The Bund


Reviewed by: Andrew Leung

March 02, 2009

Rating: five

Genre: Gangster drama

Chow Yun-Fat - "Hui Mun Keung"
Ray Lui - "Ding Lik"
Angie Chiu - "Fung Ching Ching"
Lau Dan - "Fung Ging Yiu"

I'm sure The Bund needs no special introduction. It's a classic series that some consider the "Greatest Television Series of All-Time". In the TVB Anniversary Awards, both Chow Yun Fat's Hui Mun Keung and Angie Chiu's Fung Ching Ching were voted as the "Top 5 All-Time Most Memorable Leading Roles" (in the male and female categories). The famous wedding scene and the final scene of the series has been copied and parodied in many movies and television shows ever since. In fact the final scene is considered by many to be the single greatest scene of all-time in HK television. Suffice to say, The Bund is an all-time classic of epic proportions. It cemented both Chow Yun Fat and Angie Chiu as the greatest TVB actor and actress ever and it brought fame to the relatively obscure Ray Lui. This review is completely spoiler-free.

The Bund has been called the "Godfather of Asian television". But in many ways it also captured the spirit of Film Noir. What is Film Noir? Film Noir are classic Hollywood crime dramas with an eerily dark atmosphere produced in the 1940's and 1950's. They are characterized by the following unique properties:

1) innovative use of shadows and lighting in scenes to produce a dark and mysterious atmosphere
2) main characters who are usually morally ambiguous
3) scenes that take place in urban settings like bars, lounges, nightclubs and gambling dens
4) having crime as an essential component to the story
5) tone and atmosphere that is unsettling, downbeat and extremely dark

While The Bund may be filmed in color, the feel of the series was definitely dark and gritty. There was a memorable scene when the main character Hui Mun Keung enters a warehouse on a dark foggy night. The use of shadows, fogs, low-key lighting, and eerie music produce an atmosphere reminiscent of Film Noir. The main characters were also downbeat and morally ambiguous. Other series have characters that are one-dimensional with the distinction between good and evil clearly defined. This was not the case in The Bund with its complex and multilayered personalities. Our two heroes Hui Mun Keung and Ding Lik were capable of committing immoral acts while our ruthless power-hungry villain Fung Ging Yiu was capable of showing loyalty and compassion towards those closest to him.

This type of characterization captures the essence of the phrase "Demi Gods and Semi Devils". Being a gangster drama set in Shanghai, many of the scenes take place in bars, nightclubs, dark alleyways and mansions. While the indoor scenes still hold up well today, the outdoor ones really show their age. They were produced using 16 mm film and the scenes look awfully outdated. On the plus side the 16 mm look does add to the gritty factor of the atmosphere making Shanghai look even shadier (especially during night). So make no mistake, this was not a bright and happy series. Like Film Noir, the atmosphere and feeling were extremely dark and downbeat. There is no light at the end of the tunnel so to speak.

So what's the basic premise of The Bund? Basically we see Hui Mun Keung (Chow Yun Fat) and his gangster pal Ding Lik (Ray Lui) gradual rise to power in the underworld of Shanghai. They started out as low level gangsters but eventually became high-level gangsters of the powerful crime lord Fung Ging Yiu (Lau Dan). As for the romance department, Hui Mun Keung later falls in love with the daughter of the crime lord Fung Ching Ching (Angie Chiu).

This may sound like standard gangster fare but what really sets The Bund apart from other dramas is the general art direction. Unlike most dramas produced today where every scene essentially "feels" the same with one another, the filmmakers behind The Bund took great care making sure every scene matched the tone of the story and script. This involved finding the appropriate music, costumes, props, scenery and lighting for each scene. The clothes and costumes were not just randomly chosen. What Hui Mun Keung wore actually reflected his current personality (and social status). While other dramas have high entertainment value, The Bund was a pure masterpiece of art. With the great art direction, The Bund produced two of the most memorable scenes in HK television history (the famous wedding scene and the legendary final scene of the series). These two scenes were brilliant and have been copied many times in movies and TV shows ever since.

