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In support of World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, the Hong Kong Film Archive (HKFA) of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) will screen "The Furious Buddha's Palm" (1965), starring Tso Tat-wah, Yu So-chow, Connie Chan Po-chu and Josephine Siao Fong-fong, in the "Early Treasures" programme. Movie-goers can appreciate this cinematic treasure at the Cinema of the HKFA at 7.30pm on October 25 (Sunday).
Audio-visual materials such as moving images, films and audio records play an important part in cultural heritage. The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization has designated October 27 of every year as World Day for Audiovisual Heritage since 2005 to raise public awareness of conserving audio-visual documents as an integral part of national identities. This year's screening will show a reconstructed version of "The Furious Buddha's Palm" in which images from a missing reel were inserted back into an incomplete tinted version to create a full version. Although the hand-coloured scenes only last for about five minutes, they can impress the audience by giving a powerful look to the signature ninth move of the Buddha's Palm.
The "Buddha's Palm" film series is well known for its imaginative martial arts, characters and visual designs. In "The Furious Buddha's Palm", scriptwriter Szeto On added a few outstanding characters, including the super-villain Iron-faced Asura (Sek Kin) with his secret weapon the Heavenly Crippled-leg move, the Dragon Lady (Josephine Siao Fong-fong) controlled by Asura, and the monkey boy Yuen Tung (Connie Chan Po-chu). The film tells of Asura's killing spree in the martial arts fraternity, while martial arts guru Lung Kim-fei (Tso Tat-wah), who has pledged not to kill again, refuses to intervene with his Buddha's Palm move. Seeing his friends fighting desperately against Asura one by one makes Lung swerve from his promise and creates powerful dramatic conflicts.
The film is in Cantonese without subtitles.
Tickets priced at $40 are now available at URBTIX. Half-price tickets are available for senior citizens aged 60 and above, people with disabilities (and one accompanying minder), full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients. Credit card bookings can be made at 2111 5999 or on the Internet at www.urbtix.hk. For enquiries, please call 2739 2139 or 2734 2900. Detailed programme information can be found in "ProFolio 78", distributed at all performing venues of the LCSD, or by browsing the website www.lcsd.gov.hk/fp/en_US/web/fpo/programmes/2015et1/index.html.
Ends/Friday, September 25, 2015
Issued at HKT 17:05
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