Fong Sai-yuk (film)
Encyclopedia
Fong Sai-yuk is a 1993 Hong Kong martial arts film
directed by Corey Yuen
and starring Jet Li
as Chinese folk hero Fong Sai-yuk
.
meets the beautiful Ting-ting during a track and field competition and falls in love with her. Ting-ting is the daughter of the hot-headed hooligan Tiger Lui. Tiger Lui stages a martial arts competition for interested men to participate and win his daughter's hand in marriage. The contestant must defeat Tiger Lui's wife, Siu-wan, in order to win. Fong Sai-yuk joins the contest at his friends' urging and defeats Siu-wan. He catches a glimpse of his future bride, who is actually a servant maid to replace the temporarily missing Ting-ting. Fong Sai-yuk decides to forfeit the match and leaves.
Fong Sai-yuk's mother, Miu Chui-fa, enters the contest in disguise as a man to help her son win back the lost glory. She defeats Siu-wan and knocks her off the scaffold. Miu Chui-fa catches Siu-wan as she falls and they land safely on the ground. After that intimate moment together, Siu-wan becomes romantically attracted to Miu Chui-fa, as she is unaware that Miu is actually a woman in disguise. Tiger Lui forces Miu Chui-fa to marry his daughter. To save his mother from embarrassment, Fong Sai-yuk marries Ting-ting on behalf of his "brother" (his mother in disguise as a man), and is confined in his father-in-law's house. He is unaware that his bride is actually his love interest and they fight in the dark. They discover each other's identities eventually.
Miu Chui-fa manages to persuade Tiger Lui to let her son return home. Just then, Fong Sai-yuk's father, Fong Tak, returns home from a trip. Fong Sai-yuk discovers that his father is a member of the Red Flower Society, an underground resistance movement that aims to overthrow the ruling Ching Dynasty
. While Fong Tak is having a conversation with fellow members, they are ambushed by the Governor of Nine Gates and his soldiers. The Governor demands that Fong Tak hand over the name list of the society's members, but the latter refuses. Just then, Fong Sai-yuk and his mother appear, and Fong fights with the Governor and holds him off until his parents have escaped to safety.
Fong Sai-yuk and his parents hide in their in-laws' house to evade the authorities, but the Governor pays a visit to Tiger Lui and recognizes them. In the ensuing battle, Fong Tak is captured while Siu-wan dies from a gunshot wound. Fong Sai-yuk lies to his mother that his father has been rescued and decides to save his father alone without letting her know. He attempts to storm the execution ground and fights with the Governor to save his father. At the critical moment, Miu Chui-fa appears together with the Red Flower Society's members and their leader, Chan Ka-lok. They defeat the Governor and his men and succeed in freeing Fong Tak. Before the film ends, Fong Sai-yuk becomes Chan Ka-lok's godson and he joins his godfather on their noble quest as they ride off towards the sunset together.
The Universe re-mastered DVD is the HK version (with removable English subtitles), but is slightly cut. The uncut version can be found on any other release by Universe, but with embedded subtitles (on the LD and non-remastered DVD). Other uncut versions include the (French) HKVideo and (Japanese) Klockworx DVDs (containing no English subtitles).
, was commissioned immediately and released the very same year.
Martial arts film
Martial arts film is a film genre. A sub-genre of the action film, martial arts films contain numerous fights between characters, usually as the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often as a method of storytelling and character expression and development. Martial arts are frequently...
directed by Corey Yuen
Corey Yuen
Corey Yuen Kwai is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker and producer. He was a member of the Peking Opera Schools and one of the Seven Little Fortunes.-Life and career:...
and starring Jet Li
Jet Li
The fame gained by his sports winnings led to a career as a martial arts film star, beginning in mainland China and then continuing into Hong Kong. Li acquired his screen name in 1982 in the Philippines when a publicity company thought his real name was too hard to pronounce...
as Chinese folk hero Fong Sai-yuk
Fong Sai-Yuk
Fong Sai-yuk is a Chinese martial artist and folk hero. He is first introduced in Wuxia stories from the Qing Dynasty such as Wan Nian Qing. He is also featured in several forms of media, of which the most notable is the 1993 film Fong Sai-yuk.-Early life:Fong Sai-yuk is a native of Zhaoqing,...
.
Plot
The brash and ambitious Fong Sai-yukFong Sai-Yuk
Fong Sai-yuk is a Chinese martial artist and folk hero. He is first introduced in Wuxia stories from the Qing Dynasty such as Wan Nian Qing. He is also featured in several forms of media, of which the most notable is the 1993 film Fong Sai-yuk.-Early life:Fong Sai-yuk is a native of Zhaoqing,...
meets the beautiful Ting-ting during a track and field competition and falls in love with her. Ting-ting is the daughter of the hot-headed hooligan Tiger Lui. Tiger Lui stages a martial arts competition for interested men to participate and win his daughter's hand in marriage. The contestant must defeat Tiger Lui's wife, Siu-wan, in order to win. Fong Sai-yuk joins the contest at his friends' urging and defeats Siu-wan. He catches a glimpse of his future bride, who is actually a servant maid to replace the temporarily missing Ting-ting. Fong Sai-yuk decides to forfeit the match and leaves.
Fong Sai-yuk's mother, Miu Chui-fa, enters the contest in disguise as a man to help her son win back the lost glory. She defeats Siu-wan and knocks her off the scaffold. Miu Chui-fa catches Siu-wan as she falls and they land safely on the ground. After that intimate moment together, Siu-wan becomes romantically attracted to Miu Chui-fa, as she is unaware that Miu is actually a woman in disguise. Tiger Lui forces Miu Chui-fa to marry his daughter. To save his mother from embarrassment, Fong Sai-yuk marries Ting-ting on behalf of his "brother" (his mother in disguise as a man), and is confined in his father-in-law's house. He is unaware that his bride is actually his love interest and they fight in the dark. They discover each other's identities eventually.
