The work of Director Tsui Hark is receiving a major revival in New York City this fall, as Manhattan's Metrograph presents "Don't Play with Fire: The Films of Tsui Hark," a retrospective examining one of the most influential and stylistically adventurous careers in Hong Kong cinema. The series began September 4 and continues into October, combining a new restoration of Director Tsui's controversial 1980 film DON'T PLAY WITH FIRE with screenings of several of his best-known works.
The centerpiece is DON'T PLAY WITH FIRE (1980), also known as Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind. The film - Director Tsui's third feature - was one of his most confrontational early works and was heavily affected by Hong Kong censorship. It follows three troubled young men whose increasingly violent activities bring them into contact with criminals and a deeply unstable young woman.
The ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA trilogy represents another major stage in Director Tsui's career. Beginning with the 1991 film starring Jet Li as Wong Fei-hung, the series helped reinvigorate the wuxia genre for a new generation. Metrograph's program emphasizes his dynamic widescreen compositions and elaborate action sequences, particularly the first film's spectacular finale.
The ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA film series, consists of six films released between 1991 and 1997, featuring the legendary martial artist Wong Fei-hung, portrayed by Jet Li and Chiu Man-Cheuk. This series is celebrated for its innovative action choreography and its portrayal of late 19th-century Chinese history. The first three of these films presented at the theater are scheduled to screen together as part of the retrospective.
Original unsold itmes in our Online StoreThe New York series therefore functions as both a retrospective and a reminder of Director Tsui's continuing importance to world cinema. More than four decades after his breakthrough, his films remain a reference point for discussions of Hong Kong filmmaking, genre experimentation, visual style and the transformation of Asian action cinema.
Director Tsui Hark is currently more focused on the restoration projects on his films rather than the production on new films. We hope to see you at the screenings at Manhattan's Metrograph.
