Lasting Legend - Leslie Cheung (Part 4)

Part 4 from YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0gVY2ycE4E&feature=related

Stanley Kwan: His facial feature, his manner and movements all carried a kind of scholarly gracefulness and an air of sophistication. [Clip from “Rouge” was playing]

Stanley Kwan: Apart from an air of sophistication, inside him, I believe, he possessed a very special quality: a feeling of softness and femininity. This special quality fitted well into his role. When he was old at the end of the movie, he made you feel that he was living a frustrated life and did not even have Fleur’s courage to face death, etc. It is because of this special quality in Leslie that it injected into the character a sense of doubt and puzzlement, thus enriching the character a great deal.

[Clip of “Days of Being Wild” (1990) was played with Yuddy dancing]

Wong Ka-Wai: For Leslie Cheung, actually I like his past works more than those he made at the later part of his career. Many many years ago, I saw an episode he made for the RTHK “The Woman in My House”. At that time, I felt that Leslie was very special. [Clip of “The Woman in My House” was played.] He was not a super singer then. Afterwards he started to become popular, and took part in the shooting of movies, such as “A Chinese Ghost Story”, “A Better Tomorrow”. His performance at that time made me feel that he was over confident, giving you an impression that he was trying to demonstrate the skill of acting. That was not what I like. [Clip of “Days of Being Wild” was played] So when we started to collaborate, I told him to restrain a bit and not to treat acting as a kind of performance.

Stanley Kwan: Director Wong Ka Wai has really explored the deeper part and innermost world of Leslie, something that we could not see ourselves.

[Clip of “DOBW” was played – segment of Poon Dik Wah talking to Yuddy]

Poon Dik Wah (Singer/Actress): That role was not easy to play, but Leslie was perfect for it. He had that gaze and mentality. At that era, there was no one else who could play this role except Leslie.

Narrator: “Day of Being Wild” has brought Leslie his first Best Actor Award, but to take his performing skills and charisma to the international stage, it is the following movie which must be mentioned.

[Clip showing Leslie, Tsui Fung, Chen Kaige at the Cannes Festival]

[Yokohama, Japan]

Ginice (Hong Kong fans): Here is the venue in Yokohama Japan where the “Farewell To My Concubine” Art Exhibit is being held. The exhibition had already been taken place once in Hong Kong and once in Shanghai before coming here. This time, the Hong Kong and Japanese fans collaborated together and this exhibition has been officially approved as part of the ‘Year of Chinese-Nippon Cultural and Sporting Exchange 2007’.

[Clip of “FTMC” was played]

Franny (Japanese fans): For Leslie and his fans, “Farewell To My Concubine” is a very meaningful movie. After having learned of the Peking opera and Chinese people through this movie, one will have special passion, feeling and interest for this movie.

[Clip of “Farewell To My Concubine” continued to play]

Ginice: This is a Peking opera mock stage. In the centre behind this embroidery, there is a screen so that every hour, clips and production high-lights can be played.

Ginice: This is the poster for the metro stations in France. [The poster was showed]

Ginice: This is the cinema poster displayed in Spain. [The poster was showed]

Ginice: Original script of the movie. [The script was showed]

Ginice: The fan really took it to her heart; she has saved the ticket of the movie. [showing the cinema ticket]

Ginice: You can see that this is the make-up room at the Peking opera backstage.

Ginice: This is his set of hair ornaments.

Franny: For us, the main purpose is after the visitors return home from this exhibition, they will watch this wonderful movie “Farewell To My Concubine” again. Of course, another main purpose is for more people to learn of and then find out more about Leslie who was such a wonderful artist.

Male Japanese Fan: From a man’s point of view, I feel that Leslie had his soft side, yet at the same time, he possessed the charm of a man, and very handsome.

Female Japanese Fan: Leslie definitely was a super actor. I respect him all the time.

Female Japanese Fan: After I knew Leslie, he changed my life. I become more enthusiastic about everything. In the past, I only cared about Japan or the things happening in Japan, but after knowing Leslie, things have changed, I will watch Hong Kong movies, [paper clips about Farewell To My Concubine was played], and am interested in things about Hong Kong. This has widened my views towards the world.

[Song of “A Thousand Dream of You” was played when Leslie spoke]

Leslie: Movie is a team work, but under the guidance of a good director, the roles that some actors play on the screen may become unforgettable, as if having given them life. [Clips of various movies were played]

Leslie: Therefore a good actor may give himself countless numbers of lifes.

[Clip of “Viva Erotica” was played and Gorgor asked whether the movie was well directed]

Karen Mok: On April 1, 2003, the April Fool Day, something that was most unbelievable happened.

Voice of News Anchor: At the evening, Actor Leslie Cheung fell down from a hotel in Central and died. He was 46. According to the police, Leslie Cheung fell down at around 6 p.m. from the Oriental Mandarin Hotel in Central and was sent to the Queen Mary Hospital.

[Song of “Fearless of Loneliness” and clip of Gorgor’s funeral was played]

Karen Mok: It is very hard to describe this incident. Feeling that it was very unreal; something that was impossible to happen.

Lam Yik: Until now, I still haven’t got the nerve to listen to his songs at home again.

Poon Dik Wah: I feel it is a pity, and I miss him very much. Because now, don’t just say now, even in the past, there was no one like him in the singing field.

[Showing paper clip with a headline of depression being the possible cause of death]

[TO BE CONTINUED]