Sai Wan Ho Hong Kong Film Archive | Morning Matinee: Phoenix on the Silver Screen - A Centenary Tribute to Fung Wong Nui

Description

Fung Wong Nui (1925-1992), born in Guangdong province, began her career as an apprentice in Cantonese opera at age 13 and co-starred in her first major opera The Romantic Monk in 1947. In the early 1950s, her villainess role in Lust is the Worst Vice brought her widespread fame and popularity, and as a result, many opera troupes tried to hire her as their erbang huadan (second female lead). In 1958, she formed her own troupe and became its zhengyin huadan (female lead). Her first opera, Luring the Girls On, was an audience favourite, prompting her to transition from villainess characters to leading roles. From 1960 to 1970, in addition to her position as female lead of the Tai Lung Fung Opera Troupe, she also led a few other opera troupes.

She started making films in 1950 with The Romantic Monk. Her most well-known works include A Bachelor’s Love Affair (1953), The Humiliated Rickshaw-Puller (1953), The Graduate (1953), Sweet Dreams (1955), Red Shoes Solves the Mystery Case (1959), Return From Battle for His Love (1961), Lady General Fa Muk-lan (1961), and The Princess in Distress (1962). Her final film was The Imperial Warrant (1968).

In the mid-70s, Fung Wong Nui hosted a variety programme for TVB, Ladies and Gentlemen, Miss Fung Wong Nui (1975-1976). She acted in Better and Bitter Half (1978) and Police Woman (1978), which showed off her comedic side as well as her wide range of skills and talents. She also co-hosted a radio show. Her live performance career continued to flourish over the years, touring to many countries overseas including the US, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

Fung Wong Nui displayed immense range over the course of her career; she was capable of taking on roles both heroic and villainous, serious and comic, dramatic and action-filled. In celebration of her 100th birthday, the Archive has selected 16 films among her illustrious career of over 250 films, categorised under: ‘Gems of Cantonese Opera’, ‘The Unforgettable Villainess’, ‘Martial Heroine’ and ‘Comedy and Drama’. With her friends and co-stars, as well as established film scholars invited to share their insights and memories at the post-screening talks, the programme aims to highlighting her versatile charms and celebrate her considerable achievements in the film industry.

Fung Wong Nui was a highly accomplished Cantonese opera artist. ‘Gems of Cantonese Opera’ brings together cinematic adaptations of some of her most famous operas: Luring the Girls On (1959), Red Shoes Solves the Mystery Case, and The Princess in Distress. Meanwhile, A Bachelor’s Love Affair (1953) is an adaptation of a very popular song she performed with Leung Sing-por.

In ‘The Unforgettable Villainess’, we see Fung Wong Nui give memorable performances as a mean-spirited, tantrum-throwing wife in Henpecked Husband (1957) and a cruel and vicious consort in The Magic-Eyed Queen Spots the Prince, Part One (1959). She excelled equally at playing the sensual temptress in Sweet Dreams (1955) and the loose woman in Lust is the Worst Vice (1963)—all dazzling portraits of different facets of womanhood which commanded the audience’s attention and emotions.

In ‘Martial Heroine’, films such as Girl Martyr (1957), Lady General Fa Muk-lan, A Maid Commander-in Chief and a Rash General (1962), and An Agnostic and Sagacious Intercession (1962) showcase Fung Wong Nui’s exceptional martial skills.

Fung Wong Nui’s versatility in her film acting is highlighted in ‘Comedy and Drama’. She plays a kind mother in Revenge for Parents (1961) and a frail young woman in The Nine-Fingered Devil (1955), while also shining in comedic roles in Loving Enemies (1957) and The Illegitimate Lover (1959).

The programme features many titles that are not widely accessible to members of the general public. It is therefore an unmissable event for Fung Wong Nui fans and cinephiles alike.