[HK-Drama Review] Heart of Greed (2007)

“Heart of Greed” Cast:

Ha Yu as Tong Yan Kai
Louise Lee as Ling Hau (Tong Yan Kai’s first wife)
Susanna Kwan as Francis Wong Sau Kam (Tong Yan Kai’s second wife)
Michelle Yim as Ling Lei (Ling Hau’s younger sister)
Louis Yuen as Ling Bo (Ling Hau’s Younger brother)
Moses Chan as Tong Chi On (Tong Yan Kai’s & Ling Hau’s eldest son)
Bosco Wong as Gilbert Tong Chi Yat (Tong Yan Kai’s & Ling Hau’s second son)
Chris Lai as Tong Chi Foon (Tong Yan Kai’s & Francis’ only son – youngest son in family)
Fala Chen as Tong Chi Yan (Tong Yan Kai’s & Ling Hau’s daughter – youngest child in the family)
Tavia Yeung as Jackie Cheuk Man Lai (Tong Chi Yat’s girlfriend/future wife)
Raymond Lam as Alfred Ching Leung
Linda Chung as Sheung Joi Sum (Alfred’s girlfriend, Tong Chi On’s love interest, lawyer for the Tong family)
Yoyo Mung as Shui Ming Ha (Alfred’s other girlfriend, Sheung Joi Sum’s best friend)

About “Heart Of Greed”

“Heart of Greed” is a 2007 TVB (Television Broadcasts Limited) grand production drama that centered on family, loyalty, betrayal, honesty, truth, ambition, and of course greed among many other things. Besides these motifs, there are also reoccurring references to the history and culture of Chinese literature. It is a dramatic & intense series that exploits the malicious behaviors of human beings that also has a touch of light-heart comedy to it in order to occasionally relieve the viewers of the high level of dramas that occurred throughout this series. This is an excellent drama for family and friends to sit together and watch as they cry and laugh along with the characters in the story.

Well, here is a very brief background to the drama. The Tong family runs and owns the largest abalone retailer in Hong Kong. However, a sudden crisis in the family leads the family to split in half – Ling Hau vs. Francis. The drama goes through the plot of how these two sides fight for what they truly believe in all the while creating a larger split in the family. There are also side plots (mostly love lines) between the characters – Gilbert & Jackie, Tong Chi On-Sheung Joi Sum-Alfred-Shui Ming Ha. As the series progress, the battle between the two sides intensify while the characters themselves unknowingly grow and develop as people, family members, and friends.

This series is truly deserving of winning the Best Drama award at the 2007 TVB Anniversary Awards among other awards. Even though it has been 2 years since I’ve watched it and the story has become vague in my mind, “Heart of Greed” has left a deep impression on me. There were so many times that the drama made me wanted to cry, laugh, and even scream at the screen… The cast of this series is not only the “A” list because of the names, but also because of the skills that each artist have. Each character was portrayed so vividly and true to their characteristics that it just pulled the audience into the story.

Hong Kong Dramas

If you’ve watched Hong Kong dramas before and saw that they were “boring” or “unrealistic,” or if you’ve never watched Hong Kong dramas before, then I highly recommend watching “Heart of Greed.” Even though my review is short, it is because this drama leaves me at a lost of words sometimes… you just HAVE to watch it to see how awesome it is.

Of course, we can’t miss the songs that contributed to the awesomeness of this great drama! Susanna Kwan sang the opening theme song “Cannot Say Anything” while Raymond Lam & Linda Chung sang the ending theme song “My Heart Understands.” Below are the AUDIOS only (the music videos/videos have been taken down).

Just some side notes: the Vietnamese title for this series is “Tham Vọng.” Ling Hau represents the “good” side while Francis represents the “bad” side.

I’m really not sure where you can watch this whole series Vietnamese dubbed (US Long Tieng) or even English subbed because the videos keep getting taken down but this is really all an indication that we should all purchase the official dvd! Although YesAsia doesn’t seem to carry it any more. Or… maybe you can find a drama store (that you can either purchase or rent the dvds from).

I hope that all of you who read this article will watch this drama and find it as enjoyable as I did. You’ll regret it if you don’t watch this series!

Tags: Heart of Greed