Category — Hong Kong

Great Scenes – THE CAT

by Boaz Dror

Today’s scene comes to you from director Ngai Choi Lam‘s The Cat [Lao Mao] (1992) starring Shaw Brothers veteran Philip Kwok as one of a group of Nicely-Suited-Hitmen (movies in the 90′s were legally required to feature NSH’s) who stumble upon a mysterious creature that appears to be a cross between The Blob and The Thing, with little white hairlike tendrils that somehow amp up the heebie jeebies (Hong Kong films of the 90′s always amped up the HJ’s). Let me preface things by stating that this is one of the tamer scenes from the movie. Lam also directed Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (1991), which will give you a sense of the weirdness you’re in for. Quick inventory: haunted house (√), cheesy effects (√), an ex-Five Deadly Venom (√), limbs torn asunder (√√√) all punctuated by foreign entities invading orifices (√). And for the diligent fan of oddity cinema, there’s even a bodily possession shot recalling Goke: Body Snatcher from Hell (√√√√√√)! What the Hell else could you ask for? Subtitles? If you think that’s gonna help make sense of this chaos you haven’t been paying attention!

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February 12, 2013 No Comments

Great Scenes – LADY IS THE BOSS

by Boaz Dror

I recently went to see RZA‘s Man with the Iron Fists (2012) hoping for a glimpse of that old Shaw Brothers magic I love so well – and though it was undoubtedly watchable, I was disappointed that besides for a fantastic title sequence and the brief presence of Chen Kuan Tai and Gordon Liu, it seemed to be missing the LOVE I expected to see from a genre fan and Wu-Tang man. So like an addict I ran home and popped in the nearest Lau Kar Leung flick, Lady is the Boss (1983) – by no means a great film save for this amazing ending, which features the director’s company (many of them his students) referencing the hits in a medley of manic action. We get Venom Sun Chien kicking formal ass (in bow tie) against perennial monk Gordon Liu, escalating into more self-referential goodness when Mad Monkey Hsiao Hou bursts on the scene with some insane acrobatics. And watching the ending, in which Sifu Leung faces off against Wang Lung Wei, I realize why I love these movies so much – because they feature actual ACTING, moments of reality where actors react to wounds, or hesitate before taking a new strategy, or reach for a nearby dumbell to use as a weapon – which give the fighting a realism rarely seen in modern martial arts, where everything’s choreographed to the point of boredom and directors have to turn to indulgence like slo-motion, ridiculous split screen, or over-the-top gore to maintain our interest. No thanks. I’ll take LKL and the Brothers Shaw anyday.

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November 20, 2012 2 Comments

Great Scenes – FIVE ELEMENT NINJA

by Boaz Dror

Known as the Godfather of Kung-Fu thanks to genre-defining The One-Armed Swordsman (1967), Shaolin Temple (1976) and The Five Venoms (1978), prolific writer/director (and one-time film critic) Chang Cheh‘s career spanned several decades and even more tonal shifts – from early über-macho flicks that inspired John Woo‘s “heroic bloodshed” cinema to later WTF? slapstick dementia that inspired Wong Jing – Cheh was a man of many styles and a mentor to many directors. Today’s great scene comes from his Five Element Ninja (1982) – also known as Super Ninjas – which is one of the director’s more brainless and fun movies, full of the type of inventive insanity that fans of cheesy cinema come to admire in Hong Kong films. In fact whenever the Chinese “do ninja” it’s worth a look – because they usually skip all that Japanese reverence and opt for portraying the ninja as some sort of magical boogeyman. In this movie starring Venom Lo Meng and Michael Chan Wai Man, the ninjas take on traits of the five elements – Earth, Wood [?], Fire, Water and Gold [?] (what happened to wind?). Featuring an abundance of spears to the crotch and a warrior who doesn’t seem to mind said spears as much as he should, it’s a wonderful appetizer to the full course meal ahead – full of quirk, gore and ridiculousness, and a wacko ending in which all 5 elements come together in one battle – definitely worth seeking out!

…and check out the previous Great Scene we ran from Cheh’s equally sublime Two Champions of Shaolin!

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October 23, 2012 No Comments

Great Scenes – THE MASTER

by Boaz Dror

Today we’re featuring the movie everyone’s talking about – The Master. Personally I don’t know why Paul Thomas Anderson would ever remake this 1980 Shaw Bros classic directed by Chin-Ku Lu, starring Chen Kuan Tai, and introducing Yuen Tak in his first starring role (he would go on to become one of Hong Kong’s top action choreographers). And watching the upcoming target=”_blank”>trailer, PT Anderson’s The Master seems a bit light on the kung-fu razzmatazz – guess he’s taking it in a different direction. Oh well – guess we’ll just have to wait and see when it comes out. Anyway, today’s great scene features Chen Kuai Tai as the Master, fighting off his nemeses (plural), the 3 Evil Masters (which is what the film is Also-Known-As), which of course prompts the student to avenge him. And though Joaquin Phoenix will no doubt prove himself a better actor than Mr. Tak, I gotta come out and say it - Philip Seymour Hoffman is no Wang Lung Wei.