probably find this film satisfactory without bursting a capilliary.

Love and war over the Red Cliff

JOHN WOO needs no introduction in the Chinese cinema industry. Better known as the man behind some of Hong Kong's most successful gangster movies in the 1980s, Woo is also credited with having turned his favourite actor Chow Yun-fatt into a legend.

With Red Cliff II, Woo finally got the opportunity to make one of China's most popular stories, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, into a big screen epic drama.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms has been done before. The most famous one in distant memory starred the late actress Lin Dai in 1958 where she won the Best Actress award.

Chinese literature students will tell you that Red Cliff is only a small part of the long and exciting tale of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It is as much about the culture and traditions of third century Middle Kingdom (China) as it is about military strategies.

So one is tempted to see if this movie has succeeded in transplanting the nuances and depth of the novel onto the big screen. Curiosity will no doubt be also focused on the many facets of a convoluted storyline with many twists and turns.

Those who have a deep interest in the Chinese art of war will obviously have read Romance of the Three Kingdoms as a military text, after digesting the contents of other novel entitled The Water Margin.

However, Red Cliff II, due to the length of its plot, has been split into two parts. The first part was released in July last year. In total, Red Cliff and Red Cliff II are about four hours long.

For audiences outside Asia, Red Cliff comes as a single length feature. Red Cliff takes the credit for being the most expensive Asian movie to date. Its budget was US$80 million (RM272 million).

For non-Chinese viewers, Red Cliff is basically about ambitious Prime Minister Cao Cao, the Emperor's uncle Liu Bei, military strategist Zhuge Liang, Viceroy Zhou Yu and warlord Sun Quan. Adding colour to this epic drama are numerous historical figures like Zhao Zilong and generals Zhang Fei and Quan Yu.

Quan Yu is a much revered figure even today. He is considered the "God of War" and figure of this famous general adorns the altar of many a Chinese home and police stations in modern Hong Kong.

The central figure in Red Cliff II is talented Tony Leung who recently received worldwide attention for his role in Ang Lee's Lust, Caution. However, his character as viceroy Zhou Yu is at odds with his previous roles as a brooding spy or a tacturn husband. Perhaps some people may not be able to reconcile Leung with his character as a wily and intelligent politician and man of war.

The man who stands tall and commanding among the cast of thousands and a legion of famous names is Zhang Fengyi. Zhang is one of China's most celebrated actors who made a name for himself in Chen Kaige's Farewell, My Concubine (1993).

Playing Premier Cao Cao puts the spotlight on Zhang throughout the movie and it was a joy watching an actor who's a master at tis craft.

Takeshi Kaneshiro as Zhuge Liang has acquitted himself well. As a young military advisor to Zhou Yu, Kaneshiro's handsome looks helps bring a certain charm to an otherwise series of sombre war discussions among the various warlords.

Zhuge remains till today as one of the most admired strategists of ancient China.

Zhuge's unique brand of war strategems has earned him much respect and won him great fame throughout the ages. Kaneshiro does not disappoint in his portrayal of his favourite childhood hero Zhuge Liang. He has a personal interest in the character and it shows in his acting.

A face that most people will find it hard to ignore is Xiao Qiao, the wife of Zhou Yu. Played by Taiwan's most recognised face Lin Chiling, Xiao Qiao is what Chinese firmly believe in life as well as in literature that a beautiful woman can bring a general to his knees.

Xiao Qiao attained notoriety for having a face that "sank two thousand ships" as opposed to Helen of Troy's face that "launched a thousand ships". In her first feature film, Chiling went under the tutelage of three Beijing acting coaches.

Even though her maiden efforts will not earn her critical acclaim, Chiling will nevertheless be much appreciated for her very distracting but enchanting demeanour.

Red Cliff II also boasts some of the most beautiful rustic scenes inside China. Director John Woo has spared little expense in locating the right places for important scenes.

The battle scenes were of course not as elaborate and sophisticated as those in Lord of the Rings but for Red Cliff, they plainly suffice. We understand the CGI limitations with regard to Asian movies which usually don't have the mega budgets like some Hollywood films.

It wouldn't be wrong to say that this movie will appeal more to Asian audiences than those in the West. The theme and the familiar stories revolving around the Romance of the Three Kingdoms have a special appeal to the Chinese community across the region.

John Woo has done a fine job of turning a complicated story into a watchable film. Yes, he has taken great liberties in interpreting some of the facts of the story but then this story is 1,800 years old and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms novel by Luo Guanzhong was only published in the 13th century, so like most tales born of misty conditions, the truth of the matter is subjective.

In this case, it was handiwork of John Woo and three other writers.

Wang Yu's a pretty cool dude

THERE'S one name in the Hong Kong cinematic world that raises eye-brows among
the Chinese baby boomers - Wang Yu. In the 1960s, Wang Zheng-quan (later Jimmy
Wang Yu) could outpunch, outkick and outfight any opponent in the Shaw Brothers
martial arts films.


Wang Yu shot to fame with The One-Armed Swordsman in 1967. The Chinese name for
that film, Dubei Dao, still rings a bell in most video shops. Ask any video shop
proprietor for this film and chances are you will get a knowing look. Born March
28, 1943, in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province of China, Wang Yu was also known by other
names like Wong Yu-lung and Wang Yue.


With a lean and wiry physique, the actor had few equals as a martial arts actor
in Southeast Asia some 40 years ago. Before he joined Shaw Brothers in 1963,
Wang Yu was a Hong Kong swimming champion as well as a racing car enthusiast.
During his stint with the House of Shaw, the Chinese actor teamed up with famous
sword-fighting director Chang Cheh.


He acted in The Golden Swallow with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon actress Cheng
Pei-Pei in 1968. If One Armed Swordsman was the move that launched Wang Yu's
acting career, then The Chinese Boxer (1970) was the film that sealed his fame
in the realm of Chinese films.


