Hong Kong cinema

[arkheia]

A general thread for all things Hong Kong cinema!! Feel free to post and talk about films, books, music, movie stars, directors, etc.

To start things rolling, yesterday I watched David Chung's Royal Warriors (1986), an enjoyable action film with a handful of well choreographed fight sequences. The film was a sequel to Yes, Ma'am (1985) which kicked off a trend of films identified within the 'Girls with Guns' genre. Here's a trailer for the film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ7SMveyWqM

And a sample of some of the outfits I want to steal from the film.

[rischka]

yay i'll be contributing soon

[...]

I like these separate film industry topics. I hope to contribute, but I'll enjoy reading them even if I don't get much chance.

[nrh]

last year was kind of lean for hong kong film, at least what's been readily available, but i finally caught up with detective dee and the four heavenly kings, the third entry in tsui hark's historical fantasy/mystery series. it takes place between the two earlier films, before his imprisonment and after his triumphant arrival in court, and sort of splits the difference genre wise (dense court intrigue and fantasy adventure).

dee is gifted a ceremonial mace, the empress hires 4 mysterious "magicians" from the jiang-hu to find it; there's of course a deeper level of conspiracy to uncover. illusion and hypnosis are foregrounded, which means the special effects work gets likably trippy at certain points. some nice buddhist mysticism and a giant ape shows up.

it's very enjoyable if not up to the first dee film or to taking tiger mountain; at this point i come into all of these modern chinese/hk cgi action films with severely lowered expectations, and this definitely surpassed those, even if i sometimes struggle to really identify tsui's late style, even as his thinking about history/genre/power/etc comes through clearly.

[rischka]

michael hui's the contract (1978) -- goofy as hell but michael hui, director and star, is a really talented physical comedian. he and his brothers had a sketch comedy show on hong kong tv in the early 70s and transitioned to films. huge stars in hong kong, michael hui even appeared in the cannonball run w/jackie chan in 1981. at first i thought this was too ridiculous to succeed but it grew on me and that is largely thanks to michael hui's performance. next up chicken and duck talk



i may have to watch royal warriors as i enjoyed yes, ma'am so much. but...no cynthia rothrock??

[rischka]

duck fu

[nrh]

chicken & duck talk! love that film, even if realistically it's one of hui's weaker films. there is something very lovely about the view of work especially in restaurant and the relationship between him and sylvia chang.

and any hui brothers talk is a great excuse to post the private eyes theme song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjb6easZjOw

[rischka]

year of the pig. the flying dagger. cheng pei pei kinda gets sidelined in favor of badass lo lieh



well what else can one expect from chang cheh. good movie though



special appearance by the five ghouls

[rischka]

new dragon gate inn -- it won't replace THE dragon gate inn but it's a worthy homage with strong ashes of time vibe

[arkheia]

Decided to check out Holy Flame of the Martial World (1983) after seeing this trailer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1ZgL3fTU44

And I'm definitely glad I did! There's a nice looking transfer with English subtitles on Amazon Prime. If anyone's looking for a Shaw Bros. fix, this is a lot of fun at only 85 minutes. Perhaps slightly less invested in utilizing its locations than I would have liked (the Moon Cavern needed more booby traps) but there's certainly no lack of imagination in the choreography and gravity-defying wire work.

[rischka]

watchlisted ^



got sidetracked into a rewatch of the mission and exiled and i have no regrets :ugeek:

[rischka]

i watched one more thing this month and it was the amazing a better tomorrow III: love and death in saigon







i might like it even better than eastern condors

[rischka]

hate to fuck up my 4/20 posts but...it's all over twitter that johnnie to is retiring? what about election3??

[...]

Heh. Sounds like your twitter feed is a lot better than most, which I think are still debating which Sesame Street character you'd want as a partner on Survivor or something.

[thoxans]

johnnie to is retiring?

please, tell me that's just fake news...

