THE KING OF WUXIA (2022)
US Premiere!
Directed by: Lin Jing-jie
The most important thing to know when preparing to watch a 3.5 hour documentary about King Hu is that it’s not long enough. King Hu first blew audiences away in 1966 with his groundbreaking Come Drink with Me and he went on to revolutionize Chinese filmmaking, action choreography, editing, and storytelling with a series of pioneering wuxia films. The seven he made between 1966 and 1979 are stone cold classics that influenced a generation and then...heartbreak and tragedy struck as Hu’s uncompromising artistic vision met hard economic realities.
Hu worked with absolutely everyone over the course of his career and The King of Wuxia features interviews with friends and collaborators like John Woo, Sammo Hung, and his favorite actor, Shih Chun (A Touch of Zen, A City Called Dragon). They take us to the locations where he shot his films, Chinese opera performers demonstrate how Hu created his stunts, there’s rare footage of Hu from his acting days before he became a director, and dozens of emotional stories that have never been heard before. This is a testament to greatness, a documentary that’ll make you want to walk out of the theater when it’s over, pick up a sword (or a camera), and forge your own path in the world.