China 1839. Because the British imports of opium into Southern China are creating such widespread medical and economic problems, the weak Manchu emperor Tao Kuang is forced to take action that precipitates the 'Opium War'.

Ko Suk-ying is saddened over her arranged marriage as manipulated by her father Hak-ming. Ko Kok-sun's Cousin Chow Wai's spends the Mid-Autumn Festival before her marriage with the Kos. She has been in love with Sun. Sun finds out about her love for him when she is about to be married off, he is too weak to oppose to Wai's betrothal to another man. Sun's son, Hoi-sun, falls ill. Fearing the displeasure of his elders, Sun dares not consult a western doctor. Meanwhile, another dispute arises among members of the family over the ancestral land. When accused of being incompetent in his management, Sun takes the blame silently. Wai dies of grief while Hoi-sun becomes a victim of mistreatment. Sun is devastated at this double blow. Hak-ming instructs Sun to arrange for Ying's wedding. Knowing the kind of man Ying's fiancee is, Sun is reluctant. Not wanting to follow in Wai's footsteps, Ying fights for her own rights, and backed by an enlightened Sun, she leaves for a new start.

The sophistication of 1950s Hong Kong cinema is vividly illustrated in this film of limited budget and resources. Cantonese opera star Sun Ma Si-tsang plays a country boy who looks exactly like Sun Ma and is asked by a rich girl to impersonate the star, to help her stage an opera. The self-reflexive humour generated by the absurd situation not only provides delicious parody of celebrity culture but also comments subtly on class inequality and the perils of urbanisation. Sun Ma, who also appears as himself in a stage performance, is complemented beautifully by the brilliant comedian Yee Chau-shui as his sidekick and Hung Sin Nui, another opera superstar, as the spoiled and precocious rich girl.

Tian Zhenhua arrives in Shanghai to coach a local women's basketball team. Number 5 on the team, Xiaoje, excels at basketball but is unsure of whether to continue playing. As Tian gets to grips with training Xiaoje and the rest of the team, he reflects on his career as a star basketball player before the revolution.

The sailors on a Kuomintang warship revolt, arrest their officers and defect to the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

Songstress Mui Yee-wah falls head over heels for painter Wai Tik-fung despite their age difference. Because Wai is a married man, Mui's mother is against the match. Mui falls ill from grief. Rich heir Siu Kar-wai seizes the chance to successfully propose to Mui. However, Siu is unable to let go of Mui's past. In a fit of anger, he fires a deadly shot at Wai.

Financial and political pressures bankrupt a Chinese store owner.

Lin Jin, a solider of the New Fourth Army, stayed in Liubao village with his Army. During Lin Jin's stay, he fell in love with a local girl, Ermeizi. However, he had to leave Liubao with his troops for several years. Lin Jin and Ermeizi lost contact during the war after Lin Jin had left Liubao. Years later, Jin returns to Liubao where he finds Ermeizi again.

Lee (Ng Cho-fan), who is the retired jewel thief the Black Cat Burglar, is suspected by the police in a string of burglaries. While fleeing from the police's search, he realises he can only prove his innocence by catching the new Cat in the act. Meanwhile, he is romantically caught in between a young girl from overseas and his goddaughter. As a Cantonese ripoff of Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief (1955), this remake does not have the beautiful scenery from the French Riviera but is full of economical wonders. Director Wong Hang employs westernised filmmaking troops to enhance the film, making it outstanding from other Cantonese films of the same time. From high society gatherings to a hide-and-seek in a masquerade, the film demonstrates not only an elegant style but the versatility and adaptability of Cantonese films. Unlike Cary Grant, Ng Cho-fan manifests himself with a mysterious and artistic aura.

The film commences with Ching (Tang Bik-wan) lamenting over her bleak life through singing: her mother died early and her stepmother (Lam Mui-mui) is wicked. The song precedes her appearance in the house while the cinematography helps to tug at the emotional heartstrings. Because of her debt-ridden father, Ching is forced by the stepmother to marry an old invalid. To prevent the marriage, Ching's lover Ho (Chan Kam-tong) raises money by agreeing to marry his own cousin (Fung Wong Nui). Ching's life is doomed, yet, when the stepmother absconds with the money. With all her hopes dashed to the ground, Ching decides to opt out of marriage for life. However, witnessing her 'self-combed' sworn sisters being bullied even to the point of committing suicide further devastates her. This tragic heroine comes to life through Tang's masterful performance both as a singer and an actor. The climatic and tear-jerking scene of Ching dying is definitely a highlight of the film.

