bc magazine

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the passing of superstars Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui the Hong Kong Film Archive (HKFA) will present a twenty-film retrospective entitled Revisiting the Glory Days – The Legacy of Leslie and Anita from April to December  The programme is also part of the first Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival.

The opening programme (also the opening programme of the Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival 2023) on 22 April is When Leslie & Anita Meet Hei & Gin at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Grand Theatre when Gin Lee will perform four theme songs from the films of Cheung and Mui ahead of a screening of Who’s the Woman, Who’s the Man (1996) – the last feature film co-starring the two superstars.

The following night, 23 April, the 4K restored version of Rouge (1988), another film co-starred by Cheung and Mui, will screen at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Grand Theatre. The remaining films will be screened from 29 April to 30 December at HKFA Cinema.

Cheung was a talented and versatile actor who brought various types of characters to life… Whether it be the unrestrained playboy in Days of Being Wild (1990), the fierce yet gentle undercover cop in Moonlight Express (1999), the highly skilful thief in Once a Thief (1991), the ingenuous scholar in A Chinese Ghost Story (1987) or the cunning rascal in Long and Winding Road (1994).

Mui starred in many roles…. as the psychologically conflicted Gu Manlu in Eighteen Springs (1997), the top-class etiquette coach in The Greatest Lover (1988), the tough woman facing a marital crisis in Midnight Fly (2001), the heroine who personifies both strength and gentleness in The Heroic Trio (1993), the legendary spy in Kawashima Yoshiko (1990), to cross-dressing as the incompetent and skirt-chasing king in Wu Yen (2001).

As well as being actors Cheung and Mui were massive pop stars. The film Behind the Yellow Line (1984) marked their first acting collaboration and its theme song, sad but charming, was the first film duet by the two superstars. Mui took the role of a pop diva in the song and dance film The Musical Singer (1985). In For Your Heart Only (1985), Cheung’s hit songs intertwine closely with and drive the plots of the film. The theme song sung by him in He’s a Woman, She’s a Man (1994) became a Hong Kong pop classic. Cheung applied his artistic flair through directing, editing and scoring for the final sequence of Viva Erotica (1996).

The duo’s later films are also part of the programme, including Inner Senses (2002), about the dark side of human nature with Cheung’s powerful performance in expressing inner struggle and despair. In Mui’s July Rhapsody (2002), she delicately depicts how a middle-aged woman faces obstacles and melancholy in her natural performance.

Some screenings will be accompanied by pre-/post-screening talks hosted by Stanley Kwan, Joyce Yang, Gordon Chan, Chan Hing-kai, Janice Chow, Sam Ho, Clifton Ko Chi-sum, Dr Charles Cheung, Teddy Robin, Johnny Wang, Thomas Shin, Dr Ng Chun-hung, Shu Kei, Poon Hang-sang, Dr Angela Law, Eric Tsang and Matthew Cheng.

Apart from Viva Erotica which has no subtitles, all the other films have Chinese and English subtitles. Tickets are $85 for When Leslie & Anita Meet Hei & Gin and $45 for other screenings.