All language subtitles for The.King.Of.Wuxia.2022.720p.BluRay.x264.AAC-[YTS.MX].eng

My idol

is King Hu.

My films

have been influenced by his more than any other.

Almost all important contemporary directors

who have shot a wuxia film

have been influenced by King Hu.

At the time, a whole generation

of people with dreams of making films

knew of the famous director King Hu,

who won a major award at Cannes.

I think King Hu was the first director

who made editing and action

so seamless and flowing.

His films were constantly moving.

Almost constantly.

They seldom stopped to talk.

The feet,

the grass in the foreground,

the people,

the bushes

and trees were all dancing.

They don't just fight right away.

Instead, the atmosphere

keeps building

until they are forced to fight.

His devotion to his films

has had a great influence on me

as a producer.

All the moves

and steps

were first demonstrated by

Director Hu to the fight choreographer.

Then the fight choreographer

trained the actors.

He mentioned to us that

he invented the job title "fight choreographer".

I was like, "For real?"

He was the production designer.

He was in charge of props.

He was the cinematographer.

He was always on top of the equipment,

saying, "No."

"Go forward a little."

"Go back a little."

In all of his films,

the editor was just his assistant.

The main editor

was Director Hu himself.

Not many Chinese-language film directors

have truly reached that level.

To me, Fei Mu is one of them.

The other is probably Director Hu.

Director Hu wasn't a wuxia master.

He was a true master artist.

An artist.

The King of Wuxia

In 300 meters,

turn right.

Yes.

Yes...

On the left.

On the left.

It's even bigger in here.

Even more beautiful.

This area is more like

where we

shot the film back then.

I'm pretty sure this is where

we shot that main scene

back then.

(King Hu's filmography)

Documents about Director Hu are preserved here.

Most of them were shipped over from Hong Kong.

Wait.

Excuse me.

Is this black and white?

Yes, it is.

This should be "Come Drink with Me".

You made a mistake.

Sorry.

Someone made a mistake.

I shouldn't have said "you".

Sorry.

Who made a mistake?

This should be "Come Drink with Me".

Yes.

You can tell.

You remember it?

No.

It's because "Dragon Gate Inn" doesn't have

these two bald-headed kids.

Yes, that is...

No, they're...

They're from the Beggars' Sect.

He leads a group of beggars.

Bandits from the mountains

Have kidnapped the chief justice

They rob and steal

And ask for ransom

They don't want gold or silver

Only their leader in exchange

They're starting a riot

Swallow comes alone to the hill

I think his great contribution
to the film industry,

his most epoch-making contribution,

is the film "Come Drink with Me".

He made Chinese martial arts

very entertaining.

I was

Director Hu's first pupil.

"Come Drink with Me"

was not only my first wuxia film,

but also Director Hu's first wuxia film.

It's the first new and
improved Chinese wuxia film.

Back when we were in
Shaw Bros' experimental theatre,

Chiang Ching and I danced in
"Cowherd and Weaver Girl".

So he knew I had a dance background

and I could make every pose beautiful.

Some people use the word "choreography",

like dance choreography,

to describe how

the characters fought

in Director Hu's films.

They didn't fight crudely or randomly.

Every move was choreographed.

The wuxia films before that

were all...

documentaries.

Documentaries of stage performances.

In the late 1920s,

"The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple"

ignited the pivotal wuxia fantasy genre.

But back then,

Chinese-language films were made very crudely,

so the storyboards and so forth

were of course not as meticulous as later on.

Fight scenes with "one move after another"

began with Director Hu's "Come Drink with Me".

The tempo...

What was the tempo like?

They'd go

clink-clank...

Then separate.

Again.

Cling-clank...

Again.

In every fight,

what would happen?

Death.

Injury.

Serious injury.

Every slash,

every attack,

had to be carefully considered.

You couldn't just go

clink-clank, clink-clank...

That's not being a skilled fighter.

That's not knowing how to fight.

In Peking opera,

fight scenes are very...

As Director Hu puts it,

stagnant and incohesive.

That is,

posing

instead of real fight moves.

It's of course also worth watching

and entertaining too.

But it just didn't have the close proximity

of real martial arts.

You attack, I strike.

That kind of tension.

They didn't have that yet.

In a real fight,

there's no chance to pose.

You'd be stabbed already.

It's silly.

That's Peking opera,

not real fighting.

King Hu's most important contribution

was paving the way

for future wuxia films.

He showed everyone

how it was done.

Hong Kong people saw it and said,

Oh, I see.

Oh,

that's great.

And they all started doing it.

Then they refined it to the extreme.

Very exquisite.

Everyone was awestruck

and couldn't breathe.

The one who

paved this road was King Hu.

Back then, he and
Raymond Chow were researching films

at the United States Information Service.

Mr. Hu saw how they filmed

fights in Westerns.

It was so tight and exciting.

A cowboy hits someone with his fist.

But the trick is that

you can't really connect.

They might die if you do.

But how do you

edit all those shots

to make it look real?

So he studied

American Hollywood films

frame by frame.

At the time, the Shaw Brothers

film studio,

had hit a bottleneck

with their film productions.

So they sent a group of directors

to Japan to learn.

I think they started

with the Japanese samurai films.

Japanese elements

combined with Western elements.

This was something

Chinese films didn't have before,

so it became very eye-catching.

That energy was too...

too much.

With so much energy,

the eruption was explosive.

So he put everything he had learnt

and understood

into his films.

Young Master Yu, go!

Please take them upstairs.

They're spies from Dong Chang.

There are many more of them outside.

It's too late.

Take them upstairs.

Attack!

I was stunned by "Dragon Gate Inn".

Back then, I thought,

Wow, this wuxia film

is so special.

Whether it's the...

story,

the music,

or the

characters

and fight scenes,

everything gave a strong feeling

that it was authentic.

I saw it many times

when I was a teenager.

I remember in the cinema,

the other audiences watching

weren't watching it for the first time either.

When "Dragon Gate Inn" first came out,

I didn't go see it.

But everyone was talking about it,

so if I didn't go, it would've been...

embarrassing.

I had to see it.

Everyone raved about it.

Everyone was saying,

"Wow, that entrance"

"was so amazing."

People behind me were saying,

"Look."

"Those streamers."

Those streamers

are very close

to what we would think

belongs in a wuxia world.

When

Shih Chun

went to Dragon Gate Inn but
didn't see the innkeeper,

he then left the inn

and walked all the way

past the rocky beach and saw him.

When he walked up,

those shots...

Everyone

in the audience kept saying,

"Look..."

It felt like a very different wuxia film.

Back then, I was just a junior high student.

When I saw it,

I didn't know why

"Dragon Gate Inn" was so good.

The poses of the characters

just looked so great.

When the girl pulled the strings,

the curtain on her hat

opened up.

We talked about it in class for ages.

That little curtain.

The prototypes he created...

Just looking at the designs,

each hero was very different.

Xiao Shao-ci,

the innkeeper,

or Polly Kuan's character.

Everyone's style was incredible.

They didn't just look good

but were also original.

Previous wuxia films didn't have that detail.

When these characters were introduced,

each had their own unique

costume and personality.

The best part was the intricacy of the detail.

Director Hu even went

to the National Palace Museum

to study many famous paintings.

The Ming official's hat.

Official uniforms.

Shirts.

Undergarments.

Undergarment sketch.

Big...

We can see from these details

that Director Hu's historical research

gave wuxia films a brand new look.

His designs were directly materialized

to become historical reality.

Nobody had done so much

research for a wuxia film before.

"Dragon Gate Inn" gave the audience

a very, very

different impression of

Chinese films.

When "Dragon Gate Inn" screened in Hong Kong,

the newspaper headlines said

it broke all Hong Kong records

for both Chinese and Western films,

It sparked a golden era for
Taiwan and Hong Kong films

that lasted nearly a decade.

"Dragon Gate Inn"

has begun screening in Taipei.

What an unprecedented sight.

Despite the heavy rain,

audiences continue to pour in.

Shortly after the "sold out" sign is put up,

the lines are full again.

To see "Dragon Gate Inn",

children are happy to wait in the rain too.

The screening of "Dragon Gate Inn"

has also enlivened Taipei's night life.

Flashing neon lights...

Crowds of moviegoers...

Over 100,000 fan letters have flooded in

in under 10 days.

Staff have been busy responding

so as to not disappoint fans.

These are all indisputable facts.

"Dragon Gate Inn"

has broken all box office records...

"Dragon Gate Inn"was
released across Southeast Asia,

South Korea,

Europe and America (Chinatown),

setting new box office records everywhere.

Here.

A toast to all of you.

Cheers.

You're both government officials.

Have you seen a gang of convicts?

A man, a woman, and a child.

None of your business!

He liked to use inns

or other limited spaces,

such as a temple,

to create

very complex spatial interactions.

He not only showcased

his ability to coordinate scenes.

He also turned inns into a kind of microcosm

that kept certain

political and legal norms

on the outside,

letting the inn become its own world

with its own reconstructed moral universe.

It became very interesting.

An aesthetic concept that
Akira Kurosawa often used was

"reframing".

It keeps panning

or moving the camera

to rearrange

what's inside

a frame aesthetically.

It feels like the scene keeps changing.

The inn's staircase,

rails,

or hanging frames,

dustpans,

hot pepper,

garlic,

brooms,

chairs and tables

were all elements

that gave the space different layers,

creating a lot of rich visuals.

They're coming!

Moving upstairs and downstairs

can create a very complicated visual space.

At the foot of Huoyanshan,

they built a Dragon Gate Inn.

Director Hu

was very meticulous,

very diligent.

He was such a rare filmmaker.

Director Hu wanted Xiao Shao-ci,

the character I played,

to be introduced

by walking up from the riverbed.

I think it was around here.

Somewhere around here.

I think it was roughly this spot,

this position.

When Hu was preparing to shoot

"Dragon Gate Inn",

Li Han-hsiang invited him

over for a meal at his place

and told him

he'd introduce a local
Taiwanese youngster to him.

We talked a lot.

He found it interesting.

And of course we all got along well.

And so

we became really good friends.

Huoyanshan...

I took him to see the reeds there.

He said he wanted reeds.

I knew because I had shot a film there.

So he built the inn

right over there.

I helped him with it.

Made it look old.

We made all the columns look old

by scratching them

and grinding them with wire

and then with sandpaper,

before blowtorching them

and grinding them again.

That was...

very hard work.

Inside the inn, I think they used

a basic

wood,

grey tiles,

and a black plaque.

On some wine jars,

perhaps a piece of red paper.

At the door of the kitchen,

a blue cloth drape.

Through the drape,

we can see

these paper window squares.

Sometimes a large amount

and sometimes a small amount of light

shines in from the outside.

There's already so much richness.

Once these

shapes and designs

were all set,

there was another layer of texture,

and that's light and shadow.

The way he dealt with light and shadow in the inn

was very alluring.

Natural light, sunlight,

or sometimes at night,

he wanted to stress the moonlight.

Moonlight and candlelight

and lantern light...

When should they be used?

When is the atmosphere tense?

When the candle is blown out,

is the light we see

from inside the room

or from the moonlight outside?

It depicts characters

in different situations

and what the scene is trying to achieve.

Indeed, inside the inn,

not too many colors were shown.

What I mean is that they

weren't shown in a dramatic way,

but all the texture and layers

are there.

I asked him where the Dragon Gate was.

It's called the Dragon Gate Inn,

but where's the Dragon Gate?

He said

it wasn't important.

Dragon Gate is just the name of a place.

There wasn't so much grass
on the riverbank back then.

Not at all.

It's been 50 years.

Big brother!

The son in exile

of a loyal subject

is being hunted down,

and many heroes try to protect him.

Such a narrative context

gave meaning to this era of history.

I think this point alone

made it very original.

"Dragon Gate Inn" was profoundly influential.

Its subject matter, script,

editing, music,

performances,

characterization,

and the rhythm and choreography

of the fight scenes

gave everyone,

not just me,

but all filmmakers a lot to learn from.

Many followed suit.

A lot of King Hu mimickers

popped up in Hong Kong.

I was one of them.

Mr. Pai Ying was originally a technician,

a dolly grip.

He felt he could

play the villain in the film.

So he dyed his hair,

but didn't do it well,

so it was a little yellowish.

But it turned out to be

very suitable.

He was such a character.

Compared to the protagonist

or any other character,

he was even more dashing

and charming.

So he managed to

give personality to this villain.

Through a kind of quality,

a quality we hadn't discovered before,

he showcased a different kind of authenticity.

Bring some men

to get the three bastards of the Yu family.

Yes, sir.

When the eunuch showed up,

he became an image that
everyone tried to imitate.

The impressive thing wasn't that
he created this eunuch,

but that he created an evil force

that all the good guys

and heroes

had to work together to defeat.

Anger

His films were like

climactic highlights from a Peking opera.

Just an excerpt.

The most obvious example
was of course "Anger".

Adapted from "Sanchakou".

That Chinese opera is simply a table

with two chairs on an almost empty stage,

and a fight in the darkness of night.

It's performed like a

silent pantomime,

so it had lots of empty beats,

where only the actor is on stage,

to represent their emotions and feelings

in the darkness.

