January 7th, 2010
Top 50 of the Decade Postmortem - Full list + stats and other stuff
NOTE: If you’re just discovering this list of the Top 50 Hong Kong Films of the Decade, I suggest you head all the way back to the beginning at #50 and read starting from #1. It’s more fun, makes more sense, and will manufacture completely unnecessary suspense. Do it.
On to the regular blog entry:
Following up on December’s vote of LoveHKFilm readers, here’s a full list of the Top 50 Hong Kong Films of the Decade, including the Top 50 (and bonus 2) followed by the 125 films that were voted upon.
Because it would be a massive task to link every single film, I would humbly request that readers do a “copy and paste” of film titles into the LoveHKFilm search box to the left if they wish to read a review. Nearly every film listed here has an accompanying review on the site, except A GAMBLER’S STORY (2001) and DURIAN DURIAN (2000), which were never written because I was lazy during the early Aughts. Or maybe I was drunk. We’ll never know.
Also, sorry for the lack of pictures in this post. I’m having connectivity problems in my current (non-Hong Kong) location. If/when it ever gets resolved it’s back to funny celeb photos.
The list first, with fun facts and statistics afterwards:
TOP 50 Hong Kong Films of the Decade plus 2 Bonus Films
1. Infernal Affairs (2002), 879 points, 35 first place votes
2. In the Mood for Love (2000), 512 points, 25 first place votes
3. Shaolin Soccer (2001), 500 points, 10 first place votes
4. Kung Fu Hustle (2004), 281 points, 1 first place vote
5. Exiled (2006), 276 points, 6 first place votes
6. Election (2005), 267 points, 2 first place votes
7. Hero (2002), 251 points, 3 first place votes
8. One Nite in Mongkok (2004), 232 points, 1 first place vote
9. Infernal Affairs II (2003), 229 points, 4 first place votes
10. Running on Karma (2003), 220 points, 5 first place votes
11. SPL (2005), 218 points, 6 first place votes
12. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), 211 points, 8 first place votes
13. Red Cliff (2008), 202 points
14. PTU (2003), 201 points, 2 first place votes
15. Throwdown (2004), 174 points, 3 first place votes
16. Needing You (2000), 172 points, 3 first place votes
17. Lost in Time (2003), 162 points, 1 first place vote
18. Mad Detective (2007), 157 points, 2 first place votes
19. Ip Man (2008), 144 points, 2 first place votes
20. 2046 (2004), 143 points, 5 first place votes
21. Election 2 (2006), 138 points, 3 first place votes
22. Men Suddenly in Black (2003), 107 points, 2 first place votes
23. Fearless (2006), 100 points, 1 first place vote
24. My Life as McDull (2001), 89 points, 2 first place votes
25. Lust, Caution (2007), 80 points, 3 first place votes
26. My Name is Fame (2006), 77 points, 1 first place vote
27. Chinese Odyssey 2002 (2002), 75 points, 1 first place vote
28. After This, Our Exile (2006), 67 points, 2 first place votes
29. Beast Stalker (2008), 67 points, 1 first place vote
30. Fulltime Killer (2001), 66 points, 1 first place vote
31. Sparrow (2008), 64 points
32. July Rhapsody (2001), 63 points, 1 first place vote
33. Juliet in Love (2000), 62 points, 2 first place votes
34. New Police Story (2004), 61 points
35. My Wife is 18 (2003), 58 points, 2 first place votes
36. Crazy ‘N The City (2005), 53 points
37. Love on a Diet (2001), 51 points
38. Just One Look (2002), 50 points, 1 first place vote
39. Protégé (2007), 48 points
40. My Left Eye Sees Ghosts (2002), 48 points
41. You Shoot I Shoot (2001), 47 points, 1 first place vote
42. Isabella (2006), 46 points
43. Funeral March (2001), 44 points, 1 first place vote
44. Love Battlefield (2004), 44 points
45. Perhaps Love (2005), 41 points
46. Curse of the Golden Flower (2006), 39 points
47. Flash Point (2007), 37 points, 1 first place vote
48. Jiang Hu - The Triad Zone (2000), 37 points
