Peking Opera Blues

Infobox Film
name = Peking Opera Blues


imdb_id = 0090952
writer = Raymond To
starring = Brigitte Lin, Cherie Chung, Sally Yeh
director = Tsui Hark
movie_music = James Wong
distributor =
released = 1986
runtime = 104 min
country = Hong Kong
language = Cantonese
music =
awards =
budget =
amg_id = 1:37618

"Peking Opera Blues" (TC: 刀馬旦, SC: 刀马旦, pinyin: Dāo Mǎ Dàn; Cantonese: Do Ma Daan) is a 1986 Hong Kong film directed by Tsui Hark. The movie combines comedy, Hong Kong action, and serious drama with scenes involving Peking Opera.

ynopsis

The film is set in 1913 Beijing, during Yuan Shikai's presidency of the Republic of China. It depicts the adventures of a team of unlikely heroines: Tsao Wan (Brigitte Lin), a patriotic rebel who dresses as a man; Sheung Hung (Cherie Chung), a woman in search of a missing box of jewels; and Pat Neil (Sally Yeh), the daughter of a Peking Opera impresario.

Title

The Chinese title translates as "Knife Horse Actresses", a term used in Peking Opera to refer to male actors playing female warriors (See Dan article for details). It is sometimes erroneously translated as "Knife Horse Dawn", due to the fact that both words are represented by the same Chinese character. [Jenny Kwok Wah Lau, 'Peking Opera Blues: Exploding Genre, Gender and History', in "Film Analysis" (Norton, 2005), p. 739.]

Cast and roles

* Brigitte Lin - Tsao Wan (曹雲), General Tsao's daughter
* Cherie Chung - Sheung Hung (湘紅)
* Sally Yeh - Pat Neil (白妞)
* Kenneth Tsang - General Tsao
* Wu Ma - Mr. Wong
* Paul Chun - Fa Gum-Sao
* Mark Cheng - Ling Pak-Hoi
* Cheung Kwok Keung - Tung Man
* Ku Feng - Commander Liu
* Lee Hoi San - Soldier with moustache
* Leong Po-Chih
* Sandra Ng (cameo)
* Dean Shek
* Yin Szema
* Tien Ching
* David Wu

Responses

The film grossed $17,559,357 HKD in Hong Kong. [http://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=6827&display_set=eng]

In his Wrap Up video to the Region 1 DVD of Wong Kar-Wai's "Chungking Express", Quentin Tarantino refers to "Peking Opera Blues" as "one of the craziest movies ever made" and "the best and a lot of fun."

Notes

External links

*
* [http://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/peking_opera_blues.htm lovehkfilm entry]