Chang Cheh

Chang Cheh (pinyin: Zhāng Chè; 10 February 1923 – 22 June 2002) was a Chinese filmmaker,[1] screenwriter, lyricist and producer active in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Chang Cheh directed more than 90 films in Greater China, the majority of them with the Shaw Brothers Studio in Hong Kong. Most of his films are action films, especially wuxia and kung fu films filled with violence.

Chang Cheh
Born
張易揚
(Chang Yi-yang)

(1923-02-10)10 February 1923
Died22 June 2002(2002-06-22) (aged 79)
Years active1947–1993
AwardsAsia Pacific Film Festival
1970 Best Director (Vengeance!)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese

In the early 1970s he frequently cast actors David Chiang and Ti Lung in his films. In the late 1970s he mainly worked with a group of actors known as the Venom Mob. Chang Cheh is also known for his long-time collaboration with writer Ni Kuang.

Career

Referred to as "The Godfather of Hong Kong cinema", Chang directed nearly 100 films in his illustrious career at Shaw Brothers, which ran the gamut from swordplay films (One-Armed Swordsman, The Assassin, Golden Swallow) to kung fu films (Five Shaolin Masters, Five Venoms, Kid with the Golden Arm) to more modern period dramas (Chinatown Kid, Boxer From Shantung, The Generation Gap) to lavish costume epics (The Water Margin, The Heroic Ones, Boxer Rebellion).

After graduating from National Central University (Nanjing University) in Chongqing, where he studied politics, Chang moved to Hong Kong, where he became a film critic.[2] Chang got his start in the film industry as a screenwriter; his first script was Girl's Mask, a movie from Shanghai which was released in 1947. He wrote several more scripts before making his directorial debut in 1949 with Happenings in Ali Shan. His first big hit came with 1967's One-Armed Swordsman, the first film in Hong Kong history to gross HK$1 million. The film catapulted actor Jimmy Wang Yu to stardom and cemented Chang's status as one of Hong Kong's top directors. In the same year, he released The Assassin, another early Chang classic, and in 1968 he followed up with Golden Swallow,[3] a sequel to King Hu's classic wuxia picture Come Drink With Me.

Chang often co-wrote scripts with fellow screenwriter Ni Kuang, and occasionally co-directed films with directors such as Baau Hok-li, Wu Ma and Gwai Chi-hung. He even occasionally wrote and co-wrote music for his films. In addition to his film related work, he also wrote novels, poetry and non-film related articles under numerous pseudonyms.

Chang was heavily influenced by directors Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Gosha, Sergio Leone, and Sam Peckinpah,[4][5] Cheh brought elements from these movies into his own work, revolutionizing Hong Kong filmmaking. His swordplay films of the 1960s (including One Armed Swordsman), filled with bloody scenes of the hero cutting his way through a roomful of opponents, were considered at the time by Westerners to be violent trash but are now looked back on as masterpieces of the genre.

In the early 1970s Chang began making kung fu films (including Five Shaolin Masters and Five Venoms) sometimes filming four or five movies in a single year. His earlier kung fu movies were often done in collaboration with choreographer (and future director) Lau Kar Leung, who Chang had worked with, along with choreographer Tong Gaai, on earlier films. After falling out with Lau on the set of Disciples of Shaolin, Chang started featuring a troupe of actors made up of Sun Chien, Chiang Sheng, Philip Kwok, Lo Meng, Lu Feng, Wei Pai (and Yu Tai Ping), who would come to be known as "The Venoms", as actors and choreographers in his films. His films from this period, including Five Deadly Venoms, Kid with the Golden Arm, and Crippled Avengers, feature a heavy influence from the wuxia movie genre, and are considered his most popular films in the west – not counting 1982's Five Element Ninjas, aka Chinese Superninjas.

Chang was a pioneer of what is known by some as "heroic bloodshed"; films that emphasize brotherhood, loyalty and honor, and several of his films, including Vengeance, Boxer From Shantung and Chinatown Kid, can be seen as clear influences on the later work of directors such as John Woo and Ringo Lam. His influence on future filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino (who listed Chang as a dedicatee in the end credits of Kill Bill: Volume 2), Robert Rodriguez and Zhang Yimou is unquestionable. John Woo, who lists Cheh as his chief filmmaking inspiration, worked as assistant director on many of the master's films, including Boxer From Shantung, The Water Margin and The Blood Brothers.

