Hong Kong Entertainment 1979: A Beating Up the Manager at the Start

Following last year's format, the program performances will precede the film screenings.

This performance differs from the last one in that it is no longer a solo act by Time Pictures.

The newcomers from Golden Harvest and Shaw Brothers all came out to make an appearance, some singing and some dancing.

The newcomers sent by Time Pictures were Li Lizhen and Luo Meiwei, led by Leslie Cheung, who sang a song.

After all that fuss, the performance ended, and the theater lights gradually dimmed.

It's the familiar Shaw Brothers and Time Pictures intros.

Next came the names of the behind-the-scenes staff, with Li Jiangbo serving as producer and director.

The assistant directors and action choreographers are Xu Ke and Lin Zhengying, respectively.

The photographer was Lan Naicai, and the props were provided by Liu Tao.

After the credits rolled, the actual movie began.

The film begins with a faded black-and-white clip showing Zhu Lin celebrating her birthday with her mother when she was a child.

The original film included a CD, but Li Jiangbo changed it to a flashback mode. After all, CDs didn't exist at that time.

The scene flashes, and Yuan Hua, dressed as an old man, wakes up from his dream. He picks up the photo frame next to him, strokes it affectionately, and then puts it back in its original place.

Yuen Wah performed well here. Although he is 28 or 29 years old, he played an old man without looking out of place.

A few scenes flashed by: Yuan Hua, wearing a worn-out suit, driving to a store to buy a birthday present for his daughter.

The shop assistants clearly knew Yuan Hua, greeting him directly as "Brother Hua."

After chatting with the shop assistant, Yuan Hua brought gifts to his ex-wife's new home to celebrate Zhu Lin's birthday.

Actually, Zhu Lin and Yuan Hua are about the same age, but Zhu Lin is much better at maintaining her youthful appearance. Like in the 82 TV series *Journey to the West*, even the Queen of the Women's Kingdom, who was 30 years old, looked so radiant.

There were many guests at the birthday banquet, all dressed impeccably.

When Zhu Lin received the gift from his biological father, he opened it and found it was a record player.

Yuan Hua said, "I remember she wanted to be a singer."

His ex-wife chimed in, "That happened when you were 12, Ah-Hua!"

As Zhu Lin hugged Yuan Hua, she whispered in Yuan Hua's ear, "I still want to be a singer, don't tell Mom!"

Yuan Hua happily took a picture of Zhu Lin, who was holding the gift.

Suddenly, a horse's neighing caught Zhu Lin's attention. When she turned around, she saw that her stepfather had brought her a fine horse, and she immediately put down the gift that Yuan Hua had given her.

She ran over shouting and hugged her stepfather.

Looking at her excited daughter, Yuan Hua became dejected.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Yuan Hua left dejectedly. He developed the photos he had taken that day and carefully placed them in his album.

Several black and white clips flash by, explaining that Yuan Hua used to be an instructor in the Flying Tigers. Because he didn't have time to spend with his wife and daughter, they divorced, and his daughter gradually drifted away from him.

Many married men can relate to the story here.

After a lifetime of hard work, what do you really want most? A wife, kids, and a warm home!

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. In the adult world, things don't always go the way you want them to!

You ask a man to spend more time with you, but if a man spends more time with you, he will inevitably have to give up things he shouldn't give up, such as his career.

The theater was mostly frequented by industry professionals; only a very few people came specifically to see pretty girls.

They all knew in their hearts that this was a common filming technique: seemingly heartwarming, but the climax would come even more intensely later.

Only a few newcomers were talking quietly.

"What's going on? This doesn't seem to be the same as what was advertised?"

"Yes, something just doesn't feel right."

The person in front seemed to be disturbed by the noise, and turned around to glare at the two people who were talking.

The two immediately shut up and stopped talking.

Li Jiangbo put a lot of effort into the earlier segments, using soft lighting for most of Yuan Hua's appearances to highlight Yuan Hua's fatherly love.

Zhu Lin, on the other hand, wears idol-style clothing, focusing on looking good and taking great photos!

The movie continues.

Yuan Hua smiled again after a long time when several friends came to visit unexpectedly.

Everyone gathered at Yuan Hua's home, drinking and chatting, discussing family and life.

Before leaving, her friend invited Yuan Hua to work with her.

