(Xinhua) Suspended from an exhibition ceiling at Tai Kwun in Hong Kong, a prop helicopter brings guests nose to nose with the behind-the-scenes secret of Hong Kong motion cinema – the kung fu stuntmen who constructed an period by placing their lives on the road. The exhibition, titled Higher Collectively — Partnering Up for Hong Kong Films, shows replicas of basic motion props to discover town’s enduring cinematic crew spirit. Chin Ka-lok, president of the Hong Kong Stuntman Affiliation, helped to curate the exhibition and particularly beneficial together with these manufacturing particulars.
“Hong Kong motion cinema has at all times been a mixture of actual and faux. It seems like a lethal danger on display, however behind the scenes it is all calculated,” Chin informed Xinhua in a latest interview.
Between the Nineteen Sixties and Nineteen Eighties, going through stiff competitors from Hollywood, Hong Kong carved out its world fame by way of high-risk stunt work. Elite stunt groups led by pioneers like Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung Kam-bo flourished, continuously pushing the boundaries of bodily motion.
Chin entered the trade at 15 and spent a few decade coaching underneath Hung. He recalled when tv crews filmed a dozen scenes a day, but Chan spent three full days refining a single wire-work shot.
“On the time, that degree of dedication was nearly unimaginable. That pursuit of perfection stayed with me for all times,” he mentioned.
The stunt enterprise has an previous rule: by no means say “no” on set. Since Chin started his profession, he has mentioned “Sure,” “Can do,” and “No drawback” greater than the rest.
“Folks pay to return to the cinema,” Chin mentioned. “If we do not put our lives on the road, we’ve not earned their ticket.” It was a precept he took to coronary heart in his early days as an additional, and one he has carried with him ever since.
Since taking on as president of the affiliation in 2014, Chin has felt an pressing have to protect the reminiscence of his friends. A number of years in the past, when a revered veteran stuntman handed away, Chin tried to compile a memorial booklet for him, solely to seek out no information of when the veteran entered the trade or which movies he had labored on. With out documentation, he realized, the names of many who risked their lives would merely fade with time.
A decade in the past, Chin noticed the ability hole firsthand on set whereas directing a stunt requiring a leap from the second ground. After repeated calls met solely hesitation, a crew member in his 40s lastly stepped ahead to take the leap. “We should cross our expertise to the younger,” Chin mentioned. “If we do not train them, who will leap sooner or later?”
To maintain the craft alive, the affiliation organized its first coaching workshop. Aware of the native movie market’s restricted capability to soak up new expertise, organizers averted working it yearly. It was not till 2026 that the second version was launched, marking the primary time this system obtained monetary backing from the Hong Kong Particular Administrative Area authorities’s movie improvement fund.
The 12-week coaching program chosen 20 candidates from practically 100 candidates to coach underneath veteran instructors in wire-work, vehicular stunts, managed explosions, firearms, and performing. The cohort introduced collectively full novices and seasoned athletes alike.
Hanging midair throughout wire-work drills, trainees rapidly realized their lives depended solely on the friends holding their security ropes under. That mutual reliance captures the true essence of “partnering up” – watching one another’s backs and going through hazard facet by facet.
Amid the rise of synthetic intelligence, the trainees stay satisfied that the uncooked emotion and bodily reactions captured on digicam can’t be changed.
“We aren’t really brawling on the street, however we’ve to make the viewers imagine it,” Chin mentioned. “It has to look fashionable, but really feel like actual fight. That takes actual ability.”
Again within the gallery, the prop helicopter nonetheless hangs overhead. Having witnessed many years of grit on movie units, it now seems down on a brand new technology able to step earlier than the digicam.
Supply: Xinhua Printed: 19:06, September 7, 2026
