Opening Film<br>The Valiant Ones (4K Digitally Restored Version)

Opening Film
The Valiant Ones (4K Digitally Restored Version)

Dir/Scr/Prod: King Hu
Prod Co: King Hu
Cast: Hsu Feng, Bai Ying, Roy Chiao, Ng Ming-choi (aka Ng Ming-toi), Lau Kong
1975 | Colour | DCP | Mandarin | Chi & Eng Subtitles | 105min

Courtesy of King Hu Foundation

This film was collected locally in 1996.

The Valiant Ones is a self-funded film directed by King Hu and an important work in his oeuvre. Since its release in 1975, the film has been widely shown in film festivals and lauded by film scholars around the world. Hu graciously granted the Archive access to the material, allowing us to share this wonderful film with the world.


The Chinese title of The Valiant Ones can be translated as ‘portrait of loyalty and sacrifice' and the film is a masterfully stylised representation of these altruistic qualities. Set in the Ming dynasty, director King Hu's favourite historical backdrop, the story is about a band of lionhearts recruited by a government official to fight against marauding Japanese pirates. An intriguing web of guile, perfidy and mind games was animated by Hu with his signature staging and opera-inspired choreography, often staged in locations around Hong Kong's deserted islands and countryside.

Hu deposited the film's negatives in the Archive in 1996 for permanent storage. When scratches were found on the negatives the following year, digital restoration was performed by the Archive. The version shown in this screening is the result of another restoration, done with 4K digital technology, realising a quality even closer to the conditions of the film's original release.


Date Time Venue
30/4/2021 (Fri) 7:30pm Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre

The contents of the programme do not represent the views of the presenter. The presenter reserves the right to change the programme should unavoidable circumstances make it necessary.