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Hong Kong genre cinema of the 70-90s

Started by dead-ced-dead, December 26, 2021, 09:46:28 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

dead-ced-dead

As my New Year's resolution this year, I'd love to watch more Hong Kong genre films (crime, horror, action, martial arts). I'm going to start by watching the entire filmography (pre-Hollywood) John Woo.

D'ya lovely sods have any recommendations other than Woo. I love me some Chow Yun-Fat on toast.

BeardFaceMan

Can't go wrong with the Infernal Affairs trilogy for some HK crime action (on which Scorceses' The Departed was based).

Goldentony

have a look at The Big Heat and Long Arm Of The Law, something ike Yes Madam and Above The Law too if you've not seen any of these. ALL GREAT.

Crenners

Wild Search is a a really very HK archetypal CYF crime thriller. Very much enjoyed it. Infernal Affairs is also great, as Beard said.

Funcrusher

#4
Long Arm of the Law is a great film.

I'd recommend Johnnie To, particularly Exiled, PTU, Election 1 and 2, Sparrow, The Mission and Throwdown.

Goldentony

yeah hard to go wrong with any Johnnie To you can find aswell

This has reminded me ive had Hunting List for years and not got round to watching it yet ergo I MIGHT do that now then -

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111836/

BeardFaceMan

Any of the films Tarantino nicked from are worth a punt.

dead-ced-dead

Quote from: BeardFaceMan on December 26, 2021, 11:12:40 PMAny of the films Tarantino nicked from are worth a punt.

Oh yes, City on Fire is on the list. What others did he rip off?

Also, thanks for the Johnny To recommendations everyone. But with over 70 listed directing credits, can you lovely folks give me some essentials to start with?

Hugs and Kisses.

Goldentony

well im going to say THE BIG HEAT for Johnnie To myself, THE BIG HEAT. BIG HEAT.

bgmnts

Hitman with Jet Li I really enjoy. One of the first non Bruce Lee martial arts films I saw, and Jet Li is generally pretty good isn't he? I think it's sort of a dark comedy action martial arts film.


There is an awesome fight where token white baddie utilises flashing lights from rings on his fingers.

BeardFaceMan

Quote from: dead-ced-dead on December 26, 2021, 11:20:22 PMOh yes, City on Fire is on the list. What others did he rip off?

I think all the other ones he, ahem, paid homage to, were John Woo films like The Killer so they're probably already on your list.

Goldentony

Also recommending the 1985 Hong Kong Godfather. Starts slow but the ending is like a more gory attempt at the Police Story finale. Beardy in the lead too.

Magnum Valentino

Lady Snowblood is another Tarantino source and it's class altogether.

Goldentony

yeah first Lady Snowblood is essential. That opening when she tells the fucking royal guards who she is, just "REVENGE" get the fuck out, heads off, the lot, five stars clive

George White

I have a soft spot for GOlden Harvest's the Amsterdam Kill, one of their attempts to aim at the West.

It has Robert Mitchum as an American assassin who has retired to a flat in Wandsworth (yes, really) and wandering about in a flat cap watching the football on the telly when he is called to investigate an international drugs deal stretching from Hong Kong to Amsterdam.
From the director of Enter the Dragon, Robert Clouse, has a great bulldozer in a greenhouse chase scene.
And Leslie Nielsen and Keye Luke.

Also, Hammer/Shaw's gonzo copro Legend of the  7 Golden Vampires.
More genuine all-HK prods of a similar vein
Mighty Peking Man - SHaw brothers mockbuster of King Kong - set in India, with a Chinese expedition finding a giant ape and a Sheena QUeen of the Jungle stranded white She-Tarzan figure.
THe Infra-Man - Hong Kong superhero/Ultraman-alike lark that inspired Power Rangers
The OIly Maniac - Chinese Swamp Thing-alike

Also, some of the Bruceploitation stuff is interesting.
Challenge of the Tiger - a vehicle for Bruce Le as a secret agent features unauthorised cameos from Jack Klugman, Jane Seymour and Morgan Fairchild who happened to be at a race course so they just had them shake hands with Le and costar Richard Harrison (former spaghetti western/sword and sandal star who then became centrepiece of Godfrey Ho's ninja franchise) and shoot them without permission.

THe Wisely films are fun, especially the 7th Curse - basically imagine Raiders of the Lost Ark meets the Evil Dead but with Chow Yun Fat.

BeardFaceMan

Quote from: Magnum Valentino on December 26, 2021, 11:50:08 PMLady Snowblood is another Tarantino source and it's class altogether.

Yeah, I was just referring to Reservoir Dogs, really. If you want to expand that to all of Tarantino's films there's a hell of a lot of Asian cinema he's half-inched, sorry, took inspiration from.

George White

Swordsman versus Enchantress - Shaw brothers wuxia with the Crown Court theme as its title track. Not joking.

13 schoolyards

I can highly recommend My Heart is that Eternal Rose, which is a classic melodramatic gangster story with the required amounts of over-the-top late 80s gunplay and (emotionally) tortured leads.

The first SPL film is also entertainingly old-school HK action (the sequels aren't bad either), though it's more kung fu than shootouts and the ending is surprisingly grim.

Spoon of Ploff

Give The Chinese Feast a go. It's martial arts, but cooking.

Also, Forbidden City Cop, a wuxia comedy that made me laugh a fair bit.

