TOPIC

/ people

Chow Yun-fat

The latest news on Chow Yun-fat, Hong Kong actor and filmmaker, including celebrity news and updates.

Born

18 May 1955

Industry

Entertainment, Film

Job Title

Actor, Filmmaker

Tim Yip in his studio in Beijing, China. The art director, who got his start on John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow and won an Oscar for his art direction on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is focused more on art than movies nowadays. Photo: Simon Song

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Recap | Hong Kong cinema legends and greats open up about their careers

What’s it like working with Michelle Yeoh, Chow Yun-fat, Jackie Chan, Dwayne Johnson, John Woo and Wong Kar-wai? These film and TV legends tell all.

22 Apr 2025 - 7:00AM

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

10 best Golden Princess films, including John Woo and Tsui Hark classics

22 Jan 2025 - 8:32AMvideocam

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

4 notable Monkey King adaptations in Hong Kong cinema. One stars Donnie Yen

10 Jan 2025 - 12:09PMvideocam

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

8 classic Hong Kong movies that influenced filmmaking in the city

Hong Kong filmmaking underwent successive evolutions thanks to films like Fist of Fury, Infernal Affairs and John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow.

10 Jan 2025 - 12:08PMvideocam

Ricky Hui Koon-ying (left) and Michael Hui Koon-man in a still from The Private Eyes.

Hong Kong property

Outlook for Hong Kong’s high-end homes to brighten in 2025

Luxury property prices to rise as much as 5 per cent next year, with rents also set to increase by the same level, Ricacorp’s Derek Chan says.

13 Jan 2025 - 9:27PM

Hong Kong property

Even Chow Yun-fat is no match for Hong Kong’s real estate slump

Cutting the price of his home on The Peak, the film star joins other celebrities and tycoons selling high-end homes at a discount.

13 Jan 2025 - 8:23PM

Heidi Klum

Recap | Want to bump into Beyoncé, Beckham, William and Kate, Rihanna or Clooney? Celebrity vacation spots revealed!

Discover the top holiday destinations in Europe, Asia and around the world where Hollywood A-listers, superstar singers and all the top celebrities like to take their vacations.

7 Nov 2024 - 6:00PM

Heidi Klum and Tom Kaulitz, pictured here at Paris Fashion Week in September, are known for enjoying breaks in Caribbean island getaways such as St Barts or Turks and Caicos. Photo: Getty

SCMP Highlights

Philippines’ Sabina Shoal dilemma, war on drugs in Malaysia: 5 weekend reads

From the Philippines’ Sabina Shoal dilemma to the failed war on drugs in Malaysia, here are five weekend reads you may have missed.

9 Sep 2024 - 12:30PM

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How Andy Lau and Chow Yun-fat led Hong Kong’s gambling movie craze

Wong Jing set Hong Kong’s gambling movie genre in motion in 1989. We recall three of the best, including a parody that saw the most success.

8 Sep 2024 - 10:24AMvideocam

Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Chow Yun-fat, Tony Leung and Stephen Chow were all in this 80s TV show

Many future stars appeared in TVB’s comedy series Angels and Devils, including Chow Yun-fat, Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Stephen Chow, but it was the former who stole the show with his screwball antics.

8 Sep 2024 - 10:22AM

Chow Yun-Fat (left) and Tony Leung Chiu-wai in Angels and Devils. Photo: TVB

American cinema

Review | The Killer: John Woo’s gender-flipped remake of his classic is a dud

John Woo’s Paris-set remake of his action masterpiece, with Nathalie Emmanuel and Omar Sy in place of Chow Yun-fat and Danny Lee, lacks the original’s dynamism and seems destined to die a quick death.

23 Aug 2024 - 3:00PMvideocam

Omar Sy and Nathalie Emmanuel in a still from The Killer, directed by John Woo. Photo: Christine Tamalet/Universal Pictures International

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Is Bullet in the Head John Woo’s best film? A deep dive into the movie

John Woo’s Bullet in the Head, loved by critics and fans alike, is an anti-war film centred around male friendship, a frequent theme for the director, and a political commentary on Hong Kong of its era.

18 Aug 2024 - 11:15AMvideocam

Art

Street photography veteran Greg Girard passes on his skills in Hong Kong

Since Canadian Greg Girard arrived in East Asia in 1974 he’s photographed its changing cityscapes. He’ll guide participants in an upcoming workshop to capture the essence of Hong Kong and Taipei.

10 Aug 2024 - 9:41AM

Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong’s historic Shatin Inn Restaurant to close in September after 60 years

Crowds flock to famous open-air diner used in 1989 Chow Yun-fat drama and many other local films, after word spread of its imminent closure.

8 Aug 2024 - 8:30AM

Customers take a selfie at Shatin Inn Restaurant, which is set to close for good in late September. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Old Hong Kong

How Frances Yip helped put Cantopop on the map, seen in a new exhibition

Yip is in Hong Kong to give 2 concerts and to attend the exhibition ‘Soundtrack of Our Lives: Joseph Koo x James Wong x the Rise of Cantopop’ held at Tai Kwun, where she was once an auxiliary policewoman

29 Jul 2024 - 2:14PM

Singer Frances Yip today, at the “Soundtrack of Our Lives” exhibition that traces the importance of her collaboration with songwriters James Wong and Joseph Woo in the rise of Cantopop. Photo: Abdela Igmirien

Hong Kong

Star-studded Hong Kong film trailers in focus at exhibition

Coming to a Theatre Near You, at the Hong Kong Film Archive, presents 100 stand-out film trailers featuring stars including Chow Yun-fat, Bruce Lee, and shows how skilful editing grabbed viewers’ attention.

