To Fall from a Great Height

Was any actor as beautiful as Leslie Cheung? Did anyone bring to the gift of glamour the seductive insolence Leslie exuded? His first appearance in a film — his face soft and smooth, with lips that expertly puckered or pouted — had the impact of a struck match. The screen flared to life; suddenly there was heat, and the incense of sulfur. To see him as the hurtful teddy boy in Days of Being Wild , the proud warrior in The Bride with White Hair and the dominant demon romancer in Phantom Lover is to realize there's nothing more exhilarating than a...