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Corey Yuen

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Corey Yuen Kwai
元奎
Born(1951-02-15)15 February 1951
British Hong Kong
Died2022 (aged 70–71)
Other namesCorey Yuen
Yuen Kwai
Occupation(s)Film director, film producer, action choreographer
Years active1971–2022
Chinese name
Chinese元奎
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinYuán Kuí

Corey Yuen Kwai (Chinese: 元奎; pinyin: Yuán Kuí; Cantonese Yale: Yuen4 Kwai1; 15 February 1951 – 2022) was a Hong Kong film director, film producer, action choreographer,[1] and actor. Yuen attended the China Drama Academy and was one of the Seven Little Fortunes. In Hong Kong, he worked on several films such as Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury (1972), Hwang Jang-lee's Snuff Bottle Connection, Secret Rivals 2, The Invincible Armour (all 1977), Dance of the Drunk Mantis (1979), Ninja in the Dragon's Den (1982), Millionaire's Express (1986), and Jet Li's Fong Sai-yuk II (1993), The New Legend of Shaolin (1994), High Risk, and My Father Is a Hero (both 1995).

Yuen gained fame in American cinema beginning with his work as an action director on the 1998 film Lethal Weapon 4, followed by the 2000 blockbuster X-Men and six of Jet Li's English-language works: Romeo Must Die (2000), Kiss of the Dragon, The One (both 2001), Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), War (2007), and The Expendables (2010). Yeun also served as director and fight choreographer in Jason Statham's 2002 action film The Transporter.

Life and career

Born on 15 February 1951 in Hong Kong, his parents signed a ten year contract for him to attend the China Drama Academy when he was nine years old because they could not afford to raise him.[2] Given the name Yuen Kwai, he became known as one of the Seven Little Fortunes, seven child actors and acrobats who performed together and whose ranks included Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao,Yuen Wah, Yuen Mo, and Yuen Tai.[3] They spent those days training in a harshly disciplined style under the watch of Master Yu Jim-yuen.

Career

Corey Yuen Kwai began doing stuntwork for Golden Harvest and Shaw Brothers, as well as numerous independent production companies, after his contract ended with China Drama Academy.[4] He frequently worked with the Yuen Clan, a stunt team consisting of Yuen Wo-ping and his four brothers who had learned the art of onscreen fighting from their father, Simon Yuen.[5] But, feeling that he wasn't as agile or acrobatic as his China Drama Academy brothers, he knew that stardom was out of his reach and decided to focus on working more behind the camera.[6] [7]

Yuen Kwai got his first chance to direct courtesy of producer Ng See-yuen. After his success backing Jackie Chan and Yuen Wo-ping in their breakthrough films Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978) and Drunken Master (1978) Ng turned to Yuen Kwai who had been reluctant to take the director's chair because he felt it would be disloyal to Yuen Wo-ping.[8] However, he eventually overcame his reluctance and directed Ninja in the Dragon's Den (1982) starring Hiroyuki Sanada, Conan Lee and Hwang Jang-lee, which combined wildly acrobatic martial arts with comedy.[9]

Corey Yuen performed occasionally in the early 1980s, playing the Devil Disciple Leader in Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983)[10], but he mostly focused on choreographing action for films like Jackie Chan's Dragon Lord (1982)[11] and Sammo Hung's Heart of Dragon (1985)[12].

His next big break came around 1984 when he was asked by John Sham, one of the founders of D&B Films, to take a new discovery named Michelle Yeoh under his wing.[13] Yeoh was a dancer and Miss Malaysia pageant winner[14] who had recently appeared in a watch commercial with Jackie Chan which caught the eye of D&B[15] and led to them signing her for Sammo Hung's Owl vs Bumbo (1984)[16] where Sham felt she wasn't being used to her best advantage. He asked Yuen Kwai and Lam Ching-ying to teach her some martial arts.[17] Yuen Kwai had recently discovered an American martial arts champion named Cynthia Rothrock while holding open auditions for western talent in Los Angeles[18] and he paired her with Yeoh in the contemporary action movie, Yes, Madam! (1985), which became a breakout success from its first midnight screening[19] and wound up establishing the "girls with guns" genre in Hong Kong.[20]

While visiting his sister in Vancouver in 1984, Yuen Kwai saw a screening of The Karate Kid and immediately called Ng See-yuen, telling him that the Americans had ripped off his movie, Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, and that they should steal it back. This led to Yuen Kwai directing No Retreat, No Surrender (1986), which introduced Jean-Claude Van Damme in his first credited role[21] and launched the four-film No Retreat, No Surrender franchise.[22]

In 1990, Yuen Kwai teamed up with Jeff Lau to co-direct the Stephen Chow comedy All for the Winner which became a massive box office success[23] and Chow's breakthrough film that established him as a major star.[24] He would choreograph the action in three more Stephen Chow movies, Legend of the Dragon (1991), Fist of Fury 1991 (1991), and Fist of Fury 1991 II (1992).

