Chow Yun-fat

Chow Yun-fat SBS (周润发; born May 18, 1955) is a Hong Kong actor. He started his career in movies in 1976 with Goldig Films, the third largest film company at the time. He first found success came with the TV series The Bund (1980), with Ray Lui, Angie Chiu, Lau Dan, Lam Kin-ming, Kent Tong, and King Doi-yum. Early films include Dennis Yu’s See-Bar (1980), with Dorothy Yu, Roy Chiao, and Pai Ying; Ann Hui’s The Story of Woo Viet (1981), with Cora Miao, Lo Lieh, and Cherie Chung; Ronny Yu’s The Postman Strikes Back (1982), with Bryan Leung, Fan Mei-sheng, Yuen Yat-cho, Eddy Ko, Cherie Chung, and Kuk Ching-suk; Lau Shing-hon’s The Head Hunter (1982), with Rosamund Kwan, Flora Cheong-Leen, Ko Chun-hsiung, Philip Chan, and Tang Ching; Po-Chih Leong’s Hong Kong 1941 (1984), with Cecilia Yip and Alex Man; Why Me? (1985), with Kent Cheng (who also directed) and Olivia Cheng; Ching Siu-tung’s Witch from Nepal (1986), with Emily Chu, Yammie Lam, and Dick Wei; Stanley Kwan’s Love Unto Waste (1986), with Tony Leung, Irene Wan, Elaine Jin, Tsai Chin, Elaine Chow, and Winnie Yu; and Tony Au’s Dream Lovers (1986), with Brigitte Lin.

He gained international stardom in John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow (1987), with Ti Lung, Leslie Cheung, Emily Chu, Waise Lee, and Kenneth Tsang. The would also work together on A Better Tomorrow II (1987), with Lung, Cheung, Dean Shek, and Kwan Shen; The Killer (1989), with Danny Lee, Sally Yeh, Chu Kong, Tsang, and Shing Fui-On; Once a Thief (1991), with Cheung, Cherie Chung, Kenneth Tsang, and Paul Chu; and Hard Boiled (1992), with Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Teresa Mo, Philip Chan, Philip Kwok, and Anthony Wong.

Other ‘gun fu’ or ‘heroic bloodshed’ films include Ringo Lam’s City on Fire (1987), with Danny Lee, Sun Yueh, Carrie Ng, and Roy Cheung; Joe Cheung’s Flaming Brothers (1987), with Alan Tang, Pat Ha, Jenny Tseng, Patrick Tse, James Yi, Philip Chan, and Norman Chui; Taylor Wong’s 2 part film Rich and Famous (1987) & Tragic Hero (1987), collectively with Andy Lau,Alan Tam, Alex Man, Pauline Wong, Carina Lau, Danny Lee, and Ko Chun-hsiung; Prison on Fire (1987), with Tony Leung Ka-fai; Tsui Hark’s A Better Tomorrow 3 (1989), with Tony Leung Ka-fai and Anita Mui; Prison on Fire II (1991), with Chen Sung-young,
Yu Li, Tommy Wong, Victor Hon, Elvis Tsui, and Wan Yeung-ming; and Full Contact (1992), with Simon Yam and Anthony Wong.

Other films in the 80s include Lam Ngai Kai’s The Seventh Curse (1986), with Chin Siu-ho, Dick Wei, Maggie Cheung, and Sibelle Hu; Yee Tung-Shin’s The Lunatics (1986), with Fung Shui-Fan, Deanne Ip, and Paul Chun Pui; 100 Ways to Murder Your Wife (1986), with Kenny Bee (who also directed), Anita Mui, and Joey Wong; Johnny To’s The Eighth Happiness (1988), with Raymond Wong, Jacky Cheung, Carol Cheng, Cherie Chung, Fung Bo Bo, and Fennie Yuen; Chong Wung’s Fractured Follies (1988), with Joey Wong, James Wong, Nina Li Chi, Wong Ching, Bonnie Law, and Mengxia Zheng; Lau Kar-leung’s Tiger on the Beat (1988), with Nina Li Chi, Conan Lee, and Gordon Liu; Corey Yuen’s Diary of a Big Man (1988), with Sally Yeh, Joey Wong, Waise Lee, Carrie Ng, and Kent Cheng; All About Ah-Long (1989), with Sylvia Chang; God of Gamblers (1989), with Andy Lau, Joey Wong, and Sharla Cheung; and Wild Search (1989), with Cherie Chung, Roy Cheung, Tommy Wong, Elaine Jin, Paul Chun, and Ku Feng.

Other films in the 90s include The Fun, the Luck & the Tycoon (1990), with Sylvia Chang, Nina Li Chi, and Lawrence Cheng; Now You See Love, Now You Don’t (1992), with Carol Cheng, Teresa Mo, and Carina Lau; God of Gamblers Returns (1994), with Tony Leung Ka-fai, Sharla Cheung, Charles Heung, Jacklyn Wu, and Chingmy Yau; Jeffery Lau’s Treasure Hunt (1994), with Jacklyn Wu,
Chin Han, Gordon Liu, Michael Wong, Philip Kwok, and Roy Chiao; and Wai Ka-fai’s Peace Hotel (1995), with Cecelia Yip.