49. Hooked on You (2007), 36 points, 1 first place vote
50. Time and Tide (2000), 36 points
51. The Eye (2002), 29(38) points - bumped up due to late votes
52. Love Undercover (2002), 30(37) points - bumped up due to late votes
Numbers 53-177 (films receiving first-place votes noted in bold)
53. The Way We Are (2008), 31 points
54. Dog Bite Dog (2007), 30 points
55. The Warlords (2007), 30 points
56. La Brassiere (2001), 29 points
57. Hollywood Hong Kong (2004), 29 points
58. Exodus (2007), 28 points, 1 first place vote
59. Diva Ah Hey (2003), 28 points
60. The Heavenly Kings (2006), 27 points, 1 first place vote
61. Diary (2007), 27 points, 1 first place vote
62. Eye in the Sky (2007), 27 points
63. Mr. Cinema (2007), 27 points
64. Initial D (2005), 25 points, 1 first place vote
65. So Close (2003), 25 points
66. Butterfly Lovers (2008), 25 points
67. A War Named Desire (2000), 22 points
68. Beyond Our Ken (2004), 21 points
69. And I Hate You So (2000), 20 points
70. Dumplings (2004), 20 points
71. Overheard (2009), 20 points
72. McDull, Prince de la Bun (2004), 20 points, 2 first place votes
73. Accident (2009), 19 points
74. Confession of Pain (2006), 19 points, 1 first place vote
75. A Fighter’s Blues (2000), 19 points
76. Breaking News (2004), 18 points
77. Golden Chicken (2002), 18 points
78. Ashes of Time Redux (2008), 17 points
79. Triangle (2007), 17 points
80. Beijing Rocks (2001), 16 points
81. Yesterday Once More (2004), 16 points
82. Run Papa Run (2008), 15 points
83. Truth or Dare: 6th Floor Rear Flat (2003), 15 points
84. Invisible Target (2007), 13 points
85. Wu Yen (2001), 13 points
86. A Chinese Tall Story (2005), 13 points
87. Simply Actors (2007), 12 points
88. Spacked Out (2000), 12 points
89. Three: Going Home (2001), 12 points
90. Fat Choi Spirit (2002), 12 points
91. House of Flying Daggers (2004), 11 points
92. A Battle of Wits (2006), 11 points
93. House of Fury (2005), 11 points
94. Storm Warriors (2009), 11 points
95. 2002 (2001), 11 points
96. Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon (2008), 10 points
97. Seven Swords (2005), 10 points
98. The Shopaholics (2006), 10 points
99. Wo Hu (2006), 10 points
100. My Lucky Star (2004), 9 points
101. Wait Till You’re Older (2005), 9 points
102. A World Without Thieves (2004), 9 points
103. The Sun Also Rises (2007), 9 points
104. Vengeance (2009), 9 points
105. Tokyo Raiders (2000), 8 points
106. True Women For Sale (2008), 8 points
107. Merry Go Round (2001), 8 points
108. Summer Holiday (2000), 8 points
109. Frugal Game (2002), 8 points
110. Lan Yu (2001), 8 points
111. Running Out of Time 2 (2001), 8 points
112. Secret (2007), 7 points
113. CJ7 (2008), 7 points
114. The Colour of the Truth (2003), 7 points
115. Dancing Lion (2007), 7 points
116. Bodyguards and Assassins (2009), 7 points
117. Born to be King (2000), 7 points
118. Golden Chicken 2 (2003), 7 points
119. Happy Birthday (2006), 7 points
120. Herbal Tea (2004), 7 points
121. I’ll Call You (2006), 7 points
122. White Dragon (2004), 7 points
123. Connected (2008), 6 points
124. The Detective (2007), 6 points
125. 2 Young (2005), 6 points
126. Moonlight in Tokyo (2005), 6 points
127. Super Fans (2007), 6 points
128. KJ (2009), 6 points
129. Written By (2009), 5 points
130. Fantasia (2004), 5 points
131. McDull, The Alumni (2006), 5 points
132. Princess D (2002), 5 points
133. The Banquet (2006), 5 points
134. Dry Wood Fierce Fire (2002), 5 points
135. Durian Durian (2000), 5 points
136. Heroes in Love (2001), 5 points
137. Jiang Hu (2004), 5 points
138. On the Edge (2006), 5 points
139. Shark Busters (2002), 5 points
140. Three of a Kind (2004), 5 points
141. McDull Kung Fu Ding Ding Dong (2009), 5 points
142. It Had to Be You (2005), 4 points
143. Rob-B-Hood (2006), 4 points
144. Gambler’s Story (2001), 4 points
145. B420 (2005), 4 points
146. AV (2005), 4 points
