Wu Ma

Wu Ma (simplified Chinese: 午马; traditional Chinese: 午馬; pinyin: Wǔ Mǎ, real name: simplified Chinese: 冯宏源; traditional Chinese: 馮宏源; pinyin: Féng Hóngyuán (22 September 1942 – 4 February 2014) was a Chinese actor, director, producer and writer. Wu Ma made his screen debut in 1963, and with over 240 appearances to his name (plus 49 directorial credits within a fifty year period), Wu Ma is one of the most familiar faces in the history of Hong Kong Cinema. He is best known as the Taoist ghosthunter in A Chinese Ghost Story.^[1]

The early years

Wu was born Feng Hongyuan in Tianjin. At 16 he moved to Guangzhou and became a machinist before migrating to Hong Kong in 1960. In 1962, Wu enrolled in the Shaw Brothers acting course. Graduating a year later, he became a contract player for the studio and made his first appearance in Lady General Hua Mulan. He then appeared in such films as Temple Of The Red Lotus (1965), The Knight Of Knights (1966) and Trail Of The Broken Blade (1967). He took on the stage name 'Wu Ma' as it reflected the animal in the year of his birth (the horse), and believed it was short enough for audiences to remember.

During an interview, Wu explained that he stumbled upon directing when he was offered an unexpected trip to Japan for a movie. The film's original assistant director was unable to clear his visa in time, and Wu was called upon to take his place. After the experience, Wu decided to become a director, and became famed director Chang Cheh's assistant in 1968. Wu assisted Chang in movies such as Golden Swallow, and also continued to pursue acting.

The 1970s

In 1970, Wu became a director in his own right. His directorial debut, Wrath Of The Sword, was released the same year. In 1971, Wu released one of his seminial works, The Deaf And Mute Heroine.

Wu mainly concentrated on directing in the 1970s, directing several movies - such as Young Tiger (1973) and Wits To Wits (1974). Wits To Wits has been noted as one of the precursors of the knockabout comedy kung fu genre that was later made famous by Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan. Another movie Wu directed, Manchu Boxer (1974), featured Sammo Hung, then a young choreographer and later one of the trend-setters of Hong Kong cinema. This marked the beginning of a strong working relationship between the two, which would become prominent towards the 1980s. He also co-directed with his former mentor Chang in several movies - The Water Margin (1972), The Pirate (1973), All Men Are Brothers (1975) and Naval Commandos (1976).

While most of his output during this period was as a director, Wu continued to appear as an actor and appeared both in his own movies and in several others, although his roles were generally limited to small appearances.

During the mid-1970s, Wu joined a small exodus who were leaving Shaw Brothers due to corruption within the studio and became an independent director. Despite becoming an independent director, Wu was still able to work closely with some Shaw Brothers stars such as Ti Lung (The Massive (1978)).

The 1980s

As the 1970s and the era of the martial arts film wound down, Wu Ma's output as a director also slowed. His acting output, however, increased as he became increasingly well known as a character actor.

While Wu had made appearances in Hung's 1970s movies (such as Iron Fisted Monk), Wu's association with Sammo Hung began in earnest in the early 1980s. Wu appeared in Hung's groundbreaking Encounters of the Spooky Kind (1980), a movie widely acknowledged as the precursor of the Hong Kong vampire genre, and directed and appeared in The Dead And The Deadly (1983), a noted classic in its genre which earned Wu a Hong Kong Film Award nomination for Best Director. Throughout the 1980s, Wu and Hung had a close working relationship, often with Wu as the director and Hung as the producer (such as My Cousin The Ghost (1986)).

Wu also worked in Hung's production company Bo Ho as the production manager, and made appearances in almost every Hung-directed movie of the 1980s. Amongst the most notable movies were Millionaire's Express (1986) and Wheels on Meals (1984).

Towards the mid-1980s, Wu became one of the most prolific character actors in Hong Kong, his now-rubbery face able to shift effortlessly across a spectrum of emotions. During the 1980s, he received three Hong Kong Film Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor - for Righting Wrongs (1986), where he played a policeman having to deal with his son's death; A Chinese Ghost Story (1987) as Yin Chek-Ha; and in The Last Eunuch In China (1988), as Lord Ting.

Wu also began a working relationship with Tsui Hark, and appeared in several of Hark's movies. Aside from A Chinese Ghost Story, Wu also appeared in the earlier Peking Opera Blues (1986).

After A Chinese Ghost Story, said by Wu to be amongst his favourite movies, Wu began to focus on the supernatural genre. Much of his directorial efforts after 1987 were within that genre, such as Portrait Of A Nymph (1988), Burning Sensation (1989) and Fox Legend (1991).

1990s

Wu continued his working relationship with Hark, and appeared in Once Upon A Time In China (1991) and Swordsman (1991). The early 1990s were an especially prolific period in Wu's career - with Wu appearing in over 14 movies during one year.

As the Hong Kong film industry began to slump, Wu's career also slowed considerably. After appearing in High Risk (1995), many of his appearances were either in low-budget movies or in television series.

2000s

Wu has become an active player in television, and has made several series mainly made for mainland Chinese audiences. Wu stated that working in television is quite a contrast to working in film, as the former takes up far more time. Wu has also appeared in the recent movie House of Fury (2005).

Death

Wu was diagnosed with lung cancer due to his strong smoking personality. Malignantly, his cancer was declared incurable and it was announced that the disease started to spread ten months ago. His wife stated that "He have enjoyed every precious minute with his family, which explained that he had casually walked his path with pride and dignity." He passed away peacefully at his home in Hong Kong on 4 February 2014 at the age of 71. Wu Ma was well known for his role as the bearded powerful Taoist Priest in the 1987 Horror-Comedy film A Chinese Ghost Story.^[2]

Filmography

Film

Television

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See also

• Chang Cheh
• Sammo Hung
• Lam Ching-ying

References

External links

• A short biography and filmography
• A detailed biography - bottom of page
• Wu Ma at the Internet Movie Database
• A Chinese Ghost Story - commentary by Bey Logan
• Interview in Chinese