The 50 best Hong Kong films since the 1997 handover, part 2: from 25 to 1
Ahead of the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese sovereignty, we revisit the greatest movies the city’s cinema has produced in the past two decades
25. Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
There are special effects movies, and then there is Stephen Chow Sing-chi’s bombastic martial arts spectacle. As cartoonish as a live-action film could ever aspire to be, the comedy legend’s homage to 1960s and ’70s Hong Kong cinema is a surreal showcase of slapstick action at its most exhilarating.
24. Chinese Odyssey 2002 (2002)
Twelfth Night meets Roman Holiday in this Lunar New Year movie, produced by Wong Kar-wai and directed by Jeff Lau Chun-wai. A zany and even slightly touching rehash of 1959 huangmei opera classic The Kingdom and the Beauty, it is both a first-rate Wong parody and a wuxia-flavoured romantic comedy of the highest order.