Kung Fu Movie Guide

KFMG Podcast S08 Episode 108: Tribute to King Hu

“No one has really captured the pinnacle of the artform of wuxia filmmaking like King Hu did… That’s why we’re still talking about King Hu, because he did it better than anybody else.” Michael Berry

King Hu is one of China’s most influential filmmakers, famous for his historical martial arts films which helped to popularise the wuxia (‘martial chivalry’) genre in the 1960s and 70s with classic films like Come Drink with Me (1966), Dragon Inn (1967), and A Touch of Zen (1971), for which he would receive the ‘Technical Grand Prize’ at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival. His work has inspired directors ranging from Tsui Hark to Ang Lee, Zhang Yimou to Quentin Tarantino, and since his death in 1997 at the age of 64, organisations like the King Hu Foundation have continued to promote and champion his work. As a result, much of his exquisite output is now readily available around the world in lovingly restored digital formats.

To discuss the life and work of this extraordinary filmmaker, we welcome two King Hu Foundation board members: Michael Berry, Director of the Center for Chinese Studies at UCLA, who is also a Professor of Contemporary Chinese Cultural Studies; and the filmmaker, Céline Zen, a Chinese-born, France-based producer and director. We discuss the early life of the Beijing-born auteur who was forced into exile in Hong Kong after the Chinese Communist Revolution, and his journey from artist to actor, writer, and director, becoming one of the biggest talents at new Shaw Brothers production company, before his relocation to Taiwan. We discuss the early life of the Beijing-born auteur who was forced into exile in Hong Kong after the Chinese Communist Revolution, and his journey from artist to actor, writer, and director, becoming one of the biggest talents at new Shaw Brothers production company before his relocation to Taiwan. We discuss the meaning of ‘wuxia’; his influences – from his love of calligraphy to Ming dynasty history and the Chinese Opera – and how, despite his critical praise, his films were not always successful in their day, and the toll this took on his work in later life.

A huge thank you to Audrey Edwards at the King Hu Foundation for her help in organising this episode. Visit kinghufoundationusa.org for more information. For more information about Michael Berry, visit his website, michael-berry.com, the UCLA website, and follow him on Douban, Weibo, WeChat (under the name BerryMichael), X and ClubHouse. You can also buy Michael’s books on Amazon. For more information about Céline Zen, visit LinkedIn. Céline is the producer of the 2018 film, Vous êtes jeunes, vous êtes beaux. Watch the trailer on YouTube.