[nrh]

hate to fuck up my 4/20 posts but...it's all over twitter that johnnie to is retiring? what about election3??

as always i find figuring out news and info from hk and china close to impossible; on twitter i just keep seeing mentions that this is a "reliable source" but nothing more.

sadly it wouldn't surprise me though. he's been talking about retiring after election 3 for most of the decade, and we haven't had any election 3 news since the release cycle for 3.

at least we should have wai ka-fai's "cold detective" to look forward to, although that one we also haven't heard almost anything about for ages.

just sad as the hk film industry withers away into nothing. the explanations i've heard suggest it's largely just a financial thing - the film industry used to be one of most reliable return on investment options, especially for those looking to convert black/grey cash into white, but now it's been totally eclipsed by the real estate market. there just seem to be fewer and fewer films to look forward to every year.

[MatiasAlbertotti]

Wong Kar-wai to Start Shooting New Film ‘Blossoms’

In a recent interview at Hong Kong Screenwriter’s Guild, acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai revealed the latest progress on his new film Blossoms, which is a follow-up to Wong’s two other romantic drama films In The Mood For Love and 2046. After four years of planning, Wong hoped to complete the script soon and start filming as early as the end of 2019. Blossoms is adapted from a novel of the same name by Jin Yucheng. Wong stated that no actors have been cast for the film so far. But one requirement is clear that the actors need to be able to speak Shanghainese. When Wong was asked whether he would invite Tony Leung Chiu-wai to play a role in the film, he replied, “as long as he can speak Shanghainese.” Read more on Ming Pao

I took it from here. I shoud watch 2046 again, I wasn't to fond of it the first time around. Got the info from here:

http://chinafilminsider.com/headlines-f ... eG6o7YghPE

[arkheia]

Air Hostess (Yi Wen, 1959)

Half-‘Grace Chang travelogue musical’, half-‘airline commercial / flight attendant training video’. Yi Wen’s pleasing eye for saturated blue & red do most of the heavy lifting in painting this fantasy world of flying to exotic locales and transcending familial traditions’ gravitational pull. Charles Leary aptly pinpoints this in how “the film stages women’s control over space, and the power to leave the paternalistic family unit and cross international borders, having gained access to the most modern profession. But the women in the film are also ultimately subject to a corporate mechanism that requires them to eventually return to the restricted space of domestic life.” (Air Hostess and Atmosphere: The Persistence of the Tableau). The film shifts gears between these moments fulfilling its promise of escapism with more inert moments detailing the conformity required to indulge this fantasy (the women constantly being instructed how to walk, speak, and carry themselves). Only in its ending does it seem to try reconciling them through an in-flight marriage ceremony and yet, since the weight of its drama has remained as light as a multicolored balloons in the opening shot, there seems to be very little to reconcile at all.

[rischka]

攝氏32度 (beyond hypothermia) 1996 -- stylish milky way production with jacklyn wu as la femme nikita. very enjoyable, minimalist style and sharp cutting



and i mean literally stole the entire plot from la femme nikita. that's ok. lau ching wan plays the man who tries to save her ♥

[...]

La Femme Nikita was rivaling Die Hard for most ripped off action movie there for a while and some of the basics still can sorta be seen in movies, updated to more of a Hunger Games shtick.

[rischka]

the black tavern (1972) teddy yip wing-cho

this is a fun and bloody riff on king hu's inn films!! complete with lady badasses



now i'll have to watch lady hermit. all the baddies come to the black tavern



this dude's scene reminds me of the star wars film where yoda fights

[rischka]

on my second watch of buddha's palm. it was just too much to take in in one viewing. muppet dragon and giant easter egg, cartoon fire streams, attack by aluminium foil, monster musicians and huge magic foot guy, strangely familiar 'golden dagger'/light saber... it's mind boggling.





oh! i forgot the swastika storm! probably the most outrageous wuxia film i've seen yet

[rischka]

lady hermit - shot like a spooky western - with two master swordswomen! sadly, they had to form a love triangle and then fight over a man. good role for cheng pei pei though

