Editing Sammo Hung (section)

==Film career==

===1960s and 1970s===
Hung appeared as a child actor in several films for [[Cathay Organisation|Cathay Asia]] and [[Bo Bo Films]] during the early 1960s. His film debut was in the 1961 film ''[[Education of Love (film)|Education of Love]]''.<ref name="YahooBio" /> In 1962, he made his first appearance alongside Jackie Chan in the film ''[[Big and Little Wong Tin Bar]]'', followed by a role in ''The Birth of Yue Fei'',<ref>{{cite web
 |title       = Yue Fei Chu Shi
 |url         = http://www.cnmdb.com/title/45623/
 |publisher   = China Movie DataBase
 |access-date  = 2007-07-17
 |language    = zh
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927215851/http://www.cnmdb.com/title/45623/
 |archive-date = 27 September 2007
 |df          = dmy-all
}}</ref> in which he played the ten-year-old [[Yue Fei]], the historical figure from the [[Song Dynasty]] who would go on to become a famous Chinese general and [[martyr]]. The majority of Hung's performance was alongside another actor portraying [[Jow Tong|Zhou Tong]], Yue's elderly military arts tutor.
In 1966, at the age of just 14, Hung began working for [[Shaw Brothers Studio]], assisting the [[stage combat|action director]] Han Yingjie, on [[King Hu]]'s film ''[[Come Drink with Me]]'' thanks to the fact that Han was his master's son-in-law.<ref>{{cite book |title=When the Wind Was Blowing Wild: Hong Kong Cinema of the 1970s |date=2018 |publisher=Hong Kong Film Archive |page=106 |edition=1st}}</ref> Between 1966 and 1974, Hung worked on dozens of films for Shaw Brothers, their two main rivals Golden Harvest and Cathay, as well as numerous independent production companies,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://hkmdb.com/db/people/view.mhtml?id=4074&display_set=eng | title=Sammo Hung Kam-Bo }}</ref> progressing through the roles of [[extra (actor)|extra]], stuntman, [[stunt co-ordinator]] and ultimately, action director.

In 1970, Hung began working for [[Raymond Chow]] and the [[Orange Sky Golden Harvest|Golden Harvest]] film company.<ref name="YahooBio" /> He was initially hired to assist Han Yingjie in choreographing the action scenes for the very first two Golden Harvest films, ''[https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=5197&display%20set=eng The Invincible Eight]'' and ''[[The Angry River]]''. Golden Harvest sent Hung to Korea to choreograph films with their director Huang Feng where Hung studied hapkido with Master [[Ji Han-jae|Ji Han-Jae]] and earned his black belt.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4DbQ_Uk9Q8&t=70s | title=Lady Kung Fu Speaks – an Interview with Angela Mao | website=[[YouTube]] | date=10 July 2023 }}</ref> While in Korea he became the martial arts director on three Angela Mao vehicles, ''[[Lady Whirlwind]]'', ''[[Hapkido (film)|Hapkido]]'', and ''[[When Taekwondo Strikes]]''. His popularity soon began to grow, and due to the quality of his choreography and disciplined approach to his work, he again caught the eye of celebrated Taiwanese director, King Hu. Hung choreographed Hu's ''[[The Fate of Lee Khan]]'' (1973).

Also in 1973, he was seen in the [[Bruce Lee]] classic ''[[Enter the Dragon]]''. Hung was the [[Shaolin kungfu|Shaolin]] student Lee faces in the opening sequence. In 1975, Hung choreographed the action for  ''[[The Man from Hong Kong]]'', the first Australian co-production undertaken by Golden Harvest.

In the mid-70s, martial arts movies began to lose some of their punch at the box office and Golden Harvest signed the Hui Brothers to a contract. Michael, Ricky, and Sam Hui had been at Shaw Brothers but wanted to direct their own movies.<ref>https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/6.-Research-and-Publication/06-02-Filmmakers-Search/English/Michael-Hui_e.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=August 2024}}</ref> When Shaw refused they signed with Golden Harvest and their blockbuster comedies kicked off a comedy wave in Hong Kong.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.yesasia.com/us/yumcha/the-hui-brothers-the-first-family-of-hong-kong-cinema/0-0-0-arid.69-en/featured-article.html | title=YESASIA: YumCha! - the Hui Brothers: The First Family of Hong Kong Cinema - Feature Article - North America Site }}</ref> When it came time to direct his first film, ''[[The Iron-Fisted Monk|The Iron Fisted Monk]]'' (1977), Hung made sure to lean into the comedy, delivering what many feel to be the first out-and-out kung fu comedy film.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2009-1-1-8.html | title=The Iron-fisted Monk - Hong Kong Film Archive }}</ref>

In 1978, Raymond Chow gave Hung the task of completing the fight co-ordination for the re-shoot of ''[[Game of Death]]'', the film Bruce Lee was unable to complete before his death in 1973.