19 Jun 2024 - 4:15PMvideocam

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Is Simon Yam Hong Kong cinema’s hardest working actor?

Adults-only and mainstream crime films, sex films, and serious dramas with Alex Law and Ann Hui – Simon Yam has done them all. Good-looking and with an expressive face, he has a work ethic second to none.

16 Jun 2024 - 4:15AMvideocam

Hong Kong culture

Opinion | To tell a good story, Hong Kong films must first be authentic

Unlike last year’s generic ‘Warriors of Future’, ‘Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In’ has hit the spot with its authenticity and homage to Hong Kong’s cinematic legacy. Its success proves that many people remain interested in Hong Kong’s heartbeat.

24 May 2024 - 9:30AMvideocam

A still from “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In”, the hit film set in the now-demolished Kowloon Walled City. Just as directors meticulously frame shots, Hong Kong can curate its urban landscape to draw attention to the energy in its streets and the rhythm of its markets. Photo: Media Asia Distribution

American cinema

How Hollywood made a mockery of manga in Dragonball Evolution

In 2009, Dragonball Evolution adapted Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball for the big screen, but the result was a low-budget, laughably bad movie that sidelined Asians and debased the iconic manga series.

11 May 2024 - 5:38AMvideocam

Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | She was Hong Kong’s ‘happy fruit’: the life of ‘Fei Fei’, comedian Lydia Sum

With Lydia Sum ‘everything came from the heart’, said the TV producer who turbocharged the career of the comedian and actress. Known as Fei Fei, she is remembered for the joy she brought audiences.

16 May 2024 - 12:17PM

Hong Kong society

Closing of President Theatre in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay ‘marks end of an era’

Film lovers flock to cinema for final showings after nearly 60 years of operation.

30 Apr 2024 - 11:53PM

Residents say the cinema in Causeway Bay was intertwined with the heyday of the local movie industry. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Photography

Photographs from 80s Hong Kong paired with post-punk band at M+ museum

Wong Kar-wai and Chow Yun-fat are among the Hong Kong cinema luminaries featured in photos shot by Canadian Greg Girard on 1980s film sets. They will be presented at M+ with a musical accompaniment.

29 Apr 2024 - 12:51PM

Chow Yun-fat and Cherie Chung film a scene in Tsim Sha Tsui for The Eighth Happiness in a photograph shot by Canadian Greg Girard. A collection of his 1980s Hong Kong film set photos will be presented in “Greg Girard: Hong Kong Made Me” at M+ museum. Photo: M+/Greg Girard

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Why Jackie Chan didn’t turn his back on Hong Kong after Rush Hour’s success

In 1998, Rush Hour shot Jackie Chan to international fame. But after making the film with Chris Tucker, Chan ultimately decided not to abandon Hong Kong, and continued to make films in both places.

21 Apr 2024 - 9:51AMvideocam

Trending in Hong Kong

Hong Kong filmmaker tells veteran star Tony Leung to give young talent a chance

Iconic Hong Kong film star Tony Leung Chiu-wai has been urged to stop accepting awards and give younger talent a chance after picking up his sixth win at the city’s premier movie awards.

16 Apr 2024 - 6:00PM

Hong Kong culture

Fans of late Hong Kong Cantopop, acting star Leslie Cheung gather to pay tribute

Flower bouquets line Mandarin Oriental hotel in Central, where 46-year-old singer who struggled with depression jumped to his death in 2003.

2 Apr 2024 - 7:12AM

Fans lay flowers for Leslie Cheung outside the Mandarin Oriental in Central. Photo: Sam Tsang

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Let’s hear it for these Johnnie To, Ringo Lam, Lau Kar-leung action movies

Three hidden gems of Hong Kong action cinema, To’s judo film Throw Down, Lau’s kung fu comedy and Lam’s relationship drama within a crime story should be on the radar of any serious fan of the action genre.

17 Mar 2024 - 4:31AMvideocam

Aaron Kwok (top) and Louis Koo in a still from Throw Down, Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To’s movie about judo that was his loosely scripted tribute to Akira Kurosawa. It’s one of three forgotten classics of Hong Kong action cinema we highlight. Photo: China Star Entertainment Group

Asian cinema

10 iconic looks in Asian cinema, including that Bruce Lee jumpsuit

From Bruce Lee’s golden get-up in Game of Death to the nightmarish long hair and white nightdress worn by antagonist Sadako in Japanese horror Ring, we look at 10 iconic looks from Asian cinema.

26 Mar 2024 - 7:59AM

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

3 Jet Li action movies fusing guns and kung fu – before he went to Hollywood

Jet Li reinvented himself in the 1990s from a period kung fu movie star to a modern action hero. We look at three of his gun fu films fusing firearms and fighting, before he left Hong Kong for the US.

16 Mar 2024 - 9:47AMvideocam

Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.

SUPPORT NOW