Shang Hai huang di: Sui yue feng yun (1993)

Shang Hai huang di: Sui yue feng yun: Directed by Man Kit Poon. With Ray Lui, Kent Cheng, Carina Lau, Cecilia Yip. The story of the rise to prominence of Luk, a Shanghai fruit seller who became one of the most powerful men in China in the first half of the 20th Century. Gaining favor with the local Shanghai Police Chief Wong for his courage and know-how, Luk takes a job under Wong. When Wong sends Luk to foil the theft of an opium shipment by General Yuan, Luk, ever the opportunist, mediates an agreement between Wong and Yuan and soon, the French Consulate is “persuaded” to give the opium rights to the now rich threesome. After various conflicts and adventures, his fortunes then pit him on the side of the Kuomintang, who is poised to attack local laborers and student leaders. Realizing he has been used by the Kuomintang Army, Luk inventively creates an economic empire in order to destroy them.

“Don Kit Maku0026#39;s Epic, Ultra Big-Budget film of the rise and fall of arguably the most powerful Godfather of 20th Century China is certainly an interesting experience.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLuk Yu-San (Ray Lui) is a petty fruit seller with ambition who seeks the money and respect of those great men carted through the streets. One day, he does a good deed and earns mob money for some friends and family, while gaining the recognition of the slimy, corrupt local Police Inspector (Kent Cheng). While falling for a local, prestigious girl (Cecilia Yip), Luk Yu-San begins his gradual climb of the underworld ladder, working with gangsters from both sides of the law and establishing himself as an up-and-coming local icon.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDespite being somewhat overlong and at times falling into irrelevant detail, the film is saved by a strong cast, a clearly competent director, and genuinely impressive production values. Originally shot as one long epic film, it was subsequently broken into parts I and II (the other half being u0026quot;Lord of East China Sea 2u0026quot;) with the belief that the overall running time was too long. With this first part of the story running at nearly two and a half hours, this is probably true. Nevertheless, the subject is handled with care and does produce a strong depiction of a fascinating time and place in history. Despite inevitable flaws, the film certainly deserves attention and praise by international audiences. The over romanticized plot seems to give the film a more theatrical u0026quot;feelu0026quot; but is not detrimental to the engaging characters, particularly Kent Chengu0026#39;s Chief Wong, whose arrogant and brash depiction of the Police Inspector seems to give the film a whole other dimension.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA combination of enjoyable big-budget epic and history lesson, but be sure to see Part II for the conclusion and to excuse the abrupt ending of this first chapter of u0026quot;The Lord of East China Seau0026quot;.”