In 1978, Hung directed his second film, the comedy ''[[Enter the Fat Dragon (1978 film)|Enter the Fat Dragon]]'', for [[H.K. Fong Ming Motion Picture Company]], also playing the lead role Ah Lung; a character who idolises and impersonates Bruce Lee.<ref name="YahooBio" /> Hung has impersonated Lee on film twice more - in the final fight scene against [[Cynthia Rothrock]] in ''[[Millionaire's Express]]'' (1986),<ref name=SkinnyTiger>{{cite video
  | title = ''[[Skinny Tiger, Fatty Dragon]]'', Sammo Hung: The Bruce Lee Connection (DVD featurette)
  | medium = DVD
  | publisher = Hong Kong Legends, UK
  | orig-year=1990
  | date = 2004}}</ref> and throughout the 1990 [[Lau Kar-wing]] film ''[[Skinny Tiger, Fatty Dragon]]''.

After Jackie Chan's success with ''[[Drunken Master]]'' (1978), Hung was scheduled to make a similar film featuring ''Drunken Master'''s "Beggar So" character played by [[Yuen Siu Tien]] (aka Simon Yuen). As his elder, Sammo's films were expected to surpass Chan's in popularity. The film was ''[[The Magnificent Butcher]]'' (1979), which Hung co-directed with [[Yuen Woo-ping]]. However, during filming Yuen Siu Tien died of a heart attack. He was replaced by [[Fan Mei Sheng]] and Yuen's absence may have led to low ticket sales.

===1980s===
As Hung's fame grew, he used his newly found influence to assist his former China Drama Academy classmates, as well as the former students of "rival" school The Spring and Autumn Drama School. Aside from regular collaborations with Chan, others such as [[Yuen Biao]], [[Yuen Wah]], [[Lam Ching-ying]] and [[Mang Hoi]] also began to make regular appearances in his films.

In 1978 and 1981, Hung made two films that contain fine examples of the [[Wing Chun]] style. The first, ''[[Warriors Two]]'', was the most significant role to date for South Korean super kicker [[Casanova Wong]], who teamed up with Hung in the final fight. The second film was ''[[The Prodigal Son (1981 film)|The Prodigal Son]]'', in which the Wing Chun fighting was performed by Lam Ching-Ying. The release of ''The Prodigal Son'', along with another film directed by and co-starring Hung, ''[[Knockabout (film)|Knockabout]]'' (1979), also elevated his fellow Opera schoolmate [[Yuen Biao]] to stardom.

Hung's martial arts films of the 1980s helped reconfigure how martial arts were presented on screen. While the martial arts films of the 1970s generally featured highly stylised fighting sequences in [[period piece|period]] or fantasy settings, Hung's choreography, set in modern urban areas, was more realistic and frenetic - featuring long one-on-one fight scenes. The fight sequences from several of these films, such as those in ''[[Winners and Sinners]]'' (1982) and ''[[Wheels on Meals]]'' (1985) came to define 1980s martial arts movies.

In 1983, the collaboration between the triumvirate of Hung, Jackie Chan, and Yuen Biao began with Chan's ''[[Project A (film)|Project A]]''. Hung, Chan and Yuen were known as the 'Three Dragons' and their alliance lasted for 5 years. Although Yuen continued to appear in the films of Hung and Chan, the final film to date starring all three was 1988's ''[[Dragons Forever]]''.

Hung was also responsible for the ''[[Lucky Stars]]'' comedy film series in the 1980s. He directed and co-starred in the original trilogy, ''[[Winners and Sinners]]'' (1983), ''[[My Lucky Stars]]'' (1985) and ''[[Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars]]'' (1985). These first three films featured Chan and Biao in supporting roles. Hung also produced and played a supporting role in the fourth film, ''[[Lucky Stars Go Places]]'' (1986), and made a cameo appearance in the sixth and final film, ''[[How to Meet the Lucky Stars]]'' (1996).

During the 1980s, Hung was instrumental in popularizing the [[jiangshi fiction|''jiangshi'' genre]]. [[Jiangshi]] are reanimated corpses which can only move by hopping due to the onset of rigor mortis, a Chinese equivalent to Western vampires. Two landmark films, ''[[Encounters of the Spooky Kind]]'' (1980) and ''[[The Dead and the Deadly]]'' (1983), featured jiangshi who move by hopping towards their victims, as well as [[Taoist]] priests with the ability to control these vampires (and at times, each other) through magical spells and charms. Hung's jiangshi films would pave the way for films such as the popular ''[[Mr. Vampire]]'' (1985), which he also produced, and its sequels. He revitalised the subgenre of female-led martial art films, producing cop films such as ''[[Yes, Madam (1985 film)|Yes, Madam]]'' a.k.a. ''Police Assassins'' (1985), which introduced stars [[Michelle Yeoh]] and [[Cynthia Rothrock]].