In 1993, he began an alliance with actor Jet Li after Li decided to start his own production company, Eastern Productions, to develop and produce his own film projects. His first two movies were Fong Sai Yuk (1993) and Fong Sai Yuk II (1993) with Yuen Kwai directing and choreographing both. He directed several of Li's subsequent films such as The Bodyguard from Beijing and My Father Is a Hero, while also choreographing The New Legend of Shaolin and High Risk.

When Jet Li went to Hollywood to make Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) he insisted that Yuen Kwai be brought with him to choreograph his scenes[25]. Director Richard Donner was so impressed by Yuen Kwai's work that he recommended him for X-Men (2000) which he was producing.[26] Yuen Kwai would go on to handle the martial arts and action sequences in six of Jet Li's other English-language works: Romeo Must Die, Kiss of the Dragon, The One, Cradle 2 the Grave, War, and The Expendables.

He continued to split his time between Hong Kong and Hollywood, directing So Close (2002) starring Shu Qi, Karen Mok, and Vicki Zhao Wei in Hong Kong the same year he served as the fight choreographer and second unit director for The Transporter, having initially been hired as the main director. He returned for its 2005 sequel Transporter 2 and while he held the same positions on both films, in the United States release he is credited as the first film's director due to being a more marketable name than first time filmmaker Louis Leterrier.[27]

The last movie he directed was 2006's DOA: Dead or Alive, based on the Dead or Alive fighting game series. The film stars Holly Valance, Jaime Pressly, Devon Aoki, Sarah Carter and the former WCW, TNA and WWE wrestler Kevin Nash. He would continue choreographing films until 2017 but would not direct again.

Death

Corey Yuen died from COVID-19 in 2022. At the time, news of his death was kept private at his family's request. Two years later, in 2024, Jackie Chan published a post on Weibo paying tribute to late members of the Seven Little Fortunes, naming Yuen as one of the deceased. Tin Kai-man confirmed that Yuen had died, and explained the news had been kept secret.[28][29][30]

Filmography

Films

This is a partial list of films.[31]

  • Deaf and Mute Heroine (1971)
  • Fist of Fury (1972)
  • The Yellow Killer (1972)
  • Tough Guy (1972)
  • Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan (1972)
  • The Brutal Boxer (1972)
  • The 14 Amazons (1972) (cameo)
  • The Rats (1973)
  • The Money Tree (1973)
  • Death Blow (1973)
  • Chinese Hercules (1973)
  • The Black Belt (1973)
  • Wits to Wits (1974)
  • The Tournament (1974)
  • The Shadow Boxer (1974)
  • Naughty! Naughty! (1974)
  • The Evil Snake Girl (1974)
  • Valiant Ones (1975)
  • The Man from Hong Kong (1975)
  • The Himalayan (1976)
  • Bruce Lee and I (1976)
  • To Kill a Jaguar (1977)
  • Snuff Bottle Connection (1977)
  • Six Directions of Boxing (1977)
  • Secret Rivals 2 (1977)
  • Pursuit of Vengeance (1977)
  • The Mighty Peking Man (1977)
  • Last Strike (1977)
  • The Invincible Armour (1977)
  • Instant Kung Fu Man (1977)
  • Heroes of Shaolin (1977)
  • The Fatal Flying Guillotines (1977)
  • Death Duel (1977)
  • Broken Oath (1977)
  • The Vengeful Beauty (1978)
  • Flying Guillotine 2 (1978)
  • Massacre Survivor (1978)
  • Dance of the Drunk Mantis (1979)
  • We’re Going to Eat You (1980)
  • Ring of Death (1980)
  • The Buddha Assassinator (1980)
  • Perils of the Sentimental Swordsman (1982)
  • Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983)
  • Heart of Dragon (1985)
  • Righting Wrongs (a.k.a. Above the Law) (1986)
  • Millionaire's Express (1986)
  • Eastern Condors (1987)
  • Spooky, Spooky (1988)
  • In the Blood (1988)
  • Couples, Couples, Couples (1988)
  • She Shoots Straight (1990)
  • The Raid (1990)
  • The Nocturnal Demon (1990)
  • Mortuary Blues (1990)
  • All for the Winner (1990)
  • Top Bet (1991)
  • Saviour of the Soul (1991)
  • Red Shield (1991)
  • Fist of Fury 1991 (1991)
  • Bury Me High (1991)
  • Saviour of the Soul 2 (1992)
  • A Kid from Tibet (1992)
  • Fist of Fury 1991 II (1992)
  • Women on the Run (1993)
  • Kick Boxer (1993)
  • Fong Sai-yuk II (a.k.a. The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk II and The Legend 2) (1993)
  • The New Legend of Shaolin (a.k.a. Legend of the Red Dragon) (1994)
  • High Risk (a.k.a. Meltdown) (1995)
  • Hero (a.k.a. Ma Wing Jing) (1997)
  • Just Another Pandora's Box (2010)
  • A Chinese Odyssey Part Three (2016)