The audience can feel

the silence

and then

suddenly...

a powerful movement

to block the door or something like that.

Jiao Zan gets wounded.

Yes, he gets wounded.

And when he falls to the ground,

they play Peking opera drums

called Four Gig Heads.

During that scene in the film,

when he is slashed.

Then he...

falls to the ground.

It can be long or short.

Depending how the actor moves.

(Part of the kitchen)

(Counter)

(Room where rich businessman is killed)

His fight scenes

of course had a great influence on us.

He brought out the beauty of the moves.

The moves

were not only combined with

elements of Peking opera,

but also

choreographed like a dance.

Let's watch this bit

from "Dragon Gate Inn".

The axis doesn't move.

The actor's axis,

the core of the body.

Very few traditional opera characters

don't have an axis.

They nearly always walk with arched feet

or pressing footsteps,

and their bodies move very steadily.

Look.

All these people

have a good sense of rhythm.

See how they all stop.

All pressing their footsteps,

then all charge in together,

execute a move or two.

Real martial arts is not like the movies.

Fights would be over too quickly.

But fights in Chinese opera take too long.

It's also strange

to be fighting for one really long take.

So instead, he ended up

bringing elegance and beauty into martial arts

to create

a unique style.

Here comes the gongs and drums again.

Look.

He values these focused expressions.

That was very obvious too.

That leg lifting move.

A classic in a Chinese opera.

I watched "A Touch of Zen" again yesterday.

Each time I watch Director Hu's films,

I...

I get very moved.

I'm always very astonished.

I think "A Touch of Zen" was his best film.

May I know your name?

Gu Xing-zhai.

Hey!

Hi, Xing-zhai.

You're open so early.

Come in for a cup of tea.

You're busy.

We'll see you later.

See you later.

Mr. Gu.

Yes?

What do they do for a living?

They sell medicine.

What's their surname?

It's Lu. Why?

In the beginning,

you see Gu Xing-zhai

meeting Ou-yang Nian.

Ou-yang Nian is then lured over

by Lu Ding-an,

and passes through various things to spy on him.

Then Gu Xing-zhai

sees this

and thinks it is very strange.

Three relationships, one after another.

They each wander through different spaces,

revealing the overall environment.

We can say from a critical perspective

that it was Hitchcockian suspense.

A moment of suspense.

Then out of the blue,

from outside the frame,

walks in a few monks.

A few monks.

Then...

the music changes

to the monk theme.

Then we see him

walking off in a hurry.

It's another new moment of suspense.

From a screenplay perspective,

it's only a few lines.

Very simple.

But when he

shoots the film,

he is able to create

something like this.

It's two minutes

or three minutes.

Without any dialogue.

That's why I think

he's so amazing.

Truly amazing.

One,

the doorway can't be too high.

It's normally...

three...

It's normally three steps.

Three to five steps.

Too high is against the rules.

In breach of the law in ancient times.

A prince's mansion also has its restrictions.

Lattice windows

can't face the street.

The second entrance

is a flower pendant gate

or central gate...

I was obsessed with him when I was young.

Upon graduation, I came to work at CMPC,

where I got to know

his aesthetics.

I started to feel that...

it wasn't just that his films were good.

I cared more about how he made it,

how he created such visuals.

When they made "A Touch of Zen",

all the sketches were done by Zo Zhi-liang.

I used the original drafts to make
detailed drawings for the crew.

All the first drafts were redrawn by me.

I wasn't involved in building the sets,

but I wanted to see the results.

I'd ride my scooter

from Taipei to Danan.

I could spend all day

watching them build city walls,

make columns look old,

and put in plants.

The sets felt like traditional Chinese paintings.

What is a waterside pavilion?

I thought it was spectacular.

In "A Touch of Zen", how did he

make the general's house look old?

He took Hsu Feng and me

to sear

the surface of the wood

with a blowtorch to a certain extent.

Then,

with a metal brush,

brush the burnt ashes off

to reveal

the textures inside the wood,

making it look like it was old.

For Part 1 of "A Touch of Zen",

around three quarters of it

took place on that set.

He didn't waste anything at all.

He shot every corner,

every weather condition and time of day.

Rain,

dawn,

night,

dusk.

Everything.

Inside and outside.

Haunting,

romance,

ordinary,

everyday life...

A good director can take a set,

the same one...

and shoot 10 scenes.

10 different atmospheres,

10 different times of day,

10 different...

angles,

different moods.

He completely exhausted that set.

Didn't waste a cent.

The Jing Lu fort in "A Touch of Zen"...

the silvergrass,

the abandoned streets,

inside and outside the gate,

inside and outside the house.

The whole

building structure,

the silvergrass,

the sky in the background...

Every layer was talking.

They were alive.

Even the silvergrass was acting.

Because the lighting was too strong,

all the plants withered.

So we grabbed all the reeds

within a five-kilometer radius

and replanted them there.

After a while,

the lights made them wither again.

Eventually,

all the reeds in the area

were gone.

What then?

The cinematographer suggested

we replant them

and wait a year for them to grow.

They waited a year for the silvergrass.

But it was necessary.

I've seen the film many times.

Whenever I watch it,

I can see that

he considered everything inside and out.

I think Director Hu made

desolation

and disrepair

look very poetic.

His aesthetics of desolation

was extremely poetic.

With

metaphors and artistry,

like a Chinese landscape painting.

When "A Touch of Zen" was released,

I was already a critic.

I actually criticized it.

I said

this thing

won so many awards overseas,

but it wasn't really that good.

But now,

it's impossible to...

I watched it again yesterday

on a computer monitor.

It was already a larger screen,

but I really hope

I can see it again

on the big screen.

To me,

what is "A Touch of Zen"?

It's our wuxia version

of "2001: A Space Odyssey"

It still hasn't been surpassed yet.

There's absolutely no one

or film

that can surpass Director Hu

or "A Touch of Zen".

When I first watched it, I was amazed.

It really impressed me.

It's the kind of film

where the aesthetics stimulate the senses.

It is the

epitome of combining technique and imagination.

She keeps somersaulting.

In less than 30 seconds,

he used 21 shots.

As long as she is somersaulting,

as long as

she is moving,

he would use half-second

or one-third of a second shots.

It's because our eyes

can't keep up with the speed.

With one-third of a second shots,

you can't tell

if the moves have continuity.

It's posturing.

It gives you the feeling

that it doesn't matter

if you take something out

and the movement isn't continuous,

because there's still

a rhythm there.

It's a feeling.

He was editing to create a feeling,

not the move itself.

I've learnt a lot from Director Hu's editing.

I think...

I think many moves in Director Hu's films

lack sufficient shots.

Sometimes it's not easy to understand.

There are things in between that
require our imagination.

I've always thought that,

without needing our imagination,

if we

inserted those missing shots directly,

then maybe

Director Hu's scenes

would lose their uniqueness

and become something very ordinary.

He used many short takes

to create a poetic atmosphere.

I think he was very successful at doing that.

We sat there watching him edit.

He'd say he needed something

and tell us to look for it in a large bag.

It would take us ages,

but he'd casually find it right away,

and say, "Isn't this it?"

He knew where everything was.

"This is it, and he'd take it down.

I'd say this one is no good, take it down.

He'd take it down

and look at it right away.

He'd see what's wrong

and rapidly edit it,

then slowly reconnect it...

He was like a craftsman

who slowly sculpted every shot.

Back then,

if you weren't sensitive

to the aesthetics of film, you didn't know

the power of detail in editing.

But when it was screened in Cannes,

everyone

was dumbstruck.

"A Touch of Zen"

won the

Technical Grand Prize award

at Cannes

because of a key scene.

And that's the fight in the bamboo grove.

That day,

we had already been in the Lugu bamboo grove,

shooting for many days,

but the sun wouldn't come out.

The lighting would have no continuity.

So Director Hu kept...

waiting

until it was

almost noon,

and we had

our boxed lunch early.

Then, they

hacked off three bamboo sticks.

At the time, I thought,

three wasn't enough.

Only three.

Then all of us

drove to

Sun Moon Lake.

Cinematographer Hua Hui-ying,

because of safety,

wanted the stunt double

to jump from a very high

platform

into the lake,

which was

much safer than onto cardboard

like we usually did.

Not jump,

but dive

into Sun Moon Lake.

The stunt double suggested using a fake sword,

but Director Hu was worried

it would be exposed on camera,

so he insisted on using a real one.

But when we shot it,

the real sword

was lost.

It sunk to the bottom of the lake.

Even back in those days,

his cinematography already had a kind of realism.

Realism was very difficult back in that era.

He utilized natural light

to a beautiful extreme.

And he spoke through lighting.

Back then, not many could

speak through lighting.

He had mastered

the charm of light and shadow.

He felt it could speak

and emphasize an emotion.

Sometimes the lighting was from high above,

but they used it too.

Back then, everyone avoided strong light.

The color temperature would be unstable,

so they didn't shoot at noon.

But he had the courage

to use light like that.

Director Hu thought it could

bring forth the

Zen,

mystery

and the

transcendence of kung fu.

It's actually a very simple shot,

but you accept it.

Qiao Hong jumped down

from a six-foot platform.

How many times?

Over a hundred.

He did a great job.

With a fixed camera,

he went up,

the position of the feet

were marked,

and he jumped down,

time after time.

We didn't know why

he had to jump so many times.

Jumping and jumping non-stop.

Of course, when we saw him

edit the film, we understood.

Oh...

After editing, they were...

like that.

I have a great trampoline joke.

Director Hu asked me to jump on it.

So I started jumping.

The cameraman was filming like this

as I jumped and jumped.

In the end, I had jump to the highest point,

so the camera panned up

and looked around for ages

but couldn't find me.

Then Director Hu said

I only jumped this high.

I wasn't even close.

I couldn't do it at the start.

I had never jumped on a trampoline before,

so it was out of the blue.

Then I knew I had to practice.

Director Hu asked Mr. Han to teach me

how to jump higher.

There's a lot of qinggong in his films.

They used to shoot it with a trampoline.

A lot of actors at the time

were originally Peking opera performers.

You take that.

I'll take this.

Pull it further away.

When we jumped in the air,

we were bouncing too hard.

We should look

very light.

Know what I mean?

Yeah.

Okay. Let's go.

Try again.

It's not easy to

describe the logic of the traditional opera rhythm

in Director Hu's fight scenes.

But he had...

that rhythm.

A physical rhythm.

When Dong and I

practiced today,

we quickly found a similar

rhythm to that of Director Hu's wuxia films.

Perhaps it's because

we're Chinese opera actors.

That's why.

So his rhythm and our rhythm

is similar.

Perhaps only those who love traditional

Chinese operas can appreciate

Peking opera's

character introductions.

They emerge,

eyes looking this way,

hand gesturing that way.

Everything is balanced.

Everyone loved to talk about Hsu Feng,

about her cold eyes,

her fierce eyes.

It's because her eyes

were used by King Hu not only for

a great Peking opera-style introduction,

but also as a transition point in editing.

Director Hu told me

something

that has left a deep impression.

He said it's very easy.

We used widescreens back then, right?

As long as there is emotion in your heart,

there will be emotion in your eyes,

and the audience will be moved.

I was still young back then.

He was my teacher.

So,

I listened to whatever he said.

I'd do

whatever he said.

Including with my eyes.

Look from here to there.

How to use facial expressions.

If he said look west,

I wouldn't dare look east.

As they were action films,

the eyes of every actor were important.

Had to be alert at all times.

Director Hu was...

I lived with him for a few years.

I found that he was paranoid.

He was tense every day,

as if someone might try to kill him at any time.

His reaction when you called
his name was startling,

because he thought you wanted to assassinate him.

Director!

Huh?

It would startle him.

That startled reaction

was often seen in his films.

Because he kept startling the actors.

They were all tense.

The eyes...

Look at the

characters in his films.

Those eyes all came from the director himself.

He demonstrated it to the actors.

I want this look in your eyes.

Be it Pei-pei

or Hsu Feng,

the look in their eyes

was like the director's.

Very bright.

Very sharp.

And lots of colorful emotions.

That's how he was.

When we chatted, his expressions

and eyes were very catching,

like that.

He was not tall,

but his eyes

would attract your attention.

He saw everything.

Once he looked around the location,

you could tell that

he knew everything.

When he preparing to write "A Touch of Zen",

I went with him

to the

Central Cross-Island Highway.

To Tianxiang...

a hotel in Tianxiang.

We picked up stones there for a month.

He didn't end up writing a word.

Picked up stones in the ravine every day.

His bathtub

was full of stones,

but he didn't write a word.

Director Hu loved the rocks

on the riverbeds

in Taiwan.

Especially in

Tianxiang and Taroko

along the Central Cross-Island Highway.

This is...

more like how it was back then.

The openness of the riverbed

looks like where

we filmed the

bridging scenes

or main scenes.

Of course, things have changed.

After more than 40 years

of water scouring the river bed,

it all looks different now.

A huge rock like this is rare.

This riverbed

is exquisite.

Like back in the day.

Mm...

The riverbed...

We see from Director Hu's films that

he loved to film on location.

When scouting locations,

since they're for historical costume films,

he'd of course look for

locations

that are raw and natural.