Middle Eastern folktale collection One Thousand and One Nights has been greatly treasured by Western storytellers who are fascinated by the fantastic world within. The exoticism conveyed in Western film adaptations greatly appealed to Cantonese opera and film writer Ma Si-tsang, who adapted The Thief of Bagdad (1924) into Cantonese opera The Prince of Thieves, set in an ancient empire influenced by both East and West. In 1958, director Luk Bong adapted the play into a film, turning the thief of the original film into a Robin Hood-esque hero who poses as a prince to compete for the princess' hand in marriage. Packed with a thrilling treasure hunt and a damsel-in-distress rescue as well as eye-catching special effects, Prince of Thieves is 100% a romantic swashbuckler.

Anatole France's The Man Who Married a Dumb Wife has been adapted into three different Hong Kong films in the 1950s alone. These two adaptations stray from the source material considerably in genre, characterisation and plot, turning a farce about married life into localised romantic comedies that emphasise family values. The Beauty and the Dumb follows the couple from their meet-cute to the misunderstandings they encounter before the inevitable happy ending. The heir of a bank (Huang He) falls in love at first sight with one of the employees' daughter (Li Lihua), but their burgeoning relationship is nearly derailed when the girl's father intervenes to help his dumb daughter land a rich husband.

It is said that on this day, the Tang monk, master and apprentice went through thousands of mountains and rivers, and came to a place called Flame Mountain. The flames here stretched for hundreds of miles, blocking the road to the west. It turned out that Sun Dasheng made a disturbance in the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago and knocked over the alchemy furnace of the Supreme Lord. The true fire of samadhi descended from the sky, accomplishing another tribulation on the path of learning the scriptures. Tang Seng is frowning, Zhu Bajie retreats before the battle, and Monkey King plans to ask the wife of the Bull Demon King to extinguish the fire with a plantain fan.

Fifty years of modern Chinese history (1900-1950), including wars, revolutions and corrupt politics, as seen through the life and times of a simple Beijing policeman and his family.

The Head of Southern Stone Village, Lee Ba-hung bullies others with his power. Yet he has no knowledge that his niece Lee Chun-hong is actually the Black Heroine who confronts him. It turns out that Chun-hong's father is fearful that Ba-hung would bully the mother and daughter of Chun-hong, hence he has disguised Chun-hong with woman attires. Chun-hong's identity is unveiled when she devotes herself to helping the refugees of a disaster by distributing food and emergency supplies. Ba-hung would like to murder Chung-hong by hanging, yet it ends in him being killed by his followers.

This tale of familial warfare and sacrifice takes place in hard-pressed Shanghai at the end of the 1940s. Hu Zhiqing can barely support his wife and children, and his situation is worsened by the unexpected arrival of his mother, brother and sister-in-law. When he is fired by his unscrupulous boss, the whole family becomes embroiled in one emotional/economic struggle after another.

This war film tells the story of a martyr who gave his life in order to save his comrades. It pays tribute to Dong at the same time as it glorifies the communist revolution and provides a model hero for the audience to emulate.

Ma Lan (Qin Yi), who was born in the city, was unwilling to be a mediocre housewife and determined to take part in the surging socialist construction. Her parents did not agree with her plans, but she resolutely goes to the construction site. There others look at her strangely, but Ma Lan does not care. The master Hu Agen looks down on women, dismissing Ma Lan, who decides to learn to drive a loader. Even in secret if she must.

A small Chinese village. For centuries, here, as throughout the country, the working peasantry lived with the dream of owning land. They rose up against the landlords many times, but never achieved victory. And then the dream came true... Dramatic episodes from the life of this village show us how land reform was carried out.

A People's Liberation Army division in Xinjiang in 1951 aids in a water conservancy project.

1930s, Jiangxi Soviet Area. Jiang Mengzi bids farewell to his newlywed wife Xiang Wu'er and joins the main force of the Red Army on the Long March. Xiao Zhenkui, the leader of the "Communist Removal Group", took the opportunity to return to the countryside to launch a white terror. Mengzi's father, chairman of the Township Soviet, and his sister were killed at the same time. The pregnant Wu'er gave birth to a child on the way to escape. Wu'er is found out hiding and forced to work as a wet nurse. Will Mengzi return in time to save his family?

Battle at Liu-hua Bridge

Set in the period of land reform movement, a poor peasant Zhang gets a fertile land. But he doesn't work seriously on it, then loses money and runs into debt. Song wants to buy Zhang's land but his son thinks that they should help Zhang.

The film follows a group of Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldiers who are holding Triangle Hill for several days against US forces. Short of both food and water, they hold their ground until the relief troops arrive. The movie portray the battle as a Chinese victory over an American invasion, and the People's Volunteer Army soldiers were shown as Chinese war heroes."

Uncle Mao and Aunt Mao are well-known surgeons and physicians within hundreds of miles. They are kind, honest and amiable, and their medical ethics and skills are quite praised by the people. Early one morning, the old couple split up and went out for a medical trip. Aunt Mao drank some wedding wine at someone's house after delivering the baby, and started her way home drunk. While lying drunk in the mountains, he encountered a beautiful tiger. The tiger had no intention of harming it, but was very docile. It turned out that it was hoped that Aunt Mao would help it deliver the baby to the tigress at home.

