Danny Lee
Encyclopedia
Danny Lee Sau-Yin is a Hong Kong
actor
, film producer
, screenwriter
, director
, action director and presenter
. He is best known for frequently portraying Hong Kong police officers
in films such as Law With Two Phases
, The Killer and The Untold Story.
in high regard and so, upon graduating high school, he tried entering the police academy, but could not complete the courses. He then decided to pursue a career in acting.
. The next year, Lee made his starring debut with River of Fury. He then went on to star in Shaw Brothers' 1975 Hong Kong
tokusatsu
-style superhero
movie and camp classic The Super Inframan
playing the Chinese superhero himself.
After superstar Bruce Lee
's death in the same year, almost every star in Hong Kong was pushed in to fill "The Dragon's" shoes, and Lee was no exception, even going as far as to actually portray the legend himself in Bruce Lee and I
. By the late 1970s, Lee had begun to tire of kung fu movies and thus tried his hand at different fare, such as 1977's The Mighty Peking Man (a King Kong
ripoff now considered a camp classic
). Still being offered roles in martial arts film
s, Lee decided in 1978 to form his own production company
. One of the earliest products from his company, 1981's The Executor (aka Heroic Cops) was largely nondescript, except for the fact that it was the first on-screen pairing with Lee and future superstar Chow Yun-fat
.
In 1982, Lee directed his first movies, One Way Only, and Funny Boys and then followed it up in 1984 with the movie that would cement his image in the consciousness of Hong Kong, Law with Two Phases
(aka Law with Two Faces). The violent movie (for which Lee won both the Hong Kong Film Award
and Taiwanese Golden Horse Award
for his acting) featured Lee as a hot-headed but just policeman, a role that he reprises to this day. Many people thought the movie was too bloody and must have been exaggerated, but the local police thought the movie was very realistic and took to calling the actor "Lee Sir" ("Officer Lee"). In later years, Lee has received numerous awards from police organizations for his dedication to showing realistic police procedures and donating money to the families of slain officers.
Law With Two Phases also inspired other directors. Some of the elements used in the shootouts were used by John Woo
in his breakthrough 1986 film A Better Tomorrow
and Law's documentary-like look inspired Kirk Wong
to continue with a similar style (which he was also developing at the time). Both directors subsequently asked Lee to work with them. But in fact the shootouts in Lee's movies were more realistic than John Woo's. Lee appeared with Chow Yun-Fat in Ringo Lam
's 1987 gangster classic City on Fire
(where he plays a rare role as a criminal), and then appeared in John Woo's benefit project for Chang Cheh, Just Heroes (1987, which Lee also co-directed). Lee's next project with Woo was, 1989's The Killer. Originally, the studio did not want Lee in the role of a cop once again, but both Woo and Chow Yun-Fat insisted on putting Lee in the film, since he was so much in the public's minds as being an upstanding police officer, which they thought was crucial for the role. The movie was an international cult hit, and Lee became forever associated with being a cop in Western minds. Lee worked with Kirk Wong again in 1994 with Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (a film Lee also produced), where once again, he plays a cop.
Besides cop vs bandits thrillers, Lee acted in comedies too, including Chase A Fortune and Big Score which is more like Lee's usual cop films mixed with Wong Jing's gambler movies .He also directed two cop-comedies Cop Busters and Oh My Cops starring Kent Cheng and Wong Ching.
In 1987, Lee formed his second production company, Magnum Films, and has become a fairly powerful producer in Hong Kong. As fitting for a company named after Dirty Harry
's favorite gun, many of Magnum's films are ultra-violent "Category III
" (Hong Kong's equivalent of the "NC-17" rating - no children allowed to watch) films which have become classics in their own right. Movies like The Untold Story, Dr. Lamb Water Tank Murder and Twist scared local audiences and entranced foreigners with their over-the-top attitude. In the late 1980s, Lee was also one of the first producers to back Stephen Chow
(and is sometimes credited for "discovering" him), who was at the time a small-time dramatic actor, but who would then go on to be Asia
's biggest star after appearing in a series of "mo lei tau
" (nonsense) comedies. Lee even directed Chow in one of his first comedies, 1990's Legend of the Dragon.
