Lam Ching Ying

Irony of fate, that Lam Ching Ying had more than a 100 movies, real popularity was brought along for him by the TV at the autumn of his life. And who presented him with this reward? His good old pal, the Taoist Priest, the lifelong friend. Ying was faithful to him all the way, and out of gratitude this role brightened up his closing years, giving him the fame, appreciation he deserved and longed for.

Although the film market was in a depression in 1995, ATV still asked him to star in The Vampire Expert series, which earned him rave reviews. The director felt, no one is better playing the Vampire Slayer than Lam. He was hired with a million dollars salary to work in the series. A far cry from his time as a 60HK dollars a day stuntman! In 1996 he made the sequel, Vampire Expert II.

The episodes are thrilling, the costumes are beautiful, the sets are rich and the actors and actresses are very convincing and nice. Our Ying has never been more elegant and solemn, with his touched with grey hair. His eyes are sparkling with wisdom, he is serious, but attentive and very often has witty scenes as well. The role of Mao Xiao Fang was perfect for him.

At the end of every part, there is an ending collection with out-takes and bloopers. You can see him between takes, and on the set, making funny mistakes, forgetting lines, covering his whole face with the magic ink. He is adorable! He has a shy smile every time he has done something unproperly, he's laughing nervously, trying to pull himself together, not burst out into laughter, but always looking very happy. And above all in these cherished moments you can hear his real voice.

With the kind help oh my Chinese friend Lily Wang we review each episode, disk by disk, with lots of screencaps. I hope you will enjoy it as much as we enjoy making it! It will be a useful help for us all who do not speak Chinese, as those editions are only available in Mandarin and Cantonese language!

 Click on the pictures for access