Filmography

Films

Year English title Original title Director Writer Notes
1947Girl's Mask假面女郎Fang PeilinYes
1949Happennings in Ali Shan阿里山風雲YesYesco-directed with Cheung Ying
1951Never Separated永不分離Chu Hsin FuYes
1957Wild Fire野火YesYesco-directed with Helen Li Mei
1960Tragic Melody桃花淚Lo WeiYes
The Tender Trap of Espionage脂粉間諜網Lo WeiYes
Black Butterfly黑蝴蝶Lo WeiYes
1961Song Without Words無語問蒼天Lo WeiYes
The Girl with the Golden Arm賊美人Tang HuangYes
You Were Meant for Me遊戲人間Wong Tin-lamYes
1962It's Always Spring桃李爭春Evan YangYes
Come Rain, Come Shine野花戀Tang HuangYes
Her Pearly Tears珍珠淚Wong Tin-lamYes
1964The Amorous Lotus Pan潘金蓮Chow Sze-lokeYes
The Female Prince雙鳳奇緣Chow Sze-lokeYes
The Warlord and the Actress血濺牡丹紅Ho Meng HuaYes
1965The Mermaid魚美人Kao LiYes
The Butterfly Chalice蝴蝶盃YesYesco-directed with Yuen Chow-fung
Crocodile River鱷魚河Lo WeiYes
Inside the Forbidden City宋宮秘史Kao LiYes
Call of the Sea怒海情仇Lo WeiYes
1966Tiger Boy虎俠殲仇YesYes
The Knight of Knights文素臣Hsih ChunYes
The Magnificent Trio邊城三俠YesYes
The Perfumed Arrow女秀才Kao LiYes
1967The Trail of the Broken Blade斷腸劍YesYes
1967One-Armed Swordsman獨臂刀YesYes[6][7]
1967The Assassin大刺客YesYes[8]
1968Golden Swallow金燕子YesYes
1969The Singing Thief大盜歌王Yes
Return of the One-Armed Swordsman獨臂刀王YesYes
The Flying Dagger飛刀手Yes
The Invincible Fist鐵手無情Yes
Dead End死角Yes
Have Sword, Will Travel保鏢Yes
1970The Wandering Swordsman遊俠兒Yes
Vengeance報仇YesYes
The Heroic Ones十三太保YesYes
The Singing Killer小煞星Yes
1971King Eagle鷹王Yes
The New One-Armed Swordsman新獨臂刀Yes
The Duel大決鬥Yes
The Anonymous Heroes無名英雄Yes
Duel of Fists拳擊Yes
The Deadly Duo雙俠Yes
1972The Boxer From Shantung馬永貞YesYesco-directed with Pao Hsueh Li
Angry Guest惡客Yes
The Water Margin水滸傳YesYes
Trilogy of Swordsmanship群英會YesYesco-directed with Cheng Kang
Young People年輕人YesYes
Delightful Forest快活林YesYesco-directed with Pao Hsueh Li
Man of Iron仇連環YesYesco-directed with Pao Hsueh Li
Four Riders四騎士YesYes
1973The Delinquent憤怒青年YesYesco-directed with Kuei Chih-Hung
The Blood Brothers刺馬YesYes
The Generation Gap叛逆YesYes
Police Force警察YesYesco-directed with Tsai Yang-ming
The Pirate大海盜YesYesco-director
The Iron Bodyguard大刀王五Yesco-directed with Pao Hsueh Li
1974Heroes Two方世玉與洪熙官YesYes
The Savage Five五虎將YesYes
Men from the Monastery少林子弟YesYes
Friends朋友YesYes
The Legend of the 7 Golden VampiresYesEnglish-language film, co-director
Shaolin Martial Arts洪拳與詠春YesYes
Na Cha the Great哪吒YesYes
Five Shaolin Masters少林五祖Yes
1975All Men Are Brothers蕩寇誌YesYesco-directed with Wu Ma
Disciples of Shaolin洪拳小子YesYes
The Fantastic Magic Baby紅孩兒YesYes
Marco Polo馬哥波羅YesYes
1976Boxer Rebellion八國聯軍YesYes
7-Man Army八道楼子YesYesco-director
The Shaolin Avengers方世玉與胡惠乾YesYesco-directed with Wu Ma
The New Shaolin Boxers蔡李佛小子YesYesco-directed with Wu Ma
Shaolin Temple少林寺YesYesco-directed with Wu Ma
1977The Naval Commandos海軍突擊隊Yesco-director
Magnificent Wanderers江湖漢子YesYesco-directed with Wu Ma
The Brave Archer射鵰英雄傳Yes
Chinatown Kid唐人街小子YesYes
1978The Brave Archer 2射鵰英雄傳續集Yes
Five Venoms五毒YesYes
Invincible Shaolin南少林與北少林YesYes
Crippled Avengers殘缺YesYes
1979Life Gamble生死鬥YesYes
Shaolin Rescuers街市英雄YesYes
Shaolin Daredevils雜技亡命隊YesYes
The Magnificent Ruffians賣命小子YesYes
Kid with the Golden Arm金臂童YesYes
Ten Tigers from Kwangtung廣東十虎與後五虎YesYes
1980Heaven and Hell第三類打鬥YesYes
2 Champions of Shaolin少林與武當YesYes
Flag of Iron鐵旗門YesYes
The Rebel Intruders大殺四方YesYes
Legend of the Fox飛狐外傳YesYes
1981Sword Stained With Royal Blood碧血劍YesYes
Masked Avengers叉手YesYes
The Brave Archer 3射鵰英雄傳第三集YesYes
1982House of Traps冲霄樓YesYes
The Brave Archer and His Mate神鵰俠侶YesYes
Five Element Ninjas五遁忍術YesYes
Ode to Gallantry俠客行YesYes
1983The Weird Man神通術與小霸王YesYes
Attack of the Joyful Goddess撞鬼Yes
1984Death Ring擂台Yes
The Demons九子天魔Yes
Shanghai 13上海灘十三太保YesYes
1985The Dancing Warrior霹靂情Yes
1986Great Shanghai 1937大上海1937YesYes
1987Slaughter in Xian西安殺戮YesYes
Cross the River過江YesYes
1990Hidden Hero江湖奇兵YesYes
1991Go West to Subdue Demons西行平妖YesYes
1993Ninja In Ancient China神通YesYes

