The genre emerged first in Chinese popular literature. The signature contribution to action cinema from the Chinese-speaking world is the martial arts film, the most famous of which were developed in Hong Kong. The Swordswoman of Huangjiang (1930) co-starring Chen Zhi-gong. However, an exodus by many leading figures to Hollywood in the 1990s coincided with a downturn in the industry. The innovative work of directors and producers like Tsui Hark and John Woo introduced further variety, with genres such as heroic bloodshed and gun fu films, and themes such as triads and the supernatural. He was succeeded in the 1980s by Jackie Chan-who popularized the use of comedy, dangerous stunts, and modern urban settings in action films-and Jet Li, whose authentic wushu skills appealed to both eastern and western audiences. The 1970s saw a resurgence in kung fu films during the rise and sudden death of Bruce Lee. Hong Kong action cinema peaked from the 1970s to the 1990s. Post-war cultural upheavals led to a second wave of wuxia films with highly acrobatic violence, followed by the emergence of the grittier kung fu films for which the Shaw Brothers studio became best known. The first Hong Kong action films favoured the wuxia style, emphasizing mysticism and swordplay, but this trend was politically suppressed in the 1930s and replaced by kung fu films that depicted more down-to-earth unarmed martial arts, often featuring folk heroes such as Wong Fei Hung. In turn, Hollywood action films have been heavily influenced by Hong Kong genre conventions, from the 1970s onwards. Action films from Hong Kong have roots in Chinese and Hong Kong cultures including Chinese opera, storytelling and aesthetic traditions, which Hong Kong filmmakers combined with elements from Hollywood and Japanese cinema along with new action choreography and filmmaking techniques, to create a culturally distinctive form that went on to have wide transcultural appeal. Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame.
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