From Bruce Lee to Jackie Chan and John Woo, how martial arts films represent Hong Kong both locally and abroad

Hong Kong martial arts films had famous stars including Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li and directors such as John Woo and Tsui Hark

They reflected Hong Kong attitudes over the decades and were most people’s on-screen introduction to the city and its culture

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Hong Kong martial arts films are the city’s best known export. Bruce Lee (above) in a still from Fist of Fury. Photo: Criterion Collection

Published: 4:15am, 8 May 2022

Hong Kong martial arts films hold a similar position in local film culture as the Western does in the United States – a phenomenal number of them were produced, they can be turned to almost any theme or storyline, they can be highbrow or lowbrow, and they represent the concerns and aspirations of the audiences who watched them.

What’s more, in the same way that Westerns highlighted America’s focus on individualism, social justice and a rugged, can-do approach to life, Hong Kong’s martial arts films portray the culture of Southern China, Confucian values and more specifically, the unique culture of Hong Kong itself.

That’s the main takeaway from over two years of the South China Morning Post’s popular weekly martial arts film column, which throws its last kick this week.

As our columns have demonstrated, local culture has always permeated Hong Kong’s martial arts films. The early movies about the real-life legend Wong Fei-hong featured relatively authentic depictions of southern martial arts styles like hung gar, and documented Cantonese traditions like lion dancing.

Later, master choreographer-turned-director Lau Kar-leung continued this approach by choosing to depict as many southern styles of kung fu as he could, adapting them so they looked good on the screen, but keeping their essence intact so they would be preserved for posterity.