Tsui Hark

Tsui Hark ({{zh-cpw|c=徐克|p=Xú Kè|w=Hsü K'o}}) (born Tsui Man-kong on January 2, 1951) is a New Wave film director in Hong Kong who is also a highly influential producer, often likened to Steven Spielberg for a similar galvanizing effect on his country's cinematic scene.

Turn to blockbuster cinema

But then Tsui's career made an unexpected turn. In 1981, he joined Cinema City, a new production company founded by comedians Raymond Wong, Karl Maka and Dean Shek, that was instrumental in codifying the slick Hong Kong blockbuster movies of the '80s. Tsui played his part in the process with pictures like the 1981 crime farce All the Wrong Clues (for the Right Solution), his first hit, and Aces Go Places III: Our Man from Bond Street (1984), part of the studio's long-running spy spoof series.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For top studio Golden Harvest, Tsui made the wuxia fantasy Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983). He imported Hollywood technicians to help create special effects whose number and complexity were unprecedented in Chinese-language cinema. He has since made pushing back the boundaries of the industry's effects technology a continuing preoccupation.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many former champions were disappointed by this turn to crowdpleasing pop films. He is still regarded in some quarters as a sellout and a prime example of Hong Kong film's inability to rise above vulgarity and commercialism (Bordwell, 2000; Teo, 1997).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~