Lee returned to the big screen in the 2008 Hong Kong action film
Fatal Move
. He also made an appearance in Jingle Ma
's action comedy Playboy Cops.
Though his on-screen output has slowed down in recent years, reduced to mostly cameo appearances in movies like Young and Dangerous 5
or low budget movies , Lee (and his company) are still pretty busy with behind-the-scenes work, and it seems a given that as long as there will be a Hong Kong movie industry, Danny Lee will be there - especially if a movie needs to have a cop in it.
Brotherhood(1986)
No Compromise (1988)
Red Shield(1991)
City Cop(1995)
Just heroes(1989)
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, action director and presenter
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
. He is best known for frequently portraying Hong Kong police officers
Hong Kong Police Force
The Hong Kong Police Force is the largest disciplined service under the Security Bureau of Hong Kong. It is the world's second, and Asia's first, police agency to operate with a modern policing system. It was formed on 1 May 1844, with a strength of 32 officers...
in films such as Law With Two Phases
Law with Two Phases
Law with Two Phases , also known as Law with Two Faces is a 1984 Hong Kong film written and directed by the film's lead star Danny Lee in his second directorial outing.-Impact on Hong Kong Cinema:...
, The Killer and The Untold Story.
Background
Lee did not do so well in school and sometimes dropped out to help support his family by working. While growing up, he held policemenPolice officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
in high regard and so, upon graduating high school, he tried entering the police academy, but could not complete the courses. He then decided to pursue a career in acting.
Career
Lee entered the TVB Acting School in 1970, and got his first big role in the 1972 film Water MarginWater Margin
Water Margin , also known as Outlaws of the Marsh, All Men Are Brothers, Men of the Marshes, or The Marshes of Mount Liang, is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.Attributed to Shi Nai'an and written in vernacular Chinese, the story, set in the Song Dynasty,...
. The next year, Lee made his starring debut with River of Fury. He then went on to star in Shaw Brothers' 1975 Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
tokusatsu
Tokusatsu
is a Japanese term that applies to any live-action film or television drama that usually features superheroes and makes considerable use of special effects ....
-style superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
movie and camp classic The Super Inframan
The Super Inframan
The Super Inframan is a Hong Kong tokusatsu-style superhero film produced by Shaw Brothers Studio in 1975. Based upon the huge success of the Japanese tokusatsu shows Ultraman and Kamen Rider in Hong Kong, this film features the same type of "henshin", monster/robot action and costumed derring-do,...
playing the Chinese superhero himself.
After superstar Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
's death in the same year, almost every star in Hong Kong was pushed in to fill "The Dragon's" shoes, and Lee was no exception, even going as far as to actually portray the legend himself in Bruce Lee and I
Bruce Lee and I
Bruce Lee and I , also known as Lei Siu Lung yi ngo and Bruce Lee: His Last Days, His Last Nights Danny Lee stars as Bruce Lee and Betty Ting Pei stars as herself in this movie that is based on Bruce Lee's last days leading up to his death in Pei's apartment in Hong Kong in July...
. By the late 1970s, Lee had begun to tire of kung fu movies and thus tried his hand at different fare, such as 1977's The Mighty Peking Man (a King Kong
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
ripoff now considered a camp classic
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
). Still being offered roles in martial arts film
Martial arts film
Martial arts film is a film genre. A sub-genre of the action film, martial arts films contain numerous fights between characters, usually as the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often as a method of storytelling and character expression and development. Martial arts are frequently...
s, Lee decided in 1978 to form his own production company
Production company
A production company provides the physical basis for works in the realms of the performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, and video.- Tasks and functions :...
. One of the earliest products from his company, 1981's The Executor (aka Heroic Cops) was largely nondescript, except for the fact that it was the first on-screen pairing with Lee and future superstar Chow Yun-fat
Chow Yun-Fat
Chow Yun-fat, SBS is an actor from Hong Kong. He is best known in Asia for his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo in heroic bloodshed genre films A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled; and to the West for his role as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...
.
In 1982, Lee directed his first movies, One Way Only, and Funny Boys and then followed it up in 1984 with the movie that would cement his image in the consciousness of Hong Kong, Law with Two Phases
Law with Two Phases
Law with Two Phases , also known as Law with Two Faces is a 1984 Hong Kong film written and directed by the film's lead star Danny Lee in his second directorial outing.-Impact on Hong Kong Cinema:...
