Sammo Hung - film director, actor, producer, director of action scenes in movies: biography, personal life, filmography

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Filmmaker Sammo Hung is one of the key figures who spearheaded the New Wave movement in Hong Kong in the 1980s. He was one of those who popularized martial arts and invented the genre of films about "jiang shi" - creatures that look like vampires. He is also often credited with helping many of his compatriots set out to find stardom in the Hong Kong film industry. He gave them jobs, promoted them, shared his connections, and received huge thanks in return.

Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan are connected not only by a professional relationship, but also by a common nickname. Jackie Chan is often referred to as Da Goh (Chinese: 大哥), meaning "Big Brother". Sammo was known as "Da Guo" before filming "Project A", which involved both actors. Since Hung was the eldest of the "kung fu master brothers" and the first to popularize the genre of martial arts, he was given the nickname Da Goh Da (Chinese: 大哥大;), i.e. "Big Big Brother" or "Oldest of the older brothers.”

Biography of Sammo Hung

The future actor and director grew up duringtimes of the Cultural Revolution. The hometown of Sammo Hung's ancestors is Ningbo, Zhejiang. But the future actor was born in Hong Kong. His father and mother worked as costume designers in the local film industry, so his grandparents were involved in raising his son. His grandmother was a martial arts artist named Chin Chi-ang, and his grandfather was a famous director named Hung Chun-Ho. A career as a fight director in movies was secured for Hung from early childhood.

Following the footsteps of grandfathers and fathers

Hung joined the Chinese Drama Academy in Hong Kong in 1961. He was enrolled there for seven years of study, starting at the age of 9, after his grandparents learned about the school from their friends. The school was headed by Yu Jim Yuen, and, as was customary for all students, Hung adopted the name of his Sifu (clan) as a surname.

Sammo became the head of the "Seven Little Luck" (七小福) student group, and developed a kind of "friendly rivalry" with one of the junior students, Yuen Luo. This "classmate" later became an international superstar known as Jackie Chan. At the age of 14, Hung became the pet of one of his teachers, who had connections in the Hong Kong film industry, and started working as a stuntman. This brief film experience sparked his interest in the entertainment industry even more.

Shortly before leaving the Academy, at the age of 16, Hung suffered an injury that left him bedridden for an extended period, during which his weight increased significantly. After searchingFrom his work in the film industry as a stuntman, he was given the nickname Sam-mo (Three Hairs) after a character from a famous Chinese cartoon.

Movie career

Many years later, in 1988, Hung starred in Painted Faces, an adaptation of his personal experience at the Chinese Drama Academy. Among the routines featured in the film are numerous acrobatic backflips and fighting moves. Despite some of the brutal exercise and physical punishment featured in Painted Faces, Sammo Hung and the rest of the crew view the film as "a gentle version of their actual experience."

But the career of an actor and director began much earlier. Sammo Hung appeared in several films for Cathay Asia and Bo Bo Films back in the early 1960s. His debut was in the 1961 film The Education of Love. In 1962, he first appeared with Jackie Chan in Big and Little Wong Tin Bar, and then played the role of ten-year-old Yue Fei in The Birth of Yue Fei, dedicated to the eponymous historical figure from the Song Dynasty - a man who became a famous Chinese general and a martyr.

In 1966, at the age of only 14, Hung began working at the Shaw Brothers studio, assisting director Han Yingze in King Hu's Come Drink with Me. Between 1966 and 1974, Sammo worked on more than 30 Shaw Brothers films, rising through the ranks from extras, stunt performer and stunt coordinator to full-time director.

Top of a career

In 1970 Hung started working for Raymond Chow andfilm company Golden Harvest. He was first hired to choreograph the films Golden Harvest, Wicked River (1970). His popularity soon increased, and due to the quality of his choreography and disciplined approach to work, he again caught the eye of the famous Taiwanese director, King Hu. Hung worked in two of Hu's films, A Touch of Zen (1971) and The Destiny of Lee Han (1973). That same year, he went to South Korea to learn Hapkido under Ji Han Jae.

And also in 1973 he was seen in Bruce Lee's classic film Enter the Dragon. Two years later, Sammo Hung appeared in The Man from Hong Kong, billed as Australia's first martial arts film.

Towards the end of the 1970s, Hong Kong cinema began to move away from the Mandarin, epic martial arts films popularized by directors such as Chang Cheh. In a series of joint films, Hung began to reinterpret the genre with Jackie Chan, creating a new direction in Asian cinema, Cantonese comedy kung fu. While these films continued to stand out with their martial arts in a wide variety of forms, they were laced with a solid dose of humor.