[nrh]

finally caught up with stephen chow's the new king of comedy (he's created as "writer and creator," with 4 directors including herman yau credited as "co-directors"). it's a much smaller production than his last string of blockbusters, which is probably why it didn't get all that much publicity or even an american release. but it's kind of quietly great, a succession of very funny, often cruel vignettes following a young woman's (e jingwen, a newcomer who brings a sense of genuine desperation to the role) quixotic journey to become a star.

i kind of get why this was considered a disappointment for many - it's quick, very good mainstream comedy rather one of chow's more elaborate passion projects, and nothing close to the heights of the original kind of comedy. but once expectations are adjusted it's one of the better films in this genre i've seen from china in some time.

[rischka]

patrick tam the sword! this was tam's debut and it's beautiful1!







the plot is familiar, the acting not great but who cares. also one of the most balletic final battles i've ever seen

[wba]

been watching some 90s Johnnie To this month, and boy did To evolve as a filmmaker! He had to, though, cause judging by these films, he must have been one of the lesser HK directors out there in the "earlier" stages of his career, or at least completely uninterested in some stuff he did or had to do for a living.

The Mad Monk (1993) - disappointing: not even competent directing for the most part. There are some mildly funny bits in the first half, but this is nowhere near the greatness Stephen Chow would achieve in an exquisitely directed film like Out of the Dark (1995) by Jeffrey Lau. To is mostly clueless what to do with most of the material he's given.

Loving You (1995) - definitely a step up, though in my opinion most HK filmmakers at the time would have done a better job. Lazy and somewhat incompetent directing, though you can see To at least tries.

Lifeline (1996) - To starts to show some potential, though he still seems unable to really direct an action scene, no matter how hard he tries (and he tries really hard in this one!). Rhythmically, the film still doesn't work, but when he's doing intimate moments between characters, it's a treat. Could've been a great movie if the action stuff would have been removed.

It's mind-boggling this guy would go on to directorial heights like Fulltime Killer (2001), though it must be noted that this one was co-directed by Ka-fai Wai, who was probably a way better director at the time and from whom To must have learned A LOT.

------------

I also saw two great 80s Shaw Brothers films:

The Young Vagabond (1985) - never seen anything by Sze Yu Lau, and apparently he has only directed a handful of movies. But this was excellent, a bit like a more talented Kar-leung Lau.

Legendary Weapons of China (1980) - never was a big fan of Kar-leung Lau - besides his masterpiece Eight Diagram Pole Fighter (1983) nothing I've seen from him has really impressed me - so this is easily one of his best for me. Essential viewing!

[rischka]

https://youtu.be/RZ67KyHX-cY

[jww342]

been watching some 90s Johnnie To this month, and boy did To evolve as a filmmaker! He had to, though, cause judging by these films, he must have been one of the lesser HK directors out there in the "earlier" stages of his career, or at least completely uninterested in some stuff he did or had to do for a living.

This is funny because I was just about to post that I have been watching some 90s Johnnie To recently too and this was the previous post

I've found that 90s Johnnie To is much inferior to the underrated 80s Johnnie To. In the 80s he made the lovably eccentric Happy Ghost III and the surprisingly mean-spirited comedy The Eighth Happiness. I think his best film from that decade was All About Ah-Long, a very solid melodrama starring Chow Yun-fat and Sylvia Chang.

