Benny Chan Muk-sing (1961–2020), born in Kowloon on 24 October 1961, was a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter and producer especially known for action films, influenced in his youth by John Woo, Johnnie To and Tsui Hark. After leaving school in 1981 he joined Rediffusion Television in a clerical post, moved into continuity and assistant directing, and in 1982 joined TVB, where he became an assistant director to Johnnie To and worked on serials such as The Return of the Condor Heroes (1983). In 1988 he co-directed his first feature, and in 1990 made his solo debut with A Moment of Romance, produced by To, which turned 'Wah Dee' into a signature role for Andy Lau. For seven or eight years he worked in both film and television, writing, directing and producing series and directing films such as Big Bullet. That 1996 film brought him a Best Director nomination at the 16th Hong Kong Film Awards, and he went on to make Heroic Duo (2003), New Police Story (2004), The Myth (2005), Rob-B-Hood (2006) and Connected (2008), the last two earning further Best Director nominations at the 24th and 28th awards. The White Storm (2013) received eight nominations at the 33rd Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Film and Best Director. He was known for car chases, explosions and large-scale action. Chan died of nasopharyngeal cancer at the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital on 23 August 2020, aged 58; his final film, Raging Fire, starring Donnie Yen and Nicholas Tse, was released in 2021 and won him a posthumous Best Director award at the 40th Hong Kong Film Awards, where it also took Best Film, Best Film Editing and Best Action Choreography. He had been nominated for Best Director six times.
Benny Chan built a signature style from practical explosions, car chases and street pursuits that raised the scale of Hong Kong crime cinema; in the 2000s he reshaped Jackie Chan's action path, and The White Storm and Raging Fire kept the commercial pull of the Hong Kong cop thriller alive while giving a new generation of action actors a stage.
Achievements
- 1988 · Co-directed his first feature in 1988
- 1990 · Directed his first solo feature, A Moment of Romance, produced by Johnnie To
- 2013 · The White Storm received eight nominations at the 33rd Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Film and Best Director
- 2022 · Won Best Director posthumously at the 40th Hong Kong Film Awards for Raging Fire