According to

this still image,

there used to be a huge rock by the riverbed.

This was a huge rock,

and the baby was put on top.

And...

that is

Changchun Shrine.

After all these years,

the rock has...

has changed...

I think

it was higher back then.

The original script

only had the baby on the big rock

and me finding and carrying him.

That was all.

But then Director Hu

spoke to Mr. Sha Yung-fong and told him

that...

if they only made one film,

a lot would be cut out

and it'd be a shame.

So Mr. Sha Yung-fong promised him

that they could film more

and make two films out of it.

When he filmed "A Touch of Zen",

for a single shot

that only lasted a few seconds,

the entire cast and crew

waited in the mountains

for more than 10 days.

We didn't finish until he got that shot.

He was indeed

very meticulous

in every way.

The filming took too long,

and the budget blew out to 20 million NTD.

But I tried

my best

to help him

because the delay

wasn't caused intentionally.

That's why I did my best to
get what he wanted.

It didn't matter if it cost more money.

As long as he could finish the film,

I'd do my best to help him.

Those two...

Judging from the trunk,

this might be the one.

It might be this tree.

Possibly.

In the second half,
when Gu Xing-zhai walks with the baby,

that was a body double.

It wasn't me.

We went to Xitou later

for a day of reshoots.

In "A Touch of Zen",

the opening shot was just me.

They reshot that scene with me

to end the shoot, which lasted

three years and six days.

People think

I was Director Hu's student.

But in fact,

what they don't realize

is that

I thought of him

as my mentor.

I kept saying he's ugly.

Director Hu asked me,

"Why do you keep saying he's ugly?"

I said, "He really is ugly."

"I don't know what you see in him."

He said he chose him

because he looked like a scholar.

He said nobody looks

like that anymore.

Ghosts exist

only if you believe they do.

Shih Chun

is a

kind and gentle person.

And a hard worker.

But like me,

he wasn't as smart as Pai Ying.

So when we shot Director Hu's films,

he was scolded a lot.

When we shot night scenes
for "A Touch of Zen",

whenever Director Hu said, "Shih Chun!"

his eyes would go red immediately.

But Director Hu really liked him

and wanted the best out of him.

It was the same for me.

If he wasn't demanding,

you'd get anxious.

I didn't become a film actor

because I wanted to.

It was completely because Director Hu

met me in an ice dessert shop.

He repeatedly

asked me to act in his film.

He was only a few years older than me.

But I respected him

as my mentor.

In fact, demanded a lot from me

because he thought of me as his pupil.

I followed him even when I had no scenes.

If I wasn't working,

whenever he was in Taiwan,

he'd keep me by his side.

He completely changed my life.

Sha Yung-fong said that, back then,

if he hadn't told Director Hu to

chase after me,

I would've never won the award.

I was a teenager,

no more than 20 years old,

but I had already started filming

with a...

Super 8.

8mm film.

I started filming Bruce Lee.

He knew I was filming

but he ignored me.

When I started filming King Hu,

the producer came and said,

"Don't film him!"

They were two very different people.

One was like a child.

Wouldn't stop...

playing around.

But King Hu was like...

"Come here."

Two very different people.

Personally, I really love this film.

The mise-en-scène of

limited spaces is spectacular.

It's so lively here.

Ever since the four girls came,

it's been a full house every day.

Can we trust them?

Don't worry.

When they heard about killing invaders,

they were all happy.

The women in his films

are often heroines,

like Heartthrob,

Black Peony,

Hot Pepper,

and Tuberose.

I love the interactions

between these five girls

and the justice league they created.

They each use their different abilities

to complete a mission.

Isn't it

kind of like "Mission: Impossible" ?

Li Li-hua plays a beautiful,
coquettish female innkeeper.

It's very obvious that

when Tsui Hark later made
"New Dragon Gate Inn",

the female innkeeper Jin Xiang Yu,

played by Maggie Cheung,

was based on the prototype

from "The Fate of Lee Khan".

So, to me, "New Dragon Gate Inn"

is a mix of "Dragon Gate Inn" and
"The Fate of Lee Khan".

I remember that once,

an audience member,

or I should say I friend,

hadn't seen any of Director Hu's films.

I told him that he had to see one,

so I played "Dragon Gate Inn" for him.

He noticed.

"Eh? This is so similar to your films."

I said...

Yes,

he was my filmmaking master.

He had infused his spirit in me.

Last night wasn't enough.

Back again early morning.

Come on. Get your stuff.

I think you know that

something big happened recently.

I don't know what you mean.

The minister of the army, Yang Yu-xuan,

was murdered.

Not just him,

but also

his entire family.

Do you know

who is behind the cruel murders?

I don't.

I don't.

It was those

cold-hearted but cowardly

sons of bitches who killed him!

Calm down.

Calm down, everyone.

Hey, candle-lover.

Take it.

Enough for you to buy a new one.

I don't think it's enough.

Serve them!

What are you waiting for?

Have a bowl of wine and take a piss

The men in the desert love to drink

What a courageous thing to say.

What are your names?

We are wandering duckweeds with no roots.

Please do not ask our names.

Here.

Let's drink to this nameless time.

I have always incorporated

Director Hu's spirit into my films.

I often wonder how he would do it.

That's how I've made my films.

So it's inevitable that

my films have shades of Director Hu.

God only gives the world one chance.

He has only

given us one genius like Director Hu.

That's why we know

what he has left us is so precious

and so important.

Even if you imitate him,

it would merely be on a superficial level.

You can't copy what he had inside.

As for Director Hu's wisdom

and his knowledge,

I wonder how much of it we still don't know.

I personally really like the film

"The Fate of Lee Khan"

And,

I also love Director Hu's

"The Valiant Ones".

Ji-yuan.

Watch out!

I only had two lines.

I still remember them now.

Because it was only two.

Ji-yuan. Watch out.

That was all.

I worked with him for so many times,

but I never played similar characters.

All different characters.

For me,

that was a big challenge.

My first film with Uncle Hu

was "A Touch of Zen".

I was 16 at the time.

I played Han Ying-chieh's son.

One of his sons.

After filming "A Touch of Zen",

I started following

Director Hu all the way.

For "The Fate of Lee Khan"

and "The Valiant Ones",

I was the fight choreographer.

After the storyboards were done,

he'd tell us

how he wanted the fights to go.

He'd show us.

Demonstrate it himself.

What mattered most was the dynamism.

His demonstrations

were fantastic.

He'd discuss with the choreographers.

He would first

find you

and chat

to see what you had.

Afterward,

if he liked your ideas, he'd use them.

If not, he'd use his own.

He never practiced martial arts.

But when it came to

the dynamics,

the feel,

the moves and styles,

he knew.

For my films,

apart from Chang Cheh,

no one has influenced me more
than King Hu.

My films also really focus on

the beauty of movement,

and the musical rhythm

of action.

Even

every step of the editing process

was coordinated with music.

It was all very musical.

Foreign film critics

say my fight choreography

is like scenes from a ballet.

I admit it was King Hu's

dynamic beauty

and musical rhythm

that...

influenced me.

We'd finish for the day

and he'd treat us to a meal.

Then we'd go to his house to chat

until around 4: 30, 5am,

then he'd tell us to go home

and take a shower,

get a change of clothes,

and depart again at 6am.

He loved to tell us what

a film was about.

What's most important about a character.

Director Hu told me

not to

overact,

like when

I showed up...

"I'm Bo Duo-jin."

I had to speak very low-key.

I'm Bo Duo-jin.

It's an honor.

Your suggestion is not excessive.

I agree with you.

But my fighting was very fierce.

We met when I was very young.

I knew him when I was 11,

before he made "Come Drink with Me".

He loved Peking opera

and often came to our performances.

He didn't like using wires.

He said using a wire

was like tying up a roast duck.

All tied up

like a wooden dummy,

flying here, flying there.

He preferred the real thing.

When we shot the ending of "The Valiant Ones",

it was about four or five floors high.

He asked Sammo Hung to jump into the sea.

He wanted him to really jump.

If once wasn't enough, then twice.

If twice wasn't enough...

then 10, 20 times.

If you can't do it, get a stunt double.

Dress him to look chubbier

and keep jumping.

After the stunt double did it,

Director Hu said,

Sammo, you do it once.

So I did.

After it was edited,

I saw that he didn't film me.

He filmed my silhouette against the cliff.

So I said, Director Hu,

why did you insist on me jumping?

I told you it's a 60-foot drop and I was scared,

yet you still made me.

If you wanted a silhouette,

why did you insist on me doing it?

Have I offended you, Uncle Hu?

Why do this to me?

Filming "The Valiant Ones" was rough.

It took three years.

He had to get it right.

He had to fulfill his vision.

He had to stop

because he ran out of money.

So he

gave me his keys

and told me to look after his house.

He went to the States to teach

and earn money here and there.

What he earned,

he scrimped and saved.

A loaf of bread

could last him four days.

He put it in the fridge.

and it went all hard,

so he added some milk

to the stale bread he bought

a few days ago,

gobbled it down and that was a meal.

All I can say is that

he was obsessed with his work.

He loved it.

He wanted to make

films that were unique to King Hu.

I think in 1975,

when "A Touch of Zen" screened at Cannes

and won the Technical Grand Prize,

it was tremendously inspiring.

Back then,
for a Chinese film to gain international exposure

and be awarded such a great honor

was incredibly difficult.

He was then chosen as one of the five

best directors in the world by
"International Film Guide".

These things gave him the opportunity to

make even bigger, even more imaginative

films that were closer to his world.

So "Legend of the Mountain"
and "Raining in the Mountain"

were to me

his next peak.

Hey!

Huh?

Excuse me.

Where is the North Fort?

Why are you going there?

To visit a friend.

Oh, Mr. He.

You want a quiet place to copy sutras?

Yes.

"Legend of the Mountain" is a ghost story,

so composer Wu Da-jiang thought of
an ancient instrument

called "xun".

They couldn't find a xun,

so Wu Da-jiang made two of them himself.

In the film,

when the female ghost appeared,

he would use this music.

If I had any influence

on him,

it would be bringing out another side of him.

I wrote the script for "Legend of the Mountain"

forcing him to direct a romance.

I'm being serious.

Yue-niang,

listen to me.

Young Master...

We are not destined

to be together.

Farewell.

Yue-niang...

Don't worry.

I'll leave you alone.

Yue-niang.

Yue-niang, listen to me.

What?

I'm not that kind of person.

How would I know what kind of person you are?

This is the token of love you gave me.

I'm returning it to you.

I won't desert you.

I...

I... don't get you.

Last night,

right here,

you played the flute

while I hit the drum.

Were you only sweet-talking

because you were drunk?

Regardless,

I have to marry you.

Mr. Cui has such a bad temper.

He's probably drunk and depressed.

He seems to have something on his mind.

Everyone here has something on their mind.

Miss Zhuang,

do you have something on your mind?

Yes, many things.

Can you tell me?

No.

Do you have something on your mind, Master Ho?

Yes.

Want to know what it is?

Sure.

You look familiar to me.

Really?

I met you once.

"Legend of the Mountain"is
in the "strange tales" genre.

His approach

retained some of his old techniques,

but we were already used to Director Hu

doing things we didn't expect.

Shih Chun is looking for the temple

and sees Ng Ming-toi along the way,

walking over from afar.

But in those circumstances,

you might wonder.

Was that shot really necessary?

But this shot

did indeed give the film a sense of mystery

and a touch of profundity.

That is,

you are destined to encounter something.

Ng Ming-toi walked a long way.

The scene looked like

it wasn't easy to shoot.

Yet he did it anyway.

He made you feel that this world had

a very different

angle on the story.

That's his technique.

Then he made "Raining in the Mountain".

It was a completely different story

to "Legend of the Mountain".

When I watched "Raining in the Mountain",

I realized

the film was not

something we had seen from Director Hu before.

He had made something completely new.

His films had a lot of walking.

I think those walking scenes were hard to film.

Just imagine it.

Every walk needed a new location.

He needed locations

in different seasons,

with different landscapes,

and different arrangements.

Woods,

plains,

stony beaches,

winter nights...

Everything had to be different.

And every location

was a composition.

And they couldn't be just random compositions.

I was like,

Wow, how did he shoot this?

Just scouting locations

was already...

Lighting was his greatest concern
when scouting locations.

Time: 4: 05pm.

When location scouting,

the usual practice is

getting the cinematographer or camera assistant

or still photographer

to take photos with a camera.

But Director Hu doesn't do that.

He always made rapid sketches

in three colors

to capture

the locations he liked.

Even right then and there,

he'd already say

which scene

and which actors

would be involved,

and note it down.

This was the major scene on Jeju Island.

llchulbong on Jeju

could be Zhi-yan's nirvana.

Yongduam on Jeju could be

where Shan-shui the monk

meditates.

At a glance,

he'd know he wanted that location.

Sometimes he used a small frame.

Other times he just used his fingers.

He had a great sense for framing.

He was always paying attention

to rectangular frames.

He'd arrive

and immediately know what he wanted.

As a scholar,

as a filmmaker,

as an artist,

designer,

as a choreographer.

He's a complete artist.

We filmed a lot of day for night.

