Richard James Havis

3 days ago | scmp.com | Richard James Havis

The Tom Cruise action movie Mission: Impossible was such a global success in the late 1990s that some Hong Kong producers decided to strip the local characteristics out of their action films to make them more palatable to mainstream audiences in the West. Cue generic plots involving the CIA, international criminals, drug smugglers and terrorists, and of course, really loud action scenes featuring massive explosions.

1 week ago | scmp.com | Richard James Havis

Directed by Leong Po-chih (or Leung Po-chi) in 1984, Hong Kong 1941 is an unflinching look at the horrors of the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong. In the film, Chow Yun-fat, Cecilia Yip Tung and Alex Man Chi-leung play a trio of friends who try to survive the privations and degradations of the invasion while plotting their escape. Here we discuss it with film historian Frank Djeng, who provided the commentary for the film’s Eureka Entertainment Blu-ray release.

2 weeks ago | scmp.com | Richard James Havis

“Exploitation films”, which rely on copious amounts of soft-core sex, gore and violence to attract an audience, began in the United States in the 1960s with films like Blood Feast. By the 1970s, hundreds were being made. Hong Kong did not really explore the genre until the late 1980s – but once it started, it went for it, no holds barred. We recall three classics of the exploitation genre made in Hong Kong. 1.

3 weeks ago | scmp.com | Richard James Havis

The erotic spy thriller Lust, Caution achieved notoriety when it was released in 2007 as it was rumoured that the sex scenes between Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Chinese actress Tang Wei were the real thing. Director Ang Lee, realising that the rumour was generating publicity, never explicitly denied or confirmed it, although interviews the director gave suggested that it was untrue.

1 month ago | scmp.com | Richard James Havis

Director Gordon Chan Kar-seung (Beast Cops) wanted to reshape the Hong Kong police film genre with 1994’s The Final Option, and the result was a classic. Lesser sequels followed. The Final Option (1994)A classic of 1990s Hong Kong cinema, The Final Option is action filmmaking of the highest order. The story about the Royal Hong Kong Police force’s Special Duty Unit (SDU), has a gripping storyline, believable characterisations and some excellent tactical assault sequences.