A Chinese Ghost Story

Tsui Hark adapted ‘Nie Xiaoqian’ in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio as a tribute to Li Han-hsiang's celebrated 1960 entry but his partnership with director Ching Siu-tung updates the eerie story of a scholar being haunted by a female ghost with a quintessentially 1980s touch. Joey Wang as the maiden ghost and Leslie Cheung as the pure-hearted lad make one of the most memorable pairings in the history of Hong Kong cinema. The introduction of high-tech special effects, romantic love scenes and lush visual designs is complimented perfectly by flamboyant action set pieces and evocative music written by the late great James Wong. Yee Chung-man’s outstanding set design gauged the Best Art Directing Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards.