Hong Kong cinema: a short history

Hong Kong's film industry has had an outsized influence on world cinema relative to the city's size, particularly through martial arts and action filmmaking that shaped how the genre is shot and edited well beyond Asia.

The golden age of martial arts cinema

Studios like Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest built an industry around martial arts films from the 1960s through the 1980s, launching stars including Bruce Lee, whose films brought Hong Kong action cinema to a genuinely global audience for the first time.

The Hong Kong New Wave

From the late 1970s and through the 1980s and 1990s, a new generation of directors brought more personal, stylistically ambitious filmmaking to genres beyond martial arts — John Woo's stylised gunplay films and Wong Kar-wai's atmospheric, visually distinctive dramas both became internationally influential in different ways during this period.

The industry today

Hong Kong's film output has diversified and, in terms of sheer volume, contracted somewhat since its 1980s and 1990s peak, but the city remains a significant regional filmmaking centre, with the annual Hong Kong International Film Festival (see our live music & performance guide) showcasing both new local work and international titles.

Where to engage with the history

The Hong Kong Film Archive holds a substantial collection and runs regular screenings of restored classics; the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui commemorates figures from the industry's history along the harbourfront promenade.