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Sammo Hung

Sammo Hung is a Chinese actor, producer and director from Hong Kong, known for his work in many kung fu films and Hong Kong action cinema. He has been a fight choreographer for, amongst others, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, King Hu, Stephen Chow and John Woo.
Hung is one of the pivotal figures who spearheaded the Hong Kong New Wave movement of the 1980s, helped reinvent the martial arts genre and started the Jiang Shi (hopping vampire) genre.
In East Asia, it is common for people to address their elders or influential people with familial nouns as a sign of familiarity and respect. Jackie Chan, for example, is often addressed as "Dai Goh", meaning Big Brother. Hung was known also known as "Dai Goh", until the filming of Project A, which featured both actors. As Hung was the eldest of the kung fu "brothers", and the first to make a mark on the industry, he was given the nickname "Dai Goh Dai", meaning, Big, Big Brother or Biggest Big Brother.
Hung's ancestral hometown is Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. Born Hong Gam-Bou in Hong Kong, both of his parents worked as wardrobe artists in the local film industry and guardianship was thrust upon his grandparents. His grandmother was archetypal martial-arts actress Chin Tsi-ang[2] and his grandfather was film director Hung Chung-Ho.
Hung joined the China Drama Academy, a Peking Opera School in Hong Kong, in 1961. He was enrolled for a period of 7 years, beginning at the age of 9, after his grandparents heard about the school from their friends).[3] The opera school was run by Master Yu Jim Yuen and as was customary for all students, Hung adopted the given name of his sifu as his family name whilst attending. Going by the name Yuen Lung, Hung became the foremost member of the Seven Little Fortunes performing group[4], and would establish a school rivalry with one of the younger students, Yuen Lo. Yuen Lo would go on to become international superstar Jackie Chan. At the age of 14, Hung was selected by a teacher who had connections to the Hong Kong film industry to perform stunts on a movie. This brief foray into the industry piqued his interest in film and he took particular interest in the operation of film cameras.[3] Shortly after leaving the Academy at the age of 16, Hung suffered an injury that left him bedridden for an extended period, during which time his weight ballooned. After finding work in the film industry as a stuntman, he was given a nickname after a well-known Chinese cartoon character, Sam-mo (Three Hairs).
Many years later, in 1988, Hung starred in Alex Law's Painted Faces, a dramatic re-telling of his experiences at the China Drama Academy. Among the exercises featured in the movie are numerous acrobatic backflips, and hours of handstands performed against a wall. Despite some of the more brutal exercises and physical punishments shown in Painted Faces, Hung and the rest of the Seven Little Fortunes consider the movie a toned-down version of their actual experiences.



What members say | Filmography | Downloads (2)

Sammo Hung - what members say


  • Jackie Chan - Mister Nice Guy
  • Jackie Chan - Mister Nice Guy review by Ian Davies from South Wales
    Rated - 4 stars Sammo Directs Jackie - Yeah! 12 May 2005
    ...gative reporter and a video tape. This is the first time Jackie has worked with Sammo Hung for about ten years, and it has to be said that Sammo Directs Jackie better tha...  
  • Once Upon A Time In China And America
  • Once Upon A Time In China And America review by Crabtree from Mid Glamorgan
    Rated - 3 stars Jet Returns As Wong Fei Hung. 5 July 2005
    ...This high class Hong Kong actioner helmeed by the great Sammo Hung sees Jet Li return to the role of Wong Fei Hung after leaving the Once Upon A Time series for a few fil...  
  • Eastern Condors
  • Eastern Condors review by Sam Inglis from Tonbridge, Kent
    Rated - 4 stars Eastern Condors 20 September 2007
    ...Eastern Condors features Sammo Hung as the leader of a group of criminals recruited by Army officer Lam Ching Ying (another Chinese Opera graduate) to destroy a weapons d...  

