Skip to content
30 Jan – 9 Feb 2025

King Hu

King HU (1931–1997, China) was an actor, graphic artist, set builder, screenwriter, and filmmaker. He was educated at an art school in Beijing and left for Hong Kong in 1949, where he entered the film industry in the art department in 1951. He began acting in the 1950s and joined Shaw Brothers as an actor and writer in 1958 and later as a filmmaker. He is best known for his wuxia films. With the films Come Drink with Me (1966) and Dragon Inn (1967), he became a prominent filmmaker. He gained international prominence with A Touch of Zen (1969) which was nominated for a Palme d’Or and awarded the Technical Grand Prize in Cannes. He was nominated twice for a Gold Hugo: for The Valiant Ones (1975) and Raining in the Mountain (1979). In 1997, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at Golden Horse Film Festival.

Filmography

Yu Tangchun/The Story of Sue San (1962), Ding Yishan (1964), Da di ernu/Sons of the Good Earth (1965), Da zui xia/Come Drink with Me (1966), Longmen kezhan/Dragon Inn (1967), Xi nu ai le/Four Moods (1970, co-dir, segment Anger), Xia nü/A Touch of Zen (1971), Yingchunke Zhi Fengbo/The Fate of Lee Khan (1973), Zhonglie tu/The Valiant Ones (1975), Kong shan ling yu/Raining in the Mountain (1979), Shan zhong zhuan qi/Legend of the Mountain (1979), Zongshen dashi/Marriage (1981), Tian Guan Ci Fu/Heaven’s Blessing (1981), Tianxia diyi/All the King’s Men (1983), Da lunhui/The Wheel of Life (1983, co-dir, segment Part One), Xiao ao jianghu/The Swordsman (1990, co-dir), Hua pi zhi yinyang fawang/Painted Skin (1992)

More info: Wikipedia, King Hu

King Hu at IFFR