Themes: Political Unrest, Heroic Mission, Gender-Bending
Main Cast: Brigitte Lin, Sally Yeh, Cherie Chung, Mark Cheng
Release Year: 1986
Country: HK/CN
Run Time: 104 minutes
Plot
This slapstick comedy drama stars three of Hong Kong's most attractive and popular actresses of their time: Brigitte Lin is the daughter of a general, Cherie Chung is a petty thief, and Sally Yip is the daughter of the manager of the Beijing Opera theater. The story is set in 1911 when the Chinese revolution overthrew the monarchy and established a republic. The general's daughter has to steal an important document from her father's safe in order to help out the guerrillas who are fighting for the republic. Her exploits and those of her two friends flow back and forth between the Imperial Palace and the theater of the Beijing Opera. Action, farce, and political satire tumble over each other as the story leads up to its dizzying rooftop climax. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
Review
Peking Opera Blues is a cinematic explosion of humor and action. The work of producer/director Tsui Hark drew worldwide attention to Hong Kong cinema in the late '80s. As a producer and/or director, Tsui was responsible for the Chinese Ghost Story trilogy, the Swordsman series, the Once Upon a Time in China series, and John Woo's A Better Tomorrow, but Peking Opera Blues was the first of his films to reach a Western arthouse audience. The exuberantly colorful film portrays three women who find themselves involved in a democratic revolution, fighting the warlords of China in 1913. During the opening credits, opera performers in flamboyant facial makeup and elaborate costumes laugh maniacally into the camera. Thus, Hark sets the tone for his wonderfully chaotic and comic film, which seamlessly mixes theatrical farce with martial arts and drama. Hark has always featured strong, fully drawn female characters in prominent roles in his films. Peking Opera Blues features three such women. Bridget Lin, a Hark staple, is superb, as usual, as the sexually ambivalent general's daughter, Tsao Wan. In all her cross-dressing splendor, she strikes just the right note of righteous fortitude, but she also touchingly portrays Wan's anguish over betraying her father's trust. Sally Yeh is equally fine as Pat Neil, embodying the young woman's steely determination to take the stage, with her physical grace and her keen sense of fair play. Cherie Chung delivers the broadest, most charmingly clownish performance of the three as the greedy musician, Sheung Hung. The plot is difficult to follow, and the English subtitles can be distractingly garbled. Nevertheless, Hark strikes a perfect balance between theatricality and emotional honesty, and he's created a work that is wildly entertaining, with serious undertones that make it linger in the memory. Peking Opera Blues is a modern classic of Hong Kong cinema. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
Leung Chi Hing - Art Director, Ho Kim Sing - Art Director, Vincent Wai - Art Director, Ng Po Ling - Costume Designer, Tsui Hark - Director, David Wu - Editor, James Wong - Composer (Music Score), Poon Hung Seng - Cinematographer, Claudie Chung - Producer, Tsui Hark - Producer, Claudie Chung - Screenwriter, To Kwok Wai - Screenwriter
The film is set in 1913 Beijing, during Yuan Shikai's presidency of the Republic of China. It depicts the adventures of a team of unlikely heroines: Tsao Wan (Brigitte Lin), a patriotic rebel who dresses as a man; Sheung Hung (Cherie Chung), a woman in search of a missing box of jewels; and Pat Neil (Sally Yeh), the daughter of a Peking Opera impresario.
Title
The Chinese title translates as Knife Horse Actresses, a term used in Peking Opera to refer to male actors playing female warriors (See Dan article for details). It is sometimes erroneously translated as Knife Horse Dawn, due to the fact that both words are represented by the same Chinese character.[2]
Cast and roles
Brigitte Lin - Tsao Wan (曹雲), General Tsao's daughter