===1990s===

====Film====
After some relatively poor performances at the domestic box-office, Hung had a dispute with studio head, Raymond Chow. Hung had produced the thriller ''[[Into the Fire (1989 film)|Into the Fire]]'' (1989), but Hung felt Golden Harvest had withdrawn the film from cinemas too soon. The disagreement led to Hung parting company with Golden Harvest in 1991, after 21 years with the company.

Whilst continuing to produce films through his own company [[Bojon Films Company Ltd]], Hung failed to equal his early successes. His fortunes improved somewhat as the helmer of ''[[Mr. Nice Guy (1997 film)|Mr. Nice Guy]]'' (1997), a long-awaited reunion with Chan.

In 1994, Hung coordinated the fight sequences in [[Wong Kar-wai]]'s [[wuxia]] epic, ''[[Ashes of Time]]''.

====Television====
In 1998, US television network [[CBS]] began to broadcast ''[[Martial Law (TV series)|Martial Law]]'' (1998&ndash;2000) on Saturday nights, an action-drama built around Hung. The hour-long shows were a surprise success and installed Hung as the only East Asian headlining a prime time network series. The television series was executive produced and occasionally directed by [[Stanley Tong]], and co-starred [[Arsenio Hall]]. Hung reportedly recited some of his English dialogue phonetically.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}

===2000s===

====Film====
During 2000–2001, Hung expressed interest in creating a film adaptation of the video game ''[[Soulcalibur (film)|Soulcalibur]]''. The production agreement for the film was made around April 2001 with an estimated budget of $50 million. Hung had the idea of producing a martial arts epic with Chen Lung [[Jackie Chan]] in the lead role, but the film was never made. Hung's plans were detailed on his website, but after a year the announcement was removed. The film rights have since been acquired by Warren Zide, the producer of ''[[American Pie (film)|American Pie]]'' and ''[[Final Destination]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Soul Calibur film rights snapped up |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/soul-calibur-film-rights-snapped-up/1100-6090622/ |access-date=17 March 2022 |work=GameSpot}}</ref> No film ever materialized.

Hung found renewed success in the Hong Kong film industry in the 2000s, beginning with ''[[The Legend of Zu]]'' (2001), the long-awaited sequel to the 1983 hit ''[[Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain]]''. In 2004, [[Stephen Chow]]'s ''[[Kung Fu Hustle]]'' was released. Though [[Yuen Woo-ping]] was credited for the martial arts choreography on ''Kung Fu Hustle'', Hung actually did the preliminary work but left the film midway through, and Yuen filled in to complete it. Because of his departure from the film, there was tabloid speculation that he and Chow had strong differences over the film, resulting in their separation. Chow has since responded that Hung left for personal reasons and not because of speculated tensions. In 2004, Hung again worked with Jackie Chan, in a brief but notable appearance in [[Disney]]'s ''[[Around the World in 80 Days (2004 film)|Around the World in 80 Days]]'' as the legendary folk hero [[Wong Fei Hung]], a character played by Chan in the ''[[Drunken Master]]'' series.

In 2005, Hung was involved in [[Daniel Lee Yan-Kong|Daniel Lee]]'s ''[[Dragon Squad]]'' and [[Wilson Yip]]'s ''[[SPL: Sha Po Lang]]'' (aka ''Kill Zone''). In the latter, Hung played a villain for the first time in over 25 years, and had his first ever fight scene against [[Donnie Yen]]. One of the key relationships in ''SPL'' had been Hung's role as the adoptive father of [[Wu Jing (actor)|Wu Jing]]'s character. However, these scenes were dropped from the final film as the director couldn't find a way to fit them into the film. In response to this, a prequel film was planned. Hung appeared alongside Wu Jing again in 2007's ''[[Twins Mission]]'' with stars, the [[Twins (band)|Twins]]. In early 2008, Hung starred in ''[[Fatal Move]]'', in which he and [[Ken Lo]] played a pair of rival [[triad society|triad]] gang leaders.<ref name="WuJing" /> He also starred in, and performed action choreography for, [[Daniel Lee (film director)|Daniel Lee]]'s ''[[Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon]]'', with [[Andy Lau]] and [[Maggie Q]]. The film, was based on the book ''[[Romance of the Three Kingdoms]]''.