He made his Hollywood debut in Antoine Fuqua’s The Replacement Killers (1998), with Mira Sorvino, Michael Rooker, Kenneth Tsang, Jürgen Prochnow, Til Schweiger, Clifton Collins Jr., Danny Trejo, and Randall Duk Kim. This was followed by James Foley’s The Corruptor (1999), with Mark Wahlberg, Ric Young, Paul Ben-Victor, Byron Mann, Brian Cox; and Anna and the King (1990), with Jodie Foster, Bai Ling, and Tom Felton. None were commercially successful, but gained some critical praise.

He then starred in Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), with Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen, Lang Sihung, and Cheng Pei-pei; which was a worldwide success critically and financially, winning numerous awards including the Academy Award for Best International Film.

Other Hollywood films include. Bulletproof Monk (2003), with Seann William Scott, Jaime King, Karel Roden, Victoria Smurfit, Roger Yuan, and Mako; Gore Verbinski’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007), with Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Stellan Skarsgård, Bill Nighy, Geoffrey Rush, Jack Davenport, Kevin R. McNally, Tom Hollander, Naomie Harris, Lee Arenberg, Mackenzie Crook, and Jonathan Pryce; and Dragonball: Evolution (2009), with Justin Chatwin, Emmy Rossum, James Marsters, Jamie Chung, Joon Park, and Eriko Tamura.

Other films in the mid to late 2000s include The Postmodern Life of My Aunt (2006), with Siqin Gaowa, Zhao Wei, and Lisa Lu; Zhang Yimou’s Curse of the Golden Flower (2006), with Gong Li, Jay Chou, and Qin Junjie; and Roger Spottiswoode’s The Children of Huang Shi (2008), with Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Radha Mitchell, and Yeoh.

Films in the early 2010s include Hu Mei’s Confucius (2010), with Zhou XunChen Jianbin, Ren Quan, Lu Yi, and Yao Lu; Shanghai (2010), with John Cusack, Gong Li, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, David Morse, and Ken Watanabe; Let the Bullets Fly (2010), with Jiang Wen (who also directed), Ge You, Carina Lau, Jiang Wu, Liao Fan, Chen Kun, Zhou Yun, and Zhang Mo; The Assassins (2012), with Liu Yifei, Hiroshi Tamaki, Alec Su, Annie Yi, Qiu Xinzhi, Yao Lu, and Ni Dahong; The Last Tycoon (2012), with Sammo Hung, Francis Ng, and Huang Xiaoming; From Vegas to Macau (2014), with Nicholas Tse, Chapman To, and Jing Tian; and Soi Cheang’s The Monkey King (2014), with Donnie Yen, Donald Chow, Aaron Kwok, Joe Chen, and Peter Ho.

Films in the mid to late 2010s include From Vegas to Macau II (2015), with Nick Cheung, Carina Lau, Shawn Yue, Angela Wang, and Michelle Hu; Office (2015), with Sylvia Chang, Eason Chan, and Tang Wei; From Vegas to Macau III (2016), with Andy Lau, Nick Cheung, and Li Yuchun; Cold War 2 (2016), with Aaron Kwok, Tony Leung, Charlie Young, Eddie Peng, Aarif Rahman, Ma Yili, Janice Man, Tony Yang, and Bibi Zhou; and Felix Chong’s Project Gutenberg (2018), with Aaron Kwok, Zhang Jingchu, Joyce Feng, Liu Kai-chi, and Catherine Chau.

Each review will be linked to the title below.

(*seen originally in theaters)

(**seen rereleased in theaters)

