8 years ago I saw a post about Hong Kong films and badly wanted a list like this of my own but I knew that I wasn’t ready for it yet. So I waited all these years taking my time, exploring Hong Kong cinema properly and few days ago I suddenly felt like, it's the best time to make the list. It's now or never. So I immediately started working on it 17 days ago and finally have it done to share with you all. I published this list a few years ago and since then my list has changed but instead of re-editing this, maybe I would use the energy to work on a bigger list in future.
On this post we will look at the first quarter of the list.
I apologize in advance for any kind of mistake.
200. Gallants (2010)
Dir.: Clement Cheng, Derek Kwok
Starring Leung Siu-lung, Wong You-nam, Chen Kuan-tai and Teddy Robin
Set in modern time but made with the spirit of classic 70-80s Hong Kong Martial Arts comedies.
Won Best Film at 30th Hong Kong Film Awards and Teddy Robin won Best Supporting Actor. This film started Gordon Lam's career as a producer.
Highlight: Old School set in modern era
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199. Juliet in Love (2000)
Dir.: Wilson Yip
Starring double Ng, Francis and Sandra
A low-level triad falls in love with a woman still suffering from her failed marriage.
Highlight: Double Ng's performance
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198. Sparrow (2008)
Dir.: Johnnie To
Starring Simon Yam, Gordon Lam, Law Wing-cheung, Kelly Lin, Lam Suet and Kenneth Cheung
We just started and we already have Johnnie To in our list. Unsurprisingly, a caper film which is about a small gang of pickpockets and is much brighter compared to his other crime genre films.
Highlight: Music and creative pickpocket scenes
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197. Royal Tramp (1992)
Dir.: Wong Jing
Starring a star-stack cast with Stephen Chow, Sharla Cheung, Ng Man-tat, Natalis Chan, Sandra Ng, Chingmy Yau, Damian Lau and Brigitte Lin
We already have Stephen Chow and Wong Jing too. A Wuxia-comedy which the director-actor duo made popular at that time, as a result it was one of the top 5 highest grossing Hong Kong films in 1992 and was followed by a sequel in the same year.
Highlight: What we can possibly highlight for a Stephen Chow-Wong Jing film other than comedy?
196. A Chinese Ghost Story II (1990)
Dir.: Ching Siu-tung
A sequel to 1987 classic A Chinese Ghost Story, followed by A Chinese Ghost Story III (1991) starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai.
This film stars Leslie Cheung and Joey Wong in a new role with newly added Jacky Cheung, Michelle Reis, Waise Lee.
Highlight: Less romantic than the first one
195. Rumble in the Bronx (1995)
Dir.: Stanley Tong
No Fear. No Stuntman. No Equal.
Keung travels to New York for his uncle's wedding, but gets tangled with the local gang.
This Jackie Chan and Anita Mui starrer is certainly flawed in many ways but one thing it done perfectly, which matters the most and that is its ACTION.
Highlight: Some of Jackie Chan's career-best fight scenes and stunts
Dir.: Clara Law
Starring a young Masatoshi Nagase
A Hong Kong high school student befriends a Japanese traveler.
A very different type of film. Many acclaimed Hong Kong films which has been hailed for their art values have enough mainstream appeal but this film is completely off-track.
Highlight: Unusual narrative
193. Beast Cops (1998)
Dir.: Gordon Chan, Dante Lam
Starring Anthony Wong and Michael Wong, hailed by the fans of Hong Kong, this hardcore actioner brought Anthony Wong his second Best Actor award at 13th Hong Kong Film Awards.
Highlight: The Double Wong
192. Chinese Odyssey 2002 (2002)
Dir.: Jeffrey Lau
Jeffrey Lau is very good at making nonsense comedy and this effort with Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Faye Wong, Zhao Wei and Chang Cheng is among his and Hong Kong's best comedies.
Highlight: The Drunk Song
191. Needing You... (2000)
Dir.: Johnnie To & Wai Ka-fai
Starring Sammi Cheng and Andy Lau
First Milkyway Image romantic-comedy in the list. There might be more.
