appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Richard James Havis

Although it is an unlikely weapon, the “flying guillotine” was a big hit with martial arts fans when it featured in the eponymous film The Flying Guillotine in 1975.
The gruesome invention quickly inspired numerous copycat films, as well as a sequel and a rival version featuring no less a star than Jimmy Wang Yu.
The flying guillotine is a nasty weapon which consists of a circular metallic hood on a long chain. It is a decapitation machine – the user throws it over the head of an adversary and internal blades snap shut, cutting it off.
Not only is the weapon somewhat repulsive, it defies the laws of … everything.
It is big and heavy but glides through the air with ease, and it seems to possess a built-in homing device that enables it to always find its mark, even if deflected.
Many weapons used in wuxia films are genuine, but the flying guillotine as shown in films is a fabrication. It is said to have been based on a real Qing dynasty weapon of unknown design. Ho Meng-hua, who directed the 1975 film, was convinced it was an actual weapon.


The flying guillotine is said to have first appeared on the big screen in 1956’s Fourth Madam Lu Thrashes the Flying Guillotine, then in a rudimentary form in 1973’s Zatoichi vs the Flying Guillotine.
The more common version sprang from the fertile imagination of Shaw Bros scriptwriting maestro Ni Kuang.
The flying guillotine’s appearance was not entirely out of the blue. Although the new wave of martial arts films produced by Shaw in the late 1960s were thoroughly Chinese in setting and spirit, they drew heavily on the idea of clever gadgets espoused in the popular James Bond films.
Here we look at some of the best-known films starring the flying guillotine.
1. The Flying Guillotine (1975)


The weapon achieved fame in this violent film about courtly intrigue, starring martial arts legend Chen Kuan-tai and directed by veteran director Ho Meng-hua.
It details how the flying guillotine was invented at the behest of the Yongzheng Emperor in the Qing dynasty, who wanted a weapon which could kill from a distance subjects who displeased him. The film recounts the weapon’s invention, and shows the training of the 12 elite assassins chosen to wield it.
After putting a novel spin on customary martial arts training tropes – scenes which were reportedly difficult to shoot, as the prop guillotines were hard to control – The Flying Guillotine unfolds according to ea typical martial arts storyline about brotherhood, honour and betrayal.
Ho said before shooting that the film would focus on the characters, and the weapon itself adds novelty to an effective, if mundane story about Chen’s character being betrayed by a jealous fellow assassin and finding his humanity in the process.

The fight choreography looks old-fashioned for 1975, but every time the flying guillotine appears, the action is elevated. The special effects and trick shots – developed by Ho – are excellent for the time.
“The Flying Guillotine truly left a bloody trail in Hong Kong film history,” wrote the Hong Kong Film Archive.
2. Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976)
Written and directed by Jimmy Wang Yu and shot in Taiwan, this flying guillotine story is very different to the original. It’s essentially a kung fu film featuring the weapon as part of the plot, rather than a story revolving around its invention.


Wang made the film as a sequel to his One-Armed Boxer (its alternative title is One-Armed Boxer vs the Flying Guillotine), and the story picks up where that film ended.
Wang’s character does not wield the flying guillotine – that is done by the blind Buddhist monk Fung Sheng, who is seeking to avenge the deaths of his two disciples in One-Armed Boxer.
The guillotine itself is slightly different. It’s smaller, flies much faster, and its saw-like edges are just as effective as its head-chopping trickery.
“It is one long fight – its iconic action scenes start at the opening credits and continue right through to the axe-hurling finale,” bestselling novelist and expert on Hong Kong films Grady Hendrix tells the Post.
“Its over-the-top combatants, and its wild weapons, also served as the inspiration for pretty much every fighting video game, from Street Fighter to Mortal Kombat.”

“An aura of heavy metal doom hangs over the whole movie, from its sadistic blind assassin [to] its wall-to-wall deaths, its dank Krautrock soundtrack – mostly by the band Neu! – and its grim finale in a coffin shop,” Hendrix notes.
3. Flying Guillotine 2 (1978)
Shaw’s Flying Guillotine 2 had a very troubled shooting history, and was shelved and restarted three times.
First, leading lady Liu Wu-chi, from the first film, disappeared near the start of the shoot. Then Chen Kuan-tai walked out of his Shaw Brothers contract – and Flying Guillotine 2 – necessitating a fundamental change to the storyline.
Delays mounted up, director Cheng Kang was replaced by Hua Shan, and Ti Lung was brought in to star mid shoot, although he is absent for much of the film.


