You might not even bat an eye now at some of the films that were deemed too “scandalous” to be released decades ago, but the catalogue of banned movies in Hong Kong still reveal interesting narratives and bold creativity.
As one of the most internationally lauded film industries in the world, Hong Kong has a layered and complex cinematic history. Although the blood-chilling thrills from Cantonese horror films may suggest that the city’s movie censors aren’t as nitpicky as others, there is still a deep catalogue of features that had been barred from local cinemas. With a diverse range of standards held by the 852 over the decades, Hong Kong films have been slapped with bans for everything from extreme violence to implied political allegories. While some of them have been released after substantial edits and cuts, a select few remain eternally on the list of banned movies in Hong Kong. Would you consider giving them a watch?
Explore the catalogue of banned movies in Hong Kong
1. Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind (1980)
Although now critically lauded as a cinematic gem from the Hong Kong New Wave era, legendary filmmaker Tsui Hark’s Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind ran into early problems getting past film censors. A nihilistic crime-thriller following three trouble-making teenage boys and a sadistic young girl, who accidentally stumble into the affairs of a foreign crime ring, the film was immediately banned due to its violence (as well as references to the 1967 Hong Kong riots). While an edited and restructured version was released theatrically, it still contains a high level of violent content – including a few gruesome scenes involving animal torture. As is the case for many banned movies in Hong Kong and the world during the 70s and 80s, some original film footage is thought to be completely lost even from the uncut version.
2. The Coldest Winter in Peking (1981)
Taiwanese historical drama The Coldest Winter in Peking is said to have run in cinemas for just a single day before joining the ranks of banned movies in Hong Kong. With its narrative of a foreign-educated scientist returning to Mainland China only to suffer during the Cultural Revolution, the film was considered strongly anti-communist. As such, movie censors in Mainland China as well as British Hong Kong slapped The Coldest Winter in Peking with a ban due to its intensely political content.
3. Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (1970)
Patrick Lung Kong’s volatile 1970s flick Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow has undergone several notable periods of resurgence since its initial release – albeit due to unfortunate real-world circumstances, such as the SARS outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic. Loosely based on French philosopher Albert Camus’ novel The Plague, the film follows the outbreak of a mystery virus that quickly tears through and devastates Hong Kong’s local community. Largely due to politically sensitive allegories and class conflicts depicted in the fictional chaos, calls for bans led to heavy censorship of the original material. Although institutions like the Hong Kong Film Archive continue to find ways to preserve the film as much as possible, the only known copy that remains today is a drastically cut-down version with poor sound and image quality.
4. China Behind (1974)
While the bold film China Behind was technically completed in the 1970s, a 13-year ban by Hong Kong British colonial authorities led to it not being publicly seen until the late 80s. Even scarce knowledge of the movie’s content gives a good indicator of why it garnered such a ban at the time. As moving a narrative as it is a daring artistic work, China Behind depicts the plight of four university students escaping to Hong Kong from Mainland China during the Cultural Revolution. Painting a fairly bleak picture of both the Mainland and Hong Kong, Tang Shu Shuen’s (one of the earliest female Hong Kong directors) film has long outlived its censors as a compelling piece of creative expression.
5. Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023)
The murky series of events that saw Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey pulled from Hong Kong cinemas is perhaps even more bizarre due to the fact that it could, in no part, simply be because of its stupendous subject matter. When beloved children’s book Winnie-the-Pooh entered public domain in 2022, it wasn’t long before its characters were given a horror reimagining as feral killers terrorising university students. While Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey was scheduled to be released theatrically in the city, all screenings were quietly cancelled shortly before opening day. Although it was speculated that the film was banned due to Mainland China’s regular censoring of the cartoon bear for its alleged resemblance to President Xi Jinping, local film censorship boards claimed that the movie was still government-approved. If the decision solely came from distributors, we suppose this insane flick may not officially be on the list of banned movies in Hong Kong – but the fact remains that most Hong Kongers weren’t able to have their childhoods ruined on the big screen.
6. Revolution of Our Times (2021)
Perhaps one of the most controversial Hong Kong films made in the 2020s, the debut of Revolution of Our Times at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival was shrouded in secrecy. Covering the city’s 2019-2020 protests, the documentary features footage and interviews from the front lines of the demonstrations. Unlike some banned movies in Hong Kong that were allowed to be released after substantial edits, screening Revolution of Our Times remains illegal in the 852. In fact, the making of this documentary was risky enough that the majority of those behind its production remain anonymous (simply stated as by “Hong Kongers”) apart from the director Kiwi Chow.
7. To My Nineteen-Year-Old Self (2022)
The banning of celebrated Hong Kong filmmaker Mabel Cheung’s decade-spanning documentary, To My Nineteen-Year-Old Self, stemmed not from the government nor censorship boards – but from subjects of the movie itself. The film’s camera focuses on six schoolgirls from Cheung’s own alma mater and their development over 10 years. Beginning in 2011, the emotional, physical, and intellectual growth of the girls is documented as they go through one of the most turbulent decades in the city’s history. After screening at film festivals, To My Nineteen-Year-Old Self ran into trouble less than four days into its wide release. In a letter published by Ming Pao Weekly, one of the main subjects of the documentary voiced her opposition to its theatrical release and alleged that she had not fully given her consent to be featured. The conversation of a documentarian’s obligation to its subjects reached a head when celebrated Hong Kong cyclist, Sarah Lee, called for boycotts after her unauthorised inclusion in the film. Although Cheung pulled all scheduled screenings of the movie, this “self-ban” remains a lightning rod for discussions on a filmmaker’s legal and moral responsibilities when documenting real subjects – and the rights those subjects have over their cinematic depiction.