Sammo Hung - filmography


  • S.P.L. : Sha po lang (2005)
    Starring: Donnie Yen,  Sammo Hung,  Wu Jing
    Director: Wilson Yip
    Certificate: TBC
    A crimelord (Sammo Hung) covers his tracks so well that he always gets away from all crimes he does, assisted by four fast-talking English lawyers. A professional assassin (Wu Jing), who never fails on his assignment, appearing out of nowhere. Four policemen so eager to nab the crimelord that they ..read more »
    Rate this: 4.0 82% from 33 members
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  • Heromakers on DVD (2003)
    Starring: Jackie Chan,  Sammo Hung,  Ken Miller
    Director: Toby Russell
    Certificate: 15
    Experience an action-packed, stunt filled journey behind the scenes of the World-famous 'Hong Kong Action Cinema industry'. Join Jackie Chan, Sammon Hung and the leading members of the 'Hong Kong Stuntman Association' as they reveal the secrets of their trade, and disclose fascinating anecdotes ..read more »
    Rate this: 2.5 48% from 18 members
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  • The Art Of Action on DVD (2002)
    Starring: Samuel L. Jackson,  Jackie Chan,  Jet Li
    Director: Keith Clarke
    Certificate: 18
    This in-depth documentary gives a behind-the-scenes look at the history of the martial arts film--from its rebellious beginnings to the high-flying epics of today. Host Samuel L. Jackson takes you through the best moments of 100 films, including CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, CHARLIE'S ANGELS, and ..read more »
    Rate this: 2.5 48% from 119 members
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  • The Stunt Woman on DVD (1996)
    Starring: Michelle Yeoh,  Sammo Hung,  Hoi Mang
    Director: Ann Hui
    Certificate: 15
    Ann Hui's THE STUNT WOMAN stars Michelle Yeoh as Ah Kam, a Hong Kong stunt woman who aspires to become an action director. The film also stars Sammo Hung as Ah Kam's mentor, Master Tung.
    Rate this: 2.5 48% from 127 members
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  • Cinema Of Vengeance on DVD (1994)
    Starring: Bruce Lee,  Cynthia Rothrock,  Jackie Chan
    Director: Toby Russell
    Certificate: 18
    A comprehensive English-language chronicle of the Hong Kong action cinema scene, providing clips of classic and rare films, behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with HK luminaries like Samo Hung, Simon Yam, Yukari Oshima, Cynthia Rothrock, John Woo, and Yuen Woo-Ping.
    Rate this: 2.0 42% from 173 members
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  • The Gambling Ghost on DVD (1991)
    Starring: Sammo Hung,  Nina Li Chi,  James Wong
    Director: Clifton Ko
    Certificate: 12
    Fat Hung dreams of being rich. Not being an enormous fan of hard work, Hung and his friend Hoi, constantly cheat people out of their money in order to place bets and one day win their millions. Suddenly luck runs out for the tricky gamblers, when Hoi attempts to double cross a group of gangsters &#..read more »
    Rate this: 2.5 48% from 102 members
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  • Island Of Fire on DVD (1990)
    Starring: Jackie Chan,  Sammo Hung,  Jimmy Wang Yu
    Director: Yin-Ping Chu
    Certificate: 18
    Jackie Chan plays a shrewd cop who goes undercover with a team of mercenaries when a man he put away two years before commits a murder. The film features the great Sammo Hung as well as the terrific Tony Leung Ka Fai.
    Rate this: 2.5 58% from 183 members
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  • Dragons Forever (2 discs) on DVD (1988)
    Starring: Jackie Chan,  Sammo Hung,  Yuen Biao
    Director: Sammo Hung
    Certificate: 18
    A sharp lawyer is hired by a factory when an attractive farm owner threatens to take them to court because waste chemicals are destroying the local fish farm. Soon he is torn between his loyalties to his client and the female witness.
    Rate this: 3.5 71% from 317 members
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  • Eastern Condors on DVD (1986)
    Starring: Sammo Hung,  Yuen Biao,  Lam Ching Ying
    Director: Sammo Hung
    Certificate: 18
    EASTERN CONDORS is director Sammo Hung's high-energy version of THE DIRTY DOZEN. To win their freedom, a group of hardened Asian convicts agree to go on a suicidal mission to Vietnam and destroy an abandoned ammunitions dump before the Vietcong discovers it. Along the way, the men run into a trio ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.0 64% from 176 members
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  • Heart Of The Dragon on DVD (1985)
    Starring: Jackie Chan,  Kar Lok Chin,  James Tien
    Director: Sammo Hung
    Certificate: 15
    Respected cop Fung (Jackie Chan) gives up his dreams of sailing around the world in order to care for his mentally disabled brother (Sammo Hung). However, having been innocently caught up in a gangland dispute, the brother is kidnapped to force Fung to divulge the identity of a police informant...
    Rate this: 3.0 64% from 142 members
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  • Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars on DVD (1985)
    Starring: Jackie Chan,  Sammo Hung,  Yuen Biao
    Director: Sammo Hung
    Certificate: 15
    Rollicking follow-up to the comic blockbuster "My Lucky Stars," with former "Little Fortunes" Hung, Chan, and Biao resurrecting their famous slapstick chemistry once more as crimefighters called upon to save a kingpin from assassins. Available in Mandarin.
