Lily Li Obituary

On 27th October 2024, Hong Kong cinema said farewell to another legend as Lily Li (李麗麗) succumbed to lung cancer. Li was another one of those stars that are interwoven into the fabric of a special era of Hong Kong cinema; if, like me, you devoured everything that Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao and the Shaw Brothers produced, you undoubtedly absorbed her presence in a supporting role. She had a beautiful yet taciturn look that suited more serious roles, but when a cheeky smile escaped (I always think of the close-up of her in ‘The Young Master’ when Jackie is wise-cracking her father) it was something special.

Lily Li was much more than this, of course; she appeared in some of the great films of the era and, even when given a smaller supporting role, always stood out. She made regular appearances in Shaw Brothers films of the early 70s, playing the eponymous role in ‘Shadow Girl’ and popping up in ‘The Heroic Ones’, ‘The Four Riders’. She got a meatier role with modern day crime drama ‘The Delinquent’ in 1973 and followed this up with one of her best performances, Hsiao Yi in ‘The Bastard’. She is everything you want your Hong Kong heroine to be in this powerful action drama: tough, yet vulnerable; beautiful and down-to-earth; feisty and yet relatable. Following this would be roles in some notable Chor Yuen extravaganzas where her icy beauty is a key component to the story.

The Young Master (1980)

In 1977, Lily appeared in the classic ‘Executioners From Shaolin’ with Chen Kuan-Tai. This was a particularly memorable role for her as her’s is much more than an action protagonist. The scene of her and Chen Kuan-Tai on their wedding night is a delight, a chance to be a little bit more light-hearted given how serious events in the film would become. She worked with Liu Chia-Liang again in ‘Shaolin Mantis’ and it is testament to her that she convinces even as a ridiculously young mother to the female protagonist. Something clicked as she would take on more and more roles as the strong matriarch despite being in her late twenties.

As mentioned, long before I was acquainted with her larger roles I noticed her in films like ‘The Young Master’ and ‘Dreadnaught’; smaller roles (especially the latter) but memorable. I adored her in ‘The Young Master’ – she stands out despite being surrounded by such a wonderful cast. Her interplay with Jackie is excellent and it’s a shame they didn’t work again. It also made a change for her to play a character her own age as she was permanently in ‘Strong Matriarch’ mode by this point; nothing wrong with that when the roles were in a masterpiece like ‘The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter’, but it was nice to see her sans greying hair and severe eyebrows.

The Loot (1980)

One of my absolute favourite Lily Li performances is in a film that we tend to bang on about a bit here (well, myself and Vasily at least). In ‘The Loot’ she plays the femme fatale villainess and shines throughout, getting a chance to smoulder as well as fight. The finale, where she teams with Phillip Ko Fei against our heroes, is superb and a fitting finale to a great film.

As with many Hong Kong actresses, she would go into semi-retirement in later life but could still be seen in smaller roles in a handful of films. Her last role was as Miriam Yeung’s mother in ‘2 Become 1’ and she of course added a bit of class to what was a decent rom-com. Nevertheless, though many younger audiences might not be aware of her best work, her place in the Hong Kong cinematic pantheon is assured. Once again, I am indebted to an artist I never met who probably wasn’t even aware just how far her presence had spread. It’s the common theme of these obituaries and the reason why I write them: these performers, actors, actresses and directors, made these wonderful films for a local market and had little idea how much they would inspire people worldwide half a century later. That, in itself, is a remarkable achievement. Lily Li (or Li Li Li as I remember seeing when I first watched ‘The Young Master’, a name that had me scratching my head) was a classy heroine, occasional villainess and all-round legend.