147. Fatal Move (2008), 4 points
148. Second Time Around (2002), 4 points
149. My Mother is a Belly Dancer (2007), 3 points
150. Night and Fog (2009), 3 points
151. The Twins Effect (2003), 3 points
152. 2 Become 1 (2006), 3 points
153. All About Love (2005), 3 points
154. Itchy Heart (2004), 3 points
155. Koma (2004), 3 points
156. Leave Me Alone (2004), 3 points
157. The Legend of Zu (2001), 3 points
158. Enter the Phoenix (2004), 2 points
159. The First 7th Night (2008), 2 points
160. Infernal Affairs 3 (2003), 2 points
161. Nothing is Impossible (2006), 2 points
162. Papa Loves You (2004), 2 points
163. Trivial Matters (2007), 2 points
164. A-1 Headline (2004), 1 point
165. An Empress and the Warriors (2008), 1 point
166. Beauty and the Breast (2002), 1 point
167. Butterfly (2004), 1 point
168. Divergence (2005), 1 point
169. The Drummer (2007), 1 point
170. The Forbidden Legend: Sex and Chopsticks (2008), 1 point
171. Lavender (2000), 1 point
172. Mighty Baby (2002), 1 point
173. The Postmodern Life of My Aunt (2006), 1 point
174. The Promise (2005), 1 point
175. Super Model (2004), 1 point
176. Twelve Nights (2000), 1 point (Kevin Ma was responsible for this vote)
Thoughts and observations (NOTE: many of these are personal)
- There’s a lack of 2009 representation among the films, but that’s understandable as LoveHKFilm’s readers have likely not caught up with 2009 releases yet. Had this vote taken place in mid-to-late 2010, films like NIGHT AND FOG, WRITTEN BY, ACCIDENT or even BODYGUARDS AND ASSASSINS might have been present. Still, that shouldn’t take away from the fun of this informal vote. And I doubt MURDERER Would have made it under any circumstances.
- Johnnie To owned the Top 50 and beyond, and why not? To has pretty much been Hong Kong Cinema’s international representation for the past decade, his popularity (especially online) easily eclipsing every other director from the territory. Most other deserving directors had some representation in the Top 50, though I would argue that Ann Hui deserved more than just one film in the Top 50. At least two if not three more of her films should easily have made the cut.
- Director Herman Yau did not gain any representation on the Top 50. This is a bit sad, but also understandable as his best films are frequently unheralded due to smaller stars, esoteric subject matter or simply a lack of cineaste-engaging style. Still, for a Hong Kong director, Yau has arguably been among the best during the Aughts.
- Also unfortunate: no Fruit Chan in the Top 50.
- A number of Charlene Choi-starred films narrowly missed the Top 50 , which was a result of a run of reader votes that pretty much only supported her films. The vote did not guard against that sort of star support, so we reap what we sow. The same support likely accounted for MY WIFE IS 18’s rank at #35, but a number of balanced voters also placed it in their Top 10, so it could have ranked anyway.
- It has occurred to me that CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON lost some support because some voters may not have realized that it would count in the vote.
STATS AHOY!
I’m unfortunately not much of a number cruncher, so I only have a few fun stats to offer. Better statisticians may come up with their own nifty observations from the supplied data.
- There were 158 participants, who cast a total of 1561 votes with each vote assigning a certain amount of points to a film. There should have been 1580 votes overall if everyone sent in a Top 10, but some votes were for disqualified films.
- Each voter had the opportunity to give out 55 points. A total of 8570 points were given out.
- 84.2% of all points were given to the films in the Top 50.
- 23.8% of all points were given to films either directed or produced by Johnnie To.
- 10% of all points were given to INFERNAL AFFAIRS.