Part in the daytime

for night effect.

So we were looking for a lot of locations.

And I almost...

died.

We went to the cliff,

and I fell.

I was like... thousand feet... go down.

I was just grabbing like this.

Because I was looking for a tree like that
for the foreground,

to have them in the back to walk.

It took us a lot of time.

We went looking every day

for locations.

Initially, "Legend of the Mountain"
and "Raining in the Mountain"

were to be filmed at the same time,

so the same location

could be used in both films.

When he drew these sketches,

he already knew what to shoot.

When I saw this one,

I knew where it was in the film.

Yun-qing.

Come back with me!

Go!

In his films,

Director Hu actually

never shows us

the entire surroundings.

He always reveals things gradually.

So when...

So when I saw such complete sketches,

I realized,

Oh, so that's how the place is like.

But he wanted to

slowly reveal

all the spatial relationships.

Perhaps he'd just use such a drawing

to explain it to the actors.

The first thing that he told me was that

he didn't want to make a Chinese film

or a Hong Kong film.

He didn't want to.

So I changed my presentation.

He saw my first film and said,

"Henry, I really like your style."

So based on that style,

we discussed how to film it.

He showed me his storyboards.

Very detailed.

And...

he showed me his collection

of Chinese costumes.

They were...

all very detailed.

So we...

We were

almost like children.

We talked about many

beautiful things.

When he talk, he talks detail.

He talks visual.

So we get along really easily.

When we are start working,

we start bonding.

We getting closer and closer and closer.

Become one person.

Very, very special man.

Very unusual man.

Westerners had never seen anything like

a King Hu film before.

Not just entertaining,

or rhythmic.

Not that...

Besides a precise rhythm,

he also made them poetic,

human,

flowing,

romantic.

Where did these things come from?

From light and shadow,

mist and cloud,

mountains and rain,

and other elements,

like tranquility,

qualities of ink wash

Chinese landscape paintings,

and spirituality.

Those were his strengths.

He infused them with Chinese elements.

Intangible and tangible,

he delivered it all.

Why did he use smoke?

I think anyone who reads and
has been influenced

by Chinese poetry or literature

has in their mind

some kind of image of

ancient Chinese landscapes.

All of that is in his aesthetics.

We often see that

Director Hu uses a lot of smoke in his films.

He said once

he saw someone burning trash,

and the smoke

looked beautiful in the woods.

And so

he thought adding smoke

could make

his images

feel more like a traditional Chinese painting.

Therefore,

he incorporated smoke

into his style.

I told him

Chinese landscape paintings

have a lot of fog.

Mist.

So a lot of back-lighting

and a lot of side-lighting.

So he got up early every day

and said,

"Henry!"

"Let's go eat breakfast."

"Okay."

"How's today?"

He'd use a pan glass...

The pan glass we use in filming.

He'd look and know.

I even greeted you,

but you suddenly disappeared.

I think you're mistaken.

I thought I had met a fairy,

but you really do exist.

Why did he use smoke?

Without smoke,

you can't express the feel of the location

or the sense of time.

You can't express

this environment,

this illusion,

that sense of mystery.

There was a funny incident.

We went to see an American film.

Afterward, he said,

"See?"

"They're also using smoke now."

It was actually a fog generator.

But at that time,

I think he didn't even have a machine like that.

He had to set a fire to make smoke.

But this kind of smoke gave the space

an immediate

texture.

An immediate

atmosphere.

I thought it was ingenious.

He then said,

"Look, Hollywood is copying me."

Hsu Feng often helped with it,

so people called her "queen of smoke".

He told me to learn how to make smoke.

My eyes were very sensitive.

Every time I did it,

my face was covered in tears.

But Director Hu would never

tell me to stop doing it.

I still had to do it.

You poke some holes in a barrel

and stuff it with grass

and branches.

Then lots of smoke comes out.

Smoke rushes out

from the holes.

Hit it.

Come on...

Come on.

Swing it.

Boom... out it comes.

Ah!

Oh, it looks great.

But no, there's not enough.

Stop filming.

Now what?

A farmer was in the fields,

planting something.

He was spraying...

pesticide.

They used to spray it like this.

So I thought,

let's put dry ice and water in the spray.

Wow, all of a sudden,

a huge cloud of smoke...

Wow!

Great!

Cut!

I was the one who invented it.

When he first came to Hong Kong from Beijing,

he met my family.

We were close.

When I was little,
we even starred in a film together.

It was called "Little Angels of the Streets".

Lin Cui was the lead actress.

She played our big sister.

Big brother was played by King Hu.

For "Raining in the Mountain",

I..

He told me to play a role.

I said, "Okay."

"Hey."

He asked me to be an assistant director.

"Okay."

"Oh, and also..."

"be Sun Jia-wen's production assistant."

"Okay."

So...

assistant director,

production assistant,

actor,

dolly grip,

smoke maker.

I did it all.

I did it all.

It was very funny.

"Raining in the Mountain"
and "Legend of the Mountain"

gave me those happy memories.

Let nature take its course.

Calm yourself and things will be fine.

When we were at the airport,

I wondered

why everyone was carrying

two or three suitcases.

I only had a small suitcase.

Paul Qin Pei asked,

"Is this your first time working with him?"

I said, "Yes."

"Don't you know how long he takes to make a film?"

Filming "Legend of the Mountain"

and "Raining in the Mountain",

took a total of 355 days.

That's just the shoot.

Location scouting wasn't counted.

I think my

most memorable experience was
when we were in Korea

for over a year.

It was so hard when we were there.

But after we left,

we always thought of that time

as something

we will never forget.

Over a whole year.

Four seasons and another spring and summer.

Hsu Feng often squatted to fan the smoke.

It was Korea.

There was nobody else to do it.

And Sylvia Chang too.

She had an important mission every week,

and that's going down the mountain to buy

"Time" or "Newsweek" for him,

because he had to

know what was going on

in the world every week.

We shooting two film together,

"Raining in the Mountain"

and "Legend of the Mountain".

That continuity...

Crazy!

So I suggest to Mr. Hu, I said,

"For 'Legend of the Mountain',
we go left to right."

"'Raining in the Mountain', right to left."

And the costumes were different,

so they had to change.

So each day, we looked at the photographs

for continuity,

and shoot it like that.

So every day, I went,

"Oh..."

"Which..."

"Which film is this for?"

The script supervisor said, "Oh my God."

His sensitivity was very strong.

One day,

we were filming,

and the camera was set up.

Suddenly, it got windy in Korea.

We were up in the mountains.

There was sand everywhere.

All of a sudden...

the...

the sand went like this,

like a tornado.

The wind and sand went like...

Oh...

Wow, it's quite high.

So he runs over

and tells the cameraman,

"Move the camera and point it there."

But the prop master...

the set coordinator, said,

"We can't film like this,"

and swept it away

with a broom.

"Ah!"

He was furious.

"Why did you get rid of it?"

The...

the set coordinator said,

"I didn't know."

"I wanted to shoot it!"

"We didn't know you wanted to shoot it."

He was so...

It was such a small detail.

For "Legend of the Mountain",

he put his glasses

in front of the camera's lens.

I said,

"Director Hu,"

"What..."

"What are you doing?"

"Experiment."

With a hand-held, we needed a dolly.

But we had no (track)...

So I sat in a wheelchair

and...

cycled

to do it.

And a...

bicycle.

Push.

Pull.

Push.

That day, we were shooting
"Raining in the Mountain".

After we wrapped,

we still had over two hours of sunlight.

He didn't want to waste it.

People say he's slow,

but it's not that.

He just didn't want to waste a single minute.

He first walked around the folk village.

"Hey,

"we can shoot the wedding scene"

"of 'Legend of the Mountain' here."

And they'd put on makeup immediately.

It wasn't easy,

because they had headgear.

Shih Chun had to put on headgear

because he's bald.

And Hsu Feng needed

new makeup.

And the lighting technician,

and cameraman all had to come.

Then...

We finally saw

a panting Shih Chun run over

along the path.

King Hu looked him up and down

and suddenly cried out,

"Where's the makeup artist?"

King Hu noted that

Shih Chun's headgear wasn't stuck on properly.

He could even see the glue.

There went another precious 10 minutes.

Hsu Feng wasn't there yet.

Everyone looked at the path expectantly.

At last,

the script supervisor in the front

cheered.

"There she is!"

The assistant director ripped down the path

on a bicycle

with Hsu Feng sitting behind him.

The sun had almost set

and clouds...

briefly covered it. We were freaking out,

thinking it was too late.

Luckily, the sun came out,

so filmed.

But...

the director didn't say, "Camera."

He said, "Smoke."

And then, "Camera."

The smoke drifted over like this.

Then suddenly, a gust of wind

turned everything white in front of the camera.

Director Hu said, "Cut! Cut! Cut!"

Two assistant directors
shouted across at the other side,

"Move the smoke generator!"

"Move it to the left of the pond!"

But the machine remained far from the pond

and kept grumbling.

Walkie-talkies were forbidden in Korea.

So the prop masters kept letting off smoke.

They didn't hear us shouting at all.

Fortunately, a stuntman sprinted

to the other side to tell them.

The machine was finally moved

to a suitable spot.

Everyone looked up.

The sun had reached the top of the mountain

and was starting to sink behind it.

The smoke machine grumbled again.

I mumbled to myself,

"Don't let the wind change again."

King Hu screamed,

"Camera!"

I don't remember how many times

I went there with the camera.

No tripod.

The sun was over there.

I took the camera and...

Mr. Hu said,

"Actor, actor, actor..."

"In smoke."

In two minutes, we do the shot.

Many times.

My hands had cuts all over.

Many times.

But it was okay.

We were...

We do what we can

to get the shot.

Very difficult.

Very hard.

But...

very satisfying.

I remember

the woods,

a group of people dressed in white.

The layers of white

among the green trees

created excellent textures.

Very harmonic but also very contrasting.

I lived around cinemas.

I watched lots of films growing up.

So my movie-going experience is very rich.

But back then,

when I saw those two films in high school,

they really amazed me.

I was inspired by Director Hu's

use of colors.

He could use

all white,

or

yellow.

Like camel yellow with...

red.

Very bold usage of colors.

Ancient costumes,

like those of Ming Dynasty imperial guards,

looked like this on the outside,

But if you raised

the hemline to see,

there's red lining inside.

Things like that

were also used a lot

in Tsui Hark's films.

He told me...

The first day of "Come Drink with Me"

we shot the scene where
Cheng Pei-pei and Yueh Hua

meet in the inn.

But when he saw the drunk beggar costume,

he said it wasn't right.

So he started

rubbing the costume against the floor.

Rubbing, scraping,

to give it a new look.

All the costumes

were based on Director Hu's sketches.

He based them on

the Ming Dynasty,

and what

society was like back then,

and tweaked them based on the actor.

I realized that

he placed a lot of emphasis on

character and clothing styles.

For example, for sleeping in the inn,

he designed special undergarments.

Later,

I always get my costume designers

to use Director Hu's films as a reference.

His designs have a strong "daily life" flavor,

making his films even more authentic.

They feel like

what we would see in that era.

Actually, he had a habit

of buying the fabrics himself.

And he sketched all the designs.

Each style was unique.

They make you feel like

you've seen them before in paintings,

but never before

on our movie screens.

That's what I most admire

and love about how Director Hu

approached his costume designs.

He learned through osmosis.

I think he was a self-taught sketch artist.

Of course,

if he had a teacher,

it would be his mother.

He enjoyed drawing,

so he brought a sketchbook wherever he went.

About this big.

If he saw something interesting,

he would sketch it.

This is when he saw

an old lady on the street

with a black headscarf

wrapped around her head and neck,

struggling to walk.

He immediately sketched it.

A simple sketch.

He'd leave some white spaces,

like this hand,

and the cane.

He was a very visual person.

He didn't write many notes.

He sketched everything.

He was crazy.

He was an artist.

He did everything himself.

As an old-school filmmaker,

he had to touch and see things

for himself.

He needed an emotional connection.

For example, a wooden door.

There's a connection because he made it himself.

So it felt right when he filmed it.

The physical work he did

was from an accumulation of his thoughts.

What made him

so different to most directors

was that he loved to

do everything himself.

In "The Fate of Lee Khan",

I wore a white fur hat.

Once, Director Hu took us out to dinner.

We walked past a fur shop

and saw a hat like that.

He bought it immediately

and converted it into

that princess hat

I wore in "The Fate of Lee Khan".

He was on the jury of the
International Film Festival of India.

When we had time,

we'd go to a handicraft market.

He bought a lot of stuff.

He refashioned the Indian jewelry

for Hsu Feng to wear on her head.

That's what Yue-niang wore in
"Legend of the Mountain",

Ng Ming-toi 's Buddhist instruments

were from there too.

We went to Causeway Bay to look at lamps

and other random stuff.

He said,

"Show me that."

Then he put it on my head and started measuring.

They thought it was weird.

Why are you people

measuring a lampshade on a head?

"Yes, that's the one."

He bought the lampshade,

added this and add that,

and turned it into a big mage hat.

We saw him making the drum in Korea.

He rubbed the leather with sandpaper

to make it look old.

He made a lot of things himself.