The movie fares surprisingly well considering these problems, focusing on a group of Han rebels fighting the oppressive Qing emperor.
Shaw star Shih Szu leads a pack of women fighters who infiltrate the guillotine squad in a novel spin on the story, and there is an “improved” version of the weapon itself.
Shaw’s third guillotine film, Vengeful Beauty, hardly features the weapon at all, and seems to use clips of it from the 1975 version.
4. The Guillotines (2012)
This attempt, by director Andrew Lau Wai-keung, to update the flying guillotine story with 21st-century production values shows very little of the weapon.
The flying guillotine is only part of the story for the first 30 minutes, and its main appearance is right at the start, in a special-effects sequence that aims to numb viewers into submission.
The weapon itself is again significantly different – it is a spinning disc launched from a scythe.


Like Flying Guillotine 2, Lau’s story focuses on a group of Han rebels fighting against an early Qing emperor, who is using the guillotine squad against them. Once again, palace intrigue abounds.
Although the film is nominally a remake of the 1975 version, Lau told the Post that “such elements as the plot, its focus on the brotherhood theme, its visual style and choice of ending come from me”.
In this regular feature series on the best of Hong Kong cinema, we examine the legacy of classic films, re-evaluate the careers of its greatest stars, and revisit some of the lesser-known aspects of the beloved industry.
Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook


From Cheng Pei-pei to Michelle Yeoh, Hong Kong cinema’s history of action heroines

Hong Kong film festival celebrates 37 years of queer cinema

Famous Chinese women in folklore, from Hua Mulan to a consort who brought down a dynasty

‘Rest in eternal peace’: veteran horror actor, filmmaker Simon Loui dies at age 62

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Is the ‘flying guillotine’ a real weapon? How Hong Kong martial arts films created a myth

A still from The Flying Guillotine (1975), which spawned a number of films that featured the fictional assassin’s weapon of the same name.

Chen Kuan-tai as Ma Teng (centre) in a still from The Flying Guillotine (1975).

Chin Kang as Fung Sheng Wu Chi in a still from Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976).

How the Pang Brothers’ The Eye movies led Hong Kong cinema’s horror genre in the 2000s

Angelica Lee Sinje in a still from The Eye (2002), directed by twin brothers Oxide Pang Chun and Danny Pang Fat.

Danny Pang (left) and Oxide Pang at an interview with the Post in 2003. Photo: SCMP

A still from The Eye.

Lawrence Chou (left) and Angelica Lee in a still from The Eye. Photo: Applause Pictures and Raintree Pictures

Shu Qi in a still from The Eye 2 (2004).

Chen Bo-lin (left) and Isabella Leong in a still from The Eye 10 (2005).

How Hong Kong’s gambling film genre was spurred by Andy Lau, Chow Yun-fat and Stephen Chow

Andy Lau in a still from Casino Raiders (1989). Photo: Eureka Entertainment

Chow Yun-fat in a still from God of Gamblers, Wong Jing’s gambling classic that broke Hong Kong box-office records in 1989, and, along with Casino Raiders the same year and All for the Winner in 1990, set the gambling movie genre in motion.

(From left) Andy Lau, Chow Yun-fat and Ronald Wong in a still from God of Gamblers (1989).

(From left) Sharla Cheung, Stephen Chow and Ng Man-tat in a still from All for the Winner (1990). Photo: Win’s Movie Production.

Andy Lau (left) and Stephen Chow in a still from God of Gamblers II (1990), which introduced All for the Winner star Chow to the series.

3 of the best Hong Kong crime movies of the 2000s and how director Derek Yee created them

Daniel Wu (left) and Andy Lau in a still from Derek Yee’s Protégé.

