Chu Shao-Chuen

Red Heroine was a smash hit on release and a prime example of the martial arts explosion of the late 20s (setting the template for later revivals), but with a crucial twist: in place of the typical, manly hero we have a swashbuckling woman. At first she’s a helpless abductee, then an unstoppable killing machine, fighting to stop a tyrannical warlord ravaging the countryside and enslaving numerous (very) scantily-clad young women.

During the Republic of China, a Beijing Opera actor named Wu Yuqin specializes in performing in female roles. He takes the stage name Qiu Haitang and is invited to dinner by an admiring warlord Yuan. He later meets Luo Xiangqi, a graduate of a female performance school. The two of them fall in love but it turns out that she is warlord Yuan's wife...

Early Shaw Brothers drama

Her Pearly Tears

Hong Kong horror.

Marriage Angle is a Hong Kong Mandarin-language feature film of the drama genre, written and directed by Wang Yin, produced by Shaw Brothers Studio, Liu Chi and Chow Sze-Ching were the cinematographers.

Shadows in the Old House

Famed director Zhu Shilin tries his hand at a horror film! The beginning of The Living Corpse immediately sets the tone with a folk duet clearly inspired by the popular 1956 musical Songs of the Peach Blossom River. The duet, in addition to Zhu's frequent use of long, empty shots and crisp editing, gives this horror film a traditional poetic charm and a strong folk flavor. Mise-en-scene and sound effects create a terrifying atmosphere, and successfully communicate the ghostliness of a world without ghosts.

Melodramatic film about a child prodigy.

Meal Time is a comedy film about all the mess with housework that director Yan and his wife had to go through after the maid gave up her job.

A Songstress Called Hong Lingyan (歌女紅菱艷) aka Tears of Songstress is a 1953 Hong Kong musical drama film directed by Tu Kuang-Chi. The film was a co-production by Shaws Film Company and Far East Motion Picture Company, and is based on the screenplay by Pan Liu-Dai.

Li Han-Hsiang directed film.

The renowned Li Li Hua plays Wu Ze Tian, the most famous woman in China's four thousand year history.

The Ching Dynasty novel The Dream of The Red Chamber is not only the most widely read, but also the most filmed book in Chinese history. The sprawling love story has proven a challenge to many filmmakers, but this version is acclaimed as the most successful. A sumptuous feature which took three years of planning and another for production, it was a hugely popular and critical hit which still stands out as a classic of both 18th century literature and 1960s moviemaking.

This is a musical about a young emperor who is lured via stories told to a place called Kiang-Nan by his royal tutor. The empress mother has the tutor go to Kiang-Nan to bring him back.

A Hong Kong historical drama

Singaporean diva Li Ailian has arrived in Hong Kong to further her singing career. Xu Zhaofeng helps her land a job at Spring Wind Palace. Provoked by jealousy, Xu's long-time girlfriend Tao Haiyin, a local diva, insists on performing at the Palace, too. And when two divas strut their stuff, it's great tunes and hot action. Haiyin's brother Zhengsheng, the bandleader, has fallen out with his sister due to his infatuation with Li. Li misunderstands Zhengsheng's intentions initially but his devotion speaks volumes. Haiyin and Xu also reconcile.