The Master Strikes
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 HKCinemagic : In you early works, there was a very impressive fight scene in The Master Strikes, especially this very brutal ending fight. What do you remember about it? |
| Tony Leung Siu Hung : Hum… I'm sorry, it's hard for me to remember, it was a long time ago. I hardly remember it (laughs). Sometimes, I will remember scenes which had a specific difficulty for me but may not appear special to the audience. For example, there was this modern movie telling the story of two lovers [Vengeance is Mine], with Pat Ha, and I especially remember the ending. Because it was the toughest for me! It was pretty simple: The bad guy was chasing the two girls and tried to kill them. But the problem was how to make those ladies fight back! We did it a very realistic fashion , it lasted 6 minutes and it was very tough. |
Casanova Wong in The Master Strikes, co-choreographed by Tony Leung Siu Hung
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| Monkey Kung Fu |
| HKCinemagic :
On Monkey Kung Fu, you had to share the action direction with Ching Siu Tung. Was it difficult to find your balance between your two styles?
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| Tony Leung Siu Hung : Oh no. Actually, I worked with Tony Ching Siu Tung for several years, when I was young. I was his assistant then and also a stunt double. I really admire some of his creations. He got no limitation! He really knows how to use camera angles and camera movement. |
Tony Ching Siu Tung both in front and behind the camera for Monkey Kung Fu
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Coolie Killer |
| HKCinemagic :
In my opinion, the movie which really made you reach the action directors of the world top league was Coolie Killer… |
| Tony Leung Siu Hung : Absolutely, it made me famous. |
Action scene from Coolie Killer
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| HKCinemagic : You didn't share the credit with anybody else here. Was it difficult for you to adapt to a new style, relying less on Kung Fu but on chasing scenes in a modern setting?
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| Tony Leung Siu Hung : That was my second or third movie as action director. Before I was used to use some techniques, like zoom back, this kind of things. And the first day, we had a meeting between the director and I, he mentioned that “ok, Tony, give up everything you used before”. I worked with him on a TV channel before ATV, we knew each other very well, we knew our techniques. It was very challenging for me. There was no Kung Fu, just chasing and gunfights. The planning for the action on this movie was around 6 or 7 days, but I ended up working on it 60 days! When I was hired by the producer, he told me that judging the story my work would probably be less than 20 days. So I signed a contract without any detail about the working conditions. When I made it, even for… Let's give an example: The director was shooting a scene at midnight in Sai Wing Poon, in the new territory. From where I live it takes at least 45 minutes in car to go. And I got a ring at 3 am . It was the director who said “ok, Tony, I've got a problem with Charlie Chin, you have to come to teach him how to do it.” What would you do in this situation? |
Charlie Chin in Coolie Killer
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| HKCinemagic : I'm afraid I would go… |
| Tony Leung Siu Hung : Exactly (laughs). I was very angry about this late call. But on the other hand, I was also happy because it meant the director relied on me very much. |
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| HKCinemagic : Were you satisfied with the final result?
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| Tony Leung Siu Hung : Yes to tell you the truth. With this movie, I gave up the style of Ching Siu Tung. And I got full support from the producer and director. The last day doing the editing, the director told me: “Tony, you are going to be famous for this ending.” And he was right. So, actually, it was good for me. Even if I had to work 60 days on it (laughs). After that, several companies proposed me contracts but I chose to work with Shaw Brothers. |
Realistic fight from Coolie Killer
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Flying Mr B and Wong Jing |
| HKCinemagic : In the Shaw Bros, during the period 1984-85, you worked a lot with Wong Jing. Tell us about that. |
| Tony Leung Siu Hung : I never asked him why he wanted me to be his fight choreographer. It's probably because he liked my job and I was young at that time and so was he . Another thing is that I was one of the few action directors who required script meeting and the control of the editing. I always ask for a total control of the editing. Before, it was controlled by the editor. So, it's wonderful for the director. I remember that I said to Terry Tong: “ok, I would like to do it but my conditions are location research, script meeting and every details, every meetings dealing with action scenes, I should be there”. Even some drama scene, without any action, because it can have an impact on the action. I would say nothing but I would need to understand for what purpose you created this scene and how it will influence my action. It was a bit new to say this kind of things then. |
Wong Jing, a producer/director in love with his action choreographer
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| HKCinemagic :
One of the collaboration you did with Wong Jing was Flying Mr Bee. At the end, there is a big scene in a house dealing with bikes.
