King Hu
胡金铨
Chinese-language director, 1932–1997. Born in Beijing, he entered the industry in Hong Kong after 1949, working at Shaw Brothers in art departments and as an actor before turning to directing in the 1960s, and later worked in Taiwan. His films are largely wuxia set in the Ming dynasty, with action built from short takes. A Touch of Zen received the Grand Prize of the Technical Commission at Cannes in 1975.
Career
King Hu was born in Beijing and moved to Hong Kong in 1949, working in advertising art and as an actor before joining Shaw Brothers. He directed Come Drink with Me for Shaw in 1966, then went to Taiwan for Dragon Inn, which set a box-office record for a Chinese-language film in 1967.
A Touch of Zen took more than two years to shoot and was released in Taiwan in two parts, in 1970 and 1971. At Cannes in 1975 it won the technical grand prize, the first award a Chinese-language film had taken at the festival. He later shot Raining in the Mountain and Legend of the Mountain in Taiwan and Korea. He died in Taipei in 1997 during heart surgery.