This film is about Kinki (Sammi Cheng) and Andy Chung (Andy Lau) from the same department gradually fall in love with each other when Andy Chung offers to help Kinki with her love life
Highlight: Andy Lau-Sammi Cheng's chemistry
190. Beyond the Dream (2019)
Dir.: Kiwi Chow
A film which starts as a film about disadvantaged people but later on mostly focuses on the leads' love story. Based on 2006 award-winning short film, directed by Kiwi Chow himself.
Winner of "Best Adapted Screenplay" at 57th Golden Horse Awards.
It's the debut film of Terrance Lau, who notably later on played "Leslie Cheung" in Anita Mui's biopic. He is considered as Hong Kong's first noteworthy actor in years.
Highlight: Felix Tsang and Kiwi Chow's writing
189. One Nite in Mongkok (2004)
Dir.: Derek Yee
A sequel to 2000 action-crime film, Double Tap. This time with Daniel Wu, Cecilia Cheung and Alex Fong in the lead with Derek Yee writing and directing the film. Third part of the trilogy came in 2010 with Alex Fong reprising his role for both sequels and Daniel Wu coming back with a new role.
Highlight: Tension buildup
188. Bodyguards and Assassins (2009)
Dir.: Teddy Chan
Winner of Best Film, Best Director (Teddy Chan), Best Supporting Actor (Nicholas Tse), Best Cinematography (Arthur Wong), Best Action Choreography (Stephen Tung, Lee Tat-chiu) and several more awards at 29th Hong Kong Film Awards.
A Historical action film starring an all-star cast consisting Donnie Yen, Wang Xueqi, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Nicholas Tse, Hu Jun, Eric Tsang, Simon Yam, Fan Bingbing, Zhou Yun and Leon Lai.
Highlight: The Cast
187. King of Comedy (1999)
Dir.: Stephen Chow, Lee Lik-chi
Starring Stephen Chow portraying the role of an extra, unlike Stephen Chow's other nonsense comedies, this one earned its reputation for its dramatic elements.
Highlight: One of Stephen Chow's rare efforts to blend drama with comedy
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186. Double Tap (2000)
Dir.: Bruce Law
The second part was placed at 189th and now at 186th we have the first part of the trilogy. (Will we see the third part too?)
The title refers to the the terminology for a shooter placing two shots in the same exact spot, to maximize marksmanship in any competition.
Starring Leslie Cheung and Alex Fong
Highlight: Leslie Cheung on the brink
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185. Song of the Exile (1990)
Dir.: Ann Hui
A Hong Kong-Taiwan's joint production. This cross-cultural film focuses on Hueyin and her mother's troubled relationship which began from Hueyin's childhood.
Like all other Ann Hui's films, she took a gentle approach to present and empathize the relationship between mother and daughter.
Highlight: Ann Hui's presentation of its time
184. Mack the Knife (1995)
Dir.: Lee Chi-ngai
Starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Lau Ching-wan, Alex To, Christy Chung, Andy Hui, Hilary Tsui, Law Kar-ying, Eileen Tung, Richard Ng, Jordan Chan and Gigi Leung in her debut film.
Dr.Mack Lau (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) is a dedicated physician who loves treating underprivileged people. Based on Dr.Kumahige, the film largely focus on the neighborhood where Dr.Mack lives.
Highlight: Tony Leung Chiu-wai's character
183. Royal Warriors (1986)
Dir.: David Chung
Second part in "In the Line of Duty" series where all are connected thematically with nothing in common in narrative and characters.
This installment stars Michelle Yeoh, who was in the first part too alongside with Japanese action star Hiroyuki Sanada and Michael Wong.
Highlight: huge amount of fight scenes. One topping another
182. Forbidden City Cop (1996)
Dir.: Stephen Chow, Vincent Kok
Starring Stephen Chow, Carina Lau and Carmen Lee
Another Stephen Chow comedy taking place in the ancient period with a mix of clever and nonsense humour.