After graduating from maritime college, a group of girls arrive to undergo practical training on a ship and, as future navigators, are greeted in different ways.

The Thunderstorm is a 1957 Hong Kong drama film directed by Ng Wui and starring Bruce Lee based on the play Thunderstorm by Chinese dramatist Cao Yu.

In 1946, Chiang Kaishek commits 200,000 troops to an attack on the Communist-held central plains of China. After the PLA main force in the area retreats, the Nationalists also capture the area around the Dabie Mountains. County Party Committee Secretary Liu and county organizations department director Mo Wenjie lead a guerrilla troop against the KMT forces. Will the film belief of the revolutionary cadre be able to overcome not only the enemy, but cold, hunger and betrayal?

Political intrigue by the Nationalists among the Jingpo people after the liberation of China.

This movie is based on the true story, which happened in Shan-Dong Province of China during World War II. It is based on a collection of memoirs of the guerrilla members. Due to the fact that it happened during World War II and there was not much secrets, this movie is that it was more realistic than other movies in that many real names were used, and the actual site was not changed either like other war movies of the time. The drawback of the movie was that in the latter stage of World War II, the guerrilla force was developed into an impressive 400 plus members from its original beginning of 3, and it launched many major offensives against the enemy, but this part was not shown. The movie only concentrated on the time there were only several dozen members.

The life-story of Wu Xun, a beggar in the Qing dynasty who set up free schools for poor children.

1957 film

1950, PLA scout Tai Zeng disguises himself as a Taiwan agent to defeat the bandits in West Guangxi province.

A spy story during libertion war somewhere in Jiaodong, China.

During Korean War Chinese Air Force fought against the American pilots who claimed to be the world's king of the air. Zhang Lei (Cao Huichu), who comes from a poor farming family, is determined to kill the enemy and serve his country after graduating from aviation school. After arriving at the front line, both the division commander (played by Wang Runshen) and the team leader were satisfied with his test flight results, but the proud Zhang Lei did not want to be a wingman and thinks he is useless. His pride and conceit made him pay the price. With the help of leaders and comrades, he gradually got out of complacency. In the next air battle, he used his actions to correct his mistakes and actively helped the lead plane complete aerial tactical coordination and shoot down the enemy plane. After his own plane was injured and on fire, he was still able to cover his comrades and crash the injured plane into the enemy plane

The clan law of the Yang family works against the relationships of a widow and her daughter until a new marriage law is enacted after liberation.

Directed by Ban Lu.

A soldier finds his new role in the transition from war time to the construction era.

Two famous comedians from pre-Revolution days perform a series of sketches in a theatre for a group of Party cadres. The stage performances blend over into absurdist, self-contained fantasy episodes where the two comics allegorically parody Party propaganda and ideological orthodoxy.

This rare gem features the extraordinary stellar cast of two comedy giants on the same screen and the two Ma's (Ma Si-tsang and Sun Ma Si-tsang) performing together. Leung Sing-por as the wealth-feigning Au and Ma Si-tsang as penny pincher Ma already set the stage for laughter. Ma Si-tsang dons a hilarious moustache and adds panache to the character whenever he complacently twists his moustache, making his greediness almost lovable. The film features a zany plot 'twist' when the two Ma's, as father and son, try to attend a charity gala by having Sun Ma Si-tsang teach Ma Si-tsang to sing ‘Yu Hap-wan Expresses His Inner Feelings', one of the elder Ma's most popular repertoire. Ma Si-tsang gives a commanding seven-minute solo performance that captures the heart of the audience now and forever.

Set in 1953, spies plan to set off a explosion on the National Day.

An underground CPC telegrapher, Li Xia, fights against the Japanese enemy and dies before the eve of Shanghai's liberation in 1939.

In the spring of 1949, a war is about to happen between the Liberation Army and Kuomintang Army on the Yangtze River. The Liberation Army dispatches a reconnaissance to scout the southern parts of the River, whose work is actually full of hardships and dangers. However, with the help of the local crowd and the guerrillas, finally, the members of the reconnaissance succeed in the commission and offer valuable information to the Liberation Army, making great contributions in the war.

In a mountain hamlet in eastern China, a poor woman faces trial after trial. Sold into marriage as a child, she is left a young widow and enslaved by her mother-in-law, who sells her to a poor peasant. Her second marriage turns out to be happy until fate takes away her husband and son. Now seen as a bearer of bad luck, she becomes a social outcast.

Adapted from a novel of the same title, this film depicts a young woman’s transformation from housewife to loyal Communist. This process is presented as “natural” – possessed of inherent logic rather than merely “incidental”. Hence, the film is really about Communist revolution that won over the hearts and minds of Chinese youth.