Question about BODYGUARDS OF LAST GOVERNOR (1996)

[Brian Thibodeau]

On the poster for this film, there appears to be a character in the group who is not in the film. I'd swear this is director Alfred Cheung made up to look like Mao Tse-tung or Deng Xiao-peng, but I can't say for sure. There is a character in the film who's supposed to be a Japanese prime minister or something, but this is not the same guy. Just wondering if anyone else has this film and might be able to identify who this is, what person he's supposed to be playing and why he's not in the final film, at least on the Mei Ah DVD.

[odresel]

You're right, and I never noticed this...there are actually two different versions of the poster, which are on different releases of the VCD/DVD discs. In one, the person you describe is on the extreme right and appears to be Deng Xiao Ping. On the other, the character is in the second row right, and appears to me to be Mao. The jpegs I found on the net to check this are really small and indistinct, and I could be wrong, it might be the same person made up to look like the same character. Next time I'm wandering through a Yau Ma Tei video shop, I'll have a closer look! It was just shown on TV last night, for some weird reason this film has become a holiday tradition here in Hong Kong. Merry Christmas from Kowloon.

[dleedlee]

It was just shown on TV last night, for some weird reason this film has become a holiday tradition here in Hong Kong. Merry Christmas from Kowloon.

Haven't seen the film, but would love to hear the story behind this.
Merry Christmas to one and all !

[odresel]

OK, I can now confirm that the character in the two versions of the poster is supposed to be Mao, not Deng (you can tell my the prominent mole on his chin.) I think it is Alfred Cheung, but am not sure.

I imagine this was nothing more than a visual joke intended for publicity purposes...I don't think there was ever a Mao-character in the film, who ended up 'on the cutting room floor', as it were. Had there been such a major figure lampooned in the film, it would have been more likely to have been Deng. But, as we all know, he died in early 1997, and it is still considered to have been a "bad omen" that he did not live to see the Handover of Hong Kong to China in July of that year.