TV series

In 1992, Chang produced Taiwan Television's Ma's Assassination (刺馬), which tells the same story as his 1973 film The Blood Brothers. The series is directed by Lu Feng and stars, among other actors, David Chiang.

As lyricist

Chang Cheh wrote the lyrics of more than 70 Chinese songs that have appeared in his films. The theme song of his directorial debut Happenings in Ali Shan, "Ali Shan de Guniang" (阿里山的姑娘; "Alishan Range's Girls"), also known as "Gao Shan Qing" (高山青; "The Green High Mountain"), is a particularly famous song in the Sinophone world.

References

  1. Jason Buchanan (2015). "Chang Cheh". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2015-07-02.
  2. National Central University later renamed Nanjing University in Nanjing and reinstated in Taiwan.
  3. Dan Pavlides (2015). "Golden Swallow". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2015-06-30.
  4. "香港電影資料館 - 張徹──回憶錄‧影評集 - 張徹電影的陽剛武力革命──代序二". www.lcsd.gov.hk. Archived from the original on 2016-09-16. Retrieved 2016-07-04.
  5. "Honouring Master Cheh - Film - www.theage.com.au". www.theage.com.au. Retrieved 2016-07-04.
  6. "Hong Kong Director and Martial Arts Master Lau Kar-leung Dies at 76". hollywoodreporter.com. June 25, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  7. Cremin, Stephen (January 27, 2011). "Horse announces greatest Chinese films". filmbiz.asia. Archived from the original on 14 March 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  8. "The Assassin (1967)". asiasociety.org. 1967. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
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