“Septet: The Story of Hong Kong” Teaser Poster
Some of the best filmmakers Hong Kong has to offer – Sammo Hung, Anne Hui, Patrick Tam, Yuen Woo-ping, Johnnie To, Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark – have teamed up for Septet: The Story of Hong Kong (formerly Eight & a Half), an eight-part anthology film about the history of Hong Kong, which spans from the 1940s to present time.
The title of the film was changed from Eight & a Half to Septet (“a group of seven people playing music or singing together”) due to John Woo’s departure from the project for reasons unknown.
With names like Johnnie To (Accident), Tsui Hark (The Taking of Tiger Mountain), Ringo Lam (City on Fire), Sammo Hung (Wheels on Meals) and Yuen Woo-ping (True Legend) in the mix, we can only imagine the magic that will displayed on-screen.
Actors for Septet include Simon Yam (Bullet to the Head), Francis Ng (Full Alert), Lam Suet (The Mission), Yuen Wah (Eastern Condors), Timmy Hung (New Police Story), Cheung Tat Ming (Big Bullet), Lawrence Lau (My Name is Fame), Emotion Cheung (Bio Zombie) and Sire Ma (The Legend Is Born – Ip Man).
The film will act as a posthumous release for the late Ringo Lam (Wild City), who passed away in 2018. Lam had this to say about Septet when it was announced 4 years ago: I was attracted to this project because we are going to pay respect to this film world, so I said, “Okay, I will be happy to do work on this one.” And I already finished the pages, I can shoot any time, but I cannot breathe the contents at this moment. *Laughs* But maybe tomorrow, I’ll change again because there’s no budget (via Twitch).
The Blu-ray will be available for order on November 4. You can pre-order it now from one of our trusted sponsors, DDDhouse. An official U.S. release date is still pending.
Holy shit! That is really exciting news. If those filmmakers were all in a coffeehouse at one time, just chatting, it would be exciting enough, but working on a project together? I can’t wait to see how this turns out.
Holy shit! Please don’t be documentary style. Please be what all these guys are good at!
a movie mix of every genre? i don’t like the sound of that? it would not be a serious movie, regardless of the great names of directors
Definitely my opinion. Who knows what it’ll be. They seem to be centering on mostly “action-based” directors (even Woo Ping), so my guess is that it would be mixed.
It’s an anthology film, meaning it will consist of several short films. The article said to expect a mix of different genres because each short film is directed by a different director.
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Very interesting Project. But are the 70ies missing?
John Woo was responsible for the 70s but dropped out
Really? And they didn’t replace him? Hmmm…
They should have done what they did with ‘Hard Target 2’, and replace him with Roel Reiné.
Lmao! But Woo was only to be the “producer” on Hard target 2, not director. But I’ll still give it to ya. 😂
I am looking forward to it, no matter what. It strikes me as poignant and human in its portrayal of lives lived across 7 decades.
Yeah, it’s a really moving trailer. Stuff you don’t see on a regular basis anywhere. I’m looking forward to it.
I’m shocked that I somehow did not know that Ringo Jam had passed away!
Yeah, dude, unfortunately. Broke my heart! Lam’s one of the reasons I got into this stuff, he’s an idol. He’s given us one last gift, though, and for that, I’m grateful.
Oh… To see a beast like Sammo Hung needing a walking stick for to show and teach some moves is a tough sign of the ending of an Era in Martial Arts cinema with the aging of my childhood inspirations. 🙁
I think it was filmed before his operation when he lost a lot of weight just to get on the operating table. I saw some pictures of him surrounded by friends in a restaurant where he was quite slim as compared to his usual weight throughout the years.