Miu Chui-fa manages to persuade Tiger Lui to let her son return home. Just then, Fong Sai-yuk's father, Fong Tak, returns home from a trip. Fong Sai-yuk discovers that his father is a member of the Red Flower Society, an underground resistance movement that aims to overthrow the ruling Ching Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
. While Fong Tak is having a conversation with fellow members, they are ambushed by the Governor of Nine Gates and his soldiers. The Governor demands that Fong Tak hand over the name list of the society's members, but the latter refuses. Just then, Fong Sai-yuk and his mother appear, and Fong fights with the Governor and holds him off until his parents have escaped to safety.
Fong Sai-yuk and his parents hide in their in-laws' house to evade the authorities, but the Governor pays a visit to Tiger Lui and recognizes them. In the ensuing battle, Fong Tak is captured while Siu-wan dies from a gunshot wound. Fong Sai-yuk lies to his mother that his father has been rescued and decides to save his father alone without letting her know. He attempts to storm the execution ground and fights with the Governor to save his father. At the critical moment, Miu Chui-fa appears together with the Red Flower Society's members and their leader, Chan Ka-lok. They defeat the Governor and his men and succeed in freeing Fong Tak. Before the film ends, Fong Sai-yuk becomes Chan Ka-lok's godson and he joins his godfather on their noble quest as they ride off towards the sunset together.
Cast
- Jet LiJet LiThe fame gained by his sports winnings led to a career as a martial arts film star, beginning in mainland China and then continuing into Hong Kong. Li acquired his screen name in 1982 in the Philippines when a publicity company thought his real name was too hard to pronounce...
as Fong Sai-yukFong Sai-YukFong Sai-yuk is a Chinese martial artist and folk hero. He is first introduced in Wuxia stories from the Qing Dynasty such as Wan Nian Qing. He is also featured in several forms of media, of which the most notable is the 1993 film Fong Sai-yuk.-Early life:Fong Sai-yuk is a native of Zhaoqing,... - Josephine SiaoJosephine SiaoJosephine Siao Fong-Fong MBE is a Hong Kong movie star who became popular as a child actress and continued her success as a mature actress, winning numerous awards including Best Actress at the 1995 Berlin Film Festival...
as Miu Chui-fa - Vincent ZhaoVincent ZhaoVincent Zhao Wenzhuo , sometimes credited as Chiu Man-cheuk, is a Chinese actor and martial artist. Zhao is best known playing the role of Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung in the Once Upon a Time in China film and television series.-Early life:Zhao was born in Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, as the...
as Nine Gates Governor (Governor of Kau Man) - Michelle ReisMichelle Reis-Biography:Reis was born in Macau which was then a Portuguese colony. Reis is of mixed ancestry as her father is Portuguese and her mother is Chinese. So, she can be considered as a macanese. Reis attended Maryknoll Convent School, and matriculated from St. Paul's Secondary School.Reis started...
as Lui Ting-ting - Paul Chu as Fong Tak
- Sibelle Hu as Siu-wan
- Chan Chung-yung as Lui Lo-fu (Tiger Lui)
- Adam ChengAdam ChengAdam Cheng Siu-chow is a Hong Kong TVB actor and Cantopop singer.-Career:Cheng started his career in the 1970s, where he gained a reputation for playing the lead roles in TVB Wuxia drama series based on the works of Louis Cha and Gu Long, such as The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber and Chor Lau Heung...
as Chan Ka-lok - Peter Chan as Magu
- Gao Xi'an as hooligan
U.S. and H.K. versions
Dimension re-scored, re-edited and dubbed the film in English only. Removed scenes include Sai-Yuk curling his mother's hair and testing Tiger Lui's patience with a racket. The UK DVD had this version and additionally contains a BBFC cut to remove the sight of an illegal horse-fall (during the finale).The Universe re-mastered DVD is the HK version (with removable English subtitles), but is slightly cut. The uncut version can be found on any other release by Universe, but with embedded subtitles (on the LD and non-remastered DVD). Other uncut versions include the (French) HKVideo and (Japanese) Klockworx DVDs (containing no English subtitles).
Mainland Chinese version
The China DVD release from Tung Ah contains this Mandarin-dubbed version (with embedded Chinese and English subtitles). The following are some differences between this version and the original one:- Alternative opening title Gongfu Huangdi (功夫皇帝; Kungfu Emperor). The credits are all in Chinese.
- The opening scene: a woman attempts to kill the emperorQianlong EmperorThe Qianlong Emperor was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. The fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1735 to 8 February 1796...
with a shoe knife, but has her leg chopped off. - Track and field scene: an extended sequence of the men waving the flags.
- Siu-wan's death scene: Ting-ting cries after she and Fong Sai-yuk come out into the rain.
- Final battle scene: Chan Ka-lok thrusts his sword into the Governor's chest. The camera zooms in to the Governor lighting a firecracker.
- Ending scene: the song playing in the background is in Mandarin instead of Cantonese, whilst the credits simply play without Tiger Lui tossing the name list.
Box office
Fong Sai-yuk was a box office hit on Hong Kong, grossing HK $30,666,842. As a result, a sequel, Fong Sai-yuk IIFong Sai-yuk II
Fong Sai-yuk II is a 1993 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Corey Yuen and starring Jet Li as Chinese folk hero Fong Sai-yuk. The film is a sequel to Fong Sai-yuk, released in early 1993.-Plot:...
, was commissioned immediately and released the very same year.