(From left) director Derek Yee, Daniel Wu and Cecilia Cheung on the set of One Nite in Mongkok in 2004. We unpack this crime film and two others he made in the 2000s,  Protégé and Triple Tap. Photo: Handout

Daniel Wu as the hitman Lai Fu in a still from One Nite in Mongkok (2004). Photo: SCMPost

Director Derek Yee and Cecilia Cheung on the set of One Nite in Mongkok. Photo: Handout

Andy Lau as crime lord Quin and Anita Yuen as his wife in a still from Protégé (2007). Photo: Handout

Louis Koo as Kwan (left) and Daniel Wu as Jerry Chang in a still from Triple Tap (2010). Photo: Handout

Why Tsui Hark’s Shanghai Blues, shown at Cannes 2024, is one of his best films 40 years on

Sylvia Chang in a still from Shanghai Blues. Photo: Film Workshop

Sally Yeh in a still from Shanghai Blues. Lively and packed with romcom tropes, it remains one of its director Tsui Hark’s favourite films. Photo: Film Workshop

Kenny Bee in a still from Shanghai Blues. Photo: Film Workshop

(From left) Nansun Shi, Sylvia Chang, Kenny B and Tsui Hark at an exhibition entitled A Tribute to Romantic Visions: 25th Anniversary of Film Workshop in 2009. Photo: SCMP

Sally Yeh (left) and Sylvia Chang in a still from Shanghai Blues. Photo: Film Workshop

(From left) Brigitte Lin, Cherie Chung and Sally Yeh in a still from Peking Opera Blues.

Is Bullet in the Head John Woo’s best film? Its focus is male friendship, a Woo go-to

Tony Leung Chiu-wai (left) and Jacky Cheung (right) in a still from Bullet in the Head, a John Woo film that has long been loved by critics and fans alike.

(From left) Waise Lee, Jacky Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-wai in a still from Bullet in the Head.

John Woo at an interview with the Post in 1993. Photo: SCMP

Jacky Cheung (left) and Tony Leung in a still from Bullet in the Head.

(From left) Jacky Cheung, Waise Lee and Tony Leung in a still from Bullet in the Head.

(From left) Waise Lee, Jacky Cheung and Tony Leung in a still from Bullet in the Head.

Lifestyle

Entertainment

Culture

Film & TV

Classic Hong Kong cinema

Classic Hong Kong cinema: John Woo on action, violence, influences, growing up in poverty and working in Hollywood in 1997 interview

Legendary Hong Kong action film director John Woo in 1990. Photo: SCMP

Famous Hong Kong action film director John Woo talks about his life and work in a 1997 interview. Photo: SCMP

John Travolta (top) and Nicolas Cage in a still from Face/Off.

John Woo during an interview in 1996. Photo: SCMP

Tony Leung (left) and Chow Yun-fat in a still from Hard Boiled (1991), directed by Woo.

Woo (left) shakes hands with actor Tom Cruise at a photo call in Tsim Sha Tsui in 2000.

Danny Lee (left) and Chow Yun-fat in a still from The Killer, a 1989 film directed by John Woo.

Woo in his office in 1993. Photo: SCMP

Woo on the set of Red Cliff, with actor Takeshi Kaneshiro.

How Ringo Lam crime thriller Full Alert mixed realistic action on Hong Kong streets with premonition of 1997 handover

Lau Ching-wan in a still from Full Alert.

Lau Ching-wan hunting down an escaped robber in the mean streets (Bird Street) of Mong Kok in Ringo Lam’s 1997 movie Full Alert.

Ringo Lam, pictured in 1995. Photo: SCMP

Lau Ching-wan (left) and Francis Ng in a still from Full Alert.

Amanda Lee (front) in a still from Full Alert. Photo: Eureka Entertainment

Francis Ng in a still from Full Alert.

Ringo Lam in an interview with the Post in 1997. Photo: SCMP

Hong Kong’s first art-house film, Cecille Tong Shu-shuen’s The Arch, starring Crazy Rich Asians’ Lisa Lu Yan, was ahead of its time

Lisa Lu in a still from Cecille Tong Shu-shuen’s The Arch (1970), considered to be Hong Kong’s first art-house film.

Cecille Tong and members of her staff at Joss, the Chinese restaurant she runs on Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles.

Lisa Lu, who starred in The Arch and The Empress Dowager, poses with her daughter Lucia Hwong in 1978. Photo: SCMP

Lisa Lu in a still from The Arch.

Promotional stills for Sup Sap Bup Dup (1975), directed by Tong.

A scene from the 1974 film China Behind, directed by Tong.

