Yuen Ling-yuk (1992)

Director:

Stanley Kwan

Writer:

Tai An-Ping Chiu (writer)

Release Date:

20 February 1992 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Biopic of 1930's Chinese actress Ruan Ling Yu. |

Awards:

7 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Maggie Cheung	...	Ruan Ling-yu and Herself
Han Chin	...	Tang Chi-Shan
Tony Leung Ka Fai	...	Tsai Chu-sheng / Himself
Carina Lau	...	Lily Li / Herself
Waise Lee	...	Li Min-wei
Li-li Li	...	Herself (as Lily Li)
Lawrence Ng	...	Chang Ta-Min
Cecilia Yip	...	Lin Chu-Chu
Kelvin Wong	...	Nier Erh
San Yip	...	Ms Liu
Paul Chang	...	Boss of Lianhua
Yanyan Chen	...	Herself - Interview
Lingyu Ruan	...	Herself (archive footage)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stanley Kwan	...	Himself

Also Known As:

Center Stage (Hong Kong: English title)
Centre Stage (Australia)
Ruan Lingyu (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
The Actress
The New China Woman

Runtime:

Australia:126 min | Hong Kong:147 min (director's cut) | Hong Kong:118 min (edited version) | Hong Kong:154 min (restored DVD version)

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

South Korea:18 | France:U

Filming Locations:

China

Company:

Golden Way Films Ltd.

Trivia:

With her win for Best Actress at the 1993 Berlin Film Festival, Maggie Cheung became the first Chinese actor to win a major European film award.

Movie Connections:

References Tao hua qi xue ji (1931)

Maggie Cheung is excellent

This is a biopic about Yuan (Ruan) Ling-Wu, a movie star of the 30's in China. I've never seen any film she's been in, but I am very intrigued now. Maggie Cheung is excellent in this role. I feel Ms. Cheung is one of the best actresses in film, from any country. She is always interesting to watch. She plays Yuan sympathetically, passionately and solemnly. Looking at her in this role, looking at her pretty eyes, you can tell she understood this actress. At times, she looks flat out beautiful, especially when she smiles. I liked the style of this film, that the real Maggie Cheung comments on Yuan Ling-Wu during the film. Also commenting is the now departed contemporary of Ling-Wu, the very good actress Lilly Li (a few of her films have been recently released on DVD, and should be sought out). The film has a tragic air to it, as Ruan Ling-Wu committed suicide at the tender age of 25. Even if, like me, you have never heard of the actress, see this film. Ms. Cheung, with her smile, her sorrow, her anger all portrayed brilliantly through the film (she won Best Actress in Asia, richly deserved, just blows you away. Oh, and did I mention, she even dances in this film. A triumph, richly deserving of your time.