PROFILPELAJAR.COM

Lau Kar-leung
Lau Kar-leung
Chinese: 劉家良
Born	28 July 1934; Guangzhou, Guangdong, Republic of China
Died	25 June 2013 (aged 78); Tai Wai, Hong Kong
Other names	Lau Kar-lung, Liu Chia-liang, Liu Chia-liang, Liu Chia-liung, Liu Ka-liang, Kung Fu Leung, Liu Brothers
Occupation(s)	Director, action choreographer, actor
Years active	1953-2013
Spouses	; Ho Sau-ha (divorced) ; Mary Jean Reimer (m. 1984⁠–⁠2013)
Children	7
Father	Lau Cham
Relatives	Lau Kar-wing (brother)
Awards	Fant-Asia Film Festival; Best Film; 1997 Drunken Master II; ; Hong Kong Film Awards – Best Action Choreography; 1995 Drunken Master II; Life Achievement Award; 2010 Lifetime Achievement; ; ; Golden Bauhinia Awards – Life Achievement Award; 2005 Lifetime Achievement; ; ; Golden Horse Awards – Best Martial Arts Direction; 1994 Drunken Master II; Best Action Choreography; 2005 Seven Swords; ; ;
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	劉家良
Simplified Chinese	刘家良
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Liú Jiāliáng
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutping	Lau4 Gaa1-loeng4
	Musical career

Lau Kar-leung (28 July 1934 – 25 June 2013) was a Hong Kong martial artist, filmmaker, actor, and fight choreographer. He is best known for the films he made in the 1970s and 1980s for the Shaw Brothers Studio. His most famous works include The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978) starring Gordon Liu as well as Drunken Master II (1994) starring Jackie Chan.

History

Lau began learning kung fu when he was nine years old, under strict tutelage from his father.^[1]^: 253 Before becoming famous, Lau worked as an extra and choreographer on black and white Wong Fei-hung movies. He teamed up with fellow Wong Fei-hung choreographer Tong Gaai [fr] on the 1963 Hu Peng-directed wuxia film South Dragon, North Phoenix. Their collaboration would continue on until the mid-1970s. His first appearance in a film was in Brave Lad of Guangong (1950).^[2]

In the 1960s he became one of Shaw Brothers' main choreographers and had a strong working relationship with director Chang Cheh, working on many of Chang's films as a choreographer (often alongside Tong Gaai) including The One-Armed Swordsman, as well as other Shaw Brothers wuxia films, such as The Jade Bow. After a split with Chang on the set of Marco Polo, Lau evolved into a director during the sudden boom of martial arts films in the early 1970s. He occasionally did choreography work for non-Shaw films as well, such as Master of the Flying Guillotine.

After Shaw Brothers stopped producing movies in 1986,^[3] Lau continued directing and choreographing films independently, despite numerous obstacles, among them the fact that Shaw Brothers considered his contract with them still valid despite the fact that they were no longer making movies. This led to a rumored four-film deal with Jackie Chan being canceled when Shaw approached Chan and warned him that Lau was still under contract to them. Additionally, because his last film for Shaw Brothers, Martial Arts of Shaolin (1986), had been filmed in Mainland China, Lau was not allowed to work in Taiwan and no Taiwanese distributors would handle his films. Lau approached Cinema City who agreed to settle his issues with Taiwan if he directed three films for them, Tiger on the Beat (1988), Aces Go Places V - The Terracotta Hit (1989), and Tiger on the Beat 2 (1990). The box office successes of these three films reinvigorated his career.^[4]

In March 1993, Lau began directing Jackie Chan in Drunken Master II,^[5] however, the film's star Jackie Chan and director Lau clashed over the style of fighting, resulting in Lau leaving the set before the shooting of the final fight scene, which was then taken over by Chan.^[6] Most recently, Lau performed acting and choreography work for Tsui Hark's 2005 film Seven Swords.

Mark Houghton opened the Lau Family Hung Kuen school Lau Family Hung Gar academy in Hong Kong / Fanling with the support of his sifu, Lau. He gave his disciple the permission to spread the art of Lau Family Hung Kuen to chosen students. There are already branches in England, Philippines, and China.

Collaborations with Gordon Liu

Lau's most frequent collaborator is likely his "god brother" Gordon Liu Chia Hui, and he worked with Liu on a number of films, directing him as a star in the now classic The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978), as well as directing Liu as either a star or cast member in Dirty Ho (1979), Eight-Diagram Pole Fighter (1983), Executioners from Shaolin (1977), Return to the 36th Chamber (1980), Heroes of the East (1978), Legendary Weapons of China (1982), Disciples of the 36th Chamber (1985), Tiger on Beat (1988), Tiger on the Beat 2 (1990), Shaolin Warrior (1980), The Spiritual Boxer Part II (1979), Cat vs Rat (1982), Lady Is the Boss (1983), My Young Auntie (1981), Challenge of the Masters (1976), Shaolin Mantis (1978), Martial Club (1981), and Drunken Monkey (2003). They also appeared together as themselves in the Italian documentary "Dragonland" (2009, directed by Lorenzo De Luca).

