| Front Page | |||||||||||||||
| Native Name: |
| ||||||||||||||
| Director: | Philip Chan | ||||||||||||||
| Screenplay: | Michael Hui Philip Chan | ||||||||||||||
| Producer: | Michael Hui | ||||||||||||||
| Starring: | Michael Hui Samuel Hui Ricky Hui | ||||||||||||||
| Cinematography: | Ardy Lam Horace Wong | ||||||||||||||
| Editing: | Ma Chung-yiu Chu San-kit | ||||||||||||||
| Music: | Chow Kai-sang | ||||||||||||||
| Studio: | Hui's Film Production | ||||||||||||||
| Distributor: | Newport Entertainment | ||||||||||||||
| Runtime: | 96 minutes | ||||||||||||||
| Country: | Hong Kong | ||||||||||||||
| Language: | Cantonese | ||||||||||||||
| Gross: | HK$26,348,480 | ||||||||||||||
Front Page is a 1990 Hong Kong comedy film directed by Philip Chan and starring Michael Hui, Samuel Hui and Ricky Hui. The film is a remake of the Hui Brothers' 1976 film, The Private Eyes.[1]
Hui (Michael Hui) is the chief editor of Truth Weekly, an informational magazine that has been experiencing sluggish sales. Because of this, the magazine company is on the verge of closure. Martial arts instructor Mad Bill (Samuel Hui) was recently dismissed from his job and applies for a position at the magazine company. Bill proposes to Hui that they convert the magazine to cover entertainment news, especially scandals involving female celebrities. Hui accepts this idea, and the two of them work with another employee, Fly (Ricky Hui), to fabricate gossip for the next issue.
After receiving reports of ghost sightings at a music video shoot, the trio decide to dress Hui up as a ghost and photograph him on set to fabricate a scoop. However, Hui runs into another "ghost", who, unbeknownst to the trio, is part of a gang seeking to drive the filmmakers away from their area of operations. While escaping, Hui falls into a pit in the ground, and is rescued by Hui and Fly, who lose their negatives in the process.
The trio then decides to spy on Sandy Cheung (Catherine Hung), who has a reputation for purity and innocence in the entertainment industry, and is set to marry the son of a jewellery magnate. They follow her to a beauty salon, planning to take photos of her having a breast enlargement, hoping to cause a scandal, but she turns out to be there for routine skin care. Later, they feign disability to gain Sandy's sympathy, and succeed in taking intimate pictures of Sandy with Bill, to support an infidelity scandal about her.
The night before publishing the news, Bill and Fly's consciences catch up with them; they take the negatives of the photos and return them to Sandy at her engagement party. However, they run into the gangsters from the video shoot, who seize control of the venue. They take Sandy hostage to threaten her fiancé to hand them all the jewellery from his jewellery shop. During the debacle, Hui, Bill and Fly snap many photos of the robbery scene, but are exposed and restrained when one of the gangsters recognizes Hui from the video shoot. Sandy's fiancé also refuses to hand over his property and flees, putting Sandy's life on the line. As the gangsters move to execute Sandy, Bill and the trio resists the gangsters and rescues her. Truth Weekly is resurrected by its exclusive report of the robbery, which attracts wide sales and circulation. This leads to the robbers are being recognized and apprehended while attempting to flee from Hong Kong. Hui and his staff are awarded Good Citizen Awards and HK $800,000 cash by the police force, while Bill wins Sandy's heart.
Andrew Saroch of Far East Films gave the film a score of four out of five stars, praising the confidence and slickness of the three lead actors and its slapstick and moral message, describes it as "sophisticated comedy".[2] In the book, The Hong Kong Filmography, 1977–1997: A Reference Guide to 1,100 Films Produced by British Hong Kong Studios, John Charles gave the film a score of 5/10 and describes it as "short on fresh ideas", but "fairly pleasing if one's expectations are held in check."[1]
The film grossed HK$26,348,480 at the Hong Kong box office during its theatrical run from 24 August to 2 October 1990.
| Awards and nominations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ceremony | Category | Recipient | Outcome |
| 10th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actor | Michael Hui | |
| Hong Kong International Artists Association | Best Actor | Michael Hui | |