Highlight: Stephen Chow making fancy gadgets
181. The Bullet Vanishes (2012)
Dir.: Law Chi-leung
Starring Lau Ching-wan and Nicholas Tse
Set in 1930s, This well-made, high value production film is about some strange murder cases, in which the bullets used seemingly vanish as the title refers.
Highlight: Technical aspects
180. Duel to the Death (1982)
Dir.: Ching Siu-tung
Director Ching Siu-tung's debut film starring Damian Lau and Norman Chui as the representatives of China and Japan respectively in a battle of honour.
A wuxia film of the highest order which gained cult status.
Highlight: Damian Lau and Norman Chui's character
179. Bishonen (1998)
Dir.: Yonfan
Starring Stephen Fung, Daniel Wu and Shu Qi
This gay-romance film is about a handsome gigolo Jet who falls in love with a policeman.
Highlight: Stephen Fung as Jet
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178. Life Without Principle (2011)
Dir.: Johnnie To
Starring Lau Ching-wan, Richie Jen, Denise Ho, Philip Keung
A bank employee, a gangster and a cop find themselves affected in an economic crisis.
Highlight: Lau Ching-wan's character
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177. Accident (2009)
Dir.: Soi Cheang
Starring Louis Koo, Richie Jen, Michelle Ye, Lam Suet and Stanley Fung
An assassin famous for making murders look like accidents starts crumbling and investigating on his own after suffering a near-death accident himself.
Highlight: Creative screenplay
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176. Turn Left, Turn Right (2003)
Dir.: Wai Ka-fai, Johnnie To
Starring Takeshi Kaneshiro and Gigi Leung
A violinist and a translator fated to be together always gets barred from being together by the fate itself.
Highlight: The game of fate
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175. He Ain't Heavy, He's My Father (1993)
Dir.: Peter Chan
Starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Carina Lau, Anita Yuen, Lawrence Cheng and Chor Yuen
A father and son's troubled relationship improves after the son time-travels to his father's youth and get to see a different side of him.
Highlight: Tony Leung playing Tony Leung's father and Tony Leung's real-life girlfriend playing his mother
174. Once Upon a Time in Shanghai (2014)
dir: Wong Ching-po
Starring Andy On and Philip Ng
Hong Kong once ruled the world with its action but nowadays authentic Hong Kong action doesn’t exist. Most of the recent actions are about large-scale cop films however Once Upon a Time in Shanghai releasing 8 years ago is one of the last better films of its type. Remake of 1972 classic Boxer from Shantung.
Highlight: 2 regular supporting actors shining in the lead
173. Unbeatable (2013)
Dir.: Dante Lam
Starring Nick Cheung and Eddie Peng
Former champion boxer currently hiding in Macau is facing financial problem since his glorious days, meets a young man determined to win a boxing match.
A heartwarming, uplifting, inspiring drama film disguised under a well choreographed MMA film.
Highlight: The humanist aspect
172. When Sun Meets Moon (2018)
Dir.: Benny Lau
Starring Daichi Harashima and Kathy Yuen
Much like radio host Benny Lau's debut film Wong Ka Yan, this also focuses on how people lived and loved in the old good days and surprisingly, this one works as effectively as Wong Ka Yan.
Highlight: A sweet and tender love story
171. Dog Bite Dog (2006)
Dir.: Soi Cheang
Starring Edison Chen and Sam Lee
Battle of a violent Cambodian assassin and a Hong Kong cop in a rough CAT III film which is certainly not everyone's cup of tea.
Highlight: The relationship between Edison Chen and Pei Pei
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170. Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983)
Dir.: Tsui Hark
Starring Yuen Biao, Adam Cheng, Corey Yuen, Brigitte Lin, Moon Lee, Damian Lau, Judy Ongg, Sammo Hung and Mang Hoi
This film is an essential piece of Hong Kong New Wave Movement, led by none other than Tsui Hark who broke free from traditional studio system to make a Chinese mythological film.
