Time Out's The 100 Best Hong Kong Movies
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From Bruce Lee kung-fu flicks to Wong Kar-wai’s tales of romance
Written by Time Out Hong Kong Saturday 12 March 2022
Hong Kong was once the Hollywood of the East. At its peak, around the early 90s, the local movie industry was the first in the world – in terms of per capita production and the second-largest exporter of films – second only to the US.
The influence of Hong Kong cinema can be seen far and wide. Bruce Lee remains a global icon and his martial arts movies are classics. The groundbreaking action of The Matrix would never have come about if not for John Woo films and the action choreography of Yuen Woo-ping. Quentin Tarantino ripped off Ringo Lam’s City on Fire for his debut, 1992’s Reservoir Dogs. Moonlight owes much to the style of Wong Kar-wai films and the auteur was an influence acknowledged by Sofia Coppola when she collected the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Lost in Translation.
So with such a massive cultural legacy, what are the best Hong Kong movies of all time? We present to you this definitive ranking of the best films made in Hong Kong dating as far back as the 1930s.
#19 (A Chinese Odyssey) & #71 (The Blue and the Black) both have two films in each entry.
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1 new
Fa yeung nin wah
2000 — a.k.a. In the Mood for Love, in 30 top lists Check -
2 new
Tau ban no hoi
1982 — a.k.a. Boat People, in 8 top lists Check -
3 new
Ying hung boon sik
1986 — a.k.a. A Better Tomorrow, in 10 top lists Check -
4 new
Ah Fei jing juen
1990 — a.k.a. Days of Being Wild, in 11 top lists Check -
5 new
Liang Shan Bo yu Zhu Ying Tai
1963 — a.k.a. The Love Eterne, in 4 top lists Check -
6 new
Wo hu cang long
2000 — a.k.a. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, in 27 top lists Check -
7 new
Lun lok yan
2018 — a.k.a. Still Human, in 0 top lists -
8 new
Ban jin ba liang
1976 — a.k.a. The Private Eyes, in 4 top lists Check -
9 new
Hak se wui: Yi woo wai kwai
2006 — a.k.a. Election 2, in 2 top lists Check -
10 new
Sang gong kei bing
1984 — a.k.a. Long Arm of the Law, in 2 top lists Check -
11 new
Ye mei gui zhi lian
1960 — a.k.a. The Wild Wild Rose, in 3 top lists Check -
12 new
Tian mi mi
1996 — a.k.a. Comrades, Almost a Love Story, in 5 top lists Check -
13 new
Jing wu men
1972 — a.k.a. Fist of Fury, in 8 top lists Check -
14 new
Mou gaan dou
2002 — a.k.a. Infernal Affairs, in 14 top lists Check -
15 new
Qing gong mi shi
1948 — a.k.a. Sorrows of the Forbidden City, in 1 top list Check -
16 new
Si shui liu nian
1984 — a.k.a. Homecoming, in 1 top list Check -
17 new
Heung Gong jai jo
1997 — a.k.a. Made in Hong Kong, in 6 top lists Check -
18 new
Han ye
1955 — a.k.a. Cold Nights, in 2 top lists Check -
19 new
Sai yau gei: Yut gwong bou haap
1995 — a.k.a. A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box, in 3 top lists Check -
20 new
Sai yau gei: Sin leui kei yun
1995 — a.k.a. A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella, in 3 top lists Check -
21 new
Ruan Ling Yu
1991 — a.k.a. Center Stage, in 10 top lists Check -
22 new
Ying xiong ben se
1967 — a.k.a. The Story of a Discharged Prisoner, in 1 top list Check -
23 new
Chou tin dik tong wah
1987 — a.k.a. An Autumn's Tale, in 4 top lists Check -
24 new
Sien lui yau wan
1987 — a.k.a. A Chinese Ghost Story, in 6 top lists Check -
25 new
Kong shan ling yu
1979 — a.k.a. Raining in the Mountain, in 4 top lists Check -
26 new
Chung Hing sam lam
1994 — a.k.a. Chungking Express, in 19 top lists Check -
27 new
Tau ming chong
2007 — a.k.a. The Warlords, in 0 top lists Check -
28 new
Zai jian Zhongguo
1978 — a.k.a. China Behind, in 1 top list Check -
29 new
Tou ze
2011 — a.k.a. A Simple Life, in 1 top list Check -
30 new
Sap nin
2015 — a.k.a. Ten Years, in 0 top lists Check -
31 new
Tong ming yuan yang
1960 — a.k.a. The Eternal Love, in 0 top lists Check -
32 new
Qian yan wan yu
1999 — a.k.a. Ordinary Heroes, in 0 top lists Check -
33 new
San taam
2007 — a.k.a. Mad Detective, in 2 top lists Check -
34 new
Foo ji ching
1981 — a.k.a. Father and Son, in 1 top list Check -
35 new
Jui kuen
1978 — a.k.a. Drunken Master, in 9 top lists Check -
36 new
Yim ji kau
1987 — a.k.a. Rouge, in 8 top lists Check -
37 new
Du bei dao
1967 — a.k.a. The One-Armed Swordsman, in 4 top lists Check -
38 new
Ren hai gu hong
1960 — a.k.a. The Orphan, in 1 top list Check -
39 new
Shu Shan - Xin Shu shan jian ke
1983 — a.k.a. Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain, in 5 top lists Check -
40 new
Nan xiong nan di
1960 — a.k.a. My Intimate Partner, in 1 top list Check -
41 new
Jiang shan mei ren
1959 — a.k.a. Kingdom and the Beauty, in 2 top lists Check -
42 new
Lung foo fung wan
1987 — a.k.a. City on Fire, in 4 top lists Check -
43 new
Siu Lam juk kau
2001 — a.k.a. Shaolin Soccer, in 5 top lists Check -
44 new
Nu ren si shi
1995 — a.k.a. Summer Snow, in 4 top lists Check -
45 new
Zhujiang lei
1950, in 0 top lists Check -
46 new
Wu Lang ba gua gun
1984 — a.k.a. The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter, in 2 top lists Check -
47 new
San ren xing
2016 — a.k.a. Three, in 0 top lists Check -
48 new
Chui lian ting zheng
1983 — a.k.a. Reign Behind the Curtain, in 0 top lists Check -
49 new
Mak Dau: Bo lo yau wong ji
2004 — a.k.a. McDull, Prince de la Bun, in 1 top list Check -
50 new
Lan tou He
1979 — a.k.a. Dirty Ho, in 1 top list Check
Last updated on May 10, 2022; source