- 75% of all participants voted for INFERNAL AFFAIRS. 118 total votes.
- 0.7% of all points were given to MY WIFE IS 18.
- 7% of all participants voted for MY WIFE IS 18. 11 total votes.
- Film with the least amount of votes that ended up in the Top 50: FUNERAL MARCH, with only 6 participants voting for it.
- Film with the most amount of votes that missed the Top 50: THE EYE, with 9 votes from participants before a late 10th vote got it included as the 51st film.
- Best points per vote: MCDULL, PRINCE DE LA BUN, which had 10 points per each of its votes.
- Worst points per vote for films with more than 1 vote: IT HAD TO BE YOU and ROB-B-HOOD, which each had only 1.33 points per vote.
- In the Tony Leung Chiu-Wai vs. Andy Lau battle, Little Tony had 7 films in the Top 50 while Andy had 6. However, both lost out to Lam Suet, who ended up with 16 films in the Top 50.
- Lam Suet’s victory can likely be blamed on Johnnie To. Also benefitting from Johnnie To: Simon Yam and Gordon Lam, with 9 films each in the Top 50. In Tony and Andy’s defense, both starred in their films, while the others filled out their total with supporting performances or cameos.
- Other actors: Anthony Wong, 8 films; Louis Koo, 8 films; Eric Tsang, 6 films; Eason Chan, 5 films; Tony Leung Ka-Fai, 5 films; Lau Ching-Wan, 4 films; Donnie Yen, 4 films; Nick Cheung, 4 films; Francis Ng, 4 films.
- Top actresses were Sandra Ng and Kelly Lin, though both also turned in supporting roles or cameos. Top actresses with mostly lead performances were Sammi Cheng and Cecilia Cheng, with 4 films each. Charlene Choi also had 4, with a mix of supporting and lead performances.
- Jackie Chan had only 1 film in the Top 50.
- Ekin Cheng had only 1 film in the Top 50, MY WIFE IS 18, unless you count his cameo in MY NAME IS FAME. MY WIFE IS 18 also marks Ronald Cheng’s only appearance in the Top 50.
- Shu Qi had only one 1 film in the Top 50, and she only had a very, very small cameo. It was an important one though. If you know which film it is, don’t spoil it for others.
- Actors with no films in the Top 50: Leon Lai, Gigi Leung, Alex Fong Lik-Sun, Stephy Tang, Stephen Fung, Wong Jing
- Notable directors left out of the Top 50: Fruit Chan, Herman Yau, Law Chi-Leung, Barbara Wong, Samson Chiu, Sylvia Chang, Gordon Chan, Stanley Kwan, Jingle Ma, Marco Mak, Daniel Lee, Patrick Kong, Stephen Fung, Vincent Kok, Wong Jing.
Points given by year:
2000: 1133 points, 16 films
2001: 977 points, 18 films
2002: 1421 points, 16 films
2003: 1064 points, 13 films
2004: 1133 points, 28 films
2005: 682 points, 18 films
2006: 859 points, 21 films
2007: 610 points, 22 films
2008: 606 points, 18 films
2009: 85 points, 9 films
2000-2004: 5728 points
2005-2009: 2842 points
ETC…
And that’s pretty much all the stats I’ve got for this vote. Please feel free to come up with your own based on the above info. I’ve left out number of voters per film, though.
Finally, I’d like to do this type of reader vote/poll again sometime relatively soon, but I’m uncertain as to which poll to run. Here are the current candidates:
- Best Performances in Hong Kong Film from the last Decade
- Worst Hong Kong Films of the Decade
- Top Hong Kong Films of the 80s
- Top Hong Kong Films of the 90s
- Top Asian Films of the Decade (i.e., everything but Hong Kong)
- Best Performances in Hong Kong Film EVER (this is for Cherie Chung/Brigitte Lin fans)
- Best Hong Kong Action Films
- Funniest Hong Kong Films
Feel free to suggest your own, if you have any. I think another one of these would be appropriate perhaps for sometime in February. We’ll see.
