| Front Page | |||||||||||||||
| Native Name: |
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| 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" (內幕周刊), which is based on intellectual contents, resulting in sluggish sales. Because of this, the magazine company is on the verge for 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 and employee Fly (Ricky Hui) will fabricate gossip to support a headline for the next issue.
This trio decide to spy on Sandy Cheung (Catherine Hung), who has a reputation for purity and innocence in the entertainment industry, and is to marry the son of jewellery magnate. They follow her to a beauty salon, planning to take photos of her having a breast transplant, hoping to cause a scandal, but she turns out to be there for routine skin care. Later, they play dumb and gain Sandy's sympathy to get close to her, and succeed in taking intimate pictures of Sandy with Bill, to support an infidelity scandal about her.
The night before publishing the news, when Bill and Fly's conscience caught up with them, they take the negatives of the photos and returns them to Sandy at her engagement party. However, they encounter robbers who have seized control of the venue and takes Sandy hostage to threaten her fiancé to hand them all of the jewellery from his jewellery shop. At this time, Hui, Bill and Fly also snap a large amount of photos of the robbery scene there. Sandy's fiancé refuses to hand over his property, putting Sandy's life on the line. Fortunately, Bill rescues her and repels the robbers with his martial arts skills. Finally, "Truth Weekly" was resurrected by the report of the robbery and attracted a large sale. The robbers, who attempted to flee from Hong Kong, were also apprehended. Hui and his staff were awarded Good Citizen Awards and HK $800,000 cash by the police force, while Bill also 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 | |