Chang has often checked in with the Post during her career. Below are some of the things she has told us.
On why she did not pursue a career in Hollywood, in 1979:
“There’s nothing wrong with going to Hollywood. For some people it is right because they have the kind of looks that Westerners go for. I don’t think I am the kind who appeals to them.
“On the set of M*A*S*H [a hit American comedy series set during the Korean war that Chang briefly appeared in], they asked me to stay on as a regular but I did not want to. I mean, I don’t always want to be a Korean hooker or that kind of stereotype. A lot of the scripts that came my way were frightening in this sense. It made me ask why I should go.”
On her time at the fabled production company Cinema City in the 1980s:
“I really enjoyed the period working with Cinema City. The only aspect I did not like was that they did too many sequels and the later films eventually lost the charm.
“But when I rewatch Aces Go Places [the popular screwball comedy series Chang appeared in], it still shows me how good commercial movies can be.”
To John Dykes about her cultural identity, in 1989:
“I have been very lucky in a way because people don’t typecast me as Taiwanese, Chinese or even a Hong Kong person. I don’t think I need an identity. As long as I am playing a good character it’s all right … the reason I am a very happy actress is because I do what I like.”
On producing and starring in the late Taiwanese director Edward Yang’s influential 1983 drama That Day, on the Beach:
“Back then a lot of young directors had just returned to Taiwan from studies overseas and there was also a batch of assistant directors who worked for years without being able to make a film themselves.
“Production costs for a film can be enormous so the best start for them would be to get work on a television series. I did everything for that project: I acted, I directed, I lost money.”
On refusing to play Asian stereotypes in Western films like the 1986 Madonna/Sean Penn vehicle Shanghai Surprise:
“I remember producers of Shanghai Surprise asking me to go for an audition at the Peninsula hotel [in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong]. I saw Sean Penn and Madonna and was very excited, of course.
“But when they gave me the full script to look at, I got really angry and left. The producers ran after me, saying, ‘Can you read for us?’ I was, like, ‘No!’”
To Kevin Kwong on how she had become pigeonholed as a director of films about women, in 1995:
“People do think that ‘Sylvia likes to shoot more women’s films’. But this I agree with because I’m a woman and I know women much better. I’m more familiar with female views.
“That’s why I still consider myself not a very experienced director. If comparing my directing with my acting, it’s still very new. This [her 1995 film Siao Yu] is probably my seventh director’s film and I’m more comfortable with women’s films.”
To Winnie Chung about the problems of finding good roles as she gets older, in 2001:
“As far as acting roles are concerned, there isn’t really much choice for an actress when she gets to a certain age. If you’re not good enough for action, don’t try it, or you’ll break your bones.
“But as far as directing goes, I know where I stand. I know what I am good at and what I’m not good at. I am more interested in the dramatic characters; there are so many stories to tell.
“I’m truly ignorant when it comes to directing an action sequence. I find that men are so much better at visualising a fight scene than women. But when women handle drama, they are usually better.”
To Clarence Tsui about why she chooses to put women at the centre of her films, in 2008:
“I’ve always found women to be more interesting. The role women play in society has been changing all the while, from the time when the world was free of [male-centred] traditions, to a world bound by them, and then one which is becoming free of them.
“The conflicts arising from these changes provide great drama. But men have stayed more or less the same for generations. It might not be out of disrespect that men don’t make many films about women – it’s just that, like women, they tend to make films they think they are good at.”
To Post film editor Edmund Lee about still being regarded more as an actress than a director, in 2015:
“I’m the only film director [I know of] who still has to do her make-up and hair at every promotional event. It’s very troublesome – and my team always makes fun of me about it – but what can I do?
“It’s because when other people look at me, they still think of me as a movie actress who happens to be doing a director’s job.”
To Fionnuala McHugh about her rigorous work ethic, in 2020:
“I’m hard-working as hell because I always think I’m not talented enough. You used the word ‘discipline’. That word is becoming very important to my life now.
“I realise a lot of things. Chinese is better at words: yishu is yi – whatever talent you have – and shu – discipline. Put them together and you have art.”
In this regular feature series on the best of Hong Kong cinema, we examine the legacy of classic films, re-evaluate the careers of its greatest stars, and revisit some of the lesser-known aspects of the beloved industry.