The problem was,

he'd tell the prop master,

but the prop master wouldn't really understand,

so he'd just make it himself.

That's why you can see photos

of Director Hu doing my hair.

It was already done,

but he didn't think it was good enough,

so he did it himself.

His standards were extremely high.

Director Hu designed the characters.

Even props used in the film

were made

in accordance with

a painting of Xuanzang's journey to the west

at the National Palace Museum.

See this?

This design has a roof

to shield the sun and rain.

I trekked around with this in Korea.

It's very heavy.

It was really...

To learn about Buddhism,

he took us to buy books,

study jewels,

all kinds of stuff.

We ran around for him every day,

carrying backpacks

and with a prop master.

Three or four of us

would head out,

go down this street and that street

along with the prop master.

This street, that street.

Buying stuff.

Every day,

we moved things around for him.

I knew what Director Hu wanted.

I knew what his passion was,

what his timing was.

I asked him,

"Director Hu,"

"if I see something"

"I don't understand,"

"can I discuss it with you?"

"Oh, Henry!"

"Of course! Of course!"

He was very supportive.

So,

we are a very good team.

Very, very good team.

We support each other.

Every day, we challenged each other.

I want him to do more.

He want me to do more.

It was like that every day.

So we got along well.

Good team. Very good team.

What I miss most is...

"Cut!"

He'd

say to me...

He says,

"So?"

"Was that okay?"

"If it's okay for you,"

"it's okay for me."

I miss that very much.

Today, we look at the monitor.

"Cut!""Okay".

Move on.

There's no more of that.

Not anymore.

In "Legend of the Mountain"
and "Raining in the Mountain",

I think

what he wanted to present

was the entire world of ancient Chinese culture.

He became very ambitious.

He wanted to present the entire culture.

Cultured Chinese people

love to be inspired by nature

and search for meaning in it.

He was such a cultured person.

Look at his shots

and films.

Most begin with

beautiful mountains,

forests,

and travelers rushing about.

It's all very cultured.

It's what Chinese writers and poets

all write about.

Being far from home,

entrusting their feelings to nature.

When you talk to him,

you know, you feel his...

He make a movie... not just a movie,

not, "Action."

"Cut".

He want grand,

very grand.

Everything very, very grand.

Because of his background, his culture,

he understand what it makes to tell the story.

From this corner to this corner,
this corner to this corner.

He knows everything.

I think he was a cultured man.

He wasn't just a director.

He was an artist,

an intellectual.

A cultured man.

Tonight, I want to especially thank

my master...

if he recognizes me as his pupil,

Director King Hu.

I followed him for three months.

He told me that

making a film

is do or die.

I followed his advice.

Not only did I not die,

I even won this award.

Thank you, Director Hu.

He told me once

that a person

must have a goal.

When you have a goal,

regardless of whether you can get there,

you have to march toward it.

We went to Cannes for "A Touch of Zen",

and

Director Hu went on stage to accept his award.

I saw that every award was just a piece of paper.

Only the Palme d'Or was a trophy.

So in that moment, I thought,

I have to win that award someday.

He was a very important mentor in my life.

In terms of achievement...

He's still...

We still can't do a lot of what he did.

It's not a question of technique,

but something more spiritual.

We often rewatch his films,

mainly to

understand the heights he reached,

and how far away we still are from it.

A dot and horizontal line

A slash to the left

A cross beside a cross

The sun by the moon

I think it was destiny.

I met Director Hu a long, long time ago.

When I was 12 or 13,

my first job was an extra.

It was in his first film,

"Sons of Good Earth".

I played a Japanese soldier,

a dead Japanese soldier,

just lying on the ground.

But I felt this director was...

especially meticulous.

He asked all of us

extras to stand up.

"Button your shirt like this."

He even buttoned...

my shirt.

"Hold your gun like this."

To be a director,

apart from having such authority,

you also need

to be very scrupulous with everything.

Very meticulous.

Even

with such a small detail.

Back then, when we came face to face,

I thought,

This is a big director.

A big director.

The King of Wuxia

Part 2: The Heartbroken Man on the Horizon

In 1976,

when I first met him,

I saw him from afar.

He just stood there

looking around.

I knew it was him right away.

He looked just like my granduncle.

He was plump,

not tall,

with a round face.

When we met,

I think he was standing here,

looking around.

I think my uncle was...

a bit...

How do I say it?

He was a little bit excited.

But I think he was very happy.

And then...

he took us to eat

at a buffet restaurant.

Only when we sat down

did we chat about

how second aunt was doing,

how third aunt was doing.

That's what happened.

I think it was December 1949.

I was alone.

Just me.

The guy who was supposed to come with me

didn't come.

Canceled halfway.

When I first arrived in Hong Kong,

I didn't know anyone

and couldn't speak Cantonese.

I somehow moved into an apartment.

While living there,

I ran into bad luck.

The little money I had

was entrusted to the apartment manager.

But that manager

ran away.

He took not only my money,

but also many other people's money.

I was in trouble.

I couldn't afford the rent.

One of my flatmates told me

that he knew a printing house

that needed a proofreader.

I took the job.

I thought proofreading was great.

I could read books and other things.

But my proofreading job

was the toughest in all of Hong Kong.

I had to proofread the telephone book.

He told me

life was very hard when he first
came to Hong Kong.

He did every tough job.

Random jobs,

sketching portraits,

or...

He was even a clerk

at the U. S. Information Service.

He said...

"I couldn't afford a flat,"

"so I lived in the office."

I remember back then,

the host of Hong Kong's largest broadcaster,

Zhuang Yuan-yong,

hired Li Han-hsiang,

King Hu,

and Sung Tsun-shou.

That whole group of people.

They had just fled from mainland China

to Hong Kong.

They were struggling to feed themselves,

so they were hired for radio.

Radio plays.

That was when he met

the other future masters.

The seven of them were blood brothers.

The oldest was Feng Yi.

Second was Li Han-hsiang.

Third was Chiang Kuang-chao.

The fourth was Ma Lian-liang's son,

Ma Li.

The fifth was Shen Zhong,

a producer.

Sixth was Sung Tsun-shou.

He was the seventh.

Most of them were poor.

Chiang Kuang-chao had no money.

Li Han-hsiang had no money.

When my mentor

made some money,

he gave it all to these big brothers of his.

Later, Chiang Kuang-chao

met someone who

asked him to act

for Longma Film Co.

The manager told him that they had

a marketing vacancy.

"Hey, I have a good friend"

"who specializes in that."

So they hired me.

They hired me,

but when the manager asked me to release this

and release that,

I told him,

I didn't know how.

"Huh?"

"Why not?"

I said, "I don't know marketing."

"But Chiang Kuang-chao said you did."

I said, "But I don't."

All I knew was how to paint.

But painting alone didn't pay enough.

I had to work as a tutor too.

When I was tutoring,

a young man's father told me

their art department

had a vacancy.

"Want the job?"

I said, "Of course."

As long as I got paid.

So I took the job.

So what did I do?

I was responsible for set dressing.

I didn't even know what that was.

I only found out later

that after the scene was set,

I had to go in to put up paintings,
arrange objects

and so forth.

I believe Director Hu

worked in art and set design

for a long time.

Because of Li Han-hsiang,

I met Yan Jun.

Yan Jun asked me

to act in his film.

I said I didn't know how.

I never acted before.

He said, "It's okay, I'll teach you."

But when I saw at the script,

I was the lead actor

and Lin Dai the lead actress.

I had so many lines!

The film was "The Man Who Gets Slapped".

Xin-chu?

It's late. Where are you going?

l'm..

going to English tutoring.

The roles he played had a lot

of character, and

their own unique personality.

He wasn't necessarily a leading man,

but in some supporting roles,

he was quite unforgettable.

I'll quote Chung Ling's

description of King Hu.

He had two faces,

one of which was worldly,

very at ease and funny.

The worldly part of him

is the director we had known

since we were little.

All film fans

knew of a star

named King Hu,

because he was just too funny.

Finished up so early?

How was business today?

Terrible!

I should change my line of work.

If I were a pimp or a human trafficker,

I'd earn a lot more.

Master, you can't do that.

What would I do then?

You know nothing.

But Ms. Xue,

my master wants to change jobs.

He wants to be a pimp.

That's no job for a human being!

Up yours!

I first...

noticed Director King Hu

because he played many roles

in Hong Kong films.

The most memorable was

"Golden Phoenix" by Yan Jun,
starring Lin Dai.

He played someone with favus

who had a crush on the lead actress.

Stop annoying me.

What's wrong with you?

You're ugly and have favus.

Your grandma and daddy don't love you.

I..

I don't have a grandma.

Don't flatter yourself!

May you never get married!

Da-niu,

use your cannon.

Take his soldier.

Take his soldier, then checkmate.

That move...

was really stupid.

That didn't count.

Get lost.

Stay away.

He was an all-rounder.

Sometimes his role was

lively, mischievous.

He could do serious too.

Play an...

emotional character.

As he was a good actor himself,

when he became a director,

it was very easy

for him to help actors

become immersed in their roles.

In the beginning...

complete newcomers like me

knew nothing about films.

So he would demonstrate

what he wanted you to do.

Facial expressions

and body language.

He would demonstrate

how to act in the scene.

The first performance

of my career was almost

done through imitating him.

I see.

You want me to go.

No.

But if you do me this favor,

I'll repay you in the future.

That's not necessary.

I can give you

some more money for the journey.

You don't have to.

But when Mr. Wu returns,

I shall come again.

Of course.

Thank you.

Innkeeper.

Yes?

Calculate the bill.

Already done.

No, I...

Thank you.

See you.

He was so devoted,

as though he was playing every role.

I always stood by his side.

Sometimes when he turned around,

he'd nearly stumble and fall,

and I'd quickly grab him.

Because when he's in the zone,

he doesn't think about safety.

He kept going even when dripping with sweat.

Because his goal was to

achieve the performance

he wanted.

He wanted it to be perfect.

Director Hu started off as an actor.

He'd often

say...

"Here. Let me show you."

"Do it like this."

"Like this."

The girls were dumbstruck,

because he was even better than them.

You'd be dumbstruck.

He wasn't trying

to give the actors more pressure.

If you felt pressure,

it's because he did it better than you.

That's the biggest pressure.

You're good-for-nothing!

You're infuriating!

Mom, calm down. Let's go upstairs.

You're shameless.

You've shamed the entire family!

Before I came to Hong Kong,

I had no memory of Director Hu.

Although I went to my granduncle's house

a lot,

I had never met Director Hu.

He was the son of a concubine.

In our big family,

his status was lower.

However,

he was still relatively privileged,

because he was the only son.

His parents

treasured him,

so his life was carefree,

but emotionally he wasn't as comfortable.

He was very lonely.

That's how he felt.

So he read books,

watched operas,

painted

and wrote

to alleviate his troubles.

By 1949,

everything had changed.

His father was nervous

because he had studied in Japan

and had Japanese ties.

His mother was nervous too.

At the time,

they only had one son,

and that was King Hu.

So they sent King Hu

to Hong Kong.

Then his father

was...

arrested.

His mother also disappeared.

In Hong Kong, he...

had no one.

Look.

Yu Qian's legacy lingers on.

If we banish these kids,

they'll come back for revenge.

You have foresight, sir.

We must eliminate them now.

Hurry!

His films weren't just action.

In fact, all his films

were related to politics.

For example, "A Touch of Zen"

had everything to do with politics.

Why did he talk about political persecution?

What's going on?

Wasn't the notice clear enough?

The girl's father was a government official.

He offended a powerful eunuch

and his whole family was executed.

I heard that the girl

escaped with her nanny.

But this girl...

What?

You've seen her?

No.

I... haven't.

But...

I mean, this girl is

the offspring of a righteous man.

Offspring of a righteous man.

The "offspring of a righteous man"

actually means a political victim.

That was his other side,

not his worldly side

or his funny side.

That was his more serious side,

even his somewhat tragic side.

China's Ming Dynasty,

eighth year of Jingtai,

or the year 1457.

Eunuchs have taken control of the government

and the two largest secret services,

Dong Chang and the imperial guards.

These are the imperial guards.

They are "fanzi" from Dong Chang.

"Fanzi" means secret agent.

These secret agents and imperial guards

are all merciless.

Whenever civilians

hear they are coming,

they become terrified.

He was always exploring,

as a scholar.

as an intellectual,

his views on politics.

He inserted some of his ideas into his films.

Through his wuxia films,

he sought to

criticize history

or politics on a deeper level.

For example,

the Ming Dynasty's

secret services like

Dong Chang, Xi Chang

and the imperial guards.

It was an interesting way

of borrowing from the past

to satirize the present,

whether it's the political corruption

or

the prevalence of garrison commands.

I don't think was specifically
talking about Taiwan.

Perhaps mainland China too.

In 1981,

in America,

Director Hu and I reunited after 30 years.

I told him if he sees someone waving a newspaper,

that's me.

He asked me

where his mother was

and how his father was.

By then, our big family had

been torn apart.

Nobody knew

what would happen next.

I said your mother

hasn't been heard from since,

and your father was in Shanxi,

being reformed through labor.

But he then was in a car accident

and passed away.

He was very upset.

