Chow Yun-Fat on TVB
daai heung gong
big hong kong
The Battle Among The Clans
opening theme (.mp3 format)
principal cast:
nbsp;nbsp;Chow Yun-Fat
nbsp;nbsp;Kenneth Tsang Kong
nbsp;nbsp;Eddie Gwaan Lai-Git
nbsp;nbsp;Lau Ching-Wan
Set in 1945 directly after the end of the Japanese occupation of
Hong Kong, this series deals with the alliances and rivalries of
the major crime syndicates, the most important of which is that
run by Lok Chong Hing (Chow Yun-Fat). With his elder brother Luk Hoi (Tsang
Kong) and adopted son Hong Gwan (Gwaan Lai-Git) at his side, he seeks to consolidate his power and secure his position as leader
during the turbulent period following the War.
In a brief flashback to 1918 we are shown how Hing Gor came to be the founder
of the wealthy Lok clan; when Mana, originally the intended bride of
Hoi arrives in Hong Kong, it is love at first sight between the shy
young girl and Hing. In a very emotional scene in which the brothers
fight over who will take the hand of Mana, Hing receives a severe beating from the
hands of Hoi and at first offers no retaliation, but after driven to a point where
he cannot control himself Hing lands a mighty punch, knocking Hoi
across the alley in which they are fighting and shocking Hoi to his senses. Immediately
repentant for what he has done, Hing falls to his knees before his brother and begs his
forgiveness and, seeing what a good man his brother is, Hoi forgives him... or appears
to do so. Thus the stage is set for the elder brother to serve the younger, and as events
unfold Hoi serves for many years as Hing Gor's trusted lieutenant.
Having achieved the pinnacle of success in the triads, Hing Gor is now an aging
man with many worries and cares; his health is unsettled and he seems weary of
life. His adopted son Hong Gwan is the one on whom he relies, as his natural son is a
wastrel who gambles, takes drugs and does not honor his debts. Tensions at
home and the cares of his empire have taken their toll on the soft-spoken
Hing, and one afternoon while on a picnic with his wife and children he suffers an
attack and is taken to hospital. There by chance he meets the young nurse
Shu-Mei. Shu-Mei is already known to Hong Gwan; they had also met by
chance one day in the street, and he was smitten with the sweet young beauty. However
now it seems that Shu-Mei has lost interest in the son and turned her eyes to the
father; the elegant, quiet grace of Hing seems to draw her to him even against
her will. He in turn seems delighted with her freshness and vivacity; though
he remains faithful to his first love Mana in practice if not in spirit,
he is sorely tempted and after a few volumes of the series things begin to
get very complicated between Hing Gor and his son, though Hong Gwan is devoted to
his father.
Between the dual action/romance storylines there are also quite a few side stories
involving secondary characters, some humorous and some dramatic; all in all this
is an excellent series and is far above the usual sort of adult soap opera that
TVB churned out with regularity in the 1970s and '80s. While other shows were
more of an actors' boot camp for training purposes than anything else, this show
has solid writing and some excellent performances, notably by Chow Yun-Fat, Gwaan
Lai-Git and Tsang Kong.
CYF was only thirty years old when this serial was filmed, nearing the end of
his virtual indenture to TVB. The next year, 1986, would see him throw himself
into films with a passsion: 12 films featuring him were released in '86 alone.
During his years with TVB he had broken through the stigma of being "only" a television
actor in such films as his two collaborations with Ann Hui On-Wah (The Story of
Woo Viet and Love In A Fallen City) and Hong Kong 1941, for which he
was nominated as Best Actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards.
Battle Among The Clans image gallery
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