Then came the 90s, and these are films I saw this month.
The Fun, the Luck & the Tycoon (1990): This is a more amiable comedic effort from To, and therefore a less interesting one. The story is based on Coming To America, Chow Yun-fat and Sylvia Chang turn in some of their most forgettable performances, and there are some effective gags including a pretty masterful one featuring a table and an innumerable about of people under it. Decent, but only worth watching for people who love HK comedies as I do and Johnnie To completists of course.
The Story of My Son (1990): I wish I hated this film more than I do because everyone seems to not like this one. It's an overly wrought melodrama about a father and his children after his wife dies. He falls into debt from some loan sharks because of his gambling friend, and suffers the consequences. The son mentioned in the title is the older son who suffers from neglect and outright abuse from his father. I won't say more, except that there's a very over-the-top ending that many will hate (I actually enjoyed it). I don't know, this is probably a bad film, but I have a fondness for the way late-SB films look, the colors are nice and vivid and there is a lot of depth to these images. Johnnie To adds nothing interesting to the film though, it really could have been directed by Taylor Wong or Alfred Cheung (though in the latter case I think it would have turned out to be a better film). Decent, but I'm probably wrong about that.
The Royal Scoundrel (1991): I was prepared to hate this movie when I saw it was about some weird cops who work inside of a mailbox. The movie gets better when Waise Lee comes into the picture, menacing as always, as the corrupt and sadistic superior to the cops played by Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Ng Man Tat. I think the cinematography here is worse than in earlier To films which is crazy because none of his early films looks particularly good. I really enjoyed the romantic-comedic digressions with Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Wu Chien-Lien which is basically what saved the film from me disliking it. The only interesting thing about the film though is that it problematizes a lot of the police brutality we see in other HK films of this sort. In most HK films police brutality is presented in a comedic fashion or as a necessary evil, in this one Waise Lee is so sadistic that it threatens the future enjoyment of any scenes of police brutality in HK cinema!
The Royal Scoundrel (1992): OK, this is bottom of the barrel stuff. It is sort of like a new version of Happy Ghost, but a lot worse, it'll make you think those films were masterpieces. There's a very annoying soundtrack, a nonsensical plot, and an Anthony Wong that is as irritating as he is eccentric. Tony Leung Chiu-wai is paired with Kent Cheng in this one, and they are at their worst. Even the romantic sub-plot generates no laughs or feels, it's an utterly forgettable film that makes me want to skip the rest of 90s To. But I won't because I'm a completist!

Anyone who is on the fence about watching 1990s Johnnie To probably shouldn't watch his pre-Loving You stuff. It's mostly third-tier HK fare that could have been directed by anyone else. I quite enjoy this kind of stuff, but it really is sub-par even by third-tier HK standards. The only film from this period that is probably worth watching is A Moment of Romance which To supposedly ghost-directed. I don't know if that's true, but that movie is actually very solid.

[wba]

been watching some 90s Johnnie To this month, and boy did To evolve as a filmmaker! He had to, though, cause judging by these films, he must have been one of the lesser HK directors out there in the "earlier" stages of his career, or at least completely uninterested in some stuff he did or had to do for a living.

This is funny because I was just about to post that I have been watching some 90s Johnnie To recently too and this was the previous post

Hehg, what a coincidence! Though it's been a few months now, since I tried it. I had some other early-ish TO stuff lined up, but just wasn't that keen after the three I watched. But it's great to see how some filmmakers develop!! I guess, I would never ever have bet on Johnnie To in the early 90s as one of the best Hongkong directors of the 2000s. And I also love Hongkong cinema, even third-tier stuff, as you call it.

[jww342]

Hehg, what a coincidence! Though it's been a few months now, since I tried it. I had some other early-ish TO stuff lined up, but just wasn't that keen after the three I watched. But it's great to see how some filmmakers develop!! I guess, I would never ever have bet on Johnnie To in the early 90s as one of the best Hongkong directors of the 2000s. And I also love Hongkong cinema, even third-tier stuff, as you call it.

Yeah, that's great! I've endured a lot of mediocre films just for some incredible moments in them from HK cinema! Had To retired before 1999 or so I think he'd be no more respected than someone like Taylor Wong is

Justice, My Foot (1992): This is the first Johnnie To film that really feels like a 1990s film. The use of canted framing, the over-the-top expressive visual rendering of the period (kind of like Tsui Hark's Green Snake), and Stephen Chow's mo lei tau antics just mark it as such. I actually liked this film less than the other films I posted about recently until about halfway through when it started winning me over. It clearly features better visuals than any To film up to this point. Again, decent, but there are many better films like it that were made in this period. I wonder if the next few To films will be this visually expressive as I think this film points to something like The Heroic Trio which is visually extravagant.