I could tell he was very upset.

Apart from his parents,

he also asked about many others,
including the servants.

He said

they had a male servant called Guo Cheng.

He asked where Guo Cheng was.

Another female servant was called Shuan-zi.

He asked me where Shuan-zi was.

And I told him

Guo Cheng and Shuan-zi are still alive

and they got married.

He still loved his family and country.

He always thought about his hometown

and his family.

Knowing what happened to them

should have made him feel a little better.

Our relationship...

I never saw him

as a big director or anything.

We're relatives. We're family.

There used to be a sign.

Tai Hom Village.

- There's nothing left.
- Is it here or over there?

It's here.

I know. I think it's here.

- At this metro station.
- This is Tai Hom Village?

Yes.

At this metro station?

Right here.

Yeah.

I'm pretty sure.

- Tai Hom Village.
- Right here.

This whole area used to be

a squatter village.

And

the director's study used to be here.

It's all been torn down now.

My uncle lived here after getting married.

Before emigrating to the States,

he lived right here.

He cooked with Chung Ling.

We ate at his house.

- His braised beef was delicious.
- Yeah.

- This I recall.
- I remember.

I think Chung Ling told me

that she was his assistant.

- He was the chef.
- Yes, he was.

When we saw each other,

he asked about my life

and sometimes played with my daughter.

My daughter was very little then.

They were both born in the Year of the Monkey.

"I'm Old Monkey and you're Little Monkey."

After my uncle emigrated to the States,

he'd sometimes come back to visit.

Apart from staying with me,

he'd sometimes stay at
the University of Hong Kong (HKU) dorms

because Chung Ling

was a professor at HKU at the time.

It's No. 25 on the right.

He stayed in one of these buildings.

I remember the living room.

The view from the window

is this beautiful ocean.

It's very beautiful at sunset.

I think it faced this way.

- Yes, it did.
- I think so.

We helped him pack his books here.

Those were sent from here?

- Yes, once.
- I don't remember that.

Yes, I helped him pack

because there were some he didn't want

and I took them.

Professor Chung and I also looked at

Director Hu's jades here.

He always said

- he wanted to use them...
- Yes.

for his films.

He said it would look more authentic.

These buildings are part of Chi Fu Fa Yuen,

where I used to live.

In 1984,

my uncle emigrated to the Sates.

He only stayed with us when he came back.

In 1982,

he made a trip back to Beijing.

He came back in secret

and took some photos.

This is

No. 13, Banchang Alley.

The old Hu family home.

An old house.

This was our front gate.

This was the main room

on the north wing.

The most senior family member slept there.

It was my grandaunt's room.

The wife of

the director's father.

It was her room.

This was the back door.

They used it a lot.

They always used

the back door,

not our...

not my grandpa's front door.

This was the south wing.

At the end of it,

through the small door

was his mom's room.

The room wasn't big,

and it was dark.

Nobody visited her.

She didn't let anybody in anyway.

This...

It's not in the photos.

A small alleyway

leading to the back,

where there was a strip of yard.

At the end of the strip

was a small building,

a two-story one.

It's a house now,

but it wasn't back then.

Up the stairs

was the director's room.

The one in the middle is Director Hu.

To the left is his third sister,

our third aunt.

To the right is his second sister,

our second aunt.

Third aunt

and uncle

drinking soy milk.

Our big family was very wealthy.

At the Summer Palace

and Beihai Park,

we had our own boats.

We could go there any time.

So when we were little,

we often went for holidays.

These photos were all taken by Director Hu.

I think he was

looking for

his childhood memories.

We had our own

private boats here.

Look. There's the director.

He's leaning on the fake boat.

This one is clearer.

The director

and the dock behind him.

Director Hu was filming
"A Touch of Zen" at the time.

My teacher and King Hu were close,

so he introduced me to him.

Later, I went overseas.

So we both ended up in Los Angeles,

together almost every day.

Then Director Hu asked me to
work on "Raining in the Mountain"

and

"Legend of the Mountain".

as an assistant director.

But because at the time my wife

was pregnant,

l told

Director Hu that

I couldn't do it,

because it would take a whole year

and I wouldn't even know what my kid looked like.

It was probably 19...

1977 when he got married...

I think it was 1977.

And I was the first person

to find out.

He was going to New York,

but we departed Los Angeles on the same flight.

I said I was transiting to Toronto
to visit my girlfriend

and I'd be back the next day.

When I came back,

he said, "Come over quickly."

"I'm at the hotel."

So I raced to the hotel

and he said,

"I'm getting married."

At that time,

I was at the State University of New York.

An American student

In my

Chinese literature

English translation class

said,

"I hear you have a"

"a big director named King Hu"

"who is in New York attending"

"the United States"

"Bicentennial celebrations."

He was an invited guest

and was still in New York.

"Should we invite him to give a lecture?"

I said, "Okay."

"Good idea."

He went back to New York City
the day after the lecture.

After that,

I got a call a couple of days later.

He said on the phone,

"Chung Ling..."

He didn't say a lot.

I said, "Hello."

Then he said,

"Chung Ling, be with me."

I was very surprised.

When we flew there,

he didn't have a girlfriend.

But a couple of days later,

he was getting married.

Flash engagement.

I think our matchmaker

was that American student.

He never hid his feelings.

Truly incredible.

When we were in Los Angeles,

the five of us were rather close.

Director Hu,

me,

Leo Ou-fan Lee,

and Bu Da-zhong.

Woody Mu.

The five of us often ate together.

There wasn't much he didn't know.

So we enjoyed listening to him.

And he was a director,

good at telling stories.

When he talked,

it wasn't like a university lecturer.

He talked very vividly,

so we were all glad

to listen to him.

He was very humorous.

He often made fun of himself.

That's what we loved about him.

He had no airs and graces.

Not at all.

Director Hu loved to

make friends with literary people.

Because his literary friends
understood what he said

and enjoyed listening to him.

He was a barrel of laughs.

At a table full of people,

he would be talking 70% of the time.

You may wonder...

Why wasn't he working

and was just drinking and chatting with friends?

It's not that.

It was a form of relaxation.

Because making a film

was exhausting.

When we chatted,

Director Hu would get more and more excited

and couldn't stop.

He really enjoyed it.

Through the joys

of his work and wealth of knowledge,

he brought everyone

and himself

a form of internal healing and catharsis.

Whenever Director Hu met people,

he could join in any conversation

and he knew more than anybody.

A simple example

from Director Lee Hsing.

When we shot "The Wheel of Life",

he asked us not to tell...

He called him Hu.

"Don't tell Hu."

"If you start with him,"

"even if it's about a cockroach,"

"he can go on for three days and three nights."

"We'll never finish the film."

Whatever he said,

be it some random knowledge

or casually mentioning something,

whether about history,

contemporary issues,

astronomy or geography...

Whatever it was,

it felt like

someone who had absorbed

countless

encyclopedias

was sitting right beside you.

He was knowledgeable

and read very fast.

We privately called him "Walking Dictionary".

We're almost at Director Hu's house.

When I picked him up,

he would come out

and sit here.

He was a very punctual person.

Director Hu would sit here

waiting for me every time.

I'd drive over from there,

and he'd turn to look

every few seconds.

That is where

the director lived.

We used to go in through

the front door and take the elevator

to the second floor.

He lived right there in that room.

He lived here for over 10 years.

An apartment with one bedroom
and a living room.

Once, the director called me.

"Ah, my bathroom light isn't working."

"Can you come change the lightbulb for me?".

I said, "That's easy."

So I went.

because I lived nearby.

When I opened the door,

there were books all over the floor.

A heap here and a heap there.

I had to be careful when I walked

to avoid stepping on them.

There were even books by the bathroom,

and of course on his bed. Books everywhere.

I said to him,

"How about I help you tidy this up?"

"Organize the books."

He said, "Don't."

"If you do that for me,"

"I won't be able to find them."

I'd been to his house in California.

He didn't have furniture.

Just a dining table.

His entire living room

was piled with books.

He had books in his bathroom,

by the toilet,

and by the washbasin.

And the stacks were all this high.

It showed he was always reading.

The dining table was most important.

He ate and read on it.

Once, when I visited Director Hu,

he took out a pamphlet

to show me.

He asked me to read it.

And I laughed.

I said, "This is very interesting."

It's from 19...

May 16, 1966.

The Communist Party's Central Committee

sent out a Cultural Revolution notification.

We later called it the May 16 Notification.

Seeing this in Director Hu's house

really...

shocked me.

I couldn't believe he had something like that.

He even read Chairman Mao's quotations

and things like that.

His knowledge was very, very extensive.

It was really amazing.

If read something important,

he would mark it with a piece of paper.

He learned about everything.

He had everything.

He had pictures,

many books,

and lots of documents.

I got him...

10 years of labor insurance

back then.

When he turned 65,

he was no longer eligible,

but he couldn't get much back.

How much?

Only 50 thousand TWD.

A 50 thousand TWD lump sum.

But do you know what he said?

"Hey,

"I can buy a lot of books with this."

This is my little library.

And I do my research here.

Those books mostly about the film techniques

and the theory of film.

Sometimes I spend my own time here to write.

A kind of

solitude.

There are...

These books are mostly
contemporary times literature.

I write a book about a Chinese writer
called Lao She.

This is a book for...

for my...

I would say for my hobby.

After about

the mid-1970s,

Director Hu kept making films,

and his international reputation kept growing.

He was named by "International Film Guide"

as one of the world's five best directors.

But later on,

I believe he encountered

some situations

where the commercial system

and his own artistic ideas

became incompatible.

After "Dragon Gate Inn",

he kept moving forward,

but audiences and critics

couldn't keep up with him.

I think he was too ahead of his time.

It was before

we had entered the era of auteurism.

Hong Kong gradually
became highly commercialized.

Everything had to be quick.

They wanted quick productions, quick money,

quick returns.

It became the new model.

Then the Hong Kong New Wave came.

They had relatively low budgets,

big crews and high production volumes,

a lot of changes and innovation.

It created a new climate.

Many investors and producers

gradually

shifted toward New Wave directors.

These days, many directors spend

two or three years making a film.

It's quite common now.

And the industry gives them the space

and creative freedom.

But he was ahead of his time,

and that became his crime.

He had some commercial issues

that created conflicts with investors.

When word got out, it spelled...

trouble.

Of course, Director Hu had status,

but his production times were too long,

which the New Wave trend

didn't allow.

Given his persistence

and personality,

I don't think

he had enough time

to...

make what he wanted.

The local experience of the new generation

had blended into the local ideology

and experiences of growing up.

Compared to the generation

of filmmakers exiled from China,

their thinking was clearly different.

During this transition period,

directors like

Li Han-hsiang

or King Hu

and even to some extent

Lee Hsing,

all felt a sense of loneliness,

or an

inability to belong.

People who still loved King Hu,

respected him

and supported him still existed,

but they were getting fewer.

When new directors emerge, older directors

have less opportunities.

Audiences didn't want his wuxia films.

It's not that he didn't want to make them,

but...

that was the reality.

"Legend of the Mountain"
left cinemas very quickly.

Three hours was too long.

Nobody watched it.

They all criticized it.

I got a call from him.

He said, "Shu Kei,"

"the boss wants to re-release it"

"because we've spent too much money"

"and need to recoup it.

"But this time,"

"they want me to make it shorter."

He said, "I don't know what to cut."

I said, "How would I know?"

He said,

"I just want to hear your opinion."

So I went over

and found

that Tony Rayns was there too.

Tony Rayns had a better memory,
so he was like...

"Here."

"Here, here."

"This. This."

"No good. No good."

I don't know if those bits

were the bits cut in the end,

but the re-released version

was cut to just one and a half hours.

These days,

a director

would be pissed off even...

if you tried to cut a minute,

but his film was cut by an hour and a half.

A couple of years ago,

I rewatched "Legend of the Mountain"
for the first time.

Only then did I understand.

I immediately felt that

it was Director Hu's experimental film.

He was experimenting with

his narrative techniques.

I was stupefied.

I thought it was an astonishing film.

Yet I had the audacity

to tell him to cut it.

I really felt...

I feel...

really sorry.

I could really feel his loneliness.

It was 1989.

Neither of us were doing well.

But we still went out for meals.

We ordered dishes and noodles,

as though nothing had changed.

But we knew deep inside.

Then we grew closer.

Every now and then

we'd...

call each other.

"How are you doing?"

"What have you been up to?"

"Work hard."

We ended every call with, "Work hard".

It was to encourage us.

I laugh out loud

Waves dash against the shore

Life has ups and downs,
so just remember today

Heaven laughs

Life is tumultuous

Nobody knows who will win

Because we

wanted to find a way

to get the project made,

we decided to

adapt one of Jin Yong's novels.

Director Hu

called me one day and asked me

to be his co-director.

So I went to Taiwan

and prepared for over a month.

Then we went to Xitou

and filmed for over a month.

When we started working,

every scene

still needed drawings for the storyboard.

I got a little anxious.

I thought,

How can we finish all the
drawings in one month?

But I didn't dare tell him.

Because on set, he was still...

still...

very meticulous about everything,

Even the...

eyebrows and stuff like that...

I made "Swordsman" with him.

