Corey Yuen Kwai ( ; Yale: Yuen4 Fui1; born 1951) is a Hong Kong
actor, filmmaker and producer. He was a member of the
Peking Opera Schools and one of
the
Seven
Little Fortunes.
Life and career
Corey Yuen Kwai was born Ying Gang-Ming. Corey was
one of
Jackie Chan,
Sammo Hung and
Yuen
Biao's best friends during their days in the
China Drama
Academy Peking Opera
School. They spent those days training in a harshly disciplined
style under the watch of Master Yu. Corey would go to appear as an
extra in
Hong Kong film during
the "chop socky" era of the 1970s.
Corey is
now one of the top action directors to hit both Hong Kong and the United States
. In 1985, he was the first Hong Kong
director to successfully bring Hong Kong style action to an
American film with
No
Retreat, No Surrender with the soon to be famous actor
Jean-Claude Van Damme. Corey
Yuen has worked with most of Hong Kong's top stars at one time or
another, and began
Michelle Yeoh and
Cynthia Rothrock's career in 1985
with
Yes! Madam and boosting Stephen Chow's with 1990s
All for the Winner and
1991's
Top Bet. He has also
directed
Jackie Chan with
Sammo Hung in
Dragons Forever, and directed
Anita Mui,
Andy Lau and
Aaron Kwok in
Saviour of the Soul. In 1993 he
began an alliance and friendship with action star
Jet Li. He directed several of Jet Li's films,
beginning with
Fong Sai Yuk
and its sequel, and continuing through
The Bodyguard from Beijing,
The New Legend of
Shaolin,
My Father Is a
Hero and
High
Risk. The two have worked together for more than 8 years
and Corey has brought his brand of action in Jet Li's 4 American
films,
Lethal Weapon 4,
Romeo Must Die,
The One, and
Cradle 2 the Grave. Corey also
directed
The Transporter
and
So Close, released in late
2002. Corey opted not to return to direct the sequel
Transporter 2, released in 2005. However,
his team of stuntmen and martial artists are featured in the
film.
His other notable films include
Righting Wrongs with
Yuen Biao and
Cynthia
Rothrock,
She Shoots
Straight with
Joyce Godenzi,
Sammo Hung and
Yuen
Wah and 1997's
Hero
(not to be confused with the
Zhang
Yimou-directed,
Jet Li- starring 2002
film of the same name) starring
Yuen Biao
and
Takeshi Kaneshiro. He has also
been an action director on a number of other films. His style of
action is not as distinct as that of other Hong Kong action
directors like
Yuen Woo Ping and
Ching Siu Tung, but is noted for its
speed and creativity. He is also distinguished in his ability to
mix hand-to-hand combat and gunfighting, two styles of fighting
that are not often used together successfully in Hong Kong action
films.
Filmography
As Director
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