Best Hongkonger war movies

The Boys in Company C (1978)

Disheartened by futile combat, appalled by the corruption of their South Vietnamese ally, and constantly endangered by the incompetence of their own company commander, the young men find a possible way out of the war. They are told that if they purposely lose a soccer game against a South Vietnamese team, they can spend the rest of their tour playing exhibition games behind the lines.

Seven Warriors (1989)

In the early 1920's of China, seven former soldiers band together to defend a helpless village against a group of vicious bandits in this Hong Kong remake of Seven Samurai.

Beach of the War Gods (1973)

In the waning days of the Ming dynasty, Japanese marauders raid villages on the Chinese coast. A wandering swordsman single-handedly dispatches a group of the foreign thugs, and agrees to help defend the town. He assembles a core team of highly skilled warriors, and together they train the townsfolk to stand up to the foreign pirates, using strategy and skill. When the army launches an all-out assault on the town, a ferocious battle rages, leading to final conflict on the Beach of the War Gods.

The Naval Commandos (1977)

The "Godfather Of The Kung-Fu Film" created this rousing epic of a seemingly suicidal mission to destroy the Japanese Navy's flagship in 1937, featuring many great actors he had worked with over the years. Their courageous and desperate attempts to do just that comprise the remarkable action in this rousing epic, featuring some of the greatest actors Chang had ever made, was making, and would ever make famous. (IVL)

7-Man Army (1976)

In 1933, 20,000 Japanese soldiers and 50 tanks invaded the Pa Tou Lou Tzu, a strategic key point of the Great Wall. With only seven men stationing, these heroes took on the entire army for five days before succumbing. Director Chang Cheh recreated this epic battle with his favorite cast including Ti Lung, David Chiang, Alexander Fu Sheng and Chen Kuan-tai, as a celluloid tribute to these nameless souls.

Love in a Fallen City (1984)

Taking place in 1941, Love in a Fallen City centers on Pai, a young woman who has been ostracized by her family for divorcing her rich husband. A local match-maker, Mrs. Hsu, takes pity on Pai and decides to bring her to Hong Kong, under the guise of employing her as the Hsu's nanny, but in reality to introduce her to Fan. Pai and Fan seem to hit it off, but Fan's refusal to marry Pai soon sours things. However, as the Japanese begin to invade Hong Kong, the two begin to realize their true feelings for each other.

Raiding Party (1979)

Also known as Hong Kong.

Hong Kong 1941 (1984)

Years later, a woman narrates her personal story of the Japanese takeover of Hong Kong in 1941. She's Nam, young, attractive, daughter of a wealthy rice merchant, and prey to painful, disabling seizures. Her boyhood friend is Coolie Keung, whose family used to have wealth; he's now impoverished, a tough kid, a leader, in love with her. Into the mix steps Fay, cool and resourceful, an actor from the north, intent on getting to Gold Mountain in the US or Australia. They form a threesome, but the day they are to leave Hong Kong, the invasion stops them. Fay must rescue Keung from collaborators, Nam falls in love with Fay, and danger awaits their next attempt to escape.

Au Revoir, Mon Amour (1991)

A tragic love story set against the always volatile and oftenviolent backdrop of Shanghai during the Japanese occupation and at the opening of the Pacific Theater of the Second World War. A nightclub singer becomes involved with both a member of the Chinese resistance and an officer of the Japanese army.

The Warlord (1972)

No list of the screen's comic geniuses would be complete without Michael Hui Kwun-man. He created a hilarious and lovable comic persona that was both uniquely Asian but also universally beloved. This, his first film, not only showcased his incomparable sense of humor but revolutionized Hong Kong comedy. Evoking Chaplin, he plays a warlord in early 20th Century China, but makes the role his own with both laughs and some of the sexiest ladies on the Shaw Brothers lot.

A Moment of Romance III (1996)

Lau Tin Wai is a fighter pilot in the Chinese airforce who is forced to ditch in a field; he is taken in by the remote community of farmers who nurse him back to health, here he meets Ting Siu Wo, a young woman who falls in love with him.

The Blue and the Black (1966)

It's a powerful melodrama about a thwarted romance in 1930s Tientsin, China, during the Japanese occupation, and it stars Linda Lin Dai, one of the era's most popular stars. It was part of Golden Horse's 100 Greatest Chinese-Language Films.

Heroes of the Underground (1976)

Besides martial arts, Bruce Lee's contribution to Chinese society was instilling a strong sense of nationalism. After his death, anti-Japanese films found new breathe especially in Taiwan. Based on a King Hu’s script, Heroes Of The Underground tapped into Lee's nationalistic fervor and the Confucian ethic of country above family and starred the popular Ching Li as a World War II, Chinese secret agent planted into the Japanese Headquarters at Changsha. Tears flow in the name of country pride.

Sons of the Good Earth (1965)

The year is 1937, just prior to the Japanese invasion of China. Painters Ju Rui and Lao San stumble upon He Hua, a woman sold into the sex industry at a local brothel.