At the time,

Jin Yong

said any adaptation

of his work into a film

had to be made by Director Hu.

Director Hu already had the designs,

including that of Brigitte Lin's character,

all ready to go.

Xitou and Sun Link Sea

were already scouted.

Tianxiang too.

It was all filmed in Taiwan.

We had started shooting for a while.

Then a Hong Kong crew arrived.

The producers sent them.

A new fight choreographer came.

That meant director Hu's fight choreographer

became useless.

They sent another assistant director.

So my role as assistant director was...

But they're the producers.

They controlled the money.

They did everything,

so what could we do?

The director even had no control

over the script.

How can you direct like that?

And...

the person...

The one in charge

from Hong Kong

would instruct the script supervisor

to do rewrites.

One night,

Director Hu invited me to his room.

It was just the two of us.

He said, "Should we keep shooting?"

He wasn't sad.

He just wondered if we should keep shooting.

He never say things that.

Not even when we made "All the King's Men".

So he must have been very upset to ask that.

I had never spoken about this publicly before.

But it's true.

And we later stopped filming.

It was that simple.

Tsui Hark loved him very much.

It was initially Tsui Hark
who wanted King Hu to direct.

But those businessmen

said they didn't want an art film.

King Hu is fine for an art film.

But they wanted to make money.

I think...

the core of the problem was...

the...

the essence of art

and...

what the director originally wanted.

I don't think

it's a question of who's right or wrong.

That was when he was at his lowest.

His lowest point.

People couldn't tell.

On the outside, he still

looked fine.

He still

chatted and joked.

But very few knew that in private...

Director Hu was just...

down...

in the dumps.

After working with Director Hu on his film,

our fates became intertwined.

You could say I became tied to him

for the rest of my life.

When I moved to America,

he moved over too.

We lived only 10 minutes apart.

We

basically took care of

each other.

He never talked about his problems.

He rarely told anyone

what was

troubling him.

He didn't complain.

He never...

bemoaned his fate.

When he chatted with people,

he talked about interesting things,

funny things, happy things.

He had a lot of self-respect.

He never talked about his problems.

Never talked about his problems.

Even when he was mistreated,

he never...

He was very strict when he worked,

but in private he didn't take things

too seriously.

Even when

someone did a lot of

unfair,

disloyal or dishonest things,

or even bullied him,

he never complained.

Everyone has

good times and bad times.

But Director Hu was too insistent.

One time,

someone even

took the money to him,

but he didn't take it.

He said, "We couldn't reach an agreement."

"I'd rather"

"starve for five years"

"than compromise."

What kind of a director was King Hu?

He wasn't an aesthete in life,

but as a director

and artist,

he was a perfectionist.

Of course, we all know that

life is very difficult for a perfectionist.

But that's what he was like.

When it came to his work,

he was meticulous.

When you talked to him,

you could feel

his sincerity.

He never smooth-talked you.

He only told the truth.

He couldn't be

buddy-buddy with his bosses.

He never flattered them.

He had his principles.

He didn't have a

good producer.

No production company

supported him.

He didn't seek out others

or come back to ask me to help him.

Coming to me for help

was embarrassing for him.

What happened to him later on

was such a shame.

In terms of reputation,

he wanted to transcend himself.

He didn't want to

stay in the...

the same place.

And he wouldn't beg people

for money to make his films.

He never did that.

Back when he was famous,

he sat on an equal footing

with the top directors

in the world.

When it came to film artistry,

everyone respected his films very, very much.

Some very high praise.

Not ordinary praise.

He was such a significant director.

But...

But then...

what befell him...

Unable to find investors,

he became a little anxious.

He didn't have a stable income.

Living in America was expensive.

Without an income, it was...

very bad.

One day, he asked me,

"Can you go to Taiwan"

"to see if I can go teach there?"

Teach film.

In the film department.

When I came back to Taiwan,

I called the university in Guandu.

But they told me,

"He's not a Ph. D. We can't hire him."

"Sorry."

I told them the law had been changed,

but they said it was a school rule.

He was also good at drawing.

He wondered if he could
publish them in newspapers.

He drew a lot of politicians.

They were quite vivid.

But the newspapers thought

what he drew was too old-fashioned,

different to the comics kids were
reading at the time.

So that failed too.

What did he want to do?

He wanted to

make a video

that teaches people English.

At an airport,

if you need to use English,

what do you say?

If you're in a restaurant,

what do you say?

One shot after another,

all right here.

I admired him so much.

He just kept thinking

about what

he wanted to do and could do.

Just think, at that time,

he was...

at rock bottom.

But he couldn't help it.

I once described him as

a twilight samurai.

However sharp his sword was,

only he himself knew.

There were so many things he wanted to do.

He never stopped.

The stuff we see now,

like "Zhang Yu Boils the Sea",

was just one of many unmade projects.

Back then,

he already wanted make "Journey to the West".

He made many drawings

and asked me to translate them into English.

Just a few lines into English.

His brain

never stopped churning.

Most people didn't know.

He was also interested in Matteo Ricci.

Apart from finding and reading

all these documents,

he even

spoke with priests.

He told them was making a Matteo Ricci film.

I didn't go with him.

I think he went to Italy alone

to talk to them.

He even stayed

in a monastery.

When I looked at
all the files related to Director Hu,

though he didn't make many films,

he left a very deep impression in other ways.

He just kept creating.

He kept writing stories,

writing outlines,

writing scripts...

He never stopped.

If he chats with someone

who says they're interested in making a film,

he'd immediately say,

"I'll write the story for you."

He kept writing proposals,

sending them to people,

setting up meetings.

He just wanted to make films.

Stephen Hawking.

He was the first to think of
making a Hawking film.

Who would've thought?

Scientists.

Black holes.

He's interested in that?

He wanted to create

and keep making films.

I get it because I'm the same.

Once we're...

we're part of the...

film community,

film will always stay in our blood.

Of course I can understand that

Director King Hu's

time in Los Angeles

over these 10-plus years was extremely lonely.

It was hard...

to find a kindred spirit

or someone who understood him.

Whether it's an investor,

or...

a producer,

or a screenwriter...

That's how...

how lonely he was.

(Chinese translation of the
first draft of "Battle of Ono")

(Chapter 1: Dream of Gold)

(Chapter 3: Gold Mining)

(Chapter 4: I Go)

(Chapter 7: A Battle)

When he came to Taiwan

to make "Dragon Gate Inn", he told me

he wanted to

make a film about Chinese laborers

building railroads for the Americans.

He just kept thinking about it

in his mind

about...

the story outline.

When I was working for him,

I think he

already began writing this script.

That was 197...

1975.

At the time, it was called "Igo Ono".

He often talked about

and thought about

making "Battle of Ono".

We were always talking about it.

He made many drawings

and talked about how to shoot it,

because it still felt like

an action film.

He took me

to see...

Sarah,

the producer who supported him

to make the film.

Sarah was indeed part of it.

She really admired Director Hu.

Like a lot of great directors in... everywhere,

the people with the money
often don't like them,

but...

filmmakers like them.

He was so meticulous.

I know once we had agreed on a script

and we were starting to shoot,

he wouldn't just throw it out one day.

I think that, you know,
he would've worked hard

to make the movie we all had
by then agreed to make.

There was a lot more King was
going to do with the movie.

He knew so much about the kind of
war techniques that would work.

I mean there was... it wasn't just martial arts.

There were these traps that were set up.

There were so many details.

He had done so much research.

So there was often then...

you know, a bit of a surprise when

there was a whole new area of
knowledge that he had,

that he was so really well versed.

At that time, I told him that

in northern California,

near San Francisco,

to the north of Sacramento,

there was a small town named Locke.

It was a gambling town.

The Chinese had a gambling house there.

But it was now a ghost town.

I went there to take a look.

By then, it was already pretty deserted.

But the gambling house was there,

and streets were there.

It was a bit like a Western film,

with wooden houses along a main street.

He asked me to be a producer on "Battle of Ono",

so I went location scouting with him

and took many photos.

We did it all together.

This was the China Camp.

It says "China Camp" up here.

A camp for the Chinese,

But there's nothing there now,

just a gas station.

We went location scouting,

I think, in 1976...

1975 or 1976.

Director Hu and I.

On the last day of scouting,

we ate dinner

and drank.

Director Hu had an appointment the next day,

so we drove back really fast.

When we saw a car ahead of us,

we tried to overtake it,

but realized it was a police car.

The police officer said,

"Excuse me. Pull over."

We said we were driving someone to hospital

and had no choice.

"See him in the back?"

It was Director Hu.

He was dead drunk.

'All right. Be careful."

"Do you want us to turn on the siren"

"and escort you?"

"No thanks,"

"we're almost there.

When Director Hu woke up, he said,

"See? American police are pretty nice."

"They were pretty good to us."

He was a great actor.

Director Hu was originally an actor.

He asked me if I knew about "I go" and "O no".

It's part of Chinese migrant worker history.

They went to build railroads.

and couldn't get back to China.

He said

there's a town...

At the time, some Chinese came to this town

to search for gold.

And...

they were lucky and found a gold mine.

But the Americans said no.

They told the Chinese to leave.

Chinese people had no power.

Hence, "I go".

But then these Chinese were lucky

and found another place.

And they found gold again.

Then the white people came again.

But this time,

they banded together and fought back.

"We're not leaving this time."

"O no."

"Ono" was where they battled.

They all guarded the fort together,

while the people outside kept attacking.

It's a bit like "Seven Samurai"
and "Dragon Gate Inn".

'A Touch of Zen" too.

The script was written like a wuxia film.

There really are two towns in northern California

called "Igo" and "Ono".

There were a lot of Chinese immigrants
who settled to work on the railroad

as well as to mine for gold.

It's part of where conflict

and prejudice comes from,

between the Chinese immigrants
and the white residents.

I would say the story had a lot of

what we would call historical veracity.

So it is not actually true,

but it could've been true.

The Chinese workers in America

were...

oppressed by the West,

but they stood up.

The point is they stood up.

I think it would have changed Chinese people's

status here.

If he had made this film,

It would've changed American history.

America's development couldn't have
happened without

the blood and tears of Chinese laborers.

But they weren't recognized,

which is why we had to tell this story.

All his films

were about loyal subjects in exile,

just like him.

He escaped from mainland China

when he was just a teen,

so what is in his heart and veins

always influenced his films.

We can see it in his films.

He probably thought about
"Battle of Ono" for 25 years.

It brewed for a long time

because of funding.

Back then, Hollywood was,

I think,

still a very closed world.

You could only

make American films.

Not many directors could

use their own style

or own story to make a film.

I think this

happened to Director Hu too.

This included

his efforts to make

"Battle of Ono".

I knew how difficult it was

to get investors,

because he had left the industry for a long time.

He hadn't made a film

or had a successful film in a long time,

so it was asking for a lot.

He couldn't get the money

and...

nobody knew if such a film would sell.

Film studios...

didn't dare

spend so much money

to invest in him.

And so he flew back and forth between

the States and Taiwan

to look for investors.

After he finished "The Wheel of Life",

whenever he wasn't filming

and was in Taiwan,

we'd always hang out.

Director Hu had quit smoking and drinking by then,

but...

people didn't know that

he still sometimes drank,

and drank too much.

When he was unhappy

and alone,

he always...

he would always...

feel lonely.

He'd call me

in the

middle of the night and I'd head over.

But I couldn't lift him by myself.

So...

I had to call Li Kun for help.

And Tsao Chien.

The three of us would carry him home

from the little pub where

he often

went by himself.

He used to be

a top director.

But in the end, he couldn't even get funding

to make a film.

Of course he would be sad.

"How did I end up like this?"

So I drank with him

at my place.

He'd talk

with his face covered in tears.

When he got drunk,

the emotions would come flooding out.

The depression,

the frustration in his heart.

At the time, I was

flat out directing TV dramas.

But when he came, I put everything aside

to keep him company

and drink at my place

and chat.

That's all.

That's all we could...

To him, he basically

didn't have a nationality.

He lived in Hong Kong,

didn't belong to China,

and Taiwan

was just a sojourn.

By then, he was divorced

from Chung Ling.

He had no children either.

Under these circumstances,

he had to question himself.

He was getting older

and his health wasn't good.

He had to think about his future.

What was he going to do?

But he also felt

going back to Beijing was pointless.

Who'd look after him?

When Director Hu made "Dragon Gate Inn",

he met the owner of
"Beijing Do It True" in Kaohsiung.

They kept talking about Beijing.

It was their hometown.

There was a lot to say.

Saute pork with egg.

Pork intestines.

Pork and vegetable omelet.

Pork oven rolls.

Pork pies.

These were Director Hu's favorites.

Whenever he came to "Do It True",
he would order these dishes

and these

wheaten foods from northern China.

Later on,

whenever Director Hu came to Taiwan,

especially in his later years,

if someone wanted to treat him,

he'd say,

"How about 'Do It True'?"

Even if nobody

asked to meet up,

he'd still

take me here,

just the two of us,

for a meal.

He just

loved coming here.

It made

him feel like he was back in Beijing.

When he came to Taiwan

to serve on an awards jury,

a friend took him to a tea house one day.

He liked the waitress

who was serving them.