The Chinese Boxer is credited with being the first Hong Kong martial arts film
that kickstarted unarmed combat genre, mainly kung fu. The film also triggered a
phenomenon that filled the ranks of many Chinese martial arts associations
across Southeast Asia. Chinese youths in their bid to emulate their screen hero,
Wang Yu took to punching sandbags and reading up on Shaolin kungfu history.


Adult Chinese males who were in their teens in that era would recall that the
lean, slightly mean and stoic look was the persona that best described those
Chinese youths who sometimes recklessly expressed themselves with their fists
and legs, much to their own detriment. Controversy dogged Wang Yu's heels after
the fame that exploded with The Chinese Boxer.


As teenagers, my friends and I were fascinated with Wang Yu's screen persona.
Long before the grunge look became the vogue, Wang Yu was already exhibiting it
in his swordsman and boxer movies. Cinema audiences were thoroughly thrilled and
fascinated by his more-than-occasional unshaven appearance. It gave the actor
that much applauded sinister look. I believe women would label that as "the
mysterious, moody and dangerous" appearance.


There were times when the sword of an opponent would knock off his "goondu"
(knotted hair) and the aftermath was Wang Yu in all his on-screen long-haired
splendour. Those were the days when long hair was in. Could be the time of
memories of the Woodstock gathering still hadn't faded away. Whatever it was,
Wang Yu with his long dark hair and unshaven face gave the women the thrills and
young men the chills. We all lapped it up.


I now recall vaguely that I had once suggested to my mum that perhaps I would
look "good" with long hair and I cited Wang Yu's example. My mum told me that
she couldn't afford to have such a "famous person" staying in her house so I
might have to think of an alternative accomodation. And I, being all of about 12
years ago, decided that I would thoroughly be satisfied with my own ridiculously
short hair and staying in my humble abode afterall, when I found out quite
quickly that I would never be accustomed to sleeping under some "pokok kelapa".


The years that followed saw Wang Yu broke his contract with Shaw Brothers and
was promptly slapped with a law suit. The legal tussle which ended in Shaw's
favour led to Wang Yu being banned from making films in Hong Kong. The tall,
handsome actor who had by then gained a fair measure of fame looked to Taiwan
for better career prospects. He linked up with Golden Harvest Productions and
other independent film outfits.


His subsequent films were mostly done in Taiwan. With the success of The Chinese
Boxer, Wang Yu stood unchallenged for a better part of a decade as the Chinese
actor with the most formidable fists and legs. His fame spread throughout
Southeast Asia and remained so until the arrival of Bruce Lee in 1971 with The
Big Boss.


Wang Yu's private life was reportedly as colourful as his fighting film roles.
In 1969, Wang Yu married actress Lin Tsui who was nine years his senior but not
before conducting a scandalous affair with a well-known actress who was then
married to director Qin Jan. Qin Jan hanged himself before a divorce took place.


The actress, who was also known as Lam Chui or Lin Cui, was one of the more
famous names in the Hong Kong film industry in the 50s and 60s. She dropped out
of the film scene almost immediately after her marriage. Matrimony turned out to
be a tumultuous affair for Wang Yu and Lin. Amid allegations of wife-beating,
the marriage crumbled in 1975. Lin migrated to the US in 1977.


She died in 1995 after an asthma attack. Lin's brother is Kenneth Tsang who's
also an actor. Wang Yu later remarried. This time to air hostess Kai-cheng. This
marriage too proved to be a stormy relationship. They separated in 1997.
Kai-cheng filed for divorce and Wang Yu balked. Probably in frustration,
Kai-cheng started an affair with a young businessman. Wang Yu got wind of it.


Accompanied by reporters and police, Wang Yu surprised the couple at their
lodging and publicly exposed his wife. Satisfied with the public humiliation
heaped on the couple, Wang Yu then dropped Kai-cheng. There were other serious
problems in the actor's life. In 1981, he faced a murder charge in Taiwan.
However, the charge didn't stick due to lack of evidence.


Wang Yu's involvement in public brawls also made the headlines from time to
time. But there's a positive side to his character that's seldom mentioned. In
the late 70s, a young actor was trying to make a break in films and somehow he
got into a misunderstanding with veteran director Lo Wei. Initially, the issue
could not be settled.


The young actor sought the help of Wang Yu. Wang Yu settled the matter to the
satisfaction of both parties. Years later, the actor repaid the favour with his
role in Wang Yu's film Island of Fire. (1990) That actor is Jackie Chan. Wang Yu
starred in several notable films like Return of The Chinese Boxer (1975), Temple
of the Red Lotus (1965) and Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976).


With the advent of the 70s, Wang Yu's star began to eclipse with the entry of
new actors like Ti Lung, David Chiang and especially Bruce Lee. In 1986, Sammo
Hung cast Wang Yu as the father of the famous Chinese martial arts hero Wong Fei
Hung. In the years that followed, Wang Yu kept a low profile.


He made a rare public appearance at the funeral of his old friend and mentor,
Chang Cheh, in 2002. Even though Wang Yu left an indelible mark on the Chinese
film martial arts scene, in truth he was never the accomplished martial arts
artiste which his films made him out to be.


It was actually the camera angle and the clever film editing that gave Wang Yu
the aura of invincibility in the fighting arena. Real martial arts exponents who
later became actors like Bruce Lee and Jet Li would have "put him in their
pockets", so to speak.


Still, credit belongs to Wang Yu for paving the way for other unforgettable
Chinese kung fu films that came after he had left the centre stage.

His name rightly belongs with the others who had carved their names on the hallowed halls
of the once thriving Hong Kong film industry when kung fu films held sway from
Kowloon to the Singapore.