Historical epics had always been the forte of Li Han-hsiang (see Beyond the Great Wall [1964] in this programme). But ever since his return to Shaw Brothers after his fiasco in Taiwan with his own Grand Motion Picture Company in the early 1970s, he was never given a chance to try his hand at the genre, that is, until he had had a string of commercial successes with a number of infamous erotic comedies. Making the most out of his hard-earned power, he made The Empress Dowager and The Last Empress, a two-part film on the last days of the ruthless dragon lady who rules behind the scenes and practically brings the Qing Dynasty to its end. There’s no question that this is the most ambitious film in the latter days of his career, considering the size of the production, the vastness of its vision and the depth of its exploration into the theme of power and corruption. Chan King-sam also pours all his energy into reproducing the several royal courts in Forbidden City within studio constraints. Equally impressive is Lam Wa-chiu’s cinematography which combines dizzying zooms and fast tracks to overwhelm both the characters and audience.

© Licensed by Celestial Pictures Limited. All rights reserved.

10/8

(Fri)

7:30pm

Cinema, Hong Kong Film Archive

*21/10

(Sun)

2:00pm

Cinema, Hong Kong Film Archive

*Post-screening talk with Honkaz Fung