Peking Opera Blues (traditional Chinese: 刀馬旦; simplified Chinese: 刀马旦; pinyin: Dāo Mǎ Dàn; Jyutping: dou1 maa5 daan2; Cantonese Yale: Dòu Máah Dáan) is a 1986 Hong Kong action comedy film directed and produced by Tsui Hark.
The film stars Brigitte Lin, Cherie Chung, Sally Yeh, Paul Chun, Wu Ma, and Kenneth Tsang.
It depicts the adventures of a team of unlikely heroines: Tsao Wan (Brigitte Lin), a patriotic rebel who cross-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).
[3] In his Wrap Up video to the Region 1 DVD of Wong Kar-wai's Chungking Express, Quentin Tarantino refers to Peking Opera Blues as "one of the greatest films ever made" and "a blast––it's a lot of fun."