Samuel Pang's video: Painted Faces 1988 - HK Full Movie w Eng Sub

Sampan's Rating: A- Finally back in print--on bluray nonetheless--Alex Law and Mabel Cheung "Painted Faces" is an excellent followup immediately after "An Autumn's Tale" from 1987. This biographical, tragicomic drama details the life and times of the Seven Little Fortunes' childhood (Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Sammo Hung, Lam Ching-Ying, etc) and their Peking Opera master Yu Jim-Yuan. This is a delicate and sensual drama almost akin to Stanley Kwan's "Rouge" with somewhat dreamlike period details and visceral use of slow motion. Editing and direction aside, we see career highlight dramatic performance from Sammo Hung playing his old master, as well as a strong performance from Chung Gam-Yan who played a teenage Sammo Hung. Other great stars liven up this film strength, including a supporting role for the Shaw Brother's legend Cheng Pei-Pei as the master of the adjacent women's opera school and Lam Ching-Ying who essays a struggling stunt actor and old friend of Master Yu. Although veering on sappy in a few scenes, "Painted Faces" tackles epic themes of decline, cultural shifts, modernity, and the loss of an ancient art--highly recommended. Plot: Master Yu Jim-Yuan, leader of a rigurous Peking Opera school in Hong Kong, raises his young disciples to become premiere opera performers. As they grow though adolescence in the 1960s, the master and his students face a rapidly changing society and question whether their old art form is worth continuing. Director: Alex Law Producer: Mona Fong, Leonard Ho Writer: Alex Law, Mabel Cheung Starring: Sammo Hung, Cheng Pei-Pei, Lam Ching-Ying, Chung Gam-Yam, Cheung Man-Lung Editor: Yu Shun, Eric Kwong Cinematography: David Chung SUBSCRIBE FOR HONG KONG/TAIWAN MOVIES FROM MY COLLECTION EVERY WEEK!