Highlight: One of the first Hong Kong films to use special effects
169. Running on Karma (2003)
Dir.: Wai Ka-fai, Johnnie To
Starring Andy Lau and Cecilia Cheung
A monk turned bodybuilder have the ability of looking into people's lives, a newbie policewoman takes his help to investigate a killer. This is one of the darkest films of Wai-To duo. Winner of Best Film and Best Screenplay, this film brought Andy Lau his second Best Actor award.
Highlight: Andy Lau wearing prosthetic suit for the second time in a Wai-To film.
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168. Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (1991)
Dir.: Lam Nai-choi
Starring Louis Fan, Fan Mei-sheng, Ho Ka-kui, Gloria Yip, and Yukari Oshima
It's time for some thrash fun and what could be better than this? A cult film for its unrealistic violence, gore and blood about an overwhelming powerful man being locked in a private prison. Louis Fan initially was worried that nobody would love it for its disgusting element but that disgusting element ended up being its selling point.
Highlight: Unrealistic violence
167. Outlaw Brothers (1990)
Dir.: Frankie Chan
Starring Frankie Chan, Max Mok, Michael Miu and Yukari Oshima
Music composer come action star Frankie Chan did make several action films in his career but this is by far the best exhibition of his ability as an action star as well as an action film director.
Highlight: Frankie Chan and Yukari Oshima
166. The Untold Story (1993)
Dir.: Herman Yau
Took us some time to introduce the first CAT III cult film in the list but we are taking no more time to introduce the second. Based on actual murders that took place in Portuguese Macau, this film is notorious for its disturbing elements. Despite receiving CAT III rating, this film did exceptionally well at the box office and brought Anthony Wong his first Best Actor award and made him a star.
Highlight: Anthony Wong playing psychopath
165. Triangle (2007)
Dir.: Ringo Lam, Tsui Hark, Johnnie To
The title refers to the trio of acclaimed directors as well as the three protagonists of the film played by Louis Koo, Simon Yam and Sun Honglei. One story was told in 3 segments consisting thirty-minutes each. One director handled his segment with his own team and left the film for other director to pick it up with his own team without zero discussion among each other.
Highlight: Staging of the climax
164. Overheard (2009)
Dir.: Alan Mak, Felix Chong
Starring Louis Koo, Lau Ching-wan and Daniel Wu
The film was written and direcred by Alan Mak-Felix Chong duo, the writers responsible for Infernal Affairs trilogy.
This film focuses on a trio of police officers conducting surveillance on a public company.
Highlight: Louis Koo's character being older than Lau Ching-wan's
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163. Out of the Dark (1995)
Dir.: Jeffrey Lau
Starring Stephen Chow and Karen Mok
This horror-comedy film earned its reputation for being the darkest film of Stephen Chow's career where he plays Leo, a mental patient/ghostbuster who is a parody of the character Léon from the 1994 French film, The Professional, who talks to his plant for assistance.
Highlight: Stephen Chow parodying Léon
162. The Stool Pigeon (2010)
Dir.: Dante Lam
Starring Nick Cheung, Nicholas Tse, Kwai Lun-mei and Kai Chi-liu
The film is about a police detective who sends out a street racer as an informant to gain information about a gangster
Highlight: Nicholas Tse's award-winning performance
161. Eye in the Sky (2007)
Dir.: Yau Nai-hoi
Starring Simon Yam, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Kate Tsui and Lam Suet
It marks the directorial debut of Yau Nai-hoi, a long-time screenwriter for films directed by Johnnie To.
This film is praised for its realistic depiction of surveillance team and its dark atmosphere like typical Milkyway Image crime films.
Highlight: Yau Nai-hoi's effective debut as a director
160. Fatal Contact (2006)
Dir.: Dennis Law
Starring Wu Jing, Ronald Cheng, Miki Yeung, Andy On, Ken Lo and Lam Suet
Like many other Hong Kong martial arts films, this focuses less on its story and more on its action, choreographed by Nicky Li, this film features some of the best fight scenes Wu Jing have ever done in his career.
