Friday, December 04, 2009

HK Stars of the 1990s: Anita Yuen, Charlie Yeung, Veronica Yip, Sandra Ng, Chingmy Yau, Carmen Lee, Athena Chu..and Vivian Chow..

I've always liked the female HK actresses of the 1990s, the era when i fell in love with HK cinema and also my growing-up years...it was strange that I never had any real male idols (despite 100% liking guys, mind you!) besides (maybe) Leslie Cheung, Lau Ching-Wan and of course, everyone's favourite comedian Stephen Chow. I also liked Leo Ku alot and still do...other stars which I liked are Carina Lau, Lee Yi-Hung, Hsu-Chi, Christine Ng-Wing Mei, and Christy Chung.
However, my fav HK female stars are definitely those mentioned in the title of this post. Except Vivian Chow whom i've only come to like this year with the mention of her coming back to the big screen after a 13 yr hiatus. Mind you, I liked all of them in the 90s and some are no longer acting, many married to wealthy businessmen now. Below are some clips of movies of them and also what some look like now:

Chingmy Yau in 1995's 'You're My birthday Cake': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpIx9jyzY4Q
Veronica Yip in 1994's 'Red Rose, White Rose' (lady in white veil whom appears in second part):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLttV36KxiQ
Veronica Yip 2008/09: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWl7c8JMDUg&feature=fvsr
Carmen Lee in mainland Chinese TV serial early 2000s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU1berbwpvE&feature=related
Anita Yuen in 1993's ' He's Ain't Hairy, He's my Brother': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRm9QUVbaFY
Anita Yuen in 2008: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL3qlvaOAFg
Charlie Yeung in 1997 commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FcKvElKg00
Charlie Yeung in 2009: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6j5AyY9AcI
Sandra Ng in 1993's 'All's Well, End's Well':http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ7jmdsj23M
Sandra Ng in 2009's 'All's Well, End's Well': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyLCVqoPeEs
Athena Chu in 1998's 'Raped by an Angel II': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sihiPusY2fk
Vivian Chow in 1993's Mandarin MV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvEaymFMWcw&feature=PlayList&p=4469C6A828B4F07A&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=49 Vivian Chow in 2007/08: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEuJhNoZW_o

Have a look, the one's in pink are particularly worth having a look at, Charlie Yeung and Vivian Chow still look stunningly pretty whilst Athena Chu's performance in 'Raped by An Angel II' is quite a cult classic for HK Cinema of the 90s, a typical Wong Jing movie. :-)

12 comments:

YTSL said...

Waaaah, no Brigitte Lin? I know she retired 4 years into the 1990s but, still... she remains number one for me.

As for men: I like Leslie a lot too... but also have soft spots for Takeshi Kaneshiro (particularly in CHUNGKING EXPRESS and LOST AND FOUND), Jordan Chan (in the YOUNG AND DANGEROUS movies but also HE'S A WOMAN, SHE'S A MAN) and Alex Fong (in PORTLAND STREET BLUES... oh my!). :b

hcpen said...

YTSL: Well, Brigette Lin is from my mother's era! She was popular in the 70s and reached her highest point in the early 80s...by the time of the mid-90s, she had retired already..i actually liked the stars i mentioned from VCR casette tapes i used to borrow cos i came of age only from 1996 onwards or 1997 and by the time these stars were no longer acting as much or at all...so if i had to rely on viewing their old movies even bck then i simply wouldn't have viewed Brigette's whom wasn't as popular with the young crowd!

But i thank the existence of vhs tapes or i'd miss most of anita yuen's and carina's,etc films..my time was gigi leung, sammi cheng, ekin cheng,etc..

YTSL said...

Hi again hcpen --

Heheheh, I'll take your point that Brigitte Lin is from your mother's era. Actually, my first memories of her films are watching them with my mother (whose favorite actress she also is).

But for me, Brigitte spanned two generations (at least) in that she is the rare Asian actress who was active for two full decades (and also in two different Chinese cinemas -- that of Taiwan, initially, and then Hong Kong's).

And for me, she owned the early part of the 1990s Hong Kong cinema (along with Stephen Chow). I mean... what would it be without SWORDSMAN II and III, CHUNGKING EXPRESS, ASHES OF TIME, THE BRIDE WITH WHITE HAIR, etc., etc.?! So much less colorful, that's what!

hcpen said...

YTSL: Well, we belong to two different generations..the Brigette Lin movies of the 90s were way too serious for me
(back then, as a teen!). But i do agree that Brigette Lin is the most famous actress from Taiwan (along with Hsu Chi and Joey Wang) on a level with Teresa Deng:-)

Anonymous said...

Hcpen, I won't complain about Brigitte Lin's omission, since YTSL already took you to task! ;p

But it's interesting that you don't mention the three other actresses who I associate with the 90s and who were responsible for making me a HK movie fan: Maggie Cheung, Michelle Yeoh, and Anita Mui.

Glad to see Sandra Ng among your favorites! It was interesting to hear her talk about her relationship with Peter Chan. I knew they were a couple but I had no idea they had a child together.

Thanks sharing your faves!

hcpen said...

Duriandave: This is my 'Personal' fav list! Not a thesis on the most factually famous and influential hk female stars of the 90s..that's why there isn't anita mui and michelle yeoh (both of whom i like btw!) but don't make it into my personal list..maggie cheung is so famous i reckoned i didn't need to mention her..one of her best movies (and my favourite hk film) is 'Comrades, A Love Story' (Tian Mi Mi)..hehe..

gina said...

I like Maggie Cheung. She's my all time favorite. More like the 80s to 20th century film star. She looked damn gorgeous in Cheongsam "In the Mood for Love"!

hcpen said...

Gina: Haha...mention anything to do with cheongsams n you're in my good books!:-)

aimlesswanderer said...

Mmm, Athena Chu and Christy Chung, still lovely.

hcpen said...

aimlesswanderer: Athena & Christy still look young despite 10 yrs don't they?

aimlesswanderer said...

Yep, still lookin good!

hcpen said...

hcpen: I know:-)