Screenplays

Throughout his career, Lau only wrote four screenplays, but they were all for films that he himself directed. Those screenplays/films are My Young Auntie (1981), Legendary Weapons of China (1982), Lady Is the Boss (1983) and Eight-Diagram Pole Fighter (1983). All of the films also starred or featured Gordon Liu in some role or capacity.

Awards and nominations

In 2005, Lau won a "Best Action Choreography" award at the Golden Horse Award for his action choreography work on Tsui Hark's Seven Swords. He also won another Golden Horse Award in 1994, for "Best Martial Arts Direction" in the film Drunken Master II (or The Legend of the Drunken Master). In 1995, Lau also won a "Best Action Choreography" award at the Hong Kong Film Awards for his choreography in Drunken Master II and in 1997, the film won "Best Film" at the Fantasia Film Festival. Lau was also nominated for a "Best Action Choreography" Hong Kong Film Award in 2006 for his work on Tsui Hark's Seven Swords, and nominated in 1983 for a "Best Action Choreography" Hong Kong Film Award for his work on Legendary Weapons of China (1982), which he also directed and wrote.^[7]

In 2010, Lau was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards for his contributions to the martial arts film genre.^[7]

Personal life

Lau was the third child of Lau Cham (Lau Jaam, 劉湛), a martial arts master who studied Hung Gar under Lam Sai-wing, a student of Wong Fei-hung.^[8] He has a brother who makes a living in the film industry, actor/choreographer Lau Kar-wing, as does Gordon Liu, Lau's pupil and adopted godson to Lau's father, Lau Cham. His nephew Lau Kar-yung (son of his older sister) is also an actor, choreographer and director. Another nephew, Lau Wing-kin (Lau Kar-wing's son) is also an actor, and assisted Lau Kar-leung with action directing on Seven Swords.

Lau began training students Hung Gar before the age of 5 and was already quite proficient in the style. Bruce Lee treated Lau as an elder uncle and asked him for advice in regards to his film career.

As his acting career went smoothly, his family began to worry about his marriage. On seeing that Liu had reached the marriageable age and there was no suitable woman around him, they introduced him to a woman named Ho Sau-ha (何秀霞). However Lau only had interest in his acting career but proceed with the marriage anyway, they had four daughters and one son.

In 1978 Lau first met the then 14 years old Mary Jean Reimer who was 30 years his junior and was a fan of his and Lau helped Reimer in establishing her acting career.

After divorcing his first wife and leaving the family, Lau married Reimer in 1984 and they had two daughters, Jeanne and Rosemary Lau.^[9]

Death

Lau died on 25 June 2013 at Union Hospital, Hong Kong. He had been battling leukemia for two decades.^[10]

Filmography

Films

1975 The Spiritual Boxer - Director
1976 Challenge of the Masters - Director
1977 Executioners From Shaolin - Director
1978 36th Chamber of Shaolin - Director
1978 Deadly Strike / Breakout from Oppression - Director
1978 Shaolin Mantis - Director
1978 Heroes of the East - Director
1979 The Spiritual Boxer Part II - Director
1979 Dirty Ho - Director
1979 Mad Monkey Kung Fu - Director
1980 My Young Auntie - Director
1980 Return to the 36th Chamber - Director
1981 Martial Club - Director
1982 Legendary Weapons of China - Director, writer
1982 Cat vs Rat - Director^[11]^[12]
1983 Lady Is the Boss - Director
1984 The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter - Director, writer
1985 Disciples of the 36th Chamber - Director, writer
1986 Martial Arts of Shaolin - Director
1988 Tiger on the Beat - Director
1989 Aces Go Places 5: The Terracotta Hit - Director
1990 Tiger on the Beat 2 - Director
1994 Drunken Master II - Director
1994 Drunken Master III - Director
2002 Drunken Monkey - Director

As a martial arts choreographer

Year	Title	Awards
1966	The Jade Bow
1967	One-Armed Swordsman
1967	The Assassin
1968	Golden Swallow
1969	Return of the One-Armed Swordsman
1970	The Heroic Ones
1971	The New One-Armed Swordsman
1971	The Anonymous Heroes
1972	Boxer From Shantung
1972	The Water Margin
1973	The Blood Brothers
1973	Police Force
1974	Heroes Two
	Five Shaolin Masters
	The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires
1975	Master of the Flying Guillotine
1975	Bloody Avengers
1976	Challenge of the Masters
1977	Executioners From Shaolin
1978	36th Chamber of Shaolin
	Shaolin Mantis
	Shaolin Challenges Ninja
1979	Mad Monkey Kung Fu
1979	Dirty Ho
1980	My Young Auntie
	Return to the 36th Chamber
	Clan of the White Lotus
1982	Legendary Weapons of China	Nominated - Hong Kong Film Award for Best Action Choreography
1984	Invincible Pole Fighter	Nominated - Hong Kong Film Award for Best Action Choreography
1985	Disciples of the 36th Chamber
1992	Operation Scorpio
1994	Drunken Master II	Hong Kong Film Award for Best Action Choreography
2002	Drunken Monkey
2005	Seven Swords	Nominated - Hong Kong Film Award for Best Action Choreography