Hero : Ching Siu Tong Giving Pointers to the Pugilists

(The martial arts choreographer of Hero talks about the film. He also did the fight choreography for House of Flying Daggers.)

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Tony Ching Siu Tung has worked with Tsui Hark many times as martial arts director and has also directed some movies himself. Ching Siu Tung, having collaborated with Zhang Yimou before in Terracotta Warrior, had formed a close privity with the latter as far as notions of the aesthetics are concerned. He said that Tsui Hark and Zhang Yimou are very different in their approaches. "Tsui Hark is more commercialised, making his films with the market trend in mind, while Zhang Yimou is more concerned about reflecting the Chinese culture. That Zhang Yimou chose me to work with him for his first Wuxia movie is due to his trust in me." Pertaining to the differences in style to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Ching Siu Tung felt that, "What Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has shown was but part of Chinese wuxia culture. Hero is very different in many aspects. It carries a kind of poetic beauty and is very romantic. The moves in fights are not only powerful but also elegant. The movie is the result of some sort of chemical fusions."



Regarding the stars' performances in martial arts, Ching Siu Tung was effusive with his praises for Jet Li, while saying Zhang Ziyi's stunts were the most demanding.



Jet Li - Traditional Kungfu | Martial Arts Rating: *****

He was a national wushu champion. Needless to say, he was able to acquire new styles without difficulty. The beauty of his posture, the power of his movements, his charm, were all conveyed very well. As such, we made his character and the power of his moves even more prominent.



Tony Leung Chiu Wai - Beautiful styles | Martial Arts Rating: ****

Having worked with him before, it's easier for us to communicate. However, he is not a martial artist, so I would shoot his scenes more beautifully, concentrate more on him acting during action sequences. He was very smart and learned very fast. Picture composition and shooting were used to make up for the shortcomings in actions.



Zhang Ziyi - Dance-like Grace | Martial Arts Rating: ****

Having background in dancing, we shot it as if shooting a dance. It was very well rehearsed, there was no need for doubles. Her performance was considerably better than in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Many sophisticated and dangerous stunts were designed and it was fortunate that she was very intelligent and picked things up very quickly. Her stunts were the most difficult.



Maggie Cheung - Colourful and Attractive | Martial Arts Rating: *

Her character was very aloof and cold and she is also a non-martial artist. So we made her beauty more pronounced by using striking clothes matched with breathtaking backdrop, it was truly a sight to behold.

Yang Cheng Evening News

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