CHENG PEI-PEI

On July 17th, the actress Cheng Pei-Pei passed away. Though she has appeared in a number of different types of films and television series, spanning decades from the 1960s to 2020, it was her martial arts movies that most remember her for and that had the biggest impact on me personally. I want to spend a bit of time talking about her influence and why I think she was such an important performer. 

Before I do that, I just want to say, if you haven't seen her movies or are only familiar with her from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, go back and watch her Shaw Brothers films. There are a lot of places you can start but the three I would recommend first would be Come Drink with Me, Dragon Swamp and Lady Hermit. I think these provide a good overview of that period. 

It isn't an exaggeration to say without Cheng Pei-Pei, there would be no Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate. There is a reason that the film suggestion list in the rulebook starts with Come Drink with Me (1966). In the introduction I wrote: 

Our starting point for the wuxia genre is Come Drink With Me and the movies that followed. Other early films starring Cheng Pei-Pei were particularly influential.

So much of the game, the setting, and the energy that went into it, owes a debt to her Shaw Brothers filmography. There were other influences for certain but none more important. So much so that two characters in the rulebook were directly inspired by her. If you look at the first illustration of Lady White Blade by Jackie Musto: 

You can see it is an homage to Lady Hermit: 

Lady White Blade was essentially an evil version of the Cheng Pei-Pei character in that movie. And anyone looking at this image of Cheng Pei-Pei as Lady Hermit, can immediately understand why she is so important. She didn't just have the physicality for the roles, she also had screen presence. 

I am not a film scholar or expert, but for me when I watch her movies, it is that screen presence and the blend of talent she brings that really makes her movies work. When Cheng Pei-Pei smiles, you believe it, when her eyes flare in anger you believe it, when you she laughs, you laugh with her. 

Some actors and actresses, people simply like. Cheng Pei-Pei is an actress who easily carries a movie, and someone you want to see on screen. For me she is like Ti Lung or Bruce Lee in that respect. 

I think she is also incredibly graceful. Her footwork always amazes me and helps create a sense of flowing movement on screen. I often talked about watching the feet of actors in the early Shaw Brothers productions because that of the style of the fight choreography at the time, and she is usually the person I was thinking of here. Cheng Pei-Pei can sink into a stance that is so poised, it enhances the beauty of the scene. Which makes sense because her background was in dancing. She trained for six years in ballet while in school and then trained at the Shaw Brothers performing arts center when joining the company. One of the things I believe sets her apart is this earlier ballet experience, which you can see in her movement in movies like Come Drink with Me. 

Believability in an action star is crucial and one aspect of Cheng Pei-Pei's performance that makes her so believable to me is her physique. Again if you watch her feet while she moves, you get a better appreciation of her grace, but if you pay attention to her build and the power of her stances, it gives you a better appreciation of her strength and athleticism. Even down to the hands, she has hands that you believe a fighter would have. 

There is also the intensity of her acting in action sequences. She sells the danger and the struggle through these intense expressions. These intense looks as swords clash add to the visual ferocity of it all. 

And this is to say nothing of her acting itself. We recently covered Dragon Swamp on the podcast and one of the things that stands out is how well she can carry a film playing two separate roles, often sharing screen time with herself through split screen. 

These are just some intitial thoughts. I have been spending the past week or so rewatching her classic movies and giving my thoughts on the podcast. When that is done I will follow this up with a more in depth tribute. Normally I don't cover celebrity passings like this, but I think Cheng Pei-Pei is a very special performer and someone whose work I would like to draw attention to again on the blog now that she is no longer with us.

About ten years ago I did a number of reviews on this blog (look under the header Wuxia Inspiration on the left column), and you can find a number of her films covered there if you want to know more. I would recommend checking out her filmography at HKMDB and her filmography at IMDB to find her movies. Reviews are also plentiful online and many of her films were recently released by Shout! Factory in their Shaw Brothers Boxed sets (and are also available on the Shout! channel on prime). And Arrow put out a new bluray of Come Drink with Me which I also highly recommend.