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LIMITED SERIES SAMMO HUNG: FROM STUNTMAN TO STAR MAY 5–27, 2023
The Millionaires' Express Fri, May 5 | 7:30pm | TMT
A major force in the Hong Kong film industry, Sammo Hung has amassed roughly 200 acting credits, with more than 70 of them in leading roles. He has over 60 credits as an action director and more than 30 as director. As the founder of four production companies, he oversaw more than 100 films, with a producer credit on over 30. Becoming a key player in the Hong Kong New Wave movement of the 1980s, Hung helped change the face of martial arts films with his unconventionally hefty frame, showing that skill and resilience are more important than the steroid-riddled physiques that Western audiences were obsessed with at the time. Starting out in the film industry as a stuntman utilizing the acrobatic skills he learned in his youth, Hung quickly moved up to action director with minor roles as thugs and villains. His popularity with filmmakers allowed him to advance to leading roles both in front of and behind the camera. As a producer-director-star, he made his mark on the action film world with his jaw- dropping stunts and fights, often infused with a touch of comedy at the expense of his portly, yet nimble, body. This series features selections from Hung’s varied career as a star, director, and producer.
Programmed by Patrick Lowry. Notes by Patrick Lowry and Mark Ayala. This program is supported in part by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco.
try to help the women they’ve fallen in love with escape their lecherous bosses: a baker and a cruel brothel owner. Without shying away from the harsh realities of street life, Hung directs and stars in this endearing love story about underdogs taking a stand against criminals in power. Featuring touches of comedy, elaborate fight sequences (including a remarkable one-on-one scene with filmmaker- martial arts legend Lau Kar-leung) and plenty of heart, this film is pure Sammo Hung. DIRECTED BY: Sammo Hung. WRITTEN BY: Barry Wong, Yuen Kai-chi. WITH: Sammo Hung, Nina Li Chi, Max Mok, Mang Hoi. 1989. 95 min. Hong Kong. Color. English dubbed. Not Rated. 35mm.
The Millionaires’ Express with Pedicab Driver Fri, May 5 | 7:30pm | TMT The Millionaires’ Express East crashes into West in this genre-bending love letter to Westerns, produced by Hung’s Bo Ho Film Company. A drifter returns to his childhood village with a plan to revitalize it by derailing the Shanghai Express so its wealthy passengers will spend money in the struggling town. The plan becomes complicated by a group of bandits on horseback, bumbling bank-robbers, and the town’s overeager chief of security. With Hung in the director’s chair and leading role while supported by an all-star cast, these characters collide in a slapstick comedy of errors chock-full of Western tropes and martial arts mayhem. DIRECTED BY: Sammo Hung. WRITTEN BY: Barry Wong, Alfred Cheung, Keith Wong. WITH: Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Eric Tsang, Cynthia Rothrock. 1986. 102 min. Hong Kong. Color. Scope. Cantonese. Rated PG-13. Digital. Pedicab Driver The first film released by Hung’s Bojon Films Company tells the story of two pedicab drivers in 1930s Macao who
Project A Sat, May 6 | 2pm | TMT
In the 1980s, Hung co-starred in three films alongside his Peking Opera contemporaries Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao, with fans affectionately referring to them as the Three Dragons. Their first film focuses on naval officers and the police setting aside their rivalry to battle pirates and corrupt government officials in Hong Kong at the turn of
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