[2014.09.03] DIRECTOR OF A GENERATION LUNG KONG PASSED AWAY

Lung Kong started in acting, then he began writing and directing film

Tsui Hark last month presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Lung Kong for his contribution to film

CALL GIRLS

YESTERDAY, TODAY, TOMORROW

HIROSHIMA 28

TEDDY GIRLS

STORY OF A DISCHARGED PRISONER

THE WINDOW

BLACK MASK
courtesy of mingpao.com

courtesy of singtao.com

Last month Tsui Hark presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Lung Kong in New York.  It was his final appearance.

Petrina Fung praises Lung Kong on his humanity
courtesy of on.cc

Veteran director Patrick Lung Kong who has made many classic films that reflected social conditions yesterday passed away at home in New York from cancer at the age of 79. Born in Hong Kong, Lung Kong was originally named Lung Kong Yiu. His father was a Cantonese Opera actor, whose mentor was famous star Sit Kok Sin. In the 40s during the Japanese invasion of China his family joined Sit Kok Sin's opera troupe. In childhood he first started as an extra. After the war, during the day he worked at a stock trading company and went to school at night. During the period he was baptized as a Catholic.

In 1957 he met veteran actor Ma Siu Ying at church, was introduced to and signed with Shaw as an actor. He came up with his stage name Lung Kong. His first film was the 1958 CRIME OF PASSION IN THE HOTEL and played the villain. Soon he worked as director Chow See Luk's assistant director. He participated in a dozen or so films as assistant director, screen writer, producer and other posts. As Shaw reduced production, later he joined Kong Ngee and caught the eyes of director Chun Kim. In 1966 he directed his first film PRINCE OF BROADCASTERS and made a splash. His second film THE STORY OF A DISCHARGED PRISONER was concerned with former prisoners and seen as a breakthrough work. YESTERDAY TODAY TOMORROW even caused a political storm. It depicted how Hong Kong people united to fight an epidemic, but because of the Cultural Revolution in the Mainland the film was criticized for possible projection. In the end its original title EPIDEMIC could not be used. His later work like THE CALL GIRLS and HIROSHIMA 28 even won many Asia Film Festival awards as he was known as Hong Kong film's Odd Bloom Director. In 1981 Lung Kong met his current wife Wu Chi Ting in the U.S. The next year he immigrated to the U.S. and studied film at New York University. On his free time he guest starred in films like SHANGHAI BLUES and BLACK MASK. The last appearance of Lung Kong was on August 15. A Lung Kong film retrospective organized by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office took place in New York as Tsui Hark presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to him. He was moved to tears.

Tsui Hark praised Lung Kong's film as the "symbols of the rise of Cantonese films. We are all his students." John Woo (Ng Yu Sum) once remade Lung Kong's film THE STORY OF A DISCHARGED PRISONER into A BETTER TOMORROW. He congratulated him via video and called Lung Kong a "film master" and "our teacher". "I follow in his footsteps, from his films I have learned a lot."

Having worked with Lung Kong on the film TEDDY GIRLS, Nancy Sit Ka Yin said the news of Lung Kong's death was "too sudden, I am very sadden!" Sister Ka Yin praised Lung Kong as the 60s film industry representative. His films were very forward and very advanced. Like in TEDDY, he asked Sister Ka Yin to played a 16 year old unwed mother who sold drugs and was sent to juvenile detention center. At the time Sister Ka Yin's parents unilaterally opposed to her making the film, but Lung Kong felt that the character was a cautionary tale and very challenging to her acting. He urged Sister Ka Yin not to just play the girl next door and should take a step forward. In the end he convinced Sister Ka Yin, whose fame rose because of the film. The film also brought him many awards. Thus she was very appreciative of Lung Kong. In recent years when Sister Ka Yin performed in the U.S., Lung Kong drove two to three hours to support her. The last time she saw him was at a film event in Hong Kong last year. At the time Sister Ka Yin asked him to dinner but he was very busy in Hong Kong because he had many friends. In the end nothing came of the dinner and they never had a chance to meet again. Sister Ka Yin lamented, "I am very sadden. (Did you know that he was sick at the time?) I didn't, although he was thinner, he didn't look sick." Petrina Fung Bo Bo who was close to Lung Kong gave a brief response. "The scene of rehearsing on the set was like yesterday......right in front of my eyes."