January 7th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
Just One Look stars Gillian Chung so she has a top 50 movies
January 7th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
I think it is sweet if there is a poll for the 90s. It would be a good chance for the readers and voter (or at least me.. *cough*) reminiscence those good ol’ days of HK cinema
January 7th, 2010 at 6:16 pm
Hi S, you are correct, I just fixed it. Thanks!
January 7th, 2010 at 6:27 pm
A 90s film poll would be awesome. Not that I remember most of them, but reading a few reviews should refresh my memory.
January 7th, 2010 at 6:39 pm
a little note about Fruit Chan: in the list I sent I inserted Hollywood HK as third ranker. It’s a pity it went missing
January 7th, 2010 at 9:15 pm
I forgot to order my list, I won’t make the same mistake next time. I vote for a best of 90s and best of 80s list. It would be nice to see what movies makes that list, since there are so many good movies compared to the latest decade. Also interesting to see what good movies that I’ve missed.
January 7th, 2010 at 9:34 pm
How about trying some on celebrities instead of just films, like which actor/ actress do you think is the best actor? Or which actor/actress do you wish most to marry?
It may sound absurd but it sure sounds fun,
to me at least.
January 7th, 2010 at 9:47 pm
Jeff Lau directed Chinese Odyssey, didnt he?
I really would like to vote for top 90’s and best hong kong actions films.
January 7th, 2010 at 10:00 pm
Now that I look at the stats I think I either sent my list in wrong or late. Not sure… but I did put Protege as my number one movie. Guess I have to make sure I do it right next time.
How about Top HK Actor or Actress with a stipulation of at least five movies to back up your top three which could be used to really back up the reasons for the votes (but it does mean a lot of reading for Kozo)…
I do like Best Performances Ever… could get some real underdogs coming out with amazing performances that blew watchers away (Louis Koo in Protege for example).
January 8th, 2010 at 1:12 am
Thanks for the quick release of the list, aww, Hidden Heroes did not even make it to the list, this is bad.
How about most under appreciate actor/actress in film in 2000s? A different view from Mat Thompson, but Louis Koo in Protege seriously under appreciated in that film.
Best Performances in Hong Kong Film EVER (this is for Cherie Chung/Brigitte Lin fans)
Hey, I like this quote, seriously.
January 8th, 2010 at 1:59 am
@Leemoy, thanks for catching that. I listed a bunch of people that I thought didn’t get movies in the Top 50 and then deleted a bunch after a quick scan. But I missed Jeff Lau (and Gillian Chung). Curse of the 3am update! It’s been fixed.
@Mat, some confusing and/or incomplete votes were thrown out entirely, so it’s possible that yours was among them. When that happened, I usually emailed the person back but I may have missed one or two. Or, I might have just not tracked the 1st Place Vote while still counting it correctly in the point total. Price Waterhouse I am not.
Can’t check on votes at the moment since I’m away from my regular computer where all the email votes are stored. I’ll check in a couple of weeks when I’m back in Hong Kong. If an error occurred I may have to consider trying a double-counting system or something to guarantee it won’t happen next time.
If PROTEGE did get jobbed, I’ll write a special post saying how it should have beat MY WIFE IS 18.
January 8th, 2010 at 10:19 am
What are the best films that didn’t receive a single mention? I was too late to participate but might have voted for 20:30:40. Maaaybe.
Best of the 90s next, please!
January 8th, 2010 at 10:25 am
Uh, 20:30:40 is probably Taiwanese. Darn co-pros.
January 8th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
I’m going to join the forum because I have a 2 part question….. I’m really curious how a top ten choice of mine, Wo Hu (Ngor Fu), is really only considered 98th best! Chan Siu Chun’s and Ng Chun Yu’s performances are terrific and how Mad Detective (which seems to be missing about a half hour of pertinent info to the storyline) is 18th! Anyway….
January 8th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
Thought I should get my two-mao in…
It be good to stay on topic and continue with the HK “aughts” polls, so I would say we should go with the Best Performances of the Last Decade or the Worst Movies of the Last Decade.
Then we can argue about how the Man with the Tan (who I love) is actually overrated in Protege (earning both an HK Film Awards and Golden Horse Film Awards nomination), but underrated in a good majority of his other films. And about how a film which will contend for Worst of the Decade was able to accumulate 25 points in the Best of the Decade poll (Can you guess the film?)