The Reincarnation (1976) – directed by Sum Cheung
Learned Bride Thrice Fools Bridegroom (1976) – directed by Kuen Yeung
Massage Girls (1976) – directed by Sum Cheung
The Hunter, the Butterfly and the Crocodile (1976) – directed by Kuen Yeung
Bed for Day, Bed for Night (1977) – directed by Sum Cheung
Hot Blood (1977) – directed by Kuen Yeung
Miss O (1978) – directed by Sum Cheung
See-Bar (1980) – directed by Dennis Yu
Joy to the World (1980) – directed by Hsin Chin
Pembunahan Pursuit (1980) – directed by Tian-Lin Wang
Hard Boiled Killers (1980) – directed by Fung Wong
The Executor (1981) – directed by Chuan Chen
The Story of Woo Viet (1981) – directed by Ann Hui
Their Private Lives (1982) – directed by Kuen Yeung
The Head Hunter (1982) – directed by Shing-Hon Lau
The Postman Strikes Back (1982) – directed by Ronny Yu
The Bund: Part I (1983) – directed by Chun Keung Chiu
The Bund: Part II (1983) – directed by Chun Keung Chiu
Blood Money (1983) – directed by Shu-Tong Wong
The Last Affair (1983) – directed by Tony Au
Love in a Fallen City (1984) – directed by Ann Hui
The Occupant (1984) – directed by Ronny Yu
Hong Kong 1941 (1984) – directed by Po-Chih Leong
Women (1985) – directed by Stanley Kwan
Why Me? (1985) – directed by Kent Cheng
Lost Romance (1986) – directed by Yonfan
Witch from Nepal (1986) – directed by Ching Siu-tung
Dream Lovers (1986) – directed by Tony Au
The Missed Dare (1986) – directed by Teresa Woo
The Lunatics (1986) – directed by Yee Tung-Shing
100 Ways to Murder Your Wife (1986) – directed by Kenny Bee
A Better Tomorrow (1986) – directed by John Woo
Love Unto Waste (1986) – directed by Stanley Kwan
The Seventh Curse (1986) – directed by Lam Ngai Kai
A Hearty Response (1986) – directed by Norman Law
My Will, I Will (1986) – directed by Jamie Luk
City on Fire (1987) – directed by Ringo Lam
Scared Stiff (1987) – directed by Chia-Yung Liu
Code of Honor (1987) – directed by Billy Chan
Rich and Famous (1987) – directed by Taylor Wong
Tragic Hero (1987) – directed by Taylor Wong
The Romancing Star (1987) – directed by Wong Jing
An Autumn’s Tale (1987) – directed by Mabel Cheung
Flaming Brothers (1987) – directed by Joe Cheung
Spiritual Love (1987) – directed by David Lai & Taylor Wong
Prison on Fire (1987) – directed by Ringo Lam
A Better Tomorrow II (1987) – directed by John Woo
The Romancing Star II (1988 ) – directed by Wong Jing – cameo
The Eighth Happiness (1988) – directed by Johnnie To
Tiger on the Beat (1988) – directed by Lau Kar-leung
Fractured Follies (1988) – directed by Wong Chung
Diary of a Big Man (1988) – directed by Chor Yuen
The Greatest Lover (1988) – directed by Clarence Fok
Cherry Blossoms (1988) – directed by Eddie Ling-Ching Fong
Goodbye My Friend (1988) – directed by Lien-Chou Ho
City War (1988) – directed by Suen Chung
All About Ah-Long (1989) – directed by Johnnie To – also co-story
The Killer (1989) – directed by John Woo
Wild Search (1989) – directed by Ringo Lam
Triads: The Inside Story (1989) – directed by Taylor Wong
A Better Tomorrow III: Love & Death in Saigon (1989) – directed by Tsui Hark
God of Gamblers (1989) – directed by Wong Jing
The Fun, the Luck & the Tycoon (1990) – directed by Johnnie To
God of Gamblers II (1990) – directed by Wong Jing – uncredited archive footage
Once a Thief (1991) – directed by John Woo
Prison on Fire II (1991) – directed by Ringo Lam
Now You See Love, Now You Don’t (1992) – directed by Mabel Cheung & Alex Law
Hard Boiled (1992) – directed by John Woo
Full Contact (1992) – directed by Ringo Lam
Treasure Hunt (1994) – and directed by Jeffrey Lau
The Return of the God of Gamblers (1994) – directed by Wong Jing
Peace Hotel (1995) – directed by Wai Ka-fai – also co-story
The Replacement Killers (1998) – directed by Antoine Fuqua
The Corruptor (1999) – directed by James Foley
Anna and the King (1999) – directed by Andy Tennant
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)* – directed by Ang Lee
Bulletproof Monk (2003)* – directed by Paul Hunter
Waiting Alone (2004) – directed by Dayyan Eng
The Postmodern Life of My Aunt (2006) – directed by Ann Hu
Curse of the Golden Flower (2006) – directed by Zhang Yimou
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)* – directed by Gore Verbinski
The Children of Huang Shi (2008) – directed by Roger Spottiswoode
Dragonball Evolution (2009)* – directed by James Wong
The Founding of the Republic (2009) – directed by Huang Jianxin & Han Sanping – cameo
Confucius (2010) – directed by Hu Mei
Shanghai (2010) – directed by Mikael Håfström
Let the Bullets Fly (2010) – directed by Jiang Wen
Beginning of the Great Revival (2011) – directed by Huang Jianxin & Han Sanping
The Assassins (2012) – directed by Zhao Linshan
The Last Tycoon (2012) – directed by Wong Jing
The Monkey King (2014) – directed by Soi Cheang
From Vegas to Macau (2014) – directed by Wong Jing
From Vegas to Macau II (2015) – directed by Wong Jing
Office (2015) – directed by Johnnie To
From Vegas to Macau III (2016) – directed by Andrew Lau & Wong Jing
Cold War 2 (2016) – directed by Longman Leung & Sunny Luk
Project Gutenberg (2018) – directed by Felix Chong
Be Water, My Friend (202-) – directed by Anthony Pun

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