Series Site
This Spring, we blew the fuzz off of our audiences with our Taiwanese action fantasy series featuring the kung fu cult classics CHILD OF PEACH (1987) and its sequel, MAGIC OF SPELL (1988). Now as the seasons turn and the peach trees beam red, we bring you this companion series showcasing the work of one of the chief architects of the PEACH series, Taiwanese cinematographer Chuang Yan-chien.
Chuang burst out the gate in the 1970s as the director of photography on several popular productions by Hsu Tseng-hung (THE INVINCIBLE SWORD, THOUSAND MILE ESCORT) as well some of the earliest Taiwanese productions by recent HK transplants Jimmy Wang Yu (TIGER & CRANE FIST) and Kao Pao-shu (THE JADE FOX), before linking up with the insanely prolific Lee Tso-nam (THE TATTOO CONNECTION, THE CHALLENGE OF THE LADY NINJA, KUNG FU WONDER CHILD) for a collaborative relationship that would span upwards of 25 films over 15 years.
Yet Chuang’s biggest success would come in collaboration with a different filmmaker, Chiu Chung-hing, on Chiu’s massively successful, multiple sequel-spawning kiddie horror movie, HELLO DRACULA (1986). DRACULA’s success led to a continued working relationship between Chuang and its studio, Chin Ke Film Company, including CHILD OF PEACH and its sequels, where Chuang’s eye for lush colors and dynamic lighting were crucial to maintaining those films’ fantastical settings and atmosphere on a limited budget.
Chuang’s work with Chin Ke resulted in Chuang making his own directorial debut (co-credited alongside his closest collaborator, Lee Tso-nam) on the third installment in the PEACH series, MAGIC WARRIORS (1989). Although his directorial career was short-lived, with his final films released just a few years later in 1994, as the films in this series demonstrate, Chuang’s penchant for period detail, over-the-top action, and death-defying stuntwork are a sight to behold.