Chang Cheh was a Chinese filmmaker, screenwriter, lyricist and producer active in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
10 Facts About Chang Cheh
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Chang Cheh directed more than 90 films in Greater China, the majority of them with the Shaw Brothers Studio in Hong Kong.
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Chang Cheh is known for his long-time collaboration with writer Ni Kuang.
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Chang Cheh got his start in the film industry as a screenwriter; his first script was Girl's Mask, a movie from Shanghai which was released in 1947.
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Chang Cheh wrote several more scripts before making his directorial debut in 1949 with Happenings in Ali Shan.
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Chang Cheh often co-wrote scripts with fellow screenwriter Ni Kuang, and occasionally co-directed films with directors such as Baau Hok-li, Wu Ma and Gwai Chi-hung.
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Chang was heavily influenced by directors Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Gosha, Sergio Leone, and Sam Peckinpah, Cheh brought elements from these movies into his own work, revolutionizing Hong Kong filmmaking.
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Chang Cheh was a pioneer of what is known by some as "heroic bloodshed"; films that emphasize brotherhood, loyalty and honor, and several of his films, including Vengeance, Boxer From Shantung and Chinatown Kid, can be seen as clear influences on the later work of directors such as John Woo and Ringo Lam.
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In 1992, Chang Cheh produced Taiwan Television's Ma's Assassination, which tells the same story as his 1973 film The Blood Brothers.
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Chang Cheh wrote the lyrics of more than 70 Chinese songs that have appeared in his films.