My Top 25 Hong Kong Films
by veedragon40 | created - 04 Mar 2011 | updated - 31 Jan 2019 | PublicHong Kong may not have produced the best or most remarkable films, but over the years there were some very interesting cinematic works that have emerged from this former British Colony. Without further ado, my selection of my 30 favorite Hong Kong films...
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1. In the Mood for Love (2000)
PG | 98 min | Drama, Romance
Two neighbors form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as not to commit similar wrongs.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Siu Ping-Lam, Tung Cho 'Joe' Cheung
Votes: 166,798 | Gross: $2.73M
2. Comrades: Almost a Love Story (1996)
118 min | Drama, Romance
Two Chinese-mainlanders living in Hong Kong form a close friendship. Over the years this grows into love, but there are obstacles.
Director: Peter Ho-Sun Chan | Stars: Maggie Cheung, Leon Lai, Eric Tsang, Kristy Yeung
Votes: 7,617
3. Infernal Affairs (2002)
R | 101 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A story between a mole in the police department and an undercover cop. Their objectives are the same: to find out who is the mole, and who is the cop.
Directors: Andrew Lau, Alan Mak | Stars: Andy Lau, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Eric Tsang
Votes: 131,404 | Gross: $0.17M
4. Ashes of Time (1994)
R | 100 min | Action, Drama
A broken-hearted hit man moves to the desert where he finds skilled swordsmen to carry out his contract killings.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung, Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-wai
Votes: 16,960 | Gross: $0.17M
5. Mad Detective (2007)
Not Rated | 89 min | Action, Crime, Mystery
A rookie cop teams up with a former detective with a supernatural gift to hunt down a serial killer.
Directors: Johnnie To, Ka-Fai Wai | Stars: Ching Wan Lau, Andy On, Ka-Tung Lam, Kelly Lin
Votes: 8,130 | Gross: $0.00M
6. Bullet in the Head (1990)
Not Rated | 136 min | Action, Crime, Drama
When three close friends escape from Hong Kong to war-time Saigon to start a criminal's life, they all go through a harrowing experience which totally shatters their lives and their friendship forever.
Director: John Woo | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Jacky Cheung, Waise Lee, Simon Yam
Votes: 11,658
7. Days of Being Wild (1990)
Not Rated | 94 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A man tries to find out who his real mother is after the woman who raised him tells him the truth.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, Andy Lau, Carina Lau
Votes: 25,478 | Gross: $0.14M
8. Once Upon a Time in China II (1992)
R | 113 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
Arriving by train in Guangzhou, 1895, the trio fight off White Lotus followers, who want to kill all foreigners and the cute, European dressed 13th Aunt. It's not kung fu master Dr. Wong's (Jet Li) last fight.
Director: Hark Tsui | Stars: Jet Li, Rosamund Kwan, Siu Chung Mok, David Chiang
Votes: 10,634
9. Chungking Express (1994)
PG-13 | 102 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Two melancholic Hong Kong policemen fall in love: one with a mysterious female underworld figure, the other with a beautiful and ethereal waitress at a late-night restaurant he frequents.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Brigitte Lin, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Faye Wong
Votes: 95,724 | Gross: $0.60M
10. A Better Tomorrow (1986)
Not Rated | 95 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break.
Director: John Woo | Stars: Lung Ti, Leslie Cheung, Chow Yun-Fat, Emily Chu
Votes: 25,455
11. An Autumn's Tale (1987)
98 min | Drama, Romance
Filmed in New York, story of naive young woman from Hong Kong who goes to New York to study. Street-wise cabbie cousin takes care of her in the big city.
Director: Mabel Cheung | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Cherie Chung, Danny Bak-Keung Chan, Gigi Suk Yee Wong
Votes: 2,345
12. Bodyguards and Assassins (2009)
Not Rated | 139 min | Action, Drama, History
In 1905, revolutionist Sun Yat-Sen visits Hong Kong to discuss plans with Tongmenghui members to overthrow the Qing dynasty. But when they find out that assassins have been sent to kill him, they assemble a group of protectors to prevent any attacks.
Director: Teddy Chan | Stars: Xueqi Wang, Tony Ka Fai Leung, Jun Hu, Bo-Chieh Wang
Votes: 8,543
13. A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)
Unrated | 98 min | Action, Fantasy, Horror
After a string of bad luck, a debt collector has no other choice than to spend the night in a haunted temple, where he encounters a ravishing female ghost and later battles to save her soul from the control of a wicked tree demon.