Director

Year English title Notes
International Philippines
1982 Ninja in the Dragon's Den
1985 Yes, Madam The Super Cops a.k.a. Police Assassins and In the Line of Duty 2
1986 No Retreat, No Surrender
Righting Wrongs Fight to Win II a.k.a. Above the Law
1987 No Retreat, No Surrender 2 Raging Thunder a.k.a. No Retreat, No Surrender II: Raging Thunder
1988 In the Blood
Dragons Forever Super Dragon
1990 She Shoots Straight
All for the Winner
1991 Top Bet
Saviour of the Soul The Good and the Bad
1992 Ghost Punting
Saviour of the Soul II
Fist of Fury 1991 II
1993 Women on the Run
Fong Sai-yuk The Prodigal Fighter a.k.a. The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk and The Legend
Fong Sai-yuk II Once Upon a Time in China-6 a.k.a. The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk II and The Legend 2
1994 The Bodyguard from Beijing a.k.a. The Defender
1995 My Father Is a Hero a.k.a. The Enforcer and Jet Li's The Enforcer
1997 Mah-jong Dragon
Hero
97 Legendary La Rose Noire
1998 Enter the Eagles
2001 The Avenging Fist
2002 So Close
The Transporter
2004 The Twins Effect II Blade of the Rose
2006 DOA: Dead or Alive

Notes

References

  1. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (11 July 2016). "Cory Yuen To Exec Produce Action Pics For HBO Asia; China Film Co Gets IPO OK – Global Briefs". Deadline Hollywood.
  2. ^ "Humble Beginning: Early Films of the Yuen Clan - Hong Kong Film Archive". www.filmarchive.gov.hk.
  3. ^ Alpanseque, Emilio. "Painted Faces: A tribute to the old "Seven Little Fortunes"". www.kungfumagazine.com.
  4. ^ https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-sep-07-ca-chute7-story.html
  5. ^ https://time.com/archive/6734626/yuen-wo-ping-martial-master/
  6. ^ https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-sep-07-ca-chute7-story.html
  7. ^ Chan, Pearl (30 August 2022). "Welcome to Hollywood East". Righting Wrongs Blu Ray Booklet.
  8. ^ Hendrix, Grady (30 August 2022). "What's the Point of Corey Yuen?". Righting Wrongs Blu Ray Booklet.
  9. ^ https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=6379&display_set=eng
  10. ^ https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=6450&display_set=eng
  11. ^ https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=6334&display_set=eng
  12. ^ https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=6735&display_set=eng
  13. ^ Kwok, Ching-ling (2020). A Different Brillance - The D&B Story. Hong Kong Film Archive. p. 32.
  14. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20121030095057/http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=%2F2004%2F1%2F10%2Ffeatures%2F7041578&sec=features
  15. ^ https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/mar/14/michelle-yeoh-rare-footage-of-oscar-winner-at-1984-australian-beauty-pageant-unearthed
  16. ^ https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=6648&display_set=eng
  17. ^ Kwok, Ching-ling (2020). A Different Brillance - The D&B Story. Hong Kong Film Archive. p. 32.
  18. ^ https://theactionelite.com/all-new-cynthia-rothrock-interview/
  19. ^ https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a40754240/michelle-yeoh-interview-2022/
  20. ^ https://collider.com/michelle-yeoh-yes-madam/
  21. ^ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000241/?ref_=tt_cl_t_2
  22. ^ https://jeanclaudevandamme.fandom.com/wiki/No_Retreat,_No_Surrender
  23. ^ https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=7343&display_set=eng
  24. ^ https://www.kungfufandom.com/topic/22015-all-for-the-winner-1990-corey-yuen-jeff-lau-hong-kong/
  25. ^ https://popcultmaster.com/2021/12/04/coreys-glory/
  26. ^ https://popcultmaster.com/2021/12/04/coreys-glory/
  27. ^ Lee, Chris (2 September 2005). "An action hero angle". Los Angeles Times.
  28. ^ Webber, Anndrea A. (13 August 2024). "HK action maestro Corey Yuen died in 2022 from Covid-19, death kept secret by family". The Star. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  29. ^ Shu Hui, Yeo (12 August 2024). "'80s Hong Kong action star Corey Yuen revealed to have died 2 years ago of Covid-19, news kept private at family's request". Asia One. Archived from the original on 13 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  30. ^ Frater, Patrick (13 August 2024). "Corey Yuen, Hong Kong Director and Action Choreographer, Revealed to Have Died in 2022". Variety. Archived from the original on 13 August 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  31. ^ "Corey Yuen Kwai". hkmdb.com. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
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