Zhao Lei

Acting

Zhao Lei

Born 1928-01-01 · Jingzhou, Hubei Province, China

Zhao Lei (simplified Chinese: 赵雷; traditional Chinese: 趙雷) was a Chinese actor born in 1928 as Wang Yumin (王育民). He moved to Hong Kong in 1947, joined the Shaw Brothers Studio in 1953. He was one of the most popular male leads in the cinema of Hong Kong and Taiwan in the 1950s and 60s. He frequently played the role of an Emperor and is often called the "Film Emperor". He died in Hong Kong on 24 June 1996.

Acting credits

Forever Goodbye poster
NR

Forever Goodbye 自 君 別 後 (1955) aka Since You Went Away is a Hong Kong Mandarin-language drama film directed by Wang Yin, filmed in Australia and produced by Shaw Brothers Studio. It stars Sek Ying, Chao Lei, Yang Chi-Ching and Wu Chia-Hsiang. This is loosely based on John Luther Long's "Madame Butterfly".

Forever Goodbye

1955

The Unforgettable Night poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

The Unforgettable Night

1958

Marriage Angle poster
NR

Marriage Angle is a Hong Kong Mandarin-language feature film of the drama genre, written and directed by Wang Yin, produced by Shaw Brothers Studio, Liu Chi and Chow Sze-Ching were the cinematographers.

Marriage Angle

1954

Empress Wu poster
6.4

The renowned Li Li Hua plays Wu Ze Tian, the most famous woman in China's four thousand year history.

Empress Wu

1963

The Valiant Ones poster
6.9

A righteous husband-and-wife swordfighting duo struggle to protect China from the machinations of Japanese pirates and corrupt officials.

The Valiant Ones

1974

The Lady of Mystery poster
9.0

Spies, Military Documents and Traitors.

The Lady of Mystery

1957

Cheat to Cheat poster
7.0

Hong Kong comedy directed by Li Han-Hsiang.

Cheat to Cheat

1973

Just Heroes poster
6.6

A respected and well liked gang-boss is betrayed and killed. One of his three adopted sons are to take his place. One of them is the traitor.

Just Heroes

1989

No artwork available
10.0

Taiwanese huangmei opera starring Ivy Ling Po.

The Imperious Princess

1980

In The Beginning poster
8.0

Fantasy film from Taiwan, featuring the Chinese creation mythology of Pangu and Nüwa.

In The Beginning

1979

Lady with the Lute poster
NR

Zhao’s husband goes to the capital to take the imperial examination but doesn’t come back. Due to famine, Zhao has to leave her hometown and find her husband, playing her lute for a living.

Lady with the Lute

1963

The Magnificent Concubine poster
6.0

Perhaps the most notorious concubine in Chinese history, Yang Guifei set a pudgy standard of beauty in her days of glory during the Tang dynasty. The Emperor Minghuang was so besotted with the woman that when An Lushan stages his rebellion against the empire, the ruler takes Yang Guifei along with his imperial entourage in an escape to the mountainous area of modern-day Sichuan, and sanctuary of sorts. But the concubine had roused the jealousy of the court and unfortunately for her and to the great sorrow of the king, her brother and others among the king's retainers demanded she be strangled to death while they were still in the mountains. This is the story told in this interesting Taiwanese adaptation by director Li Han-hsiang (Li Hanxiang).

The Magnificent Concubine

1962

The Kingdom and the Beauty poster
6.9

This is a musical about a young emperor who is lured via stories told to a place called Kiang-Nan by his royal tutor. The empress mother has the tutor go to Kiang-Nan to bring him back.

The Kingdom and the Beauty

1959

The Circus poster
NR

A Shaw and Sons production

The Circus

1958

Immortal Warriors poster
NR

Immortal Warriors is a Taiwanese Martial Arts movie.

Immortal Warriors

1978

Beauty of Beauties poster
7.0

Hsi Shih: The Beauty of Beauties was one of the most ambitious films made in the Taiwan film industry in the 1960s. After leaving The Shaw Brothers studio in Hong Kong and moving to Taiwan, filmmaker Li Han-hsiang mounted this historical epic. Told through the story of Xishi (Hsi Shih), one of the 'Four Great Beauties' of Chinese history, the film portrays the war between two Chinese Kingdoms during the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C). After the kingdom of Yue is defeated by the kingdom of Wu, King Goujian of Yue takes pains to prepare for his revenge and rebuild his country. Knowing that King Fucha of Wu is lewd and lustful, he offers Xisi to the court of Wu to serve as Fucha’s concubine, with Fucha unaware that she is also a spy. She uses her charm to draw Fucha away from his office and governance, while King Goujian rallies his forces together to attempt to reclaim his lands.

Beauty of Beauties

1965

Diau Charn poster
9.0

Based on Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Diau Charn is a sublime retelling of a familiar tale with iconic actress Linda Lin Dai (Lam Doi) in the titular role of Diau Charn, one of the four storied beauties of ancient China.

Diau Charn

1958

The Story of Sue San poster
6.5

This gripping story centers on the romance between Wang Chin Lung and Sue San. Although they may be perfectly matched when it comes to their love for one other, the two come from remarkably different social ranks. While Chin Lung is the son of a respected government official, Su San is a prostitute, albeit a famous one.

The Story of Sue San

1964

Fist of Unicorn poster
5.0

Unicorn travels to a village troubled by gangsters in search of revenge for the murder of his parents years before. The task is made more complicated when he befriends a middle-aged woman and her son who begin to admire and depend on him.

Fist of Unicorn

1973

Madam White Snake poster
9.0

This Classic Seductive tale of two snakes who assume human forms will send chills of pleasure down viewers' backs. The Lovely Linda Lin Dai (Les Belles, The Kingdom And The Beauty) and margaret Tu Chuan (The Dream of The Red Chamber) play the two sister serpents, Pak Su-cheng and Ching Ching. Su-cheng meets Hsu Hsien (Chao Lei) one day and recognizes him as her savior in another life 1,000 years ago. She marries him to reward him but the snake-human union brings about problems beyond imagination.

Madam White Snake

1962

Monkey King with 72 Magic poster
NR

Shaw Brothers star Ting Hwa Chung plays the legendary and mythical Monkey King in this lavish and epic action classic.

Monkey King with 72 Magic

1976

Girls in Transformation poster
10.0

Girls in Transformation is about an experiment conducted by assistant professor at the Shi Liangde University to demonstrate her "non-hereditary human theory," in transforming rural girls into modern women.

Girls in Transformation

1954

Beyond the Great Wall poster
5.0

Beyond the Great Wall is a true story based on how Wang Chao-chun sacrificed her love and life for the good of the Chinese people during war time fears between China and the Huns.

Beyond the Great Wall

1964

He Has Taken Him for Another poster
8.5

A Shaw and Sons production.

He Has Taken Him for Another

1957