(L to R, Mak Kar, Raymond Wong Bak Ming, Dean Shek Tien)

FIRST PRODUCTION: 

LAUGHING TIME (Hong Kong, 1981) DIRECTOR: John Woo CAST: Dean Shek Tien, Ng Ma, Karl Mak Kar

FINAL PRODUCTION:

IN THE LAP OF GOD (Hong Kong, 1991)  DIRECTOR: Lo Kin CAST: Roy Cheung Yiu Yeung, Irene Wan Pik Ha

AWARDS:

1981, Hong Kong Film Awards

BEST ACTOR: Mak Kar, ACES GO PLACES

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Arthur Wong Ngok Tai, HE LIVES BY NIGHT

BEST EDITING: Tommy Chow Kwok Chung, HE LIVES BY NIGHT

1985, Hong Kong Film Awards

BEST ACTOR: Kent Cheng Juk Si, WHY ME?

PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD: WHY ME?, Kent Cheng Juk Si, Director

1986, Hong Kong Film Awards

BEST PICTURE: A BETTER TOMORROW, John Woo, Director

BEST ACTOR: Chow Yun Fat, A BETTER TOMORROW

1987, Hong Kong Film Awards

BEST DIRECTOR: Ringo Lam Ling Tung, CITY ON FIRE

BEST ACTOR: Chow Yun Fat, CITY ON FIRE

BEST ART DIRECTION: Hai Chung Man, A CHINESE GHOST STORY

BEST FILM SCORE: Tai Lok Man, James Wong Jim, A CHINESE GHOST STORY

BEST SONG: "Daybreak Don't Arrive," James Wong Jim, Music and Lyrics, Sally Yip Sin Man, Vocals

1988, Hong Kong Film Awards

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Sara Lee Lai Yui, SCHOOL ON FIRE

BEST ACTOR: Chow Yun Fat, ALL ABOUT AH-LONG

For veteran character actor Dean Shek Tien, the struggle of appearing in film after film, dozens a year, had become tiresome. It didn’t matter if it was a martial arts film, a comedy, a drama, or a horror film, or if it was in Hong Kong or Taiwan, over a decade’s worth of non-stop work was no way to enjoy life. Cinema was in his blood, but he longed for the power to be able to pick and choose, rather than to trudge away. Something bigger, better, and FLEXABLE had to exist. If it didn’t come his way, he was determined to make it happen.

Dean Shek Tien. From Michael Hui Koon Man's GAMES GAMBLERS PLAY (1976).

A professional electrician with a MFA from New York University, “Karl” Mak Siu Kar adored cinema. His thankless days repairing broken appliances coupled with his film studies, brought him a healthy appreciation for the aesthetic and commercial possibilities a career in film could bring. Like Dean Shek Tien, he longed for something better, and a career in film appeared to be the solution. After a few years writing scripts and appearing in few forgettable comedies for small productions, Mak Kar felt he could do better. With close friends Lau Kar Wing and Sammo Hung Kam Bo, Mak formed “Gar Bo.” Gar Bo’s intention was to make entertaining films that reworked successful formulas with a subversive edge, all on the cheap, and with an eye for profits. The time was ripe in Hong Kong for independent upstarts to get distribution. Circuits of theaters were rushing to light up empty screens for a movie-hungry colony. Internationally, martial arts films were the big money ticket. The idea was that Lau and Hung would provide the onscreen thrills, with Mak and Lau behind the camera. The handful of films produced by the triumvirate were exceptional yet the coffers of moviegoers proved otherwise. Dismayed, but not one to rest on his laurels, Mak Kar was determined to deliver the goods and rake in the benefit.

Mak Kar and "Baldy Jr." in Ringo Lam Ling Tung's ACES GO PLACES IV: YOU NEVER DIE TWICE (1984).

Raymond Wong Bak Ming was a young, baby-faced intellectual. His appreciation for classical Chinese literature was only equaled by his love for cinema. With a western education behind him, Wong longed for an outlet to vent his active imagination, and to strike it rich. Having established himself as a reliable, inventive screenwriter (in an industry where scripts are like a Taoist’s dream - changing with the tide, rather than being written in stone), Wong yearned for something bigger. After a year with the unsuccessful Warriors Film Co., Wong had a taste of the business end yet was not satiated. It was inevitable that the trio would unite.

Raymond Wong Bak Ming as the HAPPY GHOST (Clifton Ko Chi Sum, 1984).