How Bruce Lee’s Way of the Dragon made Chuck Norris a star with their fight in Rome’s Colosseum, and what the film showed about Lee’s directing

Bruce Lee in a still from The Way of the Dragon (1972). Photo: Criterion Collection

Bruce Lee in a still from The Way of the Dragon (1972), which he starred in and directed. Photo: Criterion Collection

Bruce Lee as Ah Lung (front) and Nora Miao as Chen Ching Hua in a still from The Way of the Dragon. Photo: Golden Harvest

Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee in a still from The Way of the Dragon. Photo: LCSD

Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris in a still from The Way of the Dragon. Photo: Criterion Collection

Maggie Cheung in her own words, on Wong Kar-wai and In the Mood for Love, marrying Olivier Assayas and being an actress, not just a film star

Interview with award-winning actress Maggie Cheung Man-yuk at Grand Hyatt Hotel.

Maggie Cheung at an interview with the Post in 2001. Photo: SCMP.

Maggie Cheung (left) and Cherie Chung in a still from Prince Charming (1984).

Maggie Cheung (left) and Andy Lau in a still from As Tears Go By (1988).

Maggie Cheung in a still from the 1996 film Irma Vep.

Maggie Cheung (left) and Tony Leung in a still from In the Mood for Love (2000).

Peter Chan’s early films, featuring the two Tony Leungs and Maggie Cheung, were a breath of fresh air in Hong Kong

Anita Yuen (left) and Leslie Cheung in a still from He’s a Woman, She’s a Man (1994).

A promotional image of He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Father (1993), starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai (first from right) and Tony Leung Ka-fai (second from right). Peter Chan Ho-sun’s early films “have an international, almost placeless feel” despite their local issues and references.

Film director Peter Chan Ho-sun in 1995. Photo: SCMP

Eric Tsang (left) and Leslie Cheung in a still from He’s a Woman, She’s a Man, the 1994 film directed by Peter Chan.

Fallen Angels: Wong Kar-wai on casting Leon Lai, Michele Reis, Charlie Yeung and Karen Mok against type in 1995 film

Michele Reis and Takeshi Kaneshiro in a still from Wong Kar-wai’s Fallen Angels. Photo: Block 2 Pictures and Jet Tone Contents

Leon Lai in a still from Wong Kar-wai’s Fallen Angels, the 1995 film that was almost part of Chungking Express.

Wong Kar-wai in front of a promotional poster for Fallen Angels in 1995. Photo: SCMP

Takeshi Kaneshiro in a still from Fallen Angels.

Leon Lai (left) and Michele Reis in a still from Fallen Angels.

Michele Reis in a still from Fallen Angels.

(Clockwise from top left) Charlie Yeung, Michele Reis, Leon Lai and Takeshi Kaneshiro in a still from Fallen Angels.

Leon Lai plays a hitman in a still from Fallen Angels.

How Running Out of Time, starring Andy Lau and Lau Ching-wan, helped shape the ‘Johnnie To Cinematic Universe’

Andy Lau in a still from Johnnie To’s Running Out of Time (1999).

Andy Lau, pictured with Helena Law at the 19th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2000, where he was named best actor for his role in Running Out of Time. Photo: SCMP

A still from The Mission (1999).

Lau Ching-wan (left) and Andy Lau in a still from Running Out of Time (1999).

Johnnie To in his Kwun Tong office in 1999. Photo: SCMP

Ekin Cheng in a still from Running Out of Time 2.

Likened to Hollywood hit Love Story, this film beat Jackie Chan, Jet Li at the Hong Kong box office in 1993

Anita Yuen (left) and Lau Ching-wan in a still from C’est La Vie, Mon Cheri.

Anita Yuen (left) and Lau Ching-wan in a still from C’est la Vie, Mon Cheri. It beat films starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li to become a box-office hit in 1993. Photo: courtesy of LCSD 

Film director Derek Yee Tung-sing giving a thank-you speech after being awarded the best director prize at the 13th Hong Kong Film Awards for his film, “C’est La Vie, Mon Cheri”. Photo: SCMP

Lau Ching-wan (left) and Anita Yuen in a still from C’est La Vie, Mon Cheri.

