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Movie Info & Details
Release Year1981
Runtime1h 30m
LanguageMandarin
CertificationNR
GenresHistory
Votes1
DirectorAlex Law Kai-Yui
WritersLilian Lee Bik-Wah
TypeFeature Film
Rating8.0 out of 10
Cast5 credited
Also Known AsKing Chau and Lady Yu
About King Chau and Lady Yu
The story of Farewell to My Concubine is itself very dramatic. Lillian Lee is rumoured to have written the original screenplay in the late 1970s, which was made into a two-part television series on RTHK by Alex Law under the name King Chau and Lady Yu. Lee then adapted the story into a novel in 1985, which later inspired a feature film, scripted again by Lee and directed by Fifth Generation mainstay Chen Kaige, going on to become an international sensation that won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and Best Foreign Film at the Golden Globe Awards among other accolades. What's more, the Peking opera of the same title featured prominently in the novel, the TV programme and the film was itself adapted from a Kun opera, which was in turn based on the historical chronicle Basic Annals of Xiang Yu, from Records of the Grand Historian.
Directed by Alex Law Kai-Yui, King Chau and Lady Yu leans on a strong ensemble — Elliot Ngok Wah, Alan Yu Ga-Lun, Louis Fan Siu-Wong — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.
The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about history titles of 1981.
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