Hong Kong Action Classics

Hong Kong Action Classics

30 Episodes

At its peak in the 1980s and early ’90s, the Hong Kong film industry was unmatched when it came to action spectacle, offering up dazzlingly choreographed, operatically stylized thrill rides that electrified genre fans around the world. From the bullet-riddled underworld odysseys of John Woo (A BETTER TOMORROW, THE KILLER) and Ringo Lam (CITY ON FIRE, SCHOOL ON FIRE) to the eye-popping martial-arts comedies of Jackie Chan (POLICE STORY, MIRACLES) and Sammo Hung (PEDICAB DRIVER, THE MAGNIFICENT BUTCHER) to the sweeping wuxia epics of Tsui Hark (ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA, SWORDSMAN), these films explode with some of the most inventive and furiously entertaining action mayhem ever captured on film.

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Hong Kong Action Classics
  • The Magnificent Butcher

    Episode 1

    Directed by Yuen Woo-ping • 1979 • Hong Kong
    Starring Sammo Hung, Kwan Tak-hing, Yuen Biao

    Hot on the heels of his blockbuster Jackie Chan hit DRUNKEN MASTER, the legendary martial-arts director Yuen Woo-ping helmed another rollicking star vehicle. This time, rising talent Sammo Hung plays Lam S...

  • Once Upon a Time in China

    Episode 2

    Directed by Tsui Hark • 1991 • Hong Kong
    Starring Jet Li, Yuen Biao, Jacky Cheung Hok Yau

    Writer-producer-director Tsui Hark’s sprawling vision of a changing nineteenth-century China begins with this riotously entertaining epic, a blockbuster hit that cemented Jet Li’s status as the greatest mar...

  • Once Upon a Time in China II

    Episode 3

    Directed by Tsui Hark • 1992 • Hong Kong
    Starring Jet Li, Rosamund Kwan, Max Mok Siu-chung

    Having chronicled the social upheaval wrought by Western influence in the opening chapter of the ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA series, Tsui Hark turned his attention to the perils of unchecked nationalism in h...

  • Once Upon a Time in China III

    Episode 4

    Directed by Tsui Hark • 1993 • Hong Kong
    Starring Jet Li, Rosamund Kwan, Max Mok Siu-chung

    Jet Li’s third outing as the storied martial-arts hero Wong Fei-hung is an exhilarating celebration of Chinese culture peppered with a dash of international espionage. This time around, Wong travels to Bei...

  • Once Upon a Time in China and America

    Episode 5

    Directed by Sammo Hung • 1997 • Hong Kong
    Starring Jet Li, Rosamund Kwan, Xiong Xin-Xin

    Jet Li returns in the sixth and final entry in the ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA series, here under the direction of Sammo Hung, who transfers the action to the American Wild West for a rootin’ tootin’ cowboys-me...

  • Last Hurrah for Chivalry

    Episode 6

    Directed by John Woo • 1979 • Hong Kong
    Starring Damian Lau, Wei Pai

    With this tale of two swordsmen who team up on a mission of revenge, John Woo attempted to revive the moribund wuxia genre. A flop at the time of its release, this early work has since been recognized as an artistic breakthroug...