The early and mid-1970s were the boom years for Mandarin films in Hong Kong's cinematic history. After Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong) Ltd shut down its Cantonese film unit in the early 1960s, Mandarin productions were catapulted to new heights in the local film scene. Studios big and small jumped on the bandwagon, running to and fro between Hong Kong and Taiwan to produce a considerable number of Taiwan-made Hong Kong movies.

During the time when Shaw Brothers (SB) bestrode the industry, Golden Harvest (HK) Limited, helmed by ex-SB production manager Raymond Chow, was established in 1970 with comprehensive production and marketing strategies. From 1971 to 1973, the studio introduced several Bruce Lee titles. Their worldwide success laid a firm foundation for the newly founded film kingdom which would become a major force to be reckoned with.

In the late 1960s, the onslaught of violent kungfu pictures and erotic movies presented a huge challenge to the censors. As a matter of course, these shoddily made works soon lost their appeal and had to make way for the new trends that would emerge. Li Han-hsiang closed his Grand Motion Picture Company in Taiwan and embarked on a series of fraud flicks and fengyue films (softcore erotica) upon returning to Hong Kong. Among other money-spinners were comedies starring Michael Hui, who would kick-start the boom of the Hui Brothers' comedies with a distinctly modern sensibility. Chor Yuen, an auteur who set trends for Hong Kong cinema time and again, boldly came up with the Cantonese crowd-puller The House of 72 Tenants (1973). This runaway hit, owing much to the mass popularity of Cantonese television actors, gave Cantonese cinema a new lease of life.

Hong Kong Filmography Volume VII collects information on more than 900 Hong Kong-produced feature and documentary films from 1970 to 1974. 464 pages with 16 pages of full-colour posters. Published in 2010, priced at HK$185. (Co-edited by Kwok Ching-ling and Shen Biri)

ISBN 978-962-8050-54-3