Dirty Ho

One of Lau Kar-leung's most inventive and playful films, in which a disguised Manchu prince trains a young jewel thief while pretending not to, fighting off assassins in elaborate set pieces staged to look like accidents, wine tastings and antique appraisals. The choreography is as much comedy as combat.

Gordon Liu plays the prince with a light touch, and the fights, especially one conducted entirely through a woman being manipulated like a puppet, are among the cleverest ever staged. Underseen and delightful, it shows kung fu as wit rather than brutality.