Dean Shek Tien had worked with Mak Kar on almost all of the Gar Bo productions. Perhaps introduced to Mak through Sammo Hung, the pair hit it off. Raymond Wong may have known Mak or Shek, or both - but somewhere he was introduced to the pair via a third party. Shek certainly had the experience to help concentrate productions, including his personal savings, and connections to private investors with whom he had worked for as an actor. Shek was a known and respected name that certainly helped the upstart studio. Mak Kar had the technical end covered, with his film education, and career as a director. With some of his Gar Bo investors, and personal friends (according to John Lent’s indispensable book, THE ASIAN FILM INDUSTRY, Mak had an ally in a gentleman named Lawrence Louey, the head of the Kowloon Developments, a successful transportation conglomerate, parent company of Golden Princess Amusements. According to Lent’s research, Golden Princess’ money provided the backbone for Cinema City to become a reality, eventually becoming half-owner of the studio in 1981.), Mak was able to cast his eye on expanding the aesthetic horizons of Cantonese cinema. Raymond Wong brought his knack for narrative structure and in recognizing raw talent to the fold. Having an appreciation for the mandarin-speaking markets, Wong’s marketing influence was also critical With their individual attributes and a combined desire to succeed, the seed was planted for one of Hong Kong’s most innovative studios to blossom.

It wasn’t difficult to conceive a first venture for the studio. For years Dean Shek had entertained audiences with his very physical humor. Long before Jim Carrey could walk, Shek was contorting his face and body for maximum laughter. His work crossed the colony’s three biggest studios (Cathay, the Shaw Bros., and Golden Harvest), and countless independents (Lo Wei Motion Picture Co., Seasonal, Gar Bo, etc.), and as an established name with some box office draw, it was only natural to form the film around him (besides, he’d work for next to nothing). Raymond Wong set about drafting a script to showcase Shek’s talent, and Mak Kar would oversee the production as well as make an appearance. Mak enlisted his friend, Ng Ma, to make an appearance. All that was needed was a director. Both Mak and Shek had worked with a gentleman named Ng Yu Sam. Shek had appeared in the director’s first film (as comic relief) entitled THE YOUNG DRAGONS, seven years previous. When Mak was struggling as a comedian he had worked with Ng (who by then was going by the name “John Woo,”) on a segment for the Golden Harvest film HELLO LATE HOMECOMMERS. The two had hit it off, and since that time Woo had become a respected director of comedies over at Golden Harvest. Having kept in touch since then, Mak and Shek were well aware with Woo’s growing dissatisfaction at Golden Harvest, so it seemed natural to call upon Woo to help the pair on a film for their upstart company. One problem existed: Woo was under contract to Golden Harvest until 1983.

John Woo (Ng Yu Sam)

Directing under a thinly-veiled pseudonym, John Woo and co. immediately began working on LAUGHING TIME. Across-the-board, LAUGHING TIME is a family film. Shek, in top form, donned an ill-fitting suit, bolar hat and fuzzy moustache in a blatant nod to Charlie Chaplin, and Mak donned a tong-fan suit and fedora for the period comedy, which pits the hapless, homeless tramp against the sadistic opium dealer in 1920s Hong Kong. While not an enormous success in Hong Kong the film did well at the box office. Because of its broad physical humor and very harmless content, the film had no trouble selling itself to territories like Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore.

Stills from two of Cinema City's Taiwanese productions. (L) Peter Mak Tai Kit's ABRACADABRA (1986), and Chao Chen Kuo's GHOSTBUSTING (1985).

With that success, Cinema City immediately set forth on several productions. As the money poured in, so did its talent. Mak, Shek and Wong hired a young, western educated woman to oversea some its business, Shi Nan Sun, and established a proverbial “think tank” comprised of friends: Tsui Hark (husband of Nan Sun Shi, ), Tommy Chow Kwok Chung (the resident editor), Eric Tsang Chi Wai (who had written scripts with Mak Kar while at Gar Bo), Wellington Fung Wing (one of their staff of producers who would later help to form Media Asia, which now owns the complete Cinema City catalog), and Guy Lai Ying Chau (another staff producer who would move over to rival independent, Always Good Film Co. towards the mid 1980s). When Cinema City (via Raymond Wong) tried to establish a Taiwanese production arm under the auspices of Long Shong International in 1984, John Woo (fresh from his Golden Harvest contract) would serve as their liaison, directing and producing a handful of films there before returning to Hong Kong to direct A BETTER TOMORROW for the studio in 1986. It was through this “think tank,” that Mak, Shek and Wong would craft the studio’s films, including the ACES GO PLACES series (1982-1989, respectively). The ACES series was so successful, its first three installments are among the island’s twenty highest-grossing films, ever.