Director Pang Ho Cheung yesterday eulogized Lung Kong on Weibo. "Director Lung Kong was a legend, influencing several generations of filmmakers. His films deeply inspired me. I was fortunate enough to meet Mr. and Mrs. Lung Kong by chance in Italy and spent several days with them. Director Lung not only attended my premiere but also exchanged film views. I was deeply benefited. Last week I just heard that he received the Lifetime Achievement Award in New York but could not congratulate him in time. This morning I received the bad news." Pang Ho Cheung even revealed that Lung Kong scolded him. Last year his film held a premiere at the Udine Film Festival. Lung Kong who came in support saw him dressed casually and in flip flops smiled and reminded him that a director could not be so casual. At least he had to wear a suit. At the time he explained that he rushed over directly from his flight.

In addition, the Hong Kong Film Archive three years ago held a Lung Kong exhibit and interviewed actors whom have worked with him. Josephine Siao Fong Fong said, "I feel Lung Kong is a visionary director with more courage than others. At the time directors who cared about social problems were few, he has this kind of courage to care. He even spent many months before the shoot on research. For example for THE WINDOW he visited schools for the blind and looked for priests to ask many questions. I feel that very few would make a movie as seriously as he does. I have benefited a lot from working with him. I feel that he is the type of director that since others do not dare he would. If he chose this road, he would not be afraid of public opinion .Because he focused on what he did, this type of people usually did not care about the public opinion on what he did. One thing was very interesting. He said, 'We aren't afraid; like a ball, whoever hit me I just bounce higher!' when I heard him say that I felt that his philosophy was great. Thus from then on I was not afraid of any setback because I would bounce even higher. I thank him very much!" Kenneth Tsang Kong said that Lung Kong not only had a talent for acting but also for directing. He said, "His demand for film is very sincere. Many of his work is controversial. He is very smart, very wise, he would succeed in anything that he wants to do."

Siao Fong Fong who has known Lung Kong for over 40 years yesterday received the news and was very sadden. "I can't believe he is gone. How can he be gone? I still have a lot about movies, acting, and Buddhism to talk with him about, he just passed so suddenly. I was very stunned when I heard it. I don't know how to describe it. My heart was completely harden!" Sister Fong Fong pointed out that Lung Kong was one of the most influential person to her. "Before working with him I didn't know how an actor acted, I learned everything myself and relied on watching how Pai Yin acted. Then I worked with him and I learned that acting required the heart, it was a science. I am very appreciative of him. His passing broke my heart." Sister Fong Fong also praised Lung Kong as a good director. "He was the director who was the best at knowing how to help an actor cultivate emotions and get into character."

Director Lung Kong's daring attempts and styles in his films are worthy of many directors who are stuck in the co-production mud to consider. Pang Ho Cheung admired his foresight in film. "Our generation of directors want to make films of our own styles, but investors would first ask us would the film be able to be released in the Mainland. If not, investors wouldn't be willing to support us. Sometimes we feel very helpless and may not be able to make what we want to make." Director Derek Kwok Chi Kin who has worked with Lung Kong on SKYLINE CRUISERS (SUN TAU CHI SAI DOI) found three comments from Lung Kong deeply influential. "Director Lung was a rather sharp person. he told me, 'A chapter is one scene, a book is one movie, a sentence is one shot.' Different eras have different problems. Back then he had the competition between Mandarin and Cantonese films, now it's between co-productions and Hong Kong films. However I remember he said, 'As long as you put an effort into making a movie, you don't have to worry about a lack of viewers'. The importance is did you make it with heart."

Chapman To Man Chak who also ran into Director Lung in Udine yesterday said, "Only a few people who make movies and have such magnanimity are left in this world." Lung Kon's films was driven by domestic ideas. Now films are driven by co-production. Did it mean that Hong Kong film is dead? Ah Jat said, "The market is different, different people have different choices. I am not dead, many people are still making movies, no problem."

Interestingly, Lung Kong's father was a buddy of Bruce Lee's father Lee Hoi Chuen. When Lung Kong made CRIME OF PASSION IN THE HOTEL, he asked Bruce Lee (the all Hong Kong Cha Cha contest champion) for help.

Lung Kong also insisted on never repeating his own work and put his "taking one step forward in every three" theory in practice; in other words after he made three profitable films, he could make a movie that he liked to make but might lose money for his fourth.