Benny Chan Muk-sing (; 24 October 1961 – 23 August 2020) was a Hong Kong filmmaker. He was known for his action crime films which are full of brutal violence, absurd humor and outstanding choreographies.
He was nominated for Best Director six times at the Hong Kong Film Awards, include Big Bullet, Heroic Duo, New Police Story, Connected, The White Storm and Raging Fire. His last film, Raging Fire, posthumously earned him Best Director award at the 40th Hong Kong Film Awards and the film went on to win Best Film award at the ceremony.
Life and career
Born and raised in Kowloon, Benny Chan first accepted a job in 1981 at Rediffusion Television working in continuity. The following year, he joined TVB, becoming a production assistant to Johnnie To. Chan had gained experience as an executive director for a couple of films between 1987 and 1988, and had also directed and produced a few television series for Asia Television in 1989. During the 1990s, he directed films like Big Bullet (1996), Who Am I? (1998), and Gen-X Cops (1999). For his work on Big Bullet, which he co-wrote, directed, and produced, Chan was nominated for Best Director at the 1997 Hong Kong Film Awards. He also continued to work in television, directing episodes of the 1995 adaptation of Fist of Fury starring Donnie Yen. During the last few months of his life, he was hospitalized at Prince of Wales Hospital.
Filmography
Feature film
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan="2" | Year
! rowspan="2" | Film
! colspan="3" | Credits
! rowspan="2" | Note(s)
|-
!width=65| Director
!width=65| Screenwriter
!width=65| Producer
|-
| 1987
| Goodbye Darling
|
|
|
|
|-
|rowspan="2" | 1988
| Let's Rage the Gangland
|
|
|
| Directorial debut
|-
| Fatal Love
|
|
|
|
|-
| 1990
| A Moment of Romance
|
|
|
|
|-
| 1991
| Son on the Run
|
|
|
|
|-
| 1992
| What a Hero!
|
|
|
|
|-
|rowspan="2" | 1993
| The Magic Crane
|
|
|
|
|-
| A Moment of Romance II
|
|
|
|
|-
| 1994
| Wounded Tracks
|
|
|
|
|-
|rowspan="2" | 1995
| Happy Hour
|
|
|
| Cameo<br/>Produced by Peter Ho-sun Chan
|-
| Man Wanted
|
|
|
|
|-
|rowspan="2" | 1996
| Big Bullet
|
|
|
| NominatedHong Kong Film Award for Best Director<br>NominatedHong Kong Film Award for Best Film
|-
| They Don't Care About Us
|
|
|
|
|-
|1998
| Who Am I?
|
|
|
|
|-
|1999
| Gen-X Cops
|
|
|
|
|-
|2000
| Gen-Y Cops
|
|
|
| Hong Kong-United States co-production
|-
|2001
| Final Romance
|
|
|
|
|-
|2002
| If U Care...
|
|
|
|
|-
|2003
| Heroic Duo
|
|
|
| NominatedHong Kong Film Award for Best Director
|-
|2004
| New Police Story
|
|
|
| NominatedHong Kong Film Award for Best Director<br>NominatedHong Kong Film Award for Best Film
|-
|2005
| Divergence
|
|
|
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|-
|2006
| Rob-B-Hood
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|
|
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|-
|2007
| Invisible Target
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|
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|-
|2008
| Connected
|
|
|
| NominatedHong Kong Film Award for Best Director
|-
|2010
| City Under Siege
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|
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| Also as an editor
|-
|2011
| Shaolin
|
|
|
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|-
|2013
| The White Storm
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|
|
| NominatedHong Kong Film Award for Best Director<br>NominatedHong Kong Film Award for Best Film
|-
|2015
| Little Big Master
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|
|
| NominatedHong Kong Film Award for Best Film
|-
|2016
| Call of Heroes
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|-
|2017
| Meow
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|-
|2021
| Raging Fire
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|
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| Posthumous release<br> WonHong Kong Film Award for Best Director<br>WonHong Kong Film Award for Best Film
|-
|
| The Trier of Fact
|
|
|
| Credited as the producer in the pre-production stage
|-
|}
Television film
- Fist of Fury 精武門 (1995) – TV series, as a director
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Work
!Awards
!Category
!Results
|-
|rowspan="2"|1996
|rowspan="2"|Big Bullet
|rowspan="2"|16th Hong Kong Film Awards
|Best Director
|
|-
|Best Film
|
|-
|2004
|Heroic Duo
|23rd Hong Kong Film Awards
|rowspan="2"|Best Director
|
|-
|rowspan="4"|2005
|rowspan="4"|New Police Story
|rowspan="2"|24th Hong Kong Film Awards
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|Best Film
|
|-
|25th Golden Rooster Awards
|
|-
|28th Hundred Flowers Awards
|
|-
|2009
|Connected
|28th Hong Kong Film Awards
|rowspan="2"|Best Director
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|2014
|rowspan="2"|The White Storm
|rowspan="2"|33rd Hong Kong Film Awards
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|Best Film
|
|-
|2016
|Little Big Master
|35th Hong Kong Film Awards
|
|-
|rowspan="7"|2021
|rowspan="9"|Raging Fire
|rowspan="2"|13th Macau International Film Festival
|Best Director
|
|-
|Best Film
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|28th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
|Best Director
|
|-
|Film of Merit
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild Awards
|Best Film
|
|-
|Best Director
|
|-
|Hong Kong Screenwriters' Guild Awards
|Best Recommended Screenplay
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|2022
|rowspan="2"|40th Hong Kong Film Awards
|Best Director
|
|-
|Best Film
|
|}
References
External links
- HK Cinemagic entry