    Rate this: 3.0 63% from 251 members
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  • My Lucky Stars on DVD (1985)
    Starring: Jackie Chan,  Sammo Hung,  Yuen Biao
    Director: Sammo Hung
    Certificate: 15
    Because the success of the first LUCKY STARS film (WINNERS AND SINNERS) had a lot to do with the Japanese market, the second film in the series takes place in the land of the rising sun and features Michiko Nishiwaki, the Japanese female bodybuilder. Jackie Chan plays an undercover cop who solicits ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.0 64% from 333 members
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  • Wheels On Meals (2 discs) on DVD (1984)
    Starring: Jackie Chan,  Sammo Hung,  Yuen Biao
    Director: Sammo Hung
    Certificate: 15
    Cousins Jackie and David, owners of a mobile restaurant, team up with their friend Moby, a bumbling private detective, to save the beautiful Sylvia, a pickpocket....
    Rate this: 3.5 70% from 600 members
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  • Winners And Sinners on DVD (1983)
    Starring: Jackie Chan
    Director: Sammo Hung
    Certificate: 15
    Teapot, Curly, Windpipe, Vaseline, and Ranks are a band of bumbling thieves who try to clean up their act by starting a janitorial service. They run foul of a pair of gangsters when they find a briefcase containing counterfeit money. Directed by Sammo Hung, the film lays down the precedents for the ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.0 64% from 243 members
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  • Project A (2 discs) on DVD (1983)
    Starring: Jackie Chan,  Sammo Hung,  Yuen Biao
    Director: Jackie Chan
    Certificate: 15
    Jackie Chan stars as Dragon Ma, an honest marine cadet in late-19th-century colonial Hong Kong, who must do battle with the smugglers and pirates terrorising the South China Sea in order to preserve his company's honor. Revered by Chan devotees as one of his finest films, PROJECT A seamlessly ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.5 70% from 716 members
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  • Prodigal Son on DVD (1983)
    Starring: Sammo Hung,  Yuen Mao,  Frankie Chan
    Director: Sammo Hung
    Certificate: 18
    Leung Chang (Yuen Biao) is a spoiled son who thinks he is the baddest kung fu master around--until he is pounded in a fight with an effeminate Wing Chun master (Lam Ching-Ying) who plays a girl in a traveling Peking Opera troupe. Realizing that his father has been paying his opponents to lose, ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.5 71% from 321 members
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  • Victim on DVD (1980)
    Starring: Sammo Hung,  Chang Yi,  Wilson Tong
    Director: Sammo Hung
    Certificate: 15
    In THE VICTIM, Hong Kong martial arts star Sammo Hung plays the happy-go-lucky Chan Wing, who is an a quest to find a suitable master to teach him kung fu. This search, however, leads him directly into a heated feud between two brothers. The film features outstanding kung fu action.
    Rate this: 3.0 61% from 214 members
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  • Encounters Of The Spooky Kind on DVD (1980)
    Starring: Sammo Hung,  Chung Fat,  Chan Lung
    Director: Sammo Hung
    Certificate: 15
    Sammo Hung plays Courageous Cheung, a cuckolded husband who faces a series of supernatural challenges from his wife's wealthy lover. First, Cheung must survive a night in a house haunted by a bloodthirsty vampire. From there, things just get worse--and more comical. For those unfamiliar with the ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.5 68% from 231 members
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  • Kung Fu Master on DVD (1979)
    Starring: Sammo Hung,  Tung Wei,  Lee Hoi San
    Director: Joseph Cheung
    Certificate: 15
    After defeating the man terrorising their village, two brothers go to war over their differing martial arts practises. Unable to accept the other as his equal they each set up a school of martial arts, and will have nothing to do with one another. But when a new enemy services their separate skills ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.0 54% from 62 members
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  • The Magnificent Butcher on DVD (1979)
    Starring: Sammo Hung,  Chung Fat,  Mui Sang Fan
    Director: Yuen Woo-Ping
    Certificate: 18
    This classic martial arts comedy stars the charming and disarming master of bumbling, the corpulent Sammo Hung. In this Yuen Woo-Ping film, he plays a lovable, klutzy butcher who studies diligently under legendary kung fu master Wong Fei-Hong, but he can't quite seem to get his moves together. ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.5 70% from 195 members
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  • The Iron-Fisted Monk on DVD (1977)
    Starring: Sammo Hung,  Chung Fat,  James Tien
    Director: Sammo Hung
    Certificate: 18
    Martial arts legend Sammo Hung makes his directorial debut with this vintage historical kung-fu extravaganza. The tale follows a renegade Shaolin monk (Hung) on a vigilante mission to rid the Chinese countryside of the Manchu pestilence.
    Rate this: 3.0 67% from 118 members
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