| A Chinese Ghost Story | |
|---|---|
 Hong Kong film poster | |
| Chinese | 倩女幽魂 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Qiàn Nǚ Yōu Hún |
| Jyutping | Sin6 Neoi5 Jau1 Wan4 |
| Directed by | Ching Siu-tung |
| Written by | Yuen Kai Chi[1] |
| Produced by | Tsui Hark |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography |
|
| Music by | |
Production company | |
Release date |
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| Country | Hong Kong |
| Language | Cantonese |
| Box office | US$3.8 million (est.) |
A Chinese Ghost Story (Chinese: 倩女幽魂; Wade–Giles: Ch'ien-nü Yu-hun; lit. 'The Ethereal Spirit of a Beauty') is a 1987 Hong Kong horror film starring Leslie Cheung, Joey Wong and Wu Ma, directed by Ching Siu-tung and produced by Tsui Hark. The plot is loosely based on a short story about Nie Xiaoqian from Qing dynasty writer Pu Songling's Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio and is also inspired by the 1960 Shaw Brothers Studio film The Enchanting Shadow. The film was popular in Hong Kong and several Asian countries, including South Korea and Japan. Although the film could not gain access to movie theaters in mainland China when it was first released, it became a cult film among young people in the mainland. At that time the film generated a phenomenal cult following among audiences, especially the generation born in the 1980s. In 2011, the Hong Kong producers screened a restored version officially in mainland China.[4]
Most notably[according to whom?] it boosted the stardom of Joey Wong, won Leslie Cheung popularity in Japan,[citation needed] and sparked a trend of folklore ghost films in the Hong Kong film industry,[citation needed] including two sequels, an animated film, a television series and a 2011 remake. The film was ranked number 50 of the Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures presented at the 24th Hong Kong Film Awards, the Special Jury Special Award of the 16th French Science Fiction Film Festival and the Best Film Award of the Portuguese Science Fiction Film Festival.
- ^ a b Morton 2001, p. 70.
- ^ Charles 2000, p. 155.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
newmanwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Wang, Hongjian (4 May 2018). "A Chinese Ghost Story: A Hong Kong comedy film's cult following in Mainland China". Journal of Chinese Cinemas. 12 (2): 142–157. doi:10.1080/17508061.2018.1475968. ISSN 1750-8061. S2CID 194825813.