The Hong Kong Film Awards Association released on March 13 its list of the best 100 Chinese films. The list was compiled in honor of China's 100 years in the film industry.

Spring in a Small Town by director Fei Mu, a 1948 love story set in the aftermath of the Japanese occupation of China, tops the list.

The second best film is the 1986 Hong Kong gangster movie A Better Tomorrow, by Hollywood director John Woo.

In third place is Days of Being Wild by Wong Kar-wai, a 1990 Hong Kong movie about a man searching for his mother. Wong boasts six of the 100 listed films.

Chen Kaige's Yellow Earth, a 1984 film from the mainland about a Communist guerrilla's visit to a poor village in western China, ranks fourth.

The 1989 Taiwan historical drama A City of Sadness by Hou Hsiao-hsien is number five on the list.

Director Hu Jinquan, a new martial arts representative, has two films on the roster: Dragon Inn (1967) and Hsia Nu (1971).

The other films in the top ten include Long Arm of the Law (1984) by Michael Mak, Boat People (1982) by Ann Hui On-Wah, and winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 2000, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon by Ang Lee.

The films were nominated and voted upon by 101 directors, film critics and other film industry experts.

Director Michael Mak said that the event is aimed at reviving the stagnant domestic film industry. He said he is still very optimistic about the future of China's films.

(CRI, China.org.cn March 16, 2005)