Star of the 70s

In 1977, Hung got his first leading role - in the film "Shaolin Story". His next film, released the same year, was also his directorial debut and was called The Monk with the Iron Fist. It was one of the earliest martial art comedies.

In 1979, Sammo Hung's list of films was replenished: he made a comedyEnter the Fat Dragon, for Fong Ming Motion Picture Company, where he also starred. In the film, he parodied Bruce Lee. However, he had a very good relationship with the latter during his lifetime, because no matter what antics Sammo Hung allowed himself, Bruce Lee treated them very condescendingly and understandingly. The death of the latter was a real blow for the hero of the article, and therefore, in his new film, he did not joke too hard on him.

After the success of The Drunken Master (1978), in which Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung worked together, the subject of the article decided to make a similar film starring Yuen Siu Ting, aka Simon Yun. Sammo's film, as expected, failed to outshine the original in popularity. It was called The Magnificent Butcher (1979), and Hung directed it with Yuen Siu Tin, who played the title role. However, during filming, the actor died of a heart attack and was replaced by Fang Mei Sheng. Ewan's absence may have been the commercial failure of the film.

Time to unite

As Hung's popularity grew, he used his film influence to help his classmates from the former Chinese Drama Academy. And he also helped former students of the "rival" "Spring and Autumn Drama School." In addition to regular collaborations with famous Taiwanese actors and Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung also began to regularly appear in his own films and often in the lead role.

In 1983, the collaboration of Hung, Jackie Chan and Yuan Biao began, who were called nothing more than "Threedragon." This alliance lasted for 5 years. Although Yuan continued to appear in Hung and Chan's films, the last film featuring all three was called "Dragons Forever" and was released as early as 1988.

Sammo Hung worked on the Lucky Stars comedy film series in the 1980s. He also starred in the original trilogy Winners and Sinners (1983), My Lucky Stars (1985) and Twinkle, twinkle Lucky Stars (1985). These films were directed by Hung himself.

Martial arts horror movies

During the 1980s, Hung was instrumental in creating the first films about "jiang shi" - the jumping living dead, the Chinese counterpart to Western vampires. The two iconic films Encounter of the Monstrous Good (1980) and The Dead and the Dead (1983) featured "jiang shi" who move with sudden leaps that allow them to approach their victims with lightning speed, as well as Taoist priests who are able to fight with these sinister creatures with the help of spells.

And Hung also resurrected the female action sub-genre with Police Assassins/ Yes, Madam! (1985), starring celebrity movie stars Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock.

New Millennium

In 2000-2001, Hung expressed interest in filming the Soulcalibur video game series. The film's production agreement was reached in April 2001 with an estimated budget of $50 million. Sammo had the idea to produce a martial arts epic based on this game starring Chen Lung and Jackie Chan.roles, But the project, much to the regret of both Hung's fans and fans of the game, was eventually put on hold. Hung's plans were detailed on his website, but the ad for a film adaptation was taken down a year later. The film rights were later acquired by Warren Zeed, producer of American Pie and Final Destination.

The 2000s, like the 1980s, were quite a fruitful time for the acclaimed Chinese director, and Sammo Hung's films came out quite often during that time. In 2004, the film Kung Fu Hustle was released, in which he worked as a director and choreographer of action scenes, but, unfortunately, left the project. In 2004, he again worked in tandem with Jackie Chan in a brief but notable role in Disney's Around the World in 80 Days, playing legendary folk hero Wong Fei Hung.

Further activities

In 2005, Hung was recruited to work on projects such as Dragon Shad Daniel and Wilson Yip's SPA: Sha Po Lang (also known as Kill Zone). In the last listed film, he played the villain for the first time in over 25 years and also had his first fight with Donnie Yen. One of the highlights of the second film was Hung's role as the adoptive father of the character played by Wu Jing. However, these scenes were removed from the final cut of the film as the director couldn't find a way to weave them seamlessly into the fabric of the story. However, a prequel was planned for this tape, which was supposed to include a scene with Hung.

In early 2008, Hung starred in Fatal Move, inin which he and Ken Lo played a pair of rival leaders of a triad (criminal gang). He also starred and designed the acting choreography for Daniel Lee's The Three Kingdoms.

US recognition and creative break

In 2010, Sammo Hung received an award for his many achievements in cinematography at the New York Asian Film Festival, where four of his films were screened. Hung also starred in the movie Ip Man 2 (2010), in addition to acting, doing his usual fight scenes.

In this tape, he played the master of Hung Gar, who challenges the main character. But in the same year, Hung starred in the prequel to this film, where he played a completely different character - Chan Wah-shun, the protagonist's teacher. At this time, a calmer period began in the biography of Sammo Hung.