Film Name: 92黑玫瑰对黑玫瑰 / 92 Legendary La Rose Noire / 92黑玫瑰對黑玫瑰
My first encounter with this film was in the director Liu Zhenwei’s entry on Baidu Baike, where it received high praise.
The review reads: “A groundbreaking representative of Hong Kong’s absurd comedy genre, this film reimagines the Cantonese classic ‘Black Rose’ with postmodern treatment, creating a powerful sense of subversion and nostalgia. It reimagines iconic stars of the era—Chan Po-chu, Nam Hung, and Lui Ki—reincarnated into 1990s life, performing a wildly absurd, cartoonishly funny tale. The plot unfolds with consistently unexpected and delightful twists. Director Chan Sin-chi (Lau’s pseudonym) employs nostalgic elements like songs to create belly-aching laughter, while the lead actors deliver utterly captivating performances. The film taps into Tony Leung Ka-fai’s comedic potential, revealing him as a true deadpan comedian whose baby-soft voice proves utterly hilarious. Classic scenes include the duet of “Thank God He Met Lizzie” and other vintage songs. Yet the film remains confined to parody without delving into deconstruction, leaving little substance beyond the laughs. Director Andrew Lau’s most moving quality lies beneath his playful facade—a serious, tender heart. Yet this film remains a mask behind a mask, or rather, a thoroughly comical expression from surface to core. “92 Legendary La Rose Noire” became a career milestone for Tony Leung, highlighting his latent comedic brilliance while proving his exceptional comedic acting prowess. Not only did this film cement Tony Leung’s status as a comedy superstar, but more crucially, it formally established his distinct “Leung-style comedy” separate from Stephen Chow’s approach. The classic comedic scene where Tony Leung tenderly feeds medicine to the cross-dressing Mao Shunjun while singing “Little baby, time to eat” is laugh-out-loud hilarious. “92 Legendary La Rose Noire” has since become a classic in the comedy genre.
Though released in 1993, the film won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress (Wong Wan-si, Mao Shun-kwan), Best Costume Design, and Best Original Film Score at the 12th Hong Kong Film Awards, while also receiving nominations for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress (Feng Baobao). I, however, find it lacking in originality or truly commendable aspects.
That said, Tony Leung’s comedic performance, especially his baby-soft voice, is genuinely hilarious. And Alan Tam is practically director Stephen Chow’s go-to singer, right? Many of his songs serve as classic soundtracks in Chow’s films. For instance, the ending theme from A Chinese Odyssey, and in this film, Alan Tam’s “Old Love Like a Dream” and the duet “Come Back to Me” by Tam Bing-man & Lee Heung-kam—all are delightful Cantonese tunes worth savoring.
Late at night, the scene where Tony Leung and Michelle Yao exchange flirtatious glances while walking along an indoor corridor, using their toes to convey their feelings, is also quite provocative in stirring romantic emotions between men and women.
“92 Legendary La Rose Noire”—a delicately simmered Cantonese opera gem that leaves a lasting impression.
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