Either way, more fun ensues.
Kozo, am I missing something, or is it true that the Derek Yee(well-represented in the top 50)/Jacky Chan(not so well-represented) actioner The Shinjuku Incident did not even mangae one point?
January 8th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Kojo, great job!!
If I can, I wanna suggest another poll idea to you.
How about the most overrated film of the last decade??
I knew Infernal Affair would be no. 1… but that total points just make me sick(-_-)
Well about the overall result, I am, at least, happy that many of my picks made to the top 50. But I am surprised that the Banquet did so poorly.. It seems though I am one of very few that voted for that one. Because I didn’t save my voting sheet, I am not entirely sure, but I may even be the only one who voted for it. Was it that bad??
BTW, I am that guy who voted ‘Juliet in love’ as no. 1 and was quoted from you.
January 8th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
Kozo, awesome breakdown. I think you’ve hit on something with these type of polls.
I could vote or put together a top 3/5/10 for these:
- Best Performances in Hong Kong Film from the last Decade
- Top Hong Kong Films of the 80s
- Top Hong Kong Films of the 90s
- Best Hong Kong Action Films (by decade)
- Funniest Hong Kong Films (by decade)
- Top Johnny To films
- Top [insert actor e.g. Andy Lau/Stephen Chow] films
- Top Shaw Bros. films
I would not be able to do a good list for these:
- Worst Hong Kong Films of the Decade (Don’t we all try to avoid the ones we think will suck?)
- Top Asian Films of the Decade (too many films from Japan/Korea and not enough of the ones from SEA subtitled into English)
January 8th, 2010 at 5:30 pm
would have to agree about not doing worst style lists, I too try my best to avoid crap.
January 8th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
oh, have to add, a top South Korean list would be great, I suspect i’ve missed out on some great stuff there.
January 9th, 2010 at 9:33 am
After all, 12 NIGHTS at the very bottom is embarrassing if not insulting
@Tristan:
It shocks me too that THE SHINJUKU INCIDENT was completely absent from the list. Like many overseas users, I haven’t seen the 2009 movie and wouldn’t cast a vote, but if NEW POLICE STORY made it, my thought is that there must be a better Jackie Chan movie.
I believe Louis Koo has done a better job in ELECTION 2. I’m still not convinced a druggie can ever be so groomed and ripped.
@Se-Jin Park:
THE BANQUET has been overly underrated. People are probably still laughing at the swords-exchanging dance scene of the two leads. The soundtrack was fantastic. I loved this movie and thought it could be one of the best wuxia films of the past decade, if not the best. You are not alone.
January 9th, 2010 at 10:44 am
Statwise, I would be curious to see points and number of films (as Infernal Affairs might skew the point totals)by year - it struck me to be fairly top heavy for the first half of the decade and much lesser for the second half. That might mean something or nothing. I know I have seen a lot less the past couple of years.
And Louis Koo was so horrible in Protege with the phoniest drug addiction acting put on screen since the silent days. He ruined an otherwise good movie.
January 9th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
Kozo, are you going to share your top ten?
Defintely excited to do the next poll, preferably 80s, 90s or best performance EVER.
January 10th, 2010 at 12:21 am
These are all swell ideas for future polls. But it might feel a little monotonous to stay in the same decade for the very next one — many of the same films/faces will dominate.
January 10th, 2010 at 6:48 am
Hey…i actually think the worst films of the decade list would be pretty cool…we’ll probably have a good laugh and know what to avoid..
By the way…great list =)…kinda disappointed that IA won by so much…it wasn’t THAT good..not really surprised though
January 10th, 2010 at 8:20 pm
@Kiddo, I’m on vacation so I haven’t exactly been working or paying attention. I’ll post up a Top 10+ list, hopefully in the next couple of weeks.