(aka Law with Two Faces). The violent movie (for which Lee won both the Hong Kong Film Award
Hong Kong Film Awards
The Hong Kong Film Awards , founded in 1982, are the most prestigious film awards in Hong Kong and among the most respected in mainland China and Taiwan. Award ceremonies are held annually, typically in April. The Awards recognize achievement in all aspects of filmmaking, such as directing,...
and Taiwanese Golden Horse Award
Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards
The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962, by Government Information Office, Republic of China...
for his acting) featured Lee as a hot-headed but just policeman, a role that he reprises to this day. Many people thought the movie was too bloody and must have been exaggerated, but the local police thought the movie was very realistic and took to calling the actor "Lee Sir" ("Officer Lee"). In later years, Lee has received numerous awards from police organizations for his dedication to showing realistic police procedures and donating money to the families of slain officers.
Law With Two Phases also inspired other directors. Some of the elements used in the shootouts were used by John Woo
John Woo
John Woo Yu-Sen SBS is a Hong Kong-based film director and producer. Recognized for his stylised films of highly choreographed action sequences, Mexican standoffs, and use of slow-motion, Woo has directed several notable Hong Kong action films, among them, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Hard...
in his breakthrough 1986 film A Better Tomorrow
A Better Tomorrow
A Better Tomorrow is a 1986 Hong Kong action film which had a profound influence on the Hong Kong film-making industry, and later on an international scale.Directed by John Woo, it stars Chow Yun-fat, Ti Lung and Leslie Cheung...
and Law's documentary-like look inspired Kirk Wong
Kirk Wong
Kirk Wong Chi Keung is a Hong Kong based film director and actor. He is probably most famous for directing the John Woo produced action comedy The Big Hit.-Filmography as director:...
to continue with a similar style (which he was also developing at the time). Both directors subsequently asked Lee to work with them. But in fact the shootouts in Lee's movies were more realistic than John Woo's. Lee appeared with Chow Yun-Fat in Ringo Lam
Ringo Lam
Ringo Lam Ling-Tung , born in 1955 is a Hong Kong film director, producer and scriptwriter.He is known for gritty, dark and realistic action thrillers. He was born in Hong Kong and studied film at York University film school in Toronto...
's 1987 gangster classic City on Fire
City on Fire (1987 film)
City on Fire is a gritty and stylish 1987 Hong Kong action crime drama film produced and directed by Ringo Lam, and starring Chow Yun-fat, Danny Lee and Sun Yueh...
(where he plays a rare role as a criminal), and then appeared in John Woo's benefit project for Chang Cheh, Just Heroes (1987, which Lee also co-directed). Lee's next project with Woo was, 1989's The Killer. Originally, the studio did not want Lee in the role of a cop once again, but both Woo and Chow Yun-Fat insisted on putting Lee in the film, since he was so much in the public's minds as being an upstanding police officer, which they thought was crucial for the role. The movie was an international cult hit, and Lee became forever associated with being a cop in Western minds. Lee worked with Kirk Wong again in 1994 with Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (a film Lee also produced), where once again, he plays a cop.
Besides cop vs bandits thrillers, Lee acted in comedies too, including Chase A Fortune and Big Score which is more like Lee's usual cop films mixed with Wong Jing's gambler movies .He also directed two cop-comedies Cop Busters and Oh My Cops starring Kent Cheng and Wong Ching.
In 1987, Lee formed his second production company, Magnum Films, and has become a fairly powerful producer in Hong Kong. As fitting for a company named after Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry is a 1971 American crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan....
's favorite gun, many of Magnum's films are ultra-violent "Category III
Hong Kong motion picture rating system
The Hong Kong motion picture rating system is a legal system of movie screening and rating. An official government agency issues ratings for any movie that will be shown in Hong Kong movie theatres.-History:...
" (Hong Kong's equivalent of the "NC-17" rating - no children allowed to watch) films which have become classics in their own right. Movies like The Untold Story, Dr. Lamb Water Tank Murder and Twist scared local audiences and entranced foreigners with their over-the-top attitude. In the late 1980s, Lee was also one of the first producers to back Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow Sing-Chi is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, screenwriter, film director and producer.- Professional career :Stephen Chow began as a temporary actor for TVB. He entered TVB in early 1980s, and was trained there, although he had few opportunities to appear in films. Chow graduated from...
