China White (1989)

China White is a 1989 Hong Kong action crime film directed by Ronny Yu and starring Andy Lau, Carina Lau, Alex Man, Russell Wong, Billy Drago and Dutch kickbox champion Saskia van Rijswijk.

Plot

Brothers Bobby Chow and Danny Chow want control of Amsterdam’s Chinatown for their drug trade. Italian crime lord Scalia (Drago)  wants to be in control too. In one of the gambling houses the brothers have Danny meets card dealer Anne and they fall in love.

Scalia (Drago) captures two men and he brings in his female sexy henchman (van Rijswijk) to finish them off.

While China White is a gangster drama, it features some very impressive stunts in the mix.

Notable scenes

The scene where Saskia van Rijswijk in leather kicks a prisoner from his chair.

Making of China White

For many years, rumors surrounding that Andy Lau, one of the top box office draws in Hong Kong, was once forced at gunpoint by triads to shoot a film. Wong also confirmed on his blog that China White was the film that Lau was forced at gunpoint to act in.

As a film produced by a Triad backed/run production company, A-listers Andy Lau, Carina Lau, and Alex Man, together with a few other B-listing actors were reportedly forced by the Triad to make minor appearances in the film’s Hongkong version release, but was used as major selling points and was featured in the Hongkong promo posters as well as synopses. These were no surprising secrets due to the Triads’ open involvements in the 1990s’ Hongkong film industry.

During the late 1980s in Hong Kong, actress Carina Lau was abducted by triad members for refusing a film offer from a triad boss, which was a very known case for many years. In 2008, renowned film producer and former chairman of the Hong Kong Film Award Manfred Wong revealed on his blog that Lau was abducted and forced to fly to the Netherlands to act in China White, alongside co-stars Andy Lau and Alex Man, whom were also forced as well.

Many people believe that producer Jim Choi, who would benefit the most from it, was the mastermind of the case. Choi, who was the manager of Jet Li and Nina Li, was shot dead in 1992 at the age of 38. After Choi’s death, there were many rumors surrounding around it including his connection to the Netherlands triads, keeping Li away from other film producers and karma for his actions in filming China White.

Our view on China White

China White is being typecasted as one of many bad martial arts movies. If you judge this movie by the cover (woman with high heels, Saskia van Rijswijk, champion Kickboxing), you would certainly think it is. But it is more an action movie with some martial arts in it. China White is  like other bloodshed titles made in that era in Hong Kong. With many slowmo shootouts and nice eighties scenes in Amsterdam, Holland. Exploitflix one to watch!

Trailer

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