1941 Hong Kong on Fire (1994)

A family suffers at the hands of the Japanese during the occupation of Hong Kong. On December 25, 1941, the Japanese army occupied Hong Kong. The pawnshop owner, Luo Kai has three daughters, the eldest daughter Wangdi, the second daughter Xindi, and the youngest daughter Aidi. When the Japanese army captured Kowloon, Aidi was violently tortured by the Japanese army and suffered a mental disorder. Xindi followed his lover Shen Fang to rescue the wounded in the temporary hospital. In order to curry favor with the Japanese army, Luo Kai did not hesitate to sacrifice his eldest daughter Wangdi. However, not long after he became a traitor, his second daughter Xindi was attracted by a Japanese military officer. Luo Kai finally couldn't bear to fight against Wangdi to stop him. In the chaos...

Sun, Moon and Star: Part 2 (1961)

Part 1 ended with Jianbai and Su Yanan among the students fleeing the invading Japanese. Part 2 follows the efforts of all four characters to participate in the war effort. Su Yanan joins the army and fights. Jianbai enlists to be near her. A-Lan becomes a nurse at a battlefront hospital and Qiuming entertains the troops. (Grace Chang, Cathay's leading musical star at the time, performs some rousing patriotic numbers in these scenes.) Jianbai is reunited with Su in the battlefield, but...

Hitman the Cobra (1987)

Philippe (Richard Harrison) kills Roger (who sold information to the Japanese). Mike (Mike Abbott), Roger's brother, wants revenge and sends Bob, Blackie (Nathan Mutanda Chukueke) to find Philip.

Fist of Glory (1991)

Vietnam. The last days of the war. A crack squad of Army special forces commandos led by Johnny Reynolds undertakes an unauthorized combat mission behind enemy lines with disasterous results.

The Blue and the Black 2 (1966)

Part two of the wartime love story

Fatal Command (1988)

The Russian operations in Asia are ruined by the American agents. Ivan, a KGB, is sent to Kampuchea and terminates the op-posing American forces. John Matthews, an American CIA spy, works with Jim, a patriot to offset the Russian aggression. In Kampuchea, Well’s, a military general, is recruited by the KGB secretly and he makes use of his formal cover to get rid of Jim. Realizing that he’s a traitor, Jim never drops his guard. He concentrates on destroying him along with his gangsters. During the birthday party of Wells' daughter...

Ninja Project Daredevils (1985)

A secret mission with the code name Project Daredevil is planned by the notorious Black Ninja Gang.

Squadron 77 (1965)

Spy thriller set in occupied Shanghai. Li Lihua stars as the woman who is thrust into the role of nationalist freedom fighter when she discovers that her husband is a collaborator with the Japanese.

Soldier Terminators (1988)

A secret group of warriors for freedom against oppression in the South Pacific. consisting of secretly trained marines, performs surgeries on behalf of an elitist organization, they have in mind when the purpose of recovery of the control of the region achieved not let the group of mercenaries who used to feel strong, from the fear that such mercenary groups very easily can be found on the opposite side. To cover this eventuality hire in Alexander Sampson, not his own secret commando group, the conflict of baroutokapnismenon warriors of two specific groups will be ruthless ...

Mission Dynamo (1989)

The Vietnam war and terrorists led by Torosky battle it out with South Vietnamese forces assisted by the American Army. For squad leader Merlin and PFC Bill, the war has become so meaningless that they don't care anymore. Seeing their friends die, they decide to desert and soon discover that there is no sanctuary in the jungle. It's only a matter of time before Torosky catches up with them.

Raiding Invaders (1987)

Goodbye My Friend (1988)

Goodbye My Friend is a Hong Kong Crime-Drama starring Chow Yun-Fat.

Modern ‘Red Chamber Dream’ (1952)

Dream of the Red Chamber, one of the big four of classic Chinese novels, has been adapted for film and television dozens of times over the past decades. Yet this sui generis Great Wall production daringly transposes the setting to modern-day 1950s. The contemporised story revolves nonetheless around the love triangle between Jia Baoyu and his two cousins. Both girls love him but his heart belongs to only one. The ending, however, is remarkably changed to separation of the lovers as a result of war—the war that was surely still haunting the minds of the filmmakers at the time when the film was made. Not only did Great Wall pour money into building extravagant sets just so to recreate down to the smallest detail the grandeur of the legendary Jia mansion, but the film also boasted of its lavish costume designs for the diverse female cast. (From Hong Kong Film Archive)

Operation Child Hunt (1967)

A hidden gem produced at the height of the Hong Kong left-wing cinema. The Japanese army wants to force resistance leader Cheung (Bow Fong) to appear by capturing his family. Cheung's wife dies and, despite the protection by the nurse Yeung (Chu Hung) and other villagers, Cheung's daughter is captured. In the end Cheung's subordinate Lee Fu (Jiang Han) regroups with the resistance and saves the day, defeating the enemy and rescuing everyone. This film clearly references wartime productions in the mainland of China, with elements such as the Japanese taking hostages, resistance guerilla fighters, and the contrast between ‘heroes' and ‘villains' made obvious through camerawork and make-up designs. Street scenes shot in Macau merge seamlessly with studio scenes to recreate northern Chinese towns. War epics were not a strong suit of Hong Kong cinema. This film takes inspirations from Euro-American spy films and pays attention to character development and the mise-en-scène.

14,000 Witnesses (1962)

Story of conflict of two opposite ideas, set in a POW camp after the Korean War.

Flag of Honor (1987)

Hong Kong romance set in wartime