"A Chinese Ghost Story" is one of Tsui Hark's finest productions, combining beautiful cinematography, great special effects, comedy, action, and a great soundtrack to boot. What results is a landmark film that set the standard for all Hong Kong fantasy/ghost films to follow.

Leslie Cheung is wonderful as the bumbling tax collector who falls in love with a beautiful ghost(Joey Wong Cho-Yin). His character is kind of an underdog-type who seems to be set up for failure, but manages to escape each time.

As good as Cheung is, he is upstaged by Wu Ma's Swordsman Yin who assists Cheung through his quest to free Wong's ghost from an impending marriage to a Tree-God. It is Yin who must convince the tax collector that the girl he has fallen in love with is a ghost. He plays an Obi-Wan Kenobi to Chueng's not-so-Luke Skywalker.

Wong is simply beautiful and mesmerizing as the ghost held captive. Although she does have enough speaking time, it is not necessary as she embodies the part of a ghost caught between love and a doomed destiny with just her facial expressions.

This is one of the films that caused critics to praise Tsui Hark as a visionary. I understand this film brought a new dimension to the Chinese horror film and spawned not only two sequels, but a number of knock-offs and films influenced by this masterpiece. This is a must-see film and a great picture to introduce fans to the Hong Kong film genre. [10/10]