The influence of internationally famous films like Enter the Dragon and Police Story on the course of Hong Kong filmmaking is well known.
But at different points in its history, Hong Kong cinema was influenced by many other films shot in the city. Below we recall some of them.
1. Story of a Discharged Prisoner (1967)
Story of a Discharged Prisoner, a social drama posing as a crime film, was prolific filmmaker Patrick Lung Kong’s most influential work.
He was the first Hong Kong filmmaker to make movies that depicted society as it was, rather than how the colonial government would have liked it to have been.
“Lung Kong anchored his characters in the urban jungle of Hong Kong … he observed and reflected on the growth of Hong Kong and the inhabitants there … he engages in the discussion of actual social issues and the complex questions about human nature, going so far as to appear on screen to speak his mind,” wrote Lau Yam, who edited the book Director Lung Kong.