The posters for ACES GO PLACES (Eric Tsang Chi Wai, 1982) and ACES GO PLACES III: OUR MAN FROM BOND STREET (Tsui Hark, 1983)

Through this “think tank” (whose members would change over time), Cinema City developed its productions. Though this “think tank” may have resembled the old Hollywood system of “filmmaking by committee,” Cinema City were regarded as the most filmmaker-friendly studio in Hong Kong. Wong & Co were a stark contrast to the Shaw Bros. studios (who would place its talent into eight-year contracts that demanded much and paid little) and Golden Harvest (who were in the habit of producing a handful of films, and acquiring independent productions), who were their biggest competitors. Cinema City would pay top-dollar and offered short-term contracts for established stars leery of indentured servitude to a big studio. Coupled with the studio’s nurturing of young talent (American and British-born Chinese starlets, Taiwanese actors, etc.), it was a no lose situation.

Sally Yip Sin Man and Mark Cheng Ho Nam in Ringo Lam Ling Tung's CUPID ONE (1984).

Cinema City’s philosophy was to expand their market while providing an alternative to what was in demand. Often a popular music personality and a beauty queen would be paired together, with said musician providing at least one song to the film. The studio knew how to appeal to various demographics through singular productions. Instead of cranking out their own version of what was making money (namely martial arts films), Cinema City would focus on contemporary fashion, music and issues, sometimes taking production to exotic locales, and brought in foreign talent to help enhance production values behind-the-scenes (and on a few occasions, foreign actors as well), and in doing so, offered hours of escapism to eager audiences.

Joey Wang Tsui Hsien (l) and Leslie Cheung Kwok Weng (r) in Ching Siu Tung's A CHINESE GHOST STORY (1987).

Timing does play into Cinema City’s success. It was the 1980s, an increasingly prosperous time for Hong Kong cinema. Employment increased, people made more money, and the studio’s approach to luring in the audience played upon that. People were willing to go to the cinema. Hong Kong was not the only territory becoming an “emerging dragon.” Cinema City were able to market their films throughout Asia as it prospered. With their impeccable production values and international flair, the studio had little trouble securing distribution in foreign Chinese markets, and with Golden Princess Amusements their co-owner, video distribution was a given.

Posters for the films FOR YOUR HEART ONLY (1985, Raymond FungSai Hung), HE LIVES BY NIGHT (1982, Leong Po Chih) and TILL DEATH DO WE SCARE (1982, Lau Kar Wing)

So where did it go wrong? Cinema City had made money, consistently, and some of the island’s most important filmmakers and talent used the studio as a launching pad. What caused Cinema City to close it’s doors? Part of Cinema City’s demise appears to have been cosmetic. In 1991 Mak, Shek and Wong sold their half of Cinema City to Golden Princess, who had an established circuit of theaters, a video distribution arm, and several other production outfits working under its wing. Cinema City had competition with D & B Films (who owned their own theater circuit), and much of it’s “think tank” had moved on to form their own production companies (Tsui Hark and Film Workshop, for example). Having made a fortune, Shek and Co. were ready to begin again. the only problem was that Wong had his own ideas on how to start a new studio, and Mak and Shek were living in the past. With the triumvirate split, Wong went on to help establish Mandarin Films as a prominent independent studio. Mak and Shek felt they could rekindle the spark that had ignited Cinema City and formed “New Cinema City.” The duo would utilize Golden Princess as their distributor, and producer a few films a year and reap the profits. Such was not the case. With Wong gone, New Cinema City suffered from the fate Mak’s Gar Bo had a decade earlier. part of their problem was in having lost their “think tank.” With fewer heads to roll ideas around, and with the prolific Wong out of reach for script supervision, the films suffered. Instead of utilizing popular talent and some fresh faces, Cinema City called on its old friends (much like Gar Bo) to help out. Within two years New Cinema City was sold to Golden Princess. Like it’s namesake, it was quietly retired, and like the studios, Mak Kar and Dean Shek officially announced their retirement.

The poster for David Chung Chi Man's I LOVE MARIA  (1986).

Raymond Wong remains active in Hong Kong cinema via the Mandarin Films Co. Mandarin, along with the Brilliant Idea Group, owns a circuit of theaters to which they supply films. Wong occasionally appears in some of his productions though he generally handles the business end of things. Dean Shek Tien no longer has to work. He’s happily retired, with his Cinema City profits he diversified his investments and has started to give back to the island that made him a success. 1998 Shek opened a retirement community, partly funded with his investment money. Mak Kar has officially retired, having dropped out of the public eye since 1993.

- Darryl Pestilence

(From L to R) The poster for Taylor Wong Tai Loi's TRIADS: THE INSIDE STORY (1987), Mark Cheng Ho Nam and Maggie Cheung Man Yuk in Kent Cheng Juk Si & Lo Kin's HEARTBEAT 100 (1986). Leslie Cheung Kwok Weng, Ti Lung, and Chow Yun Fat in the film that revitalized their careers, as well as that of its director, John Woo: A BETTER TOMORROW (1986).

(L to R) Chow Yun Fat, Ti Lung, and Dean Shek Tien in John Woo's A BETTER TOMORROW II (1987).

STUDIOS

HOME