(and is sometimes credited for "discovering" him), who was at the time a small-time dramatic actor, but who would then go on to be Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
's biggest star after appearing in a series of "mo lei tau
Mo lei tau
Mo lei tau is a name given to a type of humour originating from Hong Kong during the late 20th century. It is a phenomenon which has grown largely from its presentation in modern film media. Its humour arises from the complex interplay of cultural subtleties significant in Hong Kong...
" (nonsense) comedies. Lee even directed Chow in one of his first comedies, 1990's Legend of the Dragon.
Lee returned to the big screen in the 2008 Hong Kong action film
Hong Kong action cinema
Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. It combines elements from the action film, as codified by Hollywood, with Chinese storytelling and aesthetic traditions, to create a culturally distinctive form that nevertheless has a wide transcultural...
Fatal Move
Fatal Move
Fatal Move is a 2008 Hong Kong action crime film written, produced and directed by Dennis Law. The film features a large ensemble cast which includes Sammo Hung, Simon Yam and Wu Jing, who reunite after 2005's SPL: Sha Po Lang...
. He also made an appearance in Jingle Ma
Jingle Ma
Jingle Ma Cho Shing is the Hong Kong-based writer/director of action films such as Tokyo Raiders and Seoul Raiders. He can speak 5 different languages and currently lives in Hong Kong with his 7 children.-Filmography:-External links:* at * *...
's action comedy Playboy Cops.
Though his on-screen output has slowed down in recent years, reduced to mostly cameo appearances in movies like Young and Dangerous 5
Young and Dangerous 5
Young and Dangerous 5 is a 1998 Hong Kong triad film. It is the fourth and final sequel to the Young and Dangerous film series.-Plot:...
or low budget movies , Lee (and his company) are still pretty busy with behind-the-scenes work, and it seems a given that as long as there will be a Hong Kong movie industry, Danny Lee will be there - especially if a movie needs to have a cop in it.
Filmography
Danny Lee starred in 138 movies and directed 10 movies.- The Battle WizardThe Battle WizardThe Battle Wizard is a 1977 Hong Kong film adapted from Louis Cha's novel Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. The film was produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio and directed by Pao Hsueh-li...
(1977) - The Brave Archer (1978)
- The Brave Archer 2The Brave Archer 2The Brave Archer 2, alternatively known as Kungfu Warlord 2, is a 1978 Hong Kong film adapted from Louis Cha's novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes. The film was produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio and directed by Chang Cheh, starring Alexander Fu and Niu-niu in the leading roles...
(1979) - The Brave Archer and His MateThe Brave Archer and His MateThe Brave Archer and His Mate, also known as The Brave Archer 4 or Mysterious Island, is a 1982 Hong Kong film adapted from Louis Cha's novels The Legend of the Condor Heroes and The Return of the Condor Heroes...
(1982)
Brotherhood(1986)
- City on FireCity on Fire (1987 film)City on Fire is a gritty and stylish 1987 Hong Kong action crime drama film produced and directed by Ringo Lam, and starring Chow Yun-fat, Danny Lee and Sun Yueh...
(1987)
No Compromise (1988)
- The Killer (1989)
Red Shield(1991)
- Dr. LambDr. LambDr. Lamb is a 1992 Category III Hong Kong film directed by Danny Lee and Billy Tang.-Cast and roles:* Danny Lee - Inspector Lee* Simon Yam - Lam Gor-Yu* Kent Cheng - Fat Bing* Chung Pik Yu * Hui Si Man * Eric Kei - Eric* Emily Kwan - Bo...
(1992) - The Sword Stained with Royal BloodThe Sword Stained with Royal Blood (film)The Sword Stained with Royal Blood is a 1993 Hong Kong film based on Louis Cha's novel Sword Stained with Royal Blood.-Cast:*Yuen Biao as Constable Yuen Sing-chi*Yip Chuen-chan as Wan Ching-ching*Sharla Cheung as Ah-kau / Princess Cheung-ping...
(1993)
City Cop(1995)
Just heroes(1989)