Winners at the 13th Hong Kong Film Awards pose for a group picture. From left in the first row are best supporting actor Paul Chun Pui, best actor Anthony Wong Chau-sang, best actress Anita Yuen Wing-yee, best supporting actress Fung Bo-bo and best director Derek Yee Tung-shing. With the exception of Wong, all the others worked on C’est La Vie, Mon Cheri. Photo: SCMP

Brigitte Lin’s first gender-neutral role, Sally Yeh’s butch Beijing Opera performer make Tsui Hark’s 1986 period comedy Peking Opera Blues highly enjoyable

Peking Opera Blues starring Brigitte Lin remains an enjoyable tale of espionage, Chinese opera and gender bending. Mark Cheng (left) and Brigitte Lin in a still from Peking Opera Blues. Photo: Peking Opera Blues

Playwright Raymond To Kwok-wai, pictured in 1994, was the screenwriter behind both Shanghai Blues and Peking Opera Blues. Photo: SCMP

Sally Yeh (left) in a still from Shanghai Blues, which was released two years before Peking Opera Blues. Photo: Hong Kong Film Archive

(From left) Brigitte Lin, Cherie Chung and Sally Yeh in a still from Peking Opera Blues. Photo: Peking Opera Blues

Tsui Hark, posing beside the poster for another of his movies, A Better Tomorrow III, in 1989. Photo: SCMP

Brigitte Lin (right) in a still from Peking Opera Blues. Photo: Peking Opera Blues

A change from Jackie Chan and Jet Li – Beast Cops’ Gordon Chan on how directing the Hong Kong gangs vs police film was not like his previous work

A still from Beast Cops. Photo: Handout

(From left) Sam Lee, Anthony Wong and Michael Wong in a still from Beast Cops, a Mong Kok-set gangs vs police action drama directed by Gordon Chan.

Best actress Sandra Ng Kwan-yu (left) and best actor Anthony Wong Chau-sang with their awards at the 18th annual Hong Kong Film Awards in 1999. Ng starred in Portland Street Blues and Wong in Beast Cops. Photo: SCMP

Jet Li in a still from Fist of Legend, the 1994 film directed by Gordon Chan.

Michael Wong (front) in a still from Beast Cops.

Directors Gordon Chan (left) and Dante Lam, pictured in 2006. Photo: SCMP

(From left) Anthony Wong, Kathy Chow and Michael Wong in a still from Beast Cops.

Anthony Wong in a still from Beast Cops.

Romance meets ghost story in Hong Kong movie masterpiece Rouge, starring Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung and directed by Stanley Kwan

Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung in a still from Rouge.

Leslie Cheung and Anita in a still from Rouge (1988), directed by Stanley Kwan, in which she plays a 1930s courtesan who returns 50 years later as a ghost seeking her lover, played by Cheung.

Anita Mui (centre) alongside Alex Man (left) and Elaine Chu in a still from Rouge.

Stanley Kwan in an interview with the Post in 1988. Photo: SCMP.

Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung in Rouge.

Made in Hong Kong, Fruit Chan’s take on grim reality of 1997 for many in the city, and how the groundbreaking independent film was conceived

Sam Lee in a still from Made in Hong Kong. Photo: Focus Films Limited

Sam Lee in a still from Made in Hong Kong, Fruit Chan’s 1997 film about the grim reality of life for many people in Hong Kong. Photo: Golden Scene

(From left) Wenders Li, Sam Lee and Neiky Yim in a still from Made in Hong Kong.

Fruit Chan (centre), winner of Best Director and Best Picture at the 3rd Golden Bauhinia Awards Ceremony, alongside actors Neiky Yim (left) and Sam Lee, in 1998. Photo: SCMP

Sam Lee and Neiky Yim in a still from Made in Hong Kong. Photo: Golden Scene

Sam Lee and Neiky Yim in Made in Hong Kong. Photo: Nicetop Independent

Why Boat People, starring Andy Lau and George Lam, Ann Hui’s hit film about post-war Vietnam, displeased the Chinese and French authorities

Andy Lau as To Minh in a still from Boat People (1982). Ann Hui intended the film to tell a human story that explained why refugees were fleeing Vietnam. Hong Kong film-goers saw it as an allegory of the city’s future under Chinese rule. Photo: Bluebird Film Company

George Lam (left) and Season Ma in a still from Boat People. Photo: Bluebird Film Company

Ann Hui won the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 77th Venice Film Festival in 2020. Photo: Reuters

A still from Boat People showing Vietnamese military personnel in the streets.