After talking for a while, Yuan Hua learned that the job was to escort a singer, and that the singer was the one his daughter liked. He agreed without hesitation.

After a few establishing shots, a luxury car drives into the back door of the theater.

Yuen Wah and his friends escorted Mui Yim-fong into the venue. The group moved swiftly and methodically, giving off a decisive and efficient impression.

This version differs from the original "Taken," featuring Anita Mui singing on stage and a scene where her friend calls Yuen Wah to go down and answer a phone call.

Some audience members who had attended Liza Wang's concerts recognized the scene immediately.

"Wow! This director is really sharp! This scene is from Liza Wang's concert. I happened to be there and I happened to hear Anita Mui sing."

A nearby audience member, clearly not a fan of Liza Wang's concert, hurriedly asked, "Really? The movie clip is actually a concert clip?"

"That's right."

"The director is amazing! They actually put on a concert."

Yuan Hua finished making the phone call just as the concert ended.

The passageway door was not properly closed, causing a disturbance among the fans, including some with malicious intent.

But he was nothing in front of Yuan Hua and his friends. He knocked the person down in a few moves, escorted Amei to the car, and escorted her all the way to the hotel.

Because of Yuan Hua's gratitude, Amei gave Yuan Hua a business card with her phone number and her teacher's phone number on it.

The film continues, with Ah Lin and her best friend Rosamund Kwan planning a trip to Japan, but not wanting to bring their parents.

Yuan Hua disagreed, and Ah Lin immediately turned away and left.

The ex-wife and Yuan Hua kept discussing their daughter's trip, and they started arguing as they talked.

The father, not wanting to disappoint his daughter, agreed to let her go on the trip.

Actually, there's a loophole here: in Hong Kong, minors don't necessarily need their father's permission to go abroad.

Therefore, Li Jiangbo's handling of this matter is rather ambiguous.

Yuan Hua drove his daughter to the airport. When they arrived, Yuan Hua discovered that his daughter wasn't just going to Japan for a chicken dinner, but was going on a spontaneous trip with a band.

Honest Yuan Hua and his ex-wife got into another argument. His ex-wife threatened Yuan Hua to let her daughter go, and in the end, Yuan Hua gave in.

When the two arrived at the airport and encountered Wu Qihua, a carpool driver with ulterior motives, the video had already been playing for more than twenty minutes.

It's all about romance, and it's not engaging at all.

Only with three beautiful women—Zhu Lin, Rosamund Kwan, and Anita Mui—can the audience leave.

Hung Kam-po asked Yuen Kwai, who was sitting next to her, somewhat puzzled, "Isn't this an action movie? There's only a little fighting at the beginning, and it's all dialogue?"

Yuen Kwai nodded, "Yes! It's nothing like what Ah-Hua said. The movements were clean and neat, and I didn't notice anything special."

Yuen Biao chuckled, "I think it looks great. Look how beautiful those three girls are!"

This is a scene from the film where Ng Kai-wah is making a phone call from a public phone to report the location of two women.

Everyone realized something was wrong, but they also began to look forward to what would happen next.

Zhu Lin and Rosamund Kwan entered the room, and Rosamund Kwan immediately started singing.

Meanwhile, Yuan Hua kept calling Zhu Lin, but Zhu Lin didn't answer.

Helpless, Yuan Hua could only call his ex-wife, only to receive a scolding from her.

Fortunately, Zhu Lin remembered something and called Yuan Hua.

While the two were chatting, Zhu Lin saw that Guan Zhilin had been kidnapped across the window.

Zhu Lin began to feel anxious, panicked, and uneasy, and kept telling Yuan Hua on the other end of the phone about the situation.

It's worth mentioning that mobile phones didn't exist back then, not even the "big brother" mobile phones.

Li Jiangbo put a lot of effort into this segment to ensure the whole story didn't fall apart.

As Zhu Lin hid behind the door with the phone, listening to Yuan Hua's instructions, he reported information such as the thug's appearance, height, weight, and markings.

Before he could finish speaking, he was arrested.

Then a classic scene unfolds: the thug provocatively picks up the phone and talks to Yuan Hua.

Yuan Hua picked up the phone, his tone becoming even more sinister.

Until he said, "But if you don't let go, I'll find you and kill you!"