Considered by many to be the king of the Wu Xia martial arts genre, Tsui Hark is literally a living legend of cinema with a prolific career that has spanned over the last 30 years. Known for his outlandish style of quick cuts, kinetic action choreography and of course over the top wire work that helped define the Wu Xia genre into what it is today. Some of his best known titles include Once Upon a Time in China, Zu Warriors, Time and Tide and more recently Seven Swords and Detective Dee and The Phantom Flame.
Over the weekend, Hark was awarded the Star Asia lifetime achievement award at the New York Asian Film Festival and invited to take part in select screenings of some of his classic films including The Blade and Zu: Warriors From the Magic Mountain. I was fortunate enough to sit down with martial arts maestro and have a candid conversation about his career, his influences and what made him become so immersed in the Wu Xia genre. The director opened up and gave some great honest answers so I highly encourage all fans to check out the video below and for those unfamiliar with his films, there’s no better time than now to check out his amazing talent.
Are you a fan of Tsui Hark? What’s your favorite film by the director?