Movies Similar to Madam Xian

The Story of Qin Xiang-Lian(1964)

The Story of Qin Xiang-Lian is a Hong Kong Chinese Opera musical starring Jackie Chan in a child role.

So Siu Siu(1962)

The film opens with a travelogue, showcasing West Lake and the real Mainland Chinese locations used by the film to which only the Left Wing of Hong Kong Cinema had access to at the time. The title character is a young woman raised by her courtesan aunt in the West Lake scenic resort area in Hangzhou. Siu Siu is perused by a local Official, but falls in love with the son of the Prime Minister. They marry, but are separated by the Prime Minister who arranges another marriage for the son. Siu Siu remains at West Lake, where she regretfully uses the desire of the earlier Official to help another of the girls find happiness.

The Peach Blossom Fan(1961)

A Shaw Brothers Chinese Opera based on the Qing dynasty musical play that recounts the death of the Ming dynasty through the love story of its two main characters, young scholar Hou Fangyu and a courtesan named Li Xiangjun.

She Sings for the World(2023)

A Chinese Canadian son sets out to make a film on his mother, who was once known as the first ever Chinese Opera Singer to have performed Pingju Opera in English in late 1980's China.

Farewell to a Warrior(1976)

Shaw production

The Grand Substitution(1965)

With China under control of a weak Emperor, two officials compete to steer the future destiny of the land. Chiu believes the people are the future of China, while the diabolical Tu wishes to grind the people beneath an iron heel. Tu decides to take out Chiu's family, but one lone infant escapes.

Farewell My Concubine(1993)

Two boys meet at an opera training school in Peking in 1924. Their resulting friendship will span nearly 70 years and endure some of the most troublesome times in China's history.

Bamboo Theatre(2019)

This film is a portrait of unique cultural space for Spirits, Gods and People. While permanent theatres are commonly built in most cosmopolitan modern cities, Hong Kong preserves a unique theatrical architecture, a Chinese tradition that has lasted more than a century - Bamboo Theatre.

Baijin Long(1933)

A wealthy man's son, who has a sinecure as a hotel owner, poses as a bellhop to win the affections of a woman guest with whom he has fallen madly in love, but who seeks a common man who is earning his own way. This first Cantonese-language talkie was based on a successful 1930 stage musical written by and starring Xue JueXian (Sit KokSin), the plot of which was in turn inspired by a 1929 silent Hollywood romance called "The Grand Duchess And The Waiter" which Xue admired. The film was produced not in Shanghai, by the Tianyi studio, headed by the eldest of the Shaw Brothers, Shao Zuiweng (RunJe Shaw), and was so successful in the Cantonese-speaking parts of China that Shaw moved the Tianyi company to British-administered, Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong to make more Cantonese films in the face of the right-wing Chinese Nationalist government's ban on Cantonese language in favor of Mandarin. A sequel to Baijin Long was made in 1937, and the film itself was remade in 1947.

White Powder and Neon Lights(1947)

This is the first 16mm Cantonese film in full colour, shot on 1940s state-of-the-art Technicolor film stock. Opera star Man-ha (Leung Bik-yuk) enjoys tremendous popularity during her performances in San Francisco, but drowns herself in the vices and temptations of the big city. Increasingly, she fails to show up for performances, almost causing the theatre to go bankrupt. When she sees her lover for the scoundrel that he is, she also sees the errors of her own ways and saves the theatre, restoring it to glory. Joseph Sunn Jue established the Grandview Film Company in Hong Kong during the 1930s and continued making films in the USA during wartime by collaborating with Chinese opera performers in exile there. Wong Hok-sing, an opera actor himself, directed, wrote and starred in this film. He staged a spectacular play-within-a-play at the end, not only to promote the art of Cantonese opera but also to boost solidarity among overseas Chinese through difficult times.

Demi-Haunted(2002)

Wan Fei (Joey Yung) is a promising Chinese Opera singer who is secretly in love with Ho Fung (Nicholas Tse). She plans to sing for him from the stage, but, in a tragic accident, dies mid-song. Years later, Wan Fei's ghost returns, and finds that part of her spirit has been reincarnated in the form of Chor-bat (Eason Chan). Wan Fei still longs to sing her song for her lover, and, after much humorous confusion, her dream is fulfilled.

The Eighteen Darts (Part 1)(1966)

The Eighteen Darts (Part 1) is a Chinese Opera Musical starring Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao in child roles.

The Eighteen Darts (Part 2)(1966)

The Eighteen Darts (Part 2) is a Chinese Opera Musical starring Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao in child roles.

The Rainbow Pass(1964)

The Rainbow Pass is a Chinese Opera starring Sammo Hung in a child role

Opičí císař dostává zbraň v paláci Dračího císaře(1955)

My Way(2012)

When facing a path with no future or precedent success, will we ever choose to stay? Cheuk Cheung’s My Way explores the Cantonese Opera tradition of male Dan performers, men who play female roles, against the backdrop of a Hong Kong society increasingly putting less value on art. Although female performers have long been part of the mainstream of Cantonese Opera, the film follows the stories of two young men who are still fascinated by the art of the male Dan, striving to find their own way to carry on the practice. A moving and searching look at the struggle for identity, My Way is a colourful, musical and moving film which offers a unique and highly personal look at perseverance in the face of a changing society.

Qin Xianglian(1955)

Qing (i.e. Qin) Xianglian was the wife of a man named Chen Shimei, who won the first title of national examination and awarded as husband of the emperor's daughter. Then Qing (i.e. Qin) sues Chen as a murderer who plans to kill his wife and son. In spite of the royal power, gownsman Bao Zhen settles the lawsuit and sentences Chen to serve his head.

The 7 Tyrants of Jiangnan(1962)

A child learns martial arts in order to become a Kung Fu warrior. Features the Seven Little Fortunes, and is the debut film of Jackie Chan.

Sons and Daughters of the Grassland(1975)

The main characters are two youngsters of China's Mongolian nationality, Temur and his younger sister Schin, whose fine revolutionary qualities - courage, tenacity and wholehearted devotion to the public interests - are highlighted in the dance-drama.

Havana Divas(2018)

The story focus on Caridad and Georgina, who had learned the art of Cantonese Opera in Havana as a young age and performed as divas for over a decade before their lives were changed by Fidel Castro's revolution.