The character development in The Bund was simply superb. It's not surprising that Chow Yun Fat, Angie Chiu and Ray Lui became household names after the series aired. Chow Yun Fat's Hui Mun Keung was full of charisma. Right from the very first episode, Hui Mun Keung was a charming "superman". His quiet presence and powerful aura mesmerized the audience scene to scene. This is the opposite of "overacting" where an actor tries hard to be charming. Chow Yun Fat's mere presence and effortless expression brought the character to life in a rather elegant and modest fashion. Since the storyline and atmosphere is dark and downbeat, we see the gradual transformation of Hui Mun Keung from a bright optimistic protagonist to a darker and edgier character. Other actors would depict this transformation by being overly emotional and changing all mannerisms and habits of the character. Chow Yun Fat however maintained his quiet charm even when his character became dark. This is what made Chow Yun Fat one of the greatest TVB actors ever to grace the screen.

Angie Chiu also gave a brilliant performance in her role as Fung Ching Ching. We initially saw her character as a simple optimistic girl happily in love with Hui Mun Keung. Like Hui Mun Keung, Fung Ching Ching eventually goes through changes that made her character more dark and pessimistic. Angie Chiu does a great job depicting this change while maintaining the basic innocence of her character. Angie Chiu is my most favorite TVB actress. There is no other TVB actress having that rare combination of acting talent, grace and beauty. The character development of both Hui Mun Keung and Fung Ching Ching were perfect because the characters were allowed to mature "naturally" over the course of the series. Other dramas tend to make abrupt changes to their characters instead of developing them naturally like The Bund. So with the awesome performance of Chow Yun Fat and Angie Chiu, The Bund cemented itself as one of the greatest series ever.

Ray Lui gave a decent performance as Ding Lik. Unlike his buddy Hui Mun Keung, Ding Lik came from the poor slums and was not educated in school or university. He was a simple-minded thug who was loyal to Hui Mun Keung and did what was necessary to survive in the dangerous streets of Shanghai. Ding Lik is a great example of a character who was not black or white but morally ambiguous with shades of grey. We get to see his rise of power from a poor chap living in the slums to a powerful underworld leader working for the crime boss Fung Ging Yiu. Ray Lui did a good job acting out his role. We see more of Ding Lik in the sequels Bund II and Bund III. Lau Dan was a great villain playing the role of Fung Ging Yiu. Initially I could not get rid of Lau Dan's famous "Hong 7 Gong" persona from Legend of Condor Heroes 1982 (another legendary TVB series made in the 80's). But gradually the acting abilities of Lau Dan convinced me of his portrayal. Like Ding Lik, Fung Ging Yiu was a morally ambiguous character with shades of grey. He was capable of being nice and loyal to his daughter and his followers but equally menacing to those who betray him or get in his way towards power. He was a power-hungry crime lord who the audience can feel sympathy for which is a hallmark of a great villain. Overall Chow Yun Fat, Angie Chiu, Ray Lui and Lau Dan gave wonderful performances with their acting skills bringing the multilayered and complex personalities to life on screen.

For anybody interested in buying the DVDs, Taiseng released a DVD set of Bund I, II, III in one definitive package. The entire Bund trilogy has 65 episodes. Unlike the VCD release of Bund I which cut up to 40% of the series, the DVD release is practically uncut. They kept about 95% of the series intact. The only things that were cut were the intro scenes leading up to the title sequence at the beginning of each episode and some of the gory scenes found near the start of the series. Aside from these minor technical bumps (due to the cuts), the DVD release is the definitive version of The Bund with its digitally remastered scenes.

Conclusion

If you're tired of dramas with a simple plot and a "happy-bright" atmosphere (and not to mention one-dimensional characters), you should check out The Bund. The Bund captures the spirit of Film Noir with its dark, downbeat and gritty atmosphere coupled with its complex multi-dimensional characters. With legendary performances by Chow Yun Fat and Angie Chiu, and the great art direction of the series, The Bund was truly the "Godfather of Asian Television". Every scene was as sweet as sugar. 5/5 stars.


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