Antony Szeto's film, ''Wushu'', which stars Hung premiered in Beijing in October 2008. The film was unveiled by [[Golden Network]] at the [[2008 Cannes Film Festival]]. Jackie Chan was the film's executive producer, and worked on the film in an advisory capacity, assisting with marketing and casting.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/2007/film/news/wushu-gets-its-wings-1117975304/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150106093608/http://variety.com/2007/film/news/wushu-gets-its-wings-1117975304/|archive-date=2015-01-06|title='Wushu' gets its wings|last=Frater|first=Patrick|access-date=2006-04-01|magazine=Variety}}
</ref> Hung then worked again with director Wilson Yip and star Donnie Yen, as the action director for the 2008 film ''[[Ip Man (film)|Ip Man]]''.

In 2010, Hung was given a lifetime achievement award at the New York Asian Film Festival, where four of his films were shown.<ref>{{cite news |title=A King of Kung Fu Films Savors Work and Honors|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/movies/02sammo.html |newspaper=New York Times |access-date=2010-07-10 |first=Joyce Hor-Chung |last=Lau |date=2010-07-02}}</ref> That year Hung appeared in ''[[Ip Man 2]]'', which he also choreographed. His role is that of a Hung Gar master who challenges [[Ip Man]]. In the same year, Hung appeared in the movie ''[[The Legend Is Born: Ip Man]]'' as well. He acts as [[Chan Wah-shun]], the martial arts teacher of [[Ip Man]].

The annual and highly anticipated Hong Kong International Film Festival was held for its 45th edition in April 2021. Hung is one of the six veteran Hong Kong filmmakers who directed renowned local director [[Johnnie To]] Kei-fung's highly anticipated anthology series : "[[Septet: The Story of Hong Kong]]" (2022).  The other filmmakers include [[Ringo Lam]], [[Ann Hui]] On-wah, Patrick Tam Kar Ming, [[Tsui Hark]], [[Yuen Woo-ping]] and Johnnie To.  The short files were shot entirely on 35mm film with each of them touches on a nostalgic and moving story set across different time periods, with every one acting as an ode to the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.igafencu.com/r/hong-kong-international-film-festival-2021/|title=Must-watch Chinese film premieres at the 2021 Hong Kong International Film Festival}}  igafencu.com.   2021-04-07</ref>

====Television====
In between films and special appearances, Hung has appeared in several East Asian television series. In 2003, he was in  mainland Chinese TV film series ''Dragon Laws'' with [[Fan Bingbing]], followed by ''The Valley of Lost Vengeance'' (aka ''End Enmity Hollow''). More recently, he played a master con-artist in the Taiwanese series ''Coming Lies'' and Wing Chun master Wong Wah-bo in ''[[Wing Chun (2007 TV series)|Wing Chun]]'', reprising the role he played in ''[[The Prodigal Son (1981 film)|The Prodigal Son]]'' over 20 years earlier. He co-starred in the series alongside [[Yuen Biao]], [[Nicholas Tse]] and his youngest son, Sammy Hung.<ref name="Sammo Hung's official website">{{cite web|url=http://www.sammohung.com/|title=Sammo Hung's official website|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040416232409/http://www.sammohung.com/index1.htm|archive-date=April 16, 2004|url-status=dead|access-date=2006-04-01}}</ref>

Hung appeared as a guest judge on the [[China Beijing TV Station]] reality television series ''[[The Disciple (TV series)|The Disciple]]'', which aired in mainland China and was produced by, and featured, Jackie Chan. The aim of the program was to find a new star, skilled in acting and martial arts, to become Chan's "successor", the champion being awarded the lead role in a film. It concluded on 7 June 2008, with the series winner announced in Beijing.<ref>{{cite web|title = Jackie Chan on the Reasons Behind Producing The Disciple|publisher = Wu-Jing.org|url = http://www.wu-jing.org/happenings/archives/478-Jackie-Chan-on-the-Reasons-Behind-Producing-The-Disciple.html#extended|access-date =8 May 2008 |url-status = usurped|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081010194134/http://www.wu-jing.org/happenings/archives/478-Jackie-Chan-on-the-Reasons-Behind-Producing-The-Disciple.html#extended|archive-date = 10 October 2008}}</ref>

In another mainland Chinese television series, ''[[The Shaolin Warriors]]'', set during the [[Ming Dynasty]], Hung played Big Foot, a Shaolin warrior monk joining General [[Qi Jiguang]]'s marines to help defend the nation against [[Wokou|Japanese pirates]]. Sammy Hung also has a role, as Big Foot's disciple.<ref name=WuJing2>{{cite web|title = The Shao Lin Warriors (Shaolin Temple: Monks and Marines)|url = http://www.wu-jing.org/News.php|access-date=22 November 2006 |url-status = usurped|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061230091015/http://www.wu-jing.org/News.php |archive-date = 30 December 2006}}</ref>