Pao Hsueh-Li

Directing·Jan 1, 1936·Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

Rate

Born in Nanjing and a native of Jiangsu, Pao went to Taiwan in 1949. While in Secondary school, he worked part-time in the evenings at the film processing studio of Taiwan Motion Picture Studio. Upon graduation, he continued to work at the company as an assistant cinematographer for six years and later switched to Lucky Star Film Co Ltd to work as a cinematographer for three years, where he shot many Taiwanese-dialect films. In 1966, when Lo Chen went to Taiwan for the location shooting of Too Late for Love (1967), Pao assisted him and gained his recognization. Pao then went to Hong Kong the following year and joined Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong) Ltd. He first worked as a cinematographer at Shaws, responsible for shooting Lo Chen, Griffin Yue Feng and Chang Cheh's films. Some of the major works included Chang Cheh's The Trail of the Broken Blade (1967) and Golden Swallow (1968); Griffin Yue Feng's Rape of the Sword (1967), Spring Blossoms (1968) and The Silent Love (1971). Pao was acclaimed for his meticulous camerawork and the way he captured the sentiments of the characters. Recommended and encouraged by Chang and Yue, he began his directorial career in 1970. His first film was a horror action film shot in the same year, Finger of Doom (released in 1972), followed by Oath of Death (1971). He directed ten and plus titles for Shaws, of which he co-directed six of them with Chang, including the remarkable The Boxer from Shantung (1972) and Man of Iron (1972). He was deeply influenced by Chang and, like him his forte was action films. In 1977, Pao left Shaws and returned to Taiwan to make wuxia films Blooded Treasury Fight (1979) and The Eight Escorts (1980) for companies such as Yen Sheng Film. His wife, Chin Shu-mei, was a scriptwriter for Shaws when he was working there. The two of them later founded Yu Fung Film Company in Taiwan, and produced films directed by Pao, including Heroic One (1981) and Night of the Assassins (1981). (From Hong Kong Film Archive)

Film	Credit
A Co-Ed's Diary1986 · Director	Director
Heroic Ones1983 · Director	Director
Match Maker for Successful Candidate1982 · Director	Director
The Kung Fu Emperor1981 · Director	Director
PPrivate First Class1981 · Director	Director
HHero at the Border Region1981 · Director	Director
The Revenger1980 · Director	Director
Night of the Assassins1980 · Director	Director
The Heroes1980 · Director	Director
The Great Conspiracy1980 · Director	Director
The Eight Escorts1980 · Director	Director
Blooded Treasury Fight1979 · Director	Director
Beauty Escort1979 · Director	Director
Flying Sword Lee1979 · Director	Director
Tough Guy1978 · Director	Director
Witty Hand, Witty Sword1978 · Director	Director
The Hero Tattooed with Nine Dragons1978 · Director	Director
The Battle Wizard1977 · Director	Director
Deadly Angels1977 · Director	Director
Layout1977 · Director	Director
Heroes of the Underground1976 · Director	Director
The Taxi Driver1975 · Director	Director
The Imposter1975 · Director	Director
Five Tough Guys1974 · Director	Director
The Shadow Boxer1974 · Director	Director
Iron Bodyguard1973 · Director	Director
The Pirate1973 · Director	Director
Trilogy of Swordsmanship1972 · Director of Photography	Director of Photography
Man of Iron1972 · Director	Director
The Delightful Forest1972 · Director	Director
Finger of Doom1972 · Director, Director of Photography	Director, Director of Photography
The Water Margin1972 · Director	Director
The Boxer from Shantung1972 · Director	Director
The Oath of Death1971 · Director	Director
The Silent Love1971 · Director of Photography	Director of Photography
The Drinking Knight1971 · Director	Director
A Taste of Cold Steel1970 · Director of Photography	Director of Photography
The Twelve Gold Medallions1970 · Director of Photography	Director of Photography
My Son1970 · Director of Photography	Director of Photography
The Golden Knight1970 · Director of Photography	Director of Photography
The Younger Generation1970 · Director of Photography	Director of Photography
The Three Smiles1969 · Director of Photography	Director of Photography
Raw Passions1969 · Director of Photography	Director of Photography
The Bells of Death1968 · Director of Photography	Director of Photography
The Magnificent Swordsman1968 · Director of Photography	Director of Photography
Spring Blossoms1968 · Director of Photography	Director of Photography
Golden Swallow1968 · Director of Photography	Director of Photography
Rape of the Sword1967 · Director of Photography	Director of Photography