Lau Kar-leung (28 July 1934 â€" 25 June 2013), also known as Liu
Chia-liang, was a Hong Kong-based Chinese actor, filmmaker,
choreographer and martial artist. Lau is best known for the films he
made in the 1970s and 1980s for the Shaw Brothers Studio. One of his
most famous works is The 36th Chamber of Shaolin which starred Gordon
Liu, as well as Drunken Master II which starred Jackie Chan.Lau began
learning kung fu when he was nine years old, under strict tutelage
from his father.: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).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 collapsed in the 1980s, Lau moved on
and continued directing and choreographing films, among them Drunken
Master II. 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. Most recently, Lau performed acting and choreography
work for Tsui Hark's 2005 film Seven Swords.
Chia-liang, was a Hong Kong-based Chinese actor, filmmaker,
choreographer and martial artist. Lau is best known for the films he
made in the 1970s and 1980s for the Shaw Brothers Studio. One of his
most famous works is The 36th Chamber of Shaolin which starred Gordon
Liu, as well as Drunken Master II which starred Jackie Chan.Lau began
learning kung fu when he was nine years old, under strict tutelage
from his father.: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).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 collapsed in the 1980s, Lau moved on
and continued directing and choreographing films, among them Drunken
Master II. 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. Most recently, Lau performed acting and choreography
work for Tsui Hark's 2005 film Seven Swords.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.