Film Workshop's first film: SHANGHAI BLUES turned out to be both a critical and commercial success; and so were the two subsequent films that Tsui directed: THE WORKING CLASS and PEKING OPERA BLUES.

At this time, Tsui invited other directors to join in. With Tsui producing, John Woo directed A BETTER TOMORROW, which grossed US$4.5 million locally to set a new record as the highest grossing picture. Tsui also produced Ching Siu-Tung's box office wonder A CHINESE GHOST STORY, which won the Special Jury Prize at the 1988 Avoriaz Festival in France, and the Best Film Award at the 1988 Oporto Festival in Portugal.

1988 proved to be a very fruitful year for Film Workshop with four new films: John Woo's successful sequel of A BETTER TOMORROW II; taut police action drama THE BIG HEAT, directed by Andrew Kam and Johnny To; fantasy action blockbuster ROBOFORCE directed by David Chung and GUNMEN directed by Kirk Wong.

Another four films were completed in 1989. Shot on location in Vietnam, A BETTER TOMORROW III ,LOVE & DEATH IN SAIGON repeated the success of its two predecessors of the trilogy. THE KILLER took most of the world market by storm and Circle Releasing picked it up for general commercial release in North America. SPY GAMES was shot in Tokyo and Hong Kong with an international cast and crew. DECEPTION combined the talents of four of the most popular actresses in Hong Kong for a spine-chilling thriller.

1990 was a vintage year for costume drama. Both SWORDSMAN and A CHINESE GHOST STORY II were traditional sagas updated with computerized special effects and gravity-defying martial arts. Consequently, they turned out to be box-office successes in Asia and the western market, setting swordplay action dramas in flight to new heights.

In 1991, ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA successfully revamped a folklore hero Wong Fey Hong into a popular legend. A CHINESE GHOST STORY III maintained its success in the commercial market and film festivals. Rave reviews at film festivals created great interest for KING OF CHESS.

The following year, Film Workshop seized upon the opportunity of the opening-up of China to shoot two films on location there, capturing on film the unique scenic splendors in the productions of ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA II and NEW DRAGON INN. In striking contrast, the science fiction fantasy film WICKED CITY, featuring the renowned Japanese actor Nakadai, marked another step forward in Film Workshop's visual effects production and international co-production. The landmark film SWORDSMAN was also released and THE MASTER brought the number of productions to five for this year.

In 1993, six films were made. Continuing on the success of working in China, three were again shot on location: ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA III and IV and GREEN SNAKE. IRON MONKEY, directed by Yuen Wo-Ping, THE MAGIC CRANE, directed by Benny Chan and SWORDSMAN II, directed by Ching Siu-Tung, completed the year's slate of films.

THE LOVERS, based on the Chinese classic love story and ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA V were both produced in 1994.

In 1995, Film Workshop produced THE CHINESE FEAST, combining the two great Chinese heritages of culinary art and martial arts; LOVE IN THE TIME OF TWILIGHT and THE BLADE, now recognized as a cult film in Europe, were also completed.

SHANGHAI GRAND, made in 1996, brought together the screen idols of Leslie Cheung and Andy Lau whereas BLACK MASK, completed in the same year, created a new contemporary image and launched the career for the now international action star Jet Li. The comedy TRISTAR was the third production of the year.

To bring new life to the evergreen series of ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA, the renowned director Sammo Hung was brought in to direct part 6 which was shot in Texas in 1997.

While Tsui Hark was busy shooting his debut Hollywood picture DOUBLE TEAM in France, he continued to break new grounds in film-making by producing the first Asian animation feature film combining 2-D and 3-D computer animation: A CHINESE GHOST STORY -THE ANIMATION. Based on the highly successful live-action series produced by Film Workshop, the film was released in 1997 and has been invited to numerous international film festivals. The film was awarded the Best Animation Film in the Golden Horse Awards in Taipei and has been recognized as a landmark in the Asian Animation industry.

Tsui continued to set new production trends by combining the strengths of the US and Hong Kong industries in producing his subsequent films. This formula is now a proven success in many internationally acclaimed films. His latest film is the action film TIME AND TIDE, produced by Columbia for an international release.

Tsui is working on the post production of the re-making of ZU, which amazed audiences twenty years ago as the gust big visual effects fantasy film and MASTER Q which combines 3-D animation characters with live-action. He is also shooting the sequent to BLACK MASK in Bangkok.

After consolidating its position in the traditional markets. Film Workshop's next move is to venture into co-production and distribution in a more international context.