@Brian, I did some calculations based on your questions and came up with this:
2000: 1133 points, 16 films
2001: 977 points, 18 films
2002: 1421 points, 16 films
2003: 1064 points, 13 films
2004: 1133 points, 28 films
2005: 682 points, 19 films
2006: 859 points, 21 films
2007: 610 points, 22 films
2008: 606 points, 18 films
2009: 85 points, 9 films
2000-2004: 5728 points
2005-2009: 2842 points
So yes, the vote was heavily weighted towards the front of the decade. Not surprising overall; in general, interest in HK films has waned as the decade has progressed. Hell, my site traffic can attest to that. Interest in 2009 should go up a bit over time.
I’ll add these stats into the main article, too.
January 11th, 2010 at 9:47 am
Thanks for publishing the full list and related stats.
I’m excited about voting in another poll, but I’m not sure I’ve seen enough bottom of the barrel stuff to be able to vote for something like Worst HK Films of the Decade. However, there have been several movies that I had expected to like, but let me down. How about a poll for “Most Disappointing HK Films of the Decade”?
January 11th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
Thanks for the awesome crosstabs! It’s great to see the number and variety of movies that people voted for, and it’s interesting that “The Way We Are” just missed the Top 50ish–I just saw it last week & it was amazing.
I’ve been rewatching a bunch of flicks from the 80s & 90s (Chinese Ghost Story 1-3; Green Snake, etc) and I’m not sure I’d be able to narrow down a top ten list from either decade. But it would be fun to try.
RE: Louis Koo in Protege: Sweating and blinking doesn’t count as good acting, imho. He was pretty good in the Elections, though, since he didn’t have to camoflage his expensive haircut.
January 11th, 2010 at 6:41 pm
Kozo, you need a sabermetrician to properly analyze all this statistical data. Stuff like Lam Suet’s OBP in the Top 50, and Andy Lau’s BA with Sammi Cheng co-starring could be very insightful. =P
January 11th, 2010 at 10:30 pm
I am suggesting a poll still for the last decade movies, with some detailed categories such as: the most tragic death scene, the most heroic death scene, the most comical action, best tear dropper, or whatever you think is more interesting than MTV movie awards categories.
January 11th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
I’m not ashamed of voting for 12 Nights. I knew it wouldn’t get much love, and it needed representation. Alas, ’twas not meant to be any higher.
Did someone mention a best Asian films of the decade list? Hm…….
January 11th, 2010 at 11:06 pm
correction for my previous comment: I mean the last decade Hong Kong films or Chinese Films
January 11th, 2010 at 11:35 pm
I think it would be hard to do a worst films because that would mean you actually saw the movie (qualifier - saw the movie in its entirety) (i.e. I watched Kungfu MJ1 in full but avoided Kungfu MJ3 - then I don’t feel like I’m qualified to vote for Kungfu MJ3 but it might have been better than 1).
Polls for HK movies:
- Top 10 Guilty Pleasures
- Top 80’s or 90’s
- Top Performances or Scenes
- Best Movies for repeat viewing
January 12th, 2010 at 6:01 am
As far as I can remember I watched only one movie I considered really bad Kung Fu Chef. Kung Fu Mahjong is no way a good movie but I would not pick for a worst of decade, because it is much better than Kung Fu Chef.
January 12th, 2010 at 6:26 am
Hi Kozo,
A Chinese Tall Story appears twice on the list- at positions 99 and 146.
January 12th, 2010 at 9:59 am
@V, I’ve corrected that. Thanks for the catch!
January 12th, 2010 at 10:39 pm
@Kozo,
that Shu Qi cameo almost killed any good feelings I had for a relatively good movie. I guess I’m not a Shu Qi fan. On another note, looking forward to your top-10 list.
January 14th, 2010 at 11:05 am
i see, dog bite dog almost made it! haha. but AV and Night and Fog only got 4 and 3? come on, people!
January 14th, 2010 at 11:10 am
i’d definitely vote for “Best Performances in Hong Kong Film from the last Decade”, but there’s no need to do a worst list since it’s pretty clear murderer will top that
January 14th, 2010 at 10:38 pm
[…] HK films for the years 2000-2009 over at LoveHKFilm.com. LoveHKFilm.com has finally published the full list of movies voted on. Here is my REAL Top 10 after seeing everyone else’s and thinking about it for the last […]
January 25th, 2010 at 5:35 am
I’m on board for
- Top Hong Kong Films of the 80s
- Top Hong Kong Films of the 90s
Also, as much as I love Fruit Chan’s DUMPLINGS (and I think it’s one of the best ten horror movies of the past 20 years), miserablism didn’t make the cut for my top ten of the 2000’s. By that same token, that’s why IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE wasn’t on my top ten: I’m tired of movies that make me feel all sad and blue.
