Glory Days: When Leslie Met Anita

Introduction

In the late 1970s, a revolutionary wave gave birth to a new generation of talents in the Hong Kong film industry. For the subsequent two decades, Hong Kong cinema, music and television blossomed and saw the creation of countless classics that boasted a rich diversity of genres and subject matters. During this golden era, two superstars ruled all three sectors of showbiz: Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui. The two made over a hundred films combined, which remain beloved by many to this day.

Living stable and prosperous lives, people in the 1980s seemed to have an unquenchable thirst for entertainment, which naturally led to the explosive growth of popular culture. Born in the latter days of the city's baby boom era, Cheung and Mui both grew up in a society heavily influenced by Western and Eastern cultures, and went on to mesmerise audiences with their tradition-defying personas, ultimately becoming true icons of their era.

On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of Cheung and Mui's passing, we're revisiting their glory days with 32 of their films from the 1980s and 90s, plus 5 additional titles from the 2000s. The selections reflect the genres they've dabbled in, their favourite collaborators and the vibrancy of Hong Kong cinema at its boldest and most creative. Early works such as Nomad (1982) and Why, Why, Tell Me Why (1986) introduced the image of the young rebel; Kawashima Yoshiko (1997), Farewell My Concubine (1993), He's a Woman, She's a Man (1994), Who's the Woman, Who's the Man (1996) and Happy Together (1997) explored the fluidity of gender and sexuality; Rouge (1988), Au Revoir, Mon Amour (1991) and The Phantom Lover (1995) saw the two stars bring their musical personas to the big screen. And of course, Cheung and Mui weren't just limited to dramatic roles—irreverent comedies such as All's Well End's Well (1992) and Justice, My Foot! (1992) proved that the two stars were also amazing comic actors. Mui even boldly thought outside the box by taking on sci-fi action cult films Saviour of the Soul (1991) and The Heroic Trio (1993). Indeed, through their films one can get a glimpse of the history of the funny, naughty, adorable thing that is Hong Kong popular culture, and the imprints the stars have left behind.

Kicking off the programme will be a digital version of Rouge (1988), to be shown with a 3-minute music montage edited from a rarely seen international cut of the multi-award winning film.

Partner Organisation: Fortune Star Media Limited