Director: Siu-Tung Ching | Stars: Leslie Cheung, Joey Wang, Wu Ma, Wai Lam
Votes: 11,070
AKA: A Chinese Ghost Story
14. You Shoot, I Shoot (2001)
94 min | Crime, Action, Comedy
During a slack period, contract killers market their business as a consumer experience.
Director: Ho-Cheung Pang | Stars: Eric Kot, Tat-Ming Cheung, Asuka Higuchi, Michael Wai-Man Chan
Votes: 1,697
15. Prison on Fire (1987)
R | 98 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Inside a Chinese prison two inmates form a friendship and face the difficulty of life on the inside.
Director: Ringo Lam | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Tony Ka Fai Leung, Ka-Kui Ho, Roy Cheung
Votes: 3,263
16. The Blade (1995)
105 min | Action
A swordsmith trains his friend's orphaned son. The boy seeks revenge for his father's murder but loses an arm rescuing the swordsmith's daughter. A hermit girl nurses him, and he learns swordsmanship with his father's broken sword.
Director: Hark Tsui | Stars: Wenzhuo Zhao, Xin Xin Xiong, Sonny Su, Valerie Chow
Votes: 3,579
AKA: The Blade
17. A Chinese Odyssey: Part One - Pandora's Box (1995)
87 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A Monkey King is reincarnated in the un human form as Joker, a highwayman oblivious to his original identity and the fact that 500 years earlier, he and his master, the Longevity Monk, were punished and made to stay human.
Director: Jeffrey Lau | Stars: Stephen Chow, Man-Tat Ng, Kar-Ying Law, Kit Ying Lam
Votes: 8,407
Entry including Part Two: Cinderella
18. Rouge (1987)
Not Rated | 93 min | Drama, Fantasy, Music
Fleur is the blue angel in one of Hong Kong's "flower houses" - bordellos and night clubs of the 1930s. A detached and beautiful performer, she falls in love with Twelfth Master Chan, heir ... See full summary »
Director: Stanley Kwan | Stars: Leslie Cheung, Anita Mui, Alex Man, Emily Chu
Votes: 3,428
AKA: Rouge
19. Fly Me to Polaris (1999)
96 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
A man returns from a recent death to find his love, only to have her not recognise him and reject him.
Director: Jingle Ma | Stars: Richie Jen, Cecilia Cheung, William Wing Hong So, Man-Yiu Chan
Votes: 1,143
20. Running Out of Time (1999)
Not Rated | 93 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Police inspector and excellent hostage negotiator Ho Sheung-Sang finds himself in over his head when he is pulled into a 72 hour game by a cancer-suffering criminal out for vengeance on Hong Kong's organized crime Syndicates.
Director: Johnnie To | Stars: Andy Lau, Ching Wan Lau, YoYo Mung, Waise Lee
Votes: 6,543
21. Made in Hong Kong (1997)
109 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Autumn Moon (Sam Lee), a low-rent triad living in Hong Kong, struggles to find meaning in his hopelessly violent existence.
Director: Fruit Chan | Stars: Sam Lee, Neiky Hui-Chi Yim, Wenders Li, Ka-Chuen Tam
Votes: 3,005
22. Exiled (2006)
R | 110 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A friendship is formed between an ex-gangster, and two groups of hitmen - those who want to protect him and those who were sent to kill him.
Director: Johnnie To | Stars: Nick Cheung, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Francis Ng, Simon Yam
Votes: 9,645 | Gross: $0.05M
23. Infernal Affairs II (2003)
Not Rated | 119 min | Action, Crime, Drama
In this prequel to Mou gaan dou (2002), Chan Wing Yan has just become an undercover cop in the triads while Lau Kin Ming joins the police force. Both the triads and the police find an enemy in a rival crime boss.
Directors: Andrew Lau, Alan Mak | Stars: Edison Chen, Shawn Yue, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Francis Ng
Votes: 19,760
24. Swordsman II (1992)
R | 112 min | Action, Fantasy
Ling Wu Chung decides to hide from the chaotic world. Before leaving, he visits his friends, a tribe of snake-wielding women warriors. However, he finds that the tribe have been attacked, and their leader Yam Ying Ying has been abducted.
Director: Siu-Tung Ching | Stars: Jet Li, Brigitte Lin, Michelle Reis, Waise Lee
Votes: 4,793
25. Hard Boiled (1992)
R | 128 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A tough-as-nails cop teams up with an undercover agent to shut down a sinister mobster and his crew.
Director: John Woo | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Teresa Mo, Philip Chan
Votes: 54,010
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