January 25th, 2010 at 2:08 pm
i’m pleasantly surprised running on karma got to #10 — i think it’s a wonderful movie but i never saw anyone else get enthusiastic about it.
imo, protege deserved worse (so bland), and beyond our ken deserved better (rare movie that got better and better).
January 26th, 2010 at 10:27 pm
As mentioned in the latest blog entry, it looks like we’ll be doing Top Hong Kong Films of the 90s relatively soon. I’m guessing we’ll start in February sometime.
And to Mat Thompson, sorry for the super late notice, but I checked all the votes that came in and only two people put PROTEGE at #10, with nobody slotting it at #1. Based on email addresses, neither emails were from you, so maybe I didn’t even get your vote.
Next time we do this, I’ll look for a way to be more accurate.
February 11th, 2010 at 4:14 am
There have been many phenomenal Hong Kong films over the last decade. Here are some of my favorites:
1. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
2. The Road Home (even though made in 1999)
3. Time And Tide
4. The Twins Effect
5. Kung Fu Hustle
6. Shaolin Soccer
7. 2046
8. House Of Flying Daggers
9. The Eye (and The Eye 2)
10. Running On Karma
11. Fulltime Killer
12. Infernal Affairs
13. Hero
14. Invisible Target
15. CJ7
16. My Schoolmate The Barbarian
17. In The Mood For Love
18. The Warlords
19. Re-cycle
20. So Close
Time and Tide, The Twins Effect, Shaolin Soccer, 2046, Running On Karma, So Close, The Eye and The Eye 2 need to be released on blu-ray!!!
February 11th, 2010 at 6:33 am
OMG! I forgot Sylvia Chang’s 20:30:40 with Lee Sinje, Anthony Wong and Rene Liu.
February 13th, 2010 at 7:57 pm
‘butterfly’ only got one vote? totally underrated. wish i’d known about this vote earlier, guess with the current state of hk film i’d stopped visiting this site for a while…
March 1st, 2010 at 1:09 am
Kozo… just wanted to say thanks again for this list. I’ve only been in Asia for three years and have really loved all forms of Asian cinema here. My first month in Taiwan I want to see Confession of Pain just because it had cool posters in the subway and I wanted to see something from here… little did I know it starred some of the biggest names in HK films as well as Shu Qi (who I absolutely love). I’ve been going through this list and have found most of what made the top 50, but some are hard to find in Taiwan. I did get lucky in Bangkok last week and found Throwdown in a bargain bin for 48 bhat. I just finished watching it and it has to be one of my favorites from the list now. Maybe not as good as Protege, but still a great movie.
A question you may be able to answer… why do Loius Koo and Cherrie Ying appear so often together? I love the combination, but it just seems funny. My girlfriend and I always play ‘Where’s Cherrie’ now when we see any Louis movie.
Thanks again. I think I’m going to watch One Night in Mongkok next…
March 1st, 2010 at 11:33 pm
Hi Mat, glad you enjoyed the list. Sadly, for me it does little good because I’VE SEEN EVERYTHING ON IT. The upcoming nineties list should have a few films that I have not seen.
As for Louis Koo and Cherrie Ying, my only guess that they’re seen as good together? Actually, Louis Koo and Jo Koo used to be fairly common, and now Louis Koo and Barbie Hsu seem to be the new thing.
March 30th, 2010 at 11:44 pm
[…] listing of the top films of given decades over at the LoveHKfilm.com site. His first run saw the top 50 films of the post millennial decade. His more recent survey generated the top 100 films of the 90s. And plans to do a list for the […]
November 13th, 2012 at 11:01 am
“20 : 30 : 40″ was eligible for the Hong Kong Film Awards, so it should eligible here, too. I previously hadn’t considered it as I thought it would be too Taiwanese.
Everybody please spare a thought for this production as you select your nominations for “BEST EVER MOVIES”!