Drums along the Battlefield
Dir: Wong Hok-sing
Orig Story: Tsui Tsi-long
Scr/Librettist: Poon Cheuk
Prod Co: Tai Lung Fung
Cast: Lam Kar-sing, Chan Ho-kau, Poon Yat On, Kwan Hoi-shan, Lan Chi Pak
1963 B&W D Beta Cantonese Chinese Lyrics 124 min
Orig Story: Tsui Tsi-long
Scr/Librettist: Poon Cheuk
Prod Co: Tai Lung Fung
Cast: Lam Kar-sing, Chan Ho-kau, Poon Yat On, Kwan Hoi-shan, Lan Chi Pak
1963 B&W D Beta Cantonese Chinese Lyrics 124 min
Adapted from the first Cantonese opera by the Hing Sun Sing Opera Troupe, the film was Lam Kar-sing's first opera as leading male in civil and military role and also performed by the same opera cast, leaving a rare celluloid record of the original performance. The theme song ‘Riding in the Snow' created by famed Cantonese opera composer Chu Ngaikong is also preserved in the film. Lam plays the noble and steadfast young man Ha, a role he renders vividly. In the scene of the ‘Three Appointments', due to dissatisfaction with princess Chui-bik's (Chan Ho-kau) failure to confer his desired position, protagonist Ha refuses the honours three times through an impressive display of dancing swordplay. In the showdown, Lam fully showcases his northern fighting style, clearly cementing his place as a serious leading man of Cantonese opera.