Hong Kong 1941

Starring:Yun-Fat Chow, Cecilia Yip, Alex Man (II), Kien Shih, Ma Wu, Feng Ku, Chien Yu, Paul Chun, Sai-Kit Yung, Billy Lau
Director: Po-Chih Leong
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

The effortlessly charismatic Chow Yun-Fat stars in this excellent historical drama about the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during World War II. Yip Fai (Chow), a young man living with his aunt and hostile uncle, befriends a local tough named Kong (Alex Man). Fai wants to flee the city for Australia or America, but Kong is too attached to his home, as well as to the daughter of a local rice importer, Anna (Cecelia Yip). Passions shift among the three as the Japanese invade, creating a tortured world of collaborators, rebels, and black market thugs. Half Jules & Jim, half The Deer Hunter, Hong Kong 1941 successful juxtaposes the conflicted emotions of the three friends with the larger social chaos of the occupation; the personal and the political intertwine powerfully. Chow Yun-Fat, young and handsome, radiates a compelling mix of intelligence, integrity, and doubt. --Bret Fetzer

Description

With a powerful ensemble cast including Chow Yun-fat (Anna and the King, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and acclaimed actress Cecilia Yip-tong, director Leong Po-chi delivers a hard hitting drama portraying the lives of three young friends as they struggle to fulfil their dreams when faced with the physical terrors or war. Set against a backdrop of the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong from 1941 to 1945, this highly acclaimed film reveals the the harrowing effects of a conflict that shattered the dreams of a nation during almost four years if bitter repression. A story told with breathtaking cinemaography and compelling characters, the riveting action and stiking moral understones of Hong Kong 1941 celebrate the resilience of the human spirit.

Customer Reviews:

Japanese Invade and Occupy Hong Kong.......2005-06-21

1984 unrated WWII film set in Hong Kong. A love triangle drama set against the background of war. Also known as "Dang Doi Lai Ming," "Waiting for Daybreak," "Waiting for Dawn."

DVD Features: The DVD contains the movie, trailers, and some special features. The movie can be heard in English or Chinese (Cantonese) and can be read (subtitles) in English or Chinese. The trailers are for: 1) City Hunter (Jackie Chan, PG-13), 2) Naked Killer, 3) Magnificent Warriors (R-rated, Michelle Yeoh, WWII movie), 4) Magnificent Butcher (PG-13, Sammo Hung), 5) Heart of the Dragon (R, Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan), 6) Kiss of the Dragon (R, Jet Li, Bridge Fonda), and 7) The Transporter (PG-13, Jason Strathon as Frank Martin). The Special Features include: 1) this film's trailers (two), 2) photo gallery, 3) Interviews (two, one with Cecilia Yip (had been a model), and one with Paul Pui, actor ("film was very realistic, not dramatic"), 4) Chow Yun-Fat Movie Photo Gallery and Biography (born May 18, 1955 in Hong Kong; won the "Best Actor Awards at both Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards and the Asian Pacific Film Festival for" his role in this film; starred in "City on Fire . . . served as the inspiration for much of Quentin Tarrentino's, "Reservoir Dogs""), 5) Promotional Materials (posters and stills), and 6) Production Notes (synopsis, cast/crew list, and Chow Yun Fat Filmography). One final note, the music on the DVD menu screens sounds like something out of the Twilight Zone.

Credits: Chow Yun-Fat (Yip Fai, or as the synopsis credits the part as "Yip Kim-fay"; "The Killer"), Alex Man (Huang Kong, or as the synopsis credits the part as "Wong Hale Keung"; "The Con Man in Vegas"), Cecilia Yip (Anna Shin, or as the synopsis credits the part as "Ha Yuk-Nam"; "May and August"), Paul Chu (Fa Wang), and Sai-Kit Yung (General Kanezawa). Directed by Po-Chih Leong ("Out of Reach"). The movie is written by Koon-Chung Chan ("Kiss Me Goodbye").

Plot: The movies opens before the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, with the British attempting to send the women to safety in Australia. Food is rationed, and a minor riot occurs when the rice warehouse owner refuses to pay his workers. Then the Japanese invade and occupy Hong Kong. Before and during the occupation, three friends struggle to survive, with each attempting a different method of survival (Kong, Fai, and Anna). At the beginning of the movie Fai is living with his aunt and uncle (and attempts to stow-away on a boat to Australia), while Kong works for the rice people, and Anna wanders around screaming (apparently she has some genetic disorder, and is the daughter of a rich man that owns the rice warehouse and who is attempting to marry off his daughter (arranged marriage) to his new business partner's son (even though she and Kong have some kind of relationship). The three friends decide to try to leave for Australia, but the day they attempt to leave, the Japanese attack. Fai makes it onto a boat, but the other two do not. He decides that he cannot leave without them.

Review: The movie opens with a woman remembering her darkest days, which occurred in 1941 in Hong Kong. The woman occasionally offers some narration during the movie. A strange movie that opens slowly and, for the most part, continues to be slow. The movie picks up, a little, when the Japanese invasion starts and the Hong Kong citizens riot and loot.