The next day, he went back there alone.

He went several days in a row

to drink tea alone.

So he started chatting with the girl.

Her name was Lin Yu.

At the time, she was only...

18 or 19, I think.

Maybe 17 or 18.

Director Hu said to her,

"You can't be a waitress forever."

"What is your plan?"

She said she wanted to study abroad,

but she didn't

meet any of the requirements.

So Director Hu said

he would help her apply.

What we know is that

Lin Yu studied here at the time.

She lived at the director's house

and was also his assistant.

She managed everything for him.

When we

had gatherings,

Lin Yu was in charge of driving.

And of course,

when we chatted,

she would join our conversations.

We used to eat together.

We ate together often.

Lin Yu would sit beside him.

Director Hu would talk nonstop,

and she'd help him

get food and soup.

After a meal, she'd say,

"Director, time for medicine."

Then she would

take out a pill box this long

with days of the week on it.

Director Hu had heart disease,

so she made sure

he took his medicine.

Lin Yu was really...

a great help in his life.

Truly, a great help.

He used to never cook,

but with her around, he started cooking.

At least there were two people.

Cooking for one was hard.

When Lin Yu

lived with him,

he was very happy.

He was smiling all the time.

Completely different

to the depressed guy

he had been.

We could tell.

He was very happy when Lin Yu was around.

She made him happy.

We all enjoyed seeing him happy.

Seeing him happy made us happy.

He earned an income by writing

for a Hong Kong magazine.

Of course, it was not much money.

Indeed,

we knew that

money was tight for him.

He gave lectures.

I often accompanied him to his lectures.

That made some money,

but of course not a lot.

When he wrote to me,

he asked

if I often went abroad

for conferences and things.

He wondered

where I got the opportunities.

I told him if someone invited me,

I would go.

But if no one invited me,

I wouldn't make a cent.

He said he was the same.

If someone was

willing to invest,

he could make films.

If not,

there's nothing he could do.

He wanted to make "Battle of Ono".

He said there was hope,

but it would be hard.

"I can't do it if I don't get the money."

That's what he said.

I remember the director telling me

that the investors had some demands.

First,

he had to get someone

well-known and successful

to be a producer.

The best choice

he thought of was John Woo.

John Woo was

making a film in the States at the time,

and his last few films were great.

Box-office hits.

I remember he was shooting
"Face Off" that year

at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

There was a scene there.

The director said

he was going to see John Woo

and asked me to go with him.

I was so surprised.

I didn't know he was living

in Los Angeles.

It was fate.

I started at 12 or 13

as an extra in his film.

Who would have thought?

We didn't talk for long

before I said yes.

John Woo and Terrance Chang had arrived.

And they were going to be
the executive producers.

And Chow Yun-fat was attached to be the star.

After he agreed to do the movie,

we had some people who were
raising money for the film

who were taking it to Cannes to raise the rest.

"Battle of Ono" was a project

he had been working on

for 10 to 20 years.

He told me to get a US visa.

I said I did it ages ago!

Not long after
"Marriage is a Life-long Business"

and shortly before

"All the King's Men",

or some time around then.

It was between those two when he asked me

to help on "Battle of Ono".

When we nearly finished "Raining in the Mountain",

he said to me...

He said, "Henry,"

"I have a project."

"My last big project."

"You're my first choice."

I said, "Wow!"

I was excited.

I suggested making it black and white.

Black and white.

He was like, "Whoa..."

Once...

I hadn't

seen him in a long time.

We ran into each other at the

Ocean Terminal parking lot.

"Come here."

And we talked under the sun

for an hour.

I said, "Uncle Hu, can we go inside?"

"Let's not talk here."

"The sun is"

"frying my head."

He wanted me to

work with him on

"Battle of Ono".

It was 19...

1996.

Middle of the year.

The director was very happy.

He showed me...

I visited him,

and he showed me a fax.

An English company had
agreed to invest in the film.

He was over the moon.

The project struggled to get made

because the budget was too high.

At the time,

even though it's considered cheap now,

it was around 18 million USD.

He got the letter

and called me right away.

"We got the money, Tuen-ping."

"We got the money."

"You're the Chinese-side producer."

He wanted me to be ready.

I said, "Okay."

I was happy because it was happening.

He called me

long-distance from the States.

He said...

I could tell he was happy.

He said

he found investors for "Battle of Ono"

and was coming back to
Taiwan for a checkup.

Then he'd take care of some things in Hong Kong,

before going back to start filming.

He asked if he could stay at my place.

I said, "Sure."

I happily waited for him.

January 14th, 1997.

It was my birthday.

I came home

to find my mom

on the phone.

"Ms. Hu,"

"it's Radio Television Hong Kong."

I said, "What?"

"They want me?"

"What's wrong?"

They said it was urgent.

It was rush hour Friday afternoon.

The traffic was bad.

I finally got to Taipei's

Veterans General Hospital.

I saw Lin Yu crying

and Director Hu lying on the bed.

And...

in his nostril were two...

.. cotton balls.

Bloodstains all over.

He had a tracheostomy.

I just...

couldn't...

believe it.

He was just lying there,

looking so tranquil.

There was no frown.

It's like he was asleep.

I said to him somewhat angrily,

"Stop scaring me."

I kept patting him,

saying, "Wake up! Wake up!"

I was very surprised.

I'm sorry.

Sorry.

Lin Yu... Lin Yu called me

at six in the morning

and told me he passed away.

(King Hu dies from surgery complications)

(Failed angioplasty)

(Internationally renowned director
passes suddenly)

(Prior to filming "Battle of Ono")

He didn't need the surgery.

He wasn't in that much danger.

But he insisted on doing it.

He thought it would

give him more energy

because he knew he needed it

to make the film.

At that time,

I was very upset.

Everyone was crying.

We were only

one month away from the shoot.

It's just that I know if he had lived,

we would've made the movie.

I know we would have.

But it's not like

I'm...

I'm upset that I didn't get to make the movie.

I'm upset that he didn't get to make the movie.

The world doesn't get to see that movie.

I really wanted him to

fulfill his dream.

I knew if he made

"Battle of Ono",

his life and work

would have reached a new peak.

He was in such a good mood at the time.

Very different from how he had been.

He was completely immersed.

He truly wanted it.

He really wanted to

make the film.

To him,

making a movie is not just
about making a movie.

He puts his whole life into it.

The respect of his work.

He asked me to be the production designer.

When he came back for the checkup,

he called me and said,

"Wang Toon,"

"let's have dinner tonight."

I said, "Okay."

I knew it would be at "Do It True".

I brought a bottle of wine

to drink with our friends

and listen to him...

I remember he wore a bomber jacket.

Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall was across the road.

He was staying with a friend nearby.

So we drank

and I helped him...

We offered to help him

because he was quite drunk.

I said to take the crossing,

but he just

stepped over the guard rail.

I said, "Director, be careful."

He said, "No problem."

Then he crossed the street and went home.

Not long after that,

I got the call.

His

heart surgery failed

and passed away.

When he left,

he gave me his keys.

He asked me

to look after his house.

I said, "No problem."

So...

I took him to the airport.

We rarely shook hands

because we're old friends.

We didn't do that stuff.

But that time at the airport, for some reason,

we shook hands.

Then he got on the plane.

It turned out to be our last handshake.

So...

It's something

I'll never forget

for the rest of my life.

On the 14th this month,

Director King Hu died from
heart surgery complications.

His funeral was held

this afternoon at the First Funeral Parlor.

Director Hu's relatives

and many friends from the film industry

including from Hong Kong

and Japan

all attended the funeral

with a yellow chrysanthemum in hand.

Director Hu's dear friend, Lee Hsing,

and Hsu Feng, Shih Chun,

Cheng Pei-pei from Hong Kong,

as well as Tang Wei and Han Xiang-qin,

all rushed to Fo Guang Shan
Taipei Vihara early morning

to recite the sutras for Director Hu

and pay their respects.

He didn't have much money by the end.

In his later years,

he basically

didn't have many people around him.

At that time,

he really wasn't doing well.

When he wasn't working,

if he was in Taiwan,

He'd usually call me

to keep him company.

In his last...

12 years,

he had a checkup every year. Self-funded.

And each time,

he'd notify me

and I'd call Sun Shu-pei,

because he had a car,

and we'd go pick him up.

Before he was admitted to hospital,

he asked a silk store owner

to borrow 80 thousand TWD,

because he needed money

for the surgery and other expenses.

I don't remember how much.

Maybe a couple of thousand TWD.

His bank account

only had that much money when he passed away.

"Remember."

"We owe 80 thousand TWD."

"Have to pay it back."

I said, "Okay, I'll remember."

I was about to leave when he called me again.

He turned around

and said,

"Don't forget what I told you."

I said, "I know."

"I'll pick you up at 4pm."

(King Hu's lonely life)

They said he

died with nothing.

They didn't understand.

His life was full of riches.

His friends and pupils were his riches.

He wasn't poor.

After he finished "Painted Skin",

he left his books

and a coat

at my place.

"I'll be back."

"I still have many things to do."

That was the last time

I saw him.

So he still wanted to come back

and work here.

He wanted to come back home,

but he didn't.

He couldn't

fulfill this wish.

When Director Hu passed,

I felt that

Lin Yu was

helpless and heartbroken.

Some people criticized her.

They judged her.

They thought

she took advantage of an old man.

She took advantage of Director Hu.

So they were...

very against her.

They didn't even allow her to

attend Director Hu's funeral.

But I didn't think it was right,

because she did look after Director Hu.

We all saw it with our own eyes.

When he had heart surgery,

she was by his side.

When he came out of the operating room,

he told Lin Yu

he hadn't read the day's newspaper.

She went out to buy one.

When she came back, he was gone.

Such was their relationship,

but no one said anything.

Why?

You should be happy for the guy.

Right?

But no.

When we planned the funeral,

I told Director Lee Hsing

that I saw with my own eyes how she looked after

or helped Director Hu.

I said under these circumstances,

letting Lin Yu attend the funeral

was the right thing to do.

So Lee Hsing and them all agreed.

Sadly not as clear as it used to be.

If he hadn't rushed

to do the surgery,

maybe he'd still be here.

I described him

as the encyclopedia we all needed.

I wanted to tell him that...

without him,

there wouldn't be me.

Even now,

whether

I am

on stage or off stage,

I keep repeating,

"Without Director Hu,
there'd be no Cheng Pei-pei."

Ever since I was young,

I was by his side,

toiling for many years.

Whether it was eating and chatting at his house,

or on set,

that feeling

is something no one else felt.

Thanks to King Hu, I got the chance

to make films

and work with him.

I learned a lot.

It was my good fortune.

I miss him a lot.

I'm still living in his era.

I never got out.

I was a nobody,

a little beggar.

How did I get here?

Without King Hu,

there would be no Ng Ming-toi.

Two words: Thank you.

He was so smart.

When I thanked him,

he'd respond right away

by patting me on my shoulder.

He knew what I meant

when I thanked him.

Thank you.

I didn't see him enough.

I wish we could have talked more,

seen more films from him.

I really miss him.

Having you next to me,

having you put the trust on me

and how you challenge me every scene

and make me a better cinematographer...

I miss you so much.

Like I said,

it seems to me it happened about a month ago.

Everything came back to me.

I'm sorry.

All my life...

I want to find another director like Hu.

Nobody.

People don't forget a master.

And they'll miss him.

You'll learn from him for the rest of your life.

That's who King Hu was.

Of course I'm willing to talk about him.

Divorce is a personal matter.

It doesn't affect my admiration for him.

I hope in his next life,

he can better tolerate

the more

worldly side of the industry,

so making films can be easier for him.

He was a pure artist.

The kind you meet once or twice in a lifetime.

Yeah.

Even though you're gone,

I'm still your fan.

And that

will never change.

Thank you so much, Director Hu.

I remember when he got off the taxi,

He was very anxious.

He opened the door before the taxi fully stopped.

He was eager to see

the set.

He wanted to get to work.

Once the taxi stopped,

bang, he opened the door,

carrying a crooked backpack.

He didn't care about

how he looked and just ran,

like a wuxia character.

All the actors looked like him.

They turned sideways and ran like the wind.

What was cutest about him was that

he would suddenly run like wind.

It was crazy.

When we attended

Tokyo International Film Festival,

I think he wore a winter suit

in summer because he kept sweating.

When he walked out of the bathroom,

His zipper was always open.

I'd say, "Director,"

and he'd go, "Oh."

It was...

.. so hilarious.

When he sweated,

he'd just... do that.

We'd normally wipe it

with tissue paper or something,

but not him.

He was such a genuine guy.

He never cared about things like that.

What he really cared about

was his films,

his art.

What you see in films with Director Hu

was how he really was.

He always drank happily

and talked happily.

You need to enjoy life,

and he did.

He lived

like a wuxia character.

He was a wuxia warrior.

People always ask me

if I'm a director of wuxia films.

I always explain to them,

No.

I'm merely a director of
action films set in ancient China.

In China, there was never actually
a "wuxia world"or "professional swordsmen".

Historically, "xia" embodied a way of life.

A "xia" could be in any profession and
didn't necessarily know kung fu.

How else could they make a living?