Lau Kar-leung
Hong Kong Chinese martial arts film director and actor (1936-2013)
- Born
- 28 July 1936, Guangzhou
- Died
- 25 June 2013
- Citizenship
- People's Republic of China
- Occupation
- actor, film director, screenwriter, choreographer, television actor
- Films here
- 21 (20 as director, 7 as cast)
Lau Kar-leung (traditional Chinese: 劉家良; simplified Chinese: 刘家良; Jyutping: Lau4 gaa1-loeng4; pinyin: Liú Jiāliáng; 28 July 1934 – 25 June 2013) was a Hong Kong martial artist, filmmaker, fight choreographer and actor. He is best known for the films he made in the 1970s and 1980s for the Shaw Brothers Studio, notably those starring Gordon Liu. He is considered one of the most influential figures in the history of martial arts cinema.
In many of his best-known films, Lau was credited as Liu Chia-liang, the Wade–Giles spelling of his Mandarin name. He was part of a lineage of Hung Ga practitioners originating from Wong Fei-hung.
Filmography (martial arts films)
| Year | Film | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Deadly Strike | Director |
| 1976 | Challenge of the Masters | Director |
| 1977 | Executioners from Shaolin | Director |
| 1978 | Heroes of the East | Director |
| 1978 | Shaolin Mantis | Director |
| 1978 | The 36th Chamber of Shaolin | Director |
| 1979 | Dirty Ho | Director |
| 1979 | Mad Monkey Kung Fu | Cast |
| 1979 | Mad Monkey Kung Fu | Director |
| 1980 | Return to the 36th Chamber | Director |
| 1981 | Martial Club | Director |
| 1981 | My Young Auntie | Cast |
| 1981 | My Young Auntie | Director |
| 1982 | Legendary Weapons of China | Cast |
| 1982 | Legendary Weapons of China | Director |
| 1982 | Cat vs. Rat | Director |
| 1984 | The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter | Director |
| 1986 | Martial Arts of Shaolin | Director |
| 1988 | Tiger on Beat | Director |
| 1989 | Aces Go Places 5: The Terracotta Hit | Director |
| 1992 | Twin Dragons | Cast |
| 1994 | Drunken Master II | Cast |
| 1994 | Drunken Master II | Director |
| 1994 | Drunken Master III | Cast |
| 1994 | Drunken Master III | Director |
| 2003 | Drunken Monkey | Cast |
| 2003 | Drunken Monkey | Director |
Frequent collaborators
- Gordon Liu
- Kara Wai
- Lo Lieh
- Andy Lau
- Hsiao Ho
- Cho Tat-wah
- Adam Cheng
- Jackie Chan
- David Chiang
- Lily Li
- Lau Kar-wing
- Alexander Fu Sheng
- Nina Li
- Ringo Lam
- Tsui Hark
- Anita Mui
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q706293 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.