Interesting movie about a strange time in Hong Kong history. The inhabitants either collaborate (and some do it to help others), attempt to hide in the shadows, or actively work against the occupation. Some of the collaborators really take advantage of the situation, torturing others, stealing money, and generally being overall evil.

The spoken English and subtitle English seems to be the same (except the profanity which is only in the subtitles, and I believe that occasionally a couple words are different). The dubbing isn't the best, though it is harder to tell considering that it isn't always easy to see their mouths.

The slow movie has a somewhat strange story-line (not enough of the resistance action shown, not enough of any action, really, shown). The acting appears to be good. The music is good. Overall, I would give the movie 3.40 stars.

Warning on English subtitles!.......2005-05-19

I will leave the other reviewers of 'Hong Kong 1941' to analyze the film for you. I have written this review to inform potential customers that the English subtitles on this Fox Home Entertainment edition are not up-to standards, especially for a major movie company such as Fox. There are some spelling (!!) errors but the most annoying aspect of them are that there are basic English grammatical mistakes. I watched the movie in the original Chinese audio with English subtitles and was duly disappointed.

The movie itself is ok and quite enjoyable, yet the subtitles are a major nuisance. Not only are they poorly done, but there are times throughout the movie where conversation is heard for quite a while, and you are certain subtitles are needed, but they never appear! Thus, the inevitable consequence is that at times, the movie lacks fluidity if you want to watch the movie in its original audio (The English dubbed version is very bad as well).

The picture and sound 'quality' on the DVD are great, but the subtitles simply ruin it.

i heart this movie.......2005-04-29

I adore this film. I have watched it millions of times, and it never gets old. I started watching it because i wanted to learn to speak Cantonese, but i soon realized that this movie is actually quite a masterpiece. There is romance, action, and a bittersweet twist at the end. You really need to see this movie!

What was it like back then?.......2004-10-05

I saw this in a video format in the sale accidentally yesterday, the only copy left. There are so few movies made about this period in the history of Hong Kong, my birth place ( I might not have been able to keep up-to-date with the movies produced there.) I grabbed this one out of sheer necessity to know something about my homeland and my people. The thing that struck me most is the wonderful expression on the face of Chow Yun-Fat who conveys the transformation of an easy-going, ambitious young man to a real man who loves his country, who summons up the courage, dignity, intelligence, profound human dignity, and calmness to face down the brutal, devious, humiliating conquest by a foreign power. The other main actors are also quite good. Overall, the movie struggles a bit between being an epic of monumental historical importance and the intimate stories of three young people. But to a Chinese like myself, the opportunity to enter into the mind and world of a character such as Chow is gratifying enough. Chinese people are very serious about their national identity, and being a traitor is just the worst thing if one is a Chinese. China did not fall to the Japanese despite being vastly overwhelmed by the enemy's military might because there were enough, far more than enough, Chinese who were like Chow's character.

Not as great as the reviews would have you believe........2003-08-20

I like Hong Kong Cinema and have seen several of the Neo style Hong Kong classics from the mid eighties to the mid ninties. In fact a couple of the reviews I read here peeked my interrest in watching it. I have to say however, that this film was a real snoozer for me.

The plot centers around three freinds who stick together during the Japanese occuapation of 1941. During this time the British have been temporarily defeated in Hong Kong, and several Hong Kong residents turn on there own in order to profit from the Japnaese. Chow Yun-Fat and his two new found friends scheme to escape Hong Kong but are delayed when they fail to make it out together. Over the course of the film Chow Yun-Fat and Ceclia Yip begin to develope an attraction to one another, even though she is arleady attached. A pathetic love triangle type scenario starts to arise but is never fully realized. Things between the three sort themselves out in the end. I won't spoil it for you.

I tried watching Hong Kong 1941 twice and had a hard time getting into it. I finally finished it the second time but was unimpressed with the characters and their plight. The love triangle never goes anywhere, the Japanese occupation is not potrayed well enough, (in my opinion) and the side plots seem like filler to make the movie more dramatic and lengthy.

One of my two stars is for Chow Yun-Fat's presence, which probally saved the film from bombing. The second is for the occassionl stunnig cinematography throughout the film. Other than than that, I can't think of anything else deserving of a star.

I'll also worn those of you who view this film on the DVD release from 20th Centruy Fox. (subsiderary is Fortune Star) The Englsih dub version is awful and makes the film seem more like a cheap B movie with it's poor choice of voice dubbing actors (particualarly Chow Yun-Fat and Ceclia Yips characters) and the re-orchestrated synthiser sounding score which replaces the original films score is just as awful. At least they included the origianl language track and score which was a good choice on the part of 20th Century Fox. It makes the movie easier to take. 20th Century should take some lessons from Taiseng's recent releases. They take the job of dubbing and scoring more seriously.

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Japanese Invade and Occupy Hong Kong.......2005-06-21

Warning on English subtitles!.......2005-05-19

i heart this movie.......2005-04-29

What was it like back then?.......2004-10-05

Not as great as the reviews would have you believe........2003-08-20

Overall I would say if you're interested in Hong Kong 1941 you might consider renting it. I can't really recommend it, but who knows, maybe you'll find more in it to admire than I did.

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