Shit Good Nose

A good chunk of Ringo Lam's HK films (like the aforementioned Wild Search) are brilliant, with the On Fire series essential (except for Sky On Fire, which is utter toilet).

RE the Long Arm of the Law films - all four of them are good, BUT they all suffer from having REALLY out of place slapstick comedy sequences in them, which is apparently (according to Bey Logan, Mike Leeder and Rick Baker [not that one]) the main reason why they've never had a proper release in the UK.

Goldentony

Quote from: Shit Good Nose on December 28, 2021, 07:34:58 PMRE the Long Arm of the Law films - all four of them are good, BUT they all suffer from having REALLY out of place slapstick comedy sequences in them, which is apparently (according to Bey Logan, Mike Leeder and Rick Baker [not that one]) the main reason why they've never had a proper release in the UK.

mad they think that wouldnt go down well but someones gone aye the Lucky Stars films, Black Magic, Mighty Peking Man, all that maggots/baps/CAT III shite, Heart Of The Dragon and thought get all of these on the shelves

Shit Good Nose

#21
Quote from: Goldentony on December 28, 2021, 08:39:37 PMmad they think that wouldnt go down well but someones gone aye the Lucky Stars films, Black Magic, Mighty Peking Man, all that maggots/baps/CAT III shite, Heart Of The Dragon and thought get all of these on the shelves

I suppose with all of those you mention the ridiculous/stupid elements are less jarring as they're already coming from a point of purely entertaining genre films, whereas with the Long Arm films - all of which are based on real life criminal events - you really are talking the western equivalent being The French Connection interspersed with Carry On gags and Popeye and Cloudy rolling down a hill in a bath tub.  They really are that out of place.  I can't remember if it's the second or third one, but there's a sequence in a hideout bookended by a tense action packed prison escape and a bloody siege, which is basically ten minutes of jokes about a fat guy and how much he eats, complete with comedy music and sound effects.



Forgot to mention Alfred Cheung's On The Run, which is a phenomenal (and downright miserable) thriller with Yuen Biao in a non-martial arts leading role.  It's in my top 3 most wanted for a decent US or UK physical release (88 or Eureka would do wonders with it).  To this day it baffles me why it's never had any DVD or blu release, considering what a major coup the old VHS release was and what a song and dance Made In Hong Kong made about it.  I can only assume it's caught up in the same rights nightmare that John Woo's primo 80s and 90s films are.

Goldentony

ON THE RUN would be amazing, only had a bootleg for ages, hasnt it got a couple of different endings too? the one ive got appears to have the non DVD one. Along that route it'd also be good to give more people a chance to see People's Hero. HK redo of Dog Day Afternoon. Really good THRILLER with some right bastards in it.

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: Goldentony on December 28, 2021, 09:47:11 PMON THE RUN would be amazing, only had a bootleg for ages, hasnt it got a couple of different endings too?

If it has, that's something I didn't know.  I've got an HD download (which I suspect is just an upscaled rip of the Deltamac DVD) which ends the same as the MIHK VHS.

Crenners

Quote from: Shit Good Nose on December 28, 2021, 09:06:45 PMIt's in my top 3 most wanted for a decent US or UK physical release (88 or Eureka would do wonders with it). 

Almost certainly coming from 88 next year, apparently.

Funcrusher

Quote from: Shit Good Nose on December 28, 2021, 07:34:58 PMA good chunk of Ringo Lam's HK films (like the aforementioned Wild Search) are brilliant, with the On Fire series essential (except for Sky On Fire, which is utter toilet).

RE the Long Arm of the Law films - all four of them are good, BUT they all suffer from having REALLY out of place slapstick comedy sequences in them, which is apparently (according to Bey Logan, Mike Leeder and Rick Baker [not that one]) the main reason why they've never had a proper release in the UK.

I had no idea there was more than one Long Arm of the Law.

Shit Good Nose

F
Quote from: Funcrusher on December 28, 2021, 09:58:36 PMI had no idea there was more than one Long Arm of the Law.

Four of them, but they aren't related.  They all dramatise completely different and separate stories.  They're only linked by their main theme of utter hopelessness.  And low brow toilet gags.

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: Crenners on December 28, 2021, 09:53:09 PMAlmost certainly coming from 88 next year, apparently.

I know 88 have an OTR on their hints list for the next year or so, but I'm not so sure - I asked them about it a couple of years ago and the response I got back (without any further explanation) was basically "it will never ever happen", whereas their responses with stuff they've either secured or are working on securing are a lot more cryptic.  I would absolutely love to be proven wrong though.

Crenners

@Shit Good Nose It's not a Golden Princess title, is it? Anyway, fingers crossed that something has changed since you asked. Seems very in keeping with the other rumoured and confirmed stuff for next year.

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: Crenners on December 28, 2021, 10:11:15 PM@Shit Good Nose It's not a Golden Princess title, is it? Anyway, fingers crossed that something has changed since you asked. Seems very in keeping with the other rumoured and confirmed stuff for next year.

I've absolutely no idea who holds the rights now.  I know Fox had total international rights (excluding HK, mainland China and Taiwan) not that long ago.  If that's still the case then that of course means Disney now, which may explain 88's response.  On the other hand (and this is still running with the hypothesis that it's with Disney) Disney have recently licenced some Fox films to a couple of US boutique labels (Miller's Crossing coming from Criterion being the main headline), which I don't think ANYONE ever thought would happen.