Jump to content

Laughing Times

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Laughing Times
Film poster
Traditional Chinese滑稽時代
Simplified Chinese滑稽时代
Hanyu PinyinHuá Jī Shí Dài
JyutpingWaat6 Kai2 Si4 Doi6
Directed byJohn Woo
Screenplay byJohn Woo
Produced byKarl Maka
StarringDean Shek
Wong Wai
Karl Maka
Wu Ma
Lee Chung-keung
Chic Lau
CinematographyManny Ho
Edited byTony Chow
Music byFrankie Chan
Production
company
Distributed byCinema City
Release date
  • 24 December 1980 (1980-12-24)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryHong Kong
LanguageCantonese
Box officeHK$5,186,448.50

Laughing Times (Chinese: 滑稽時代) is a 1980 Hong Kong adventure comedy film written and directed by John Woo. The film stars Dean Shek as the Chinese Charlie Chaplin. This is the first film produced by Cinema City, a film company established by Shek, Karl Maka and Raymond Wong.[citation needed]

Plot

[edit]

In the post-war community, where the economy is falling and many businesses are bleak, a starving wanderer named the Chinese Charlie Chaplin meets an orphan (Wong Wai) who was used to do illegal things by bad guy Master Ting and the two become fast friends. Later Charlie also meets a poor singer, whom he develops a funny romance with, and a drunkard. Due to humiliation from Ting, the drunkard turned to drinking. Later, Ting abducts the kid and the singer, prompting Charlie and the drunkard to finally rise up with ambition and risk their lives to save the kid and the singer and eventually, Ting was unable to evade the law.

Cast

[edit]
  • Dean Shek as Chinese Charlie Chaplin
  • Wong Wai as the Kid
  • Karl Maka as Master Ting
  • Wu Ma as Drunkard
  • Lee Chung-keung
  • Chic Lau
  • Tai San as Man wearing shades
  • Tsang Cho-lam as Barber Cheung
  • Wong Sau-man as Singer
  • Ho Pak-kwong as Chiu Siu-man's Father
  • Hoi Sang Lee as bodyguard
  • Fung King-man as Man eating noodle
  • Chiu Chi-ling as street performer
  • Wong Yat-fei as Man getting scalp
  • Sai Gwa-Pau as Man who chokes on noodles
  • Raymond Wong as Man eating banana
  • Ting Yue
  • Shing Wan-on
  • Chan Fei-lung
  • Luk Ying-hong
  • Chu Tak-wai as policeman
  • Ho Wan
  • Leung Hung

Box office

[edit]

The film grossed HK$5,186,448.50 at the Hong Kong box office during its theatrical run from 24 December 1980 to 11 January 1981 in Hong Kong.

Reception

[edit]

Sean Gilman of Seattle Screen Scene called the film a "Chaplin homage".[1]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Princess Chang Ping (John Woo, 1976)". 20 August 2015.
[edit]