Peking Opera Blues

Peking Opera Blues
Directed by	Tsui Hark
Produced by	Tsui Hark
Written by	Raymond To
Starring	Brigitte Lin Cherie Chung Sally Yeh Paul Chun Wu Ma Kenneth Tsang
Music by	James Wong
Cinematography	Poon Hang Seng (H.K.S.C)
Production company	Cinema City
Distributed by	Golden Princess Film Production
Release date	1986 (1986)
Running time	104 min
Country	Hong Kong
Language	Cantonese

Peking Opera Blues (traditional Chinese: 刀馬旦; simplified Chinese: 刀马旦; pinyin: Dāo Mǎ Dàn; Jyutping: Dòu Máah Dáan; Cantonese Yale: Dou1 mah5 daan3) is a 1986 Hong Kong film directed by Tsui Hark. The movie combines comedy, Hong Kong action, and serious drama with scenes involving Peking Opera. Director Tsui Hark described the film as a satire on the "Chinese ignorance of democracy." The film was nominated for six awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards including Best Actress.

The film is set in 1913 Beijing, during Yuan Shikai's presidency of the country. It depicts the adventures of a team of unlikely heroines: Tsao Wan (Brigitte Lin), a patriotic rebel who dresses as a man; Sheung Hung (Cherie Chung), a woman in search of a missing box of jewels; and Bai Niu (Sally Yeh), the daughter of a Peking Opera impresario.

The Chinese title translates as Knife Horse Actresses, a term used in Peking Opera to refer to male actors playing female warriors (See Dan article for details). It is sometimes erroneously translated as Knife Horse Dawn, because both words are represented by the same Chinese character.