"Bruce Lee" and "Jackie Chan" are world-class movie stars that everyone knows now, but for me, when I think of Hong Kong movie stars, "Bruce Lee" immediately comes to mind. Recently, interviews and videos that convey Bruce Lee's extraordinary talent have been circulating on SNS, and I'm looking at it again. They entered Hollywood and made the world aware of the power of Hong Kong movies. In the late 1980s, I went to Hong Kong, which had produced such great stars, to interview film actors. At that time, Hong Kong was in its golden age, known as the "Hollywood of the East". ( *1)
When I went to the studio, I happened to see Sueo Hani (1964-2014), the daughter of Japanese film director Susumu Hani. Her father's villa is located in Akitani, near Hayama, and Mio sometimes had a full moon party there, so I went there several times. When I was filming her because it was a good opportunity to meet her in Hong Kong, I said, "Jackie Chan is here today." But unfortunately, we didn't have a chance to meet.
It was almost 40 years ago. It was a time when the directors and actors who have now become the big names of Hong Kong cinema have just begun to show their skills. One of the innovative directors who pushed Hong Kong cinema to the world level, "Tsui Hark", and "John Wu" (*2), the screenwriter who became the icon of Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorssey, were able to meet the movie It was quite a busy day, with interviews on the set.
Tsui Hark
John Wu
The shooting site of an action movie that has influenced the world seems to have no script, and the director changes the situation one after another with the atmosphere of the moment. I was surprised that the actors responded to it and acted brilliantly in their own way. I'm convinced that it's an action full of speed that is unique to that Hong Kong movie.
Finally, I was able to shoot "Chow Yun-hwa", the highlight of this interview, so I pulled out a rose flower from the bouquet that the female editor was bringing to him and asked him to carry it. The gentle smile at that time was so wonderful that I can't forget it. It was completely different from the sad expression you see in the movie.
Chow Yun-fat
On the way to the interview site, there was a terrible traffic jam, and I couldn't make it in time, so I jumped off the taxi in a hurry and moved by subway. It's a fun memory that reminds me of the action scenes in Hong Kong movies. "Andy Lau", who was still in his 20s at the time, felt very good. Now he is also a big actor in his mid-60s. It was also fun to be able to shoot other popular actors. They had the smart look of Hong Kong actors.
Andy Lau
The jazz bar I went to during the interview was also the best, and I wonder if it was the good old Hong Kong style before the return, and that kind of atmosphere remained. Victoria Harbor, which can be seen from the window of the ship crossing Kowloon (Kulong) by Star Ferry, and the neon swaying in the night view are indescribably full of travel, and it was used in the famous Hollywood movie "Mujo" set in Hong Kong. The music "Love is a many splendored thing" came to my head.
Hong Kong may not be as it used to be. They all became famous after that, but when I took the picture, I might have just started running my life. What everyone felt in common was a great passion that could not be put into words. I'm glad I was able to meet you at that time because I can't meet you easily anymore.
*1 From the 1980s to the 1990s, the representative works that pushed the international reputation of Hong Kong films were "Men's Elegy" (1986) (directed by John Wu, starring: Cho Yun-hwa), "Once Upon a Time in China "(Director: Tsui Hark, Starring: Jet Lee). " Wings of Desire, "Planet in Love" (directed by Wong Ka-wai), etc.
*2 John Wu is the director of Tom Cruise's "Mission Impossible"
