Film Series
All Hail the King: The Films of King Hu
Master of the martial arts movie, Chinese cinematic titan King Hu revolutionized the wuxia/swordplay film, introducing a refined sense of aesthetics, attention to mise-en-scène, and sense of mysticism to the genre that was borne out of his lifelong love for Chinese opera. With its unique blend of thrilling action and dazzling stylistic expressiveness, Hu’s style influenced decades of subsequent Asian cinema.
BAMcinématek's full-career retrospective of this "extravagantly talented visual stylist" (Bruce Bennett, The New York Sun) presents his work alongside an international selection of films that either anticipate his inimitable style or bear its influence.
Presented in conjunction with the Taipei Cultural Center of TECO in New York.
Hu’s visually stunning masterpiece chronicles a female warrior battling the Ming dynasty.
This sumptuously mounted musical romance became an enormous box office phenomenon.
A tale of Freudian passion, a camp vehicle for Joan Crawford, and a florid satire.
Hu’s seminal first wuxia film marries swordplay with the grandeur of Chinese opera.
Ang Lee’s exhilarating, mega-hit wuxia epic is rife with references to Hu’s work.
Hu’s atmospheric final film is a beguiling tale of a young scholar and a beautiful ghost.
This lavish historical epic is a complex tale of court intrigue and political maneuvering.
Tsui Hark’s brutal and audacious homage to the macho Hong Kong action films of the 1960s.
A band of warriors battle Japanese pirates in Hu’s stylistically inventive wuxia film.
A crumbling Taipei movie palace is the setting for this poignant tribute to King Hu.
A trio of warriors battle the forces of a conniving eunuch in this martial arts classic.
Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece is one of the greatest movie epics of all time.
Martial arts icon Angela “Lady Whirlwind” Mao starts in this rousing comic adventure.
This atmospheric supernatural fable is one of Hu’s most visually ravishing works.
Intrigue abounds in a Buddhist monastery in this pictorially lush period drama.