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| Tony Leung Siu Hung : Oh, yes. BMX. It was popular back then. |
The BMX sequence from Flying Mr B.
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| HKCinemagic : Every big action director did such scenes at the beginning of the 1980s, from Lau Kar Leung to Samo Hung. Was this scene a reaction to it? Like “I can do it too!” |
| Tony Leung Siu Hung : No, it all came from the mind of Wong Jing. He's a creator. In fact, I don't like it at all. I'm not referring to that scene specifically. But I don't like to have to do things which have already been done. I prefer to create new things. Like the roller skating chase in Coolie Killer. After that, there was many roller skating in HK movies (laugh). |
The roller skating chase scene in Coolie Killer
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| HKCinemagic : Wong Jing has the reputation of letting other people direct big parts of his work. How was it for you?
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| Tony Leung Siu Hung : Most of the time, Wong Jing would come and say “ok, Tony, it's your turn now, bye, bye!” (laughs). But there is a reason for that. He himself confess he's not a Kung Fu master, he doesn't know choreography at all. |
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| Magic Crystal |
| HKCinemagic : Another Wong Jing collaboration in which you had a lot of freedom for a great result was Magic Crystal.
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| Tony Leung Siu Hung : Oh, yeah, I love this one! |
One of the many great fights from Magic Crystal
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| HKCinemagic : You were in control in this on, we can tell with the high quality action scenes. You also shot in Greece. |
| Tony Leung Siu Hung : Yeah, something like 10 to 15 days. Apart from Greece and Hong Kong , the ending scene, the interior parts are shot in Taiwan. I don't really know why we went there… probably something to do with the producers. |
The Taiwanese studio was the set for the ending fight of Magic Crystal
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| HKCinemagic :
How did you manage to make Andy Lau looks so good in his action scenes?
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| Tony Leung Siu Hung : Stunt double (laughs). But Andy is great, a smart guy. |
Andy Lau's stunt double performs a beautiful jumped kick
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| HKCinemagic : Were you satisfied by the physical prowess of the two westerners in the movie, Cynthia Rothrock and Richard Norton?
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| Tony Leung Siu Hung : Yes to both. The point is that, they know they are working in Hong Kong and they have to adapt to our style. Some people, on the contrary, some foreigners, are very stubborn. They work in Hong Kong but always complain “why this, why that?”. Because in Hong Kong , there is no schedule, no time limit. Both Norton and Rothrock were very nice and, of course, they were experts in martial arts. Norton is smart, he reacted quickly. Cindy [Cynthia] was not as quick as Norton but her kicks were WOW! Powerful! Real power. |
Cynthia Rothrock fights Richard Norton in Magic Crystal
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angels |
| HKCinemagic : In 86, you participated in certainly one of the best Girls with Guns ever, Angels. Can you confirm us who directed the movie as there are contradictory reports? |
| Tony Leung Siu Hung : Not Teresa Woo. Actually, it was directed by Ivan Lai, Teresa Woo just did the script. |
Action scene from Angel
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| HKCinemagic : Did you have any input in casting roles ?
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| Tony Leung Siu Hung : No. Only the action scenes. |
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| HKCinemagic : What did you think of Yukari Oshima's abilities ? |
| Tony Leung Siu Hung : Oh! Dai Do [Cantonese name of Yukari Oshima]! In my opinion, she's the best of the Kung Fu actress. Because she's a woman and she really achieved an excellent level of tolerance to pain. Once, during the ending scene, she was hit by Moon Lee, to the pelvis. Because they were both focused on the moves, they didn't realise what was going on. She was in great pain for one minute. I thought it was finished for the scene but she asked me to give her a few minutes. And then she was ready to continue! She's very fast. Even if I was not able to speak English by then, I just showed her the moves and she got it immediately. So quick. She could also do somersaults and tumbling. She could do everything! |
Moon Lee Vs Yukari Oshima in Angel
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| HKCinemagic : How long did it take you to do those action scenes?