Andy Lau as To Minh (left) and George Lam as Akutagawa in a still from Boat People.

Andy Lau as To Minh in a still from Boat People.

What they said about In the Mood For Love: director Wong Kar-wai and stars Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung on filming the romantic drama

Maggie Cheung in a still from In The Mood For Love. Photo: Jet Tone Films

Maggie Cheung Man-yuk and Tony Leung Chiu-wai in a still from In the Mood for Love, directed by Wong Kar-wai. Photo: Jet Tone Films

Tony Leung (left), Maggie Cheung and director Wong Kar-wai during the promotion for In the Mood For Love in Cannes, in 2000. Photo: AFP/Jack Guez

Maggie Cheung in a still from In the Mood For Love. Photo: Jet Tone Films

Tony Leung in a still from In The Mood For Love. Photo: Jet Tone Films

Tony Leung (left) and Zhang Ziyi in a still from 2046. Photo: Block 2 Pictures and Jet Tone Contents

Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung in a still from In the Mood For Love. Photo: Jet Tone Films

Jackie Chan focused on ‘real kung fu’ in Drunken Master II in reaction to shoddy ‘wire fu’ martial arts films of the early 90s

Jackie Chan in a still from Drunken Master II (1994). The movie focused heavily on real kung fu by real martial artists, as an antidote to the slew of shoddy ‘wire fu’ movies in the early 1990s.

Jackie Chan at an interview with the Post in 1994. Photo: SCMP

Jackie Chan in a still from Drunken Master (1978). Photo: Golden Harvest

Jackie Chan (left) on the set of Drunken Master II.

Jackie Chan (right) and Felix Wong in a still from Drunken Master II (1994).

Stephen Chow’s Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle were not the films that made the Hong Kong comedian famous – so which ones did?

Stephen Chow as Trinket in a still from the film Royal Tramp.

Stephen Chow (left) and Ng Man-tat in a still from Royal Tramp. Critics called Chow 
 “the finest Hong Kong comedian of his generation” and “Hong Kong’s hottest actor” of the 1990s.

Stephen Chow at an interview with the Post in 1989. Photo: SCMP

Stephen Chow at a film shoot in 1989. Photo: SCMP

Ng Man-tat (left) and Stephen Chow in a still from All for the Winner.

Stephen Chow (left) and Anita Yuen in a still from From Beijing with Love.

Gong Li (left) and Stephen Chow pose for photographers to promote The Flirting Scholar in 1993. Photo: SCMP

Stephen Chow in a still from Shaolin Soccer.

‘I am not Jackie Chan or Chow Yun-fat’: Hong Kong actor Lau Ching-wan on why Hollywood doesn’t need him, bad guy roles, and The Godfather

Lau Ching-wan during an interview with the Post in 1996. Photo: SCMP

Lau Ching-wan during an interview with the Post in 1996. He reveals why he measures his English comprehension against The Godfather and why Hollywood does not need him. Photo: SCMP.

Leon Lai (left) and Lau Ching-wan in a still from A Hero Never Dies (1998).

Lau Ching-wan in a still from Full Alert (1997).

Lau Ching-wan (left) and Anita Yuen in a still from C’est La Vie, Mon Cheri (1993).

Lau Ching-wan in a still from Too Many Ways to be Number One.

Lau Ching-wan (third from left) in a still from Big Bullet (1996), directed by Benny Chan.

Lau Ching-wan in a still from Lifeline (1997).

Lau Ching-wan and his wife, Amy Kwok, pose for photographers on the red carpet of the 32nd Hong Kong Film Awards at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui in 2013. Photo: SCMP

What they said about The Killer: director John Woo and stars Chow Yun-fat and Sally Yeh on shooting the classic Hong Kong action movie

Is the ‘flying guillotine’ a real weapon? How Hong Kong martial arts films created a myth

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}An assassins’ weapon that removed heads, the fictional ‘flying guillotine’ was featured in a number of Hong Kong wuxia films

An assassins’ weapon that removed heads, the fictional ‘flying guillotine’ was featured in a number of Hong Kong wuxia films