Highlight: Wu Jing vs Andy On
159. Time and Tide (2000)
Dir.: Tsui Hark
Starring Nicholas Tse, Wu Bai, Cathy Tsui and Anthony Wong
This film follows a confusing narrative which could prove to be very difficult to understand for the viewers. However Tsui Hark compromised that with an over the top stylish presentation of the plot. Perhaps, the narrative being confusing was important for the style?
Highlight: Confusing narrative and stylish presentation
158. Throw Down (2004)
Dir.: Johnnie To
Starring Louis Koo, Aaron Kwok, Cherie Ying and Tony Leung Ka-fai
A former judo champion gave up on Judo few years ago for unknown reasons and is now depressed and alcoholic. He is challenged by the current judo champion in a duel.
Johnnie To dedicated this film to Akira Kurosawa.
Highlight: Music
157. To Be Number One (1991)
Dir.: Poon Man-kit
Starring Ray Lui, Kent Cheng, Amy Yip, Waise Lee and Lawrence Ng
Winner of Best Picture and Best Screenplay at 11th Hong Kong Film Awards. This film is based on notorious Limpy Ho played by Ray Lui. It depicted its time and the events very well. Ray Lui portrayed different phases of Limpy Ho's character brilliantly.
Highlight: Screenplay
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156. Endless Love (1993)
Dir.: Derek Yee
Starring Lau Ching-wan, Anita Yuen, Paul Chung, Carina Lau, Fung Bo Bo and Cerrie Ng
An essential Hong Kong romance where a cover artist helps a dejected musician regain his sense of self.
Winner of Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress.
Highlight: Heartwarming atmosphere
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155. Trivisa (2016)
Dir.: Jevons Au, Frank Hui, Vicky Wai-Kit Wong
A bit like 2007 film, Triangle (placed at 165th), this film is separated into three segments, each director directing each. A fictionalized take on three notorious real life mobsters played by Richie Jen, Jordan Chan and Gordon Lam.
Gordon Lam won Best Actor award for this film at 36th Hong Kong Film Awards which finally brought him the stardom he deserved after working in the industry for decades.
Highlight: Richie Jen, Gordon Lam and Jordan Chan portraying real life mobsters
154. Flash Point (2007)
Dir.: Wilson Yip
Starring Donnie Yen, Louis Koo, Collin Chou, Lui Leung-wai, Fan Bingbing and Xing Yu
A police sergeant plants his partner as a mole in a pursuit against a triad led by three Vietnamese brothers.
This film is famous among Hong Kong cinema fans for the MMA fight scenes which brought Donnie Yen Best Action Choreography award at 27th Hong Kong Film Awards.
Highlight: MMA fight scenes
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153. My Young Auntie (1981)
Dir.: Lau Kar-leung
Starring Kara Hui, Hsiao Ho and Lau Kar-leung
Like many other of its type, this film suffers in the humour part which is largely put in the film without contributing anything to the plot, just filling the screen time. However, again like many other of its type, this film compensated everything with its brilliant action sequences. Kara Hui playing the main character won Best Actress at the very first edition of Hong Kong Film Awards.
Highlight: Kara Hui playing Lau Kar-leung's auntie and kicking ass
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152. He's a Woman, She's a Man (1994)
Dir.: Peter Chan, Chi Lee
Starring Leslie Cheung, Anita Yuen and Carina Lau
In this romantic-comedy film, Leslie Cheung falls in love with Anita Yuen while thinking of her as a man.
Anita Yuen won Best Actress award for this film at 14th Hong Kong Film Awards which is her second in a row.
Highlight: Leslie Cheung's Chase (one of my personal favorite Cantonese songs)
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151. Overheard 2 (2011)
Dir.: Felix Chong, Alan Mak
Starring Louis Koo, Lau Ching-wan and Daniel Wu
Thematic sequel to 2009 film, Overheard (Placed at 164th in our list) with all the original cast coming back with new characters.
Hong Kong is overdoing with the cop-criminal films for last many years but this is one of the better examples for sure.
Highlight: Tight paced narrative.
Want to find our what we have for 150-101?
Check out
Part 02 (150-101)
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Hong Kong