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| Tony Leung Siu Hung : I did both, the ending and the one in the house, in 10 days. You told me you found the building gunfight as being one of the best shootout scenes but I never thought that when doing it. I just tried to make it the best possible according to the schedule and the budget. |
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In the Line of Duty 3 |
| HKCinemagic : Another Girls with Guns you participated in was In The Line of Duty 3. But many action directors worked on this one. Can you tell us exactly which part you designed?
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| Tony Leung Siu Hung : I did the opening, during the fashion show and one or two others I can't remember. |
Gunfight from In The Line of Duty III
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| HKCinemagic : Cynthia Khan was quite inexperienced then. Did it make it more difficult?
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| Tony Leung Siu Hung : Yes, yes. And the other problem came from the Japanese guy [Hiroshi Fujioka]. He was too stubborn. The original director, Arthur Wong, also complained about him. But I was not the original action director. I came in second. The original action director was Chris Lee. A problem in the project appeared later, but I don't know the details and then Arthur Wong and myself went away. |
The difficult Hiroshi Fujioka in action
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Sex and zen |
| HKCinemagic : Another movie was a challenge for you to design -- Sex and Zen.
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| Tony Leung Siu Hung : It was almost unacceptable for me. Because I'm a Buddhist. There was a scene in which they were making love with wires, Elvis Tsui and Amy Yip. And I had to complain and apologise to Michael Mak “sorry, I can do anything for you except that, I have no idea for that. I can do some real action but the other things, please, do it yourself” (laughs). |
Typical “action” scene from Sex and Zen
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Once upon a time a hero in China |
| HKCinemagic :
In Once Upon a Time a Hero in China you had to mix serious action with over the top comedy. How did you find the balance between the two?
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| Tony Leung Siu Hung : To be honest, I'm a funny guy (laugh). So I can guess the intention of the director. And the main actor, like Alan Tam, is not a real Kung Fu fighter. When you are a real martial artist, you sell your performance with screams and special techniques. But people know what Alan Tam is able to. So the audience doesn't expect anything from Alan Tam. So, I just try to make it funny and try to make it more realistic to be a Wong Fei-hong. That's also why I insist on script meeting. Usually, I would not say anything until the end, then I would express my ideas for the film and then we compromise for the final result. |
Alan Tam as Wong Fei Hung in Once Upon A Time A Hero In China
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Drunken Master 2 |
| HKCinemagic :
In Drunken Master 2, what kind of participation did you have?
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| Tony Leung Siu Hung : I only worked on the restaurant but actually I'm not the actual choreographer. I was there as the vice chairman of the HK stuntman association to bring some members in Shanghai to help on the scene. |
The tea house fight scene from Drunken Master II |
| HKCinemagic :
What is your opinion about the conflict there was between Jackie Chan and Lau Kar Leung?
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| Tony Leung Siu Hung : I really liked what Jackie did. The first part of the directing credit should go to Master Lau but the rest, especially the ending, is Jackie. There was problem with the story and he changed it… But he changed it so good! Some credits should also be given to the scriptwriter. The main bad guy was supposed to be the Korean [Ho Sung Pak] but he changed it to Ken Lo. What he did was wonderful! Especially the part with the legs. Pam, pam, pam (imitating the “tap dance” of Ken Lo) . I really loved this part! |
Ken Lo's bootwork from Drunken Master II |
| HKCinemagic : That's why you did it yourself in Superfight ! |
| Tony Leung Siu Hung : Yeah, I borrowed it (laughs). I really love that. Just for that part, a lot of credit should be given to Jackie. |
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