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A versatile British-Chinese filmmaker whose career has spanned nearly fifty years, Po-Chih Leong has worked in a variety of genres, from action in Foxbat to horror in The Island, comedy in Ping Pong and the gangster movie in Shanghai 1920, which was nominated for Best Feature at the Chicago International Film Festival. His masterpiece, though, is Hong Kong 1941 – an affecting war drama starring Cecilia Yip (Nomad), Alex Man (Rich and Famous) and Chow Yun-fat (The Killer) in his breakout role.
Produced by Sammo Hung, Hong Kong 1941 follows three Hongkongers forced to negotiate life under occupation as their homeland falls to the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Ha Yuk-nam (Yip) is a young woman locked in a love triangle with her close friends Yip Kim-fei (Chow) and Wong Hak-keung (Man). As they dream of escape, their complicated personal relationships play out against the background of oppression and brutality that was brought to Hong Kong by Japanese rule between 1941 and 1945.
A story of loyalty and love, Leong’s film deals with one of the darkest periods in Hong Kong’s history and was nominated for no less than eight awards at the 1985 Hong Kong Film Awards – winning for its breathtaking cinematography by Brian Lai (The Postman Strikes Back). It also launched Chow Yun-fat to stardom two years before his first collaboration with John Woo in A Better Tomorrow. The Masters of Cinema series is honoured to present the film on Blu-ray for the first time outside of Asia.
