The Contract (1978) poster
1978 · comedy · hui-brothers · satire

The Contract

Directed by Michael Hui Koon-Man1h 36m1978
ElsewhereIMDb6.4382TMDB7.218
  • cosy
  • kinetic
  • gentle
  • intimate
  • funny
Movie DNA

Cosy, breathless, gentle comedy / hui-brothers, grounded in texture. Ambivalent, intimate, measured, hand-scored across twelve axes of taste.

How every film is hand-scored →

Struggling actor Chih-Wen (Michael Hui) got a raw deal from his company, MTV Studios. He signed a binding 8-year contract with the studio and was only given one opportunity to perform live thus far. Soon, he received a better deal with a rival company, who promised a 5-year contract and better opportunities to perform and make money. Since he cannot start working for the new company because of his current 8-year contract with MTV, he and his scientist-aspiring brother (Ricky Hui), with the help of magician Shih-Chieh (Sam Hui), attempt to steal the contract from his ruthless manager.

Our read · The Contract (1978) reads as a cosy, breathless, grounded comedy · hui-brothers · satire entry — gentle in intensity, intimate in scope, measured in temperature, ambivalent in outlook. Hand-scored on twelve axes of taste — mood, pacing, weirdness, hope, stakes, humour, reality, density, warmth, auteur, intensity, and era — with a derived palette drawn from its dominant cinematography.

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The shape of The Contract

Tonight, this looks like

What watching it is actually like.

You want classic Hong Kong Hui brothers comedy about breaking a bad contract.

ends upliftingyou’ll be fine aftersteady all the waygrips by minute 12attention 2/5breezes bysubtitles: full
Date nightWith friendsSoloWith parentsKids around

Skip it tonightYou want sophisticated humor or fast modern pacing.

DNA · twelve axes

The reading.

Each axis is hand-scored — not derived from votes or genre averages. The marker shows where this film sits; the gradient fill uses the film's own cinematography palette.

Mood · HeavyCosy
Pacing · Slow-burnKinetic
Intensity · GentleExtreme
Weirdness · ConventionalSurreal
Hope · NihilisticRedemptive
Stakes · IntimateEpic
Humour · NoneBroad
Reality · GroundedFantastical
Density · SparseTwisty
Warmth · ColdTender
Auteur · TransparentSignature
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