As Stephen Chow turns 61, 5 of his best comic movies as actor and director, including a James Bond spoof, Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer
- Stephen Chow Sing-chi, 61 on June 22, is one of Hong Kong’s best loved actors and filmmakers, known for his ‘mo lei tau’ slapstick comedy style
- We recall his first lead role, the first film he directed – James Bond parody From Beijing with Love – and international hits Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle
Stephen Chow Sing-chi – known to fans as Sing Yeh, meaning “Grandmaster Sing” – is one of Hong Kong’s best loved actors and filmmakers, known mostly for his comic films.
As he prepares to celebrate his 61st birthday on June 22, 2023, we revisit five of his most memorable movies, which have made a mark not only in Hong Kong but around the world since the 1990s.
1. All for the Winner (1990)
Directed by Jeffrey Lau Chun-wai and Corey Yuen Kwai, All for the Winner is the first film in which Chow played the main character, and came 10 years after his screen debut in 1980.
Chow plays a man named Sing who has the ability to see through objects and change playing cards. His uncle Blackie Tat (Ng Man-tat) tries to use this talent for money by adapting Sing’s skills to gambling.
As Sing becomes the “Saint of Gamblers”, he finds a rival in the “King of Gamblers” Mr Hung (Paul Chun, whose birth name is Chiang Chang-nien) after falling in love with one of his henchwomen, Yee-mung (Sharla Cheung Man). Sing fights his way into a prestigious gambling tournament in Hong Kong to prove his skill – and win her hand.
All for the Winner, intended as a parody of the God of Gamblers movie series, was the first movie to make more than HK$40 million at the Hong Kong box office. It was the film that made Chow a star comic actor, thanks to its unpredictable mo lei tau slapstick comedy that would become a trademark of his work.
