Tough task. How to select 10 films from so much great stuff. The ones
I've selected are a representative. That is, I've picked one or two from different genres,
rather than my actual top 10, which is impossible to work out!
My top four picks show that sequels can definitely improve on the original.
Chinese Ghost Story II is THE film which converted me from an HK film fan into
a fanatic. Flying people in flowing silks, gallows humour galore, the luscious Joey Wong
in her greatest role, romance and action. Wow!
Erotic Ghost Story II is a stunner. Quite a different tilt than Erotic
Ghost Story I (moslty humorous) and Erotic Ghost Story III (rather dark).
Acres of gorgeous bare flesh, lush colourful photography, pacing neither too fast nor too
slow, nearly a dozen major characters. Suffers none of the drawbacks which hundreds of
cheaper nastier HK porns are saddled with. Pure sensuous joy.
Drunken Master II rates narrowly in front of City Hunter as my very
favorite HK actioner. This is one film where Chan's awful silliness, and cringing attempts
at romance, do NOT get in the way of what he does best. Each of the many action set-pieces
contain enough action for an entire film. One of the few films I have ever seen for which
no amount of hype is too much!
Nearly up to the standard of Drunken Master II is Jimmy Wang's Beach Of
The War Gods. Pretty much the same template as Wang's other films, except this one
takes a bit longer to warm up. But when it does, godsakes! At least half a dozen major
characters relentlessly battle the bad guys for nearly an hour. Warning: don't watch this
film if you have a heart condition......
I'm a complete sucker for HK gambling movies, and I've seen none better than God Of
Gamblers Return and Madam Q. Whatever you think of Wong Jing as a director,
he's undeniably a master of giving the HK public what they want. And in God Of
Gamblers Return, he gives them everything they want in one astounding package. HK's
favourite actor (Chow) in his perfect role, several of HK's loveliest women, more action
than many other films (even in HK), one of the darkest villains imaginable, as well as
card playing and gambling all over the place. Far superior to the original, which had
great opening and closing scenes, but was an awful waste of film and talent inbetween.
And Madam Q is nearly as good, as well as being a real cheapie to boot.
Imagine all the plot elements of God Of Gamblers Return with lashings of nudity
and sex and comedy added. Further, the plot is nearly as impenetrable as Kung Fu Cult
Master.
My top ten must include a film featuring the ethereal Taiwanese beauty Ng Sin Lin (Wu
Chien Lien). Love And The City is a film what could have been either awful or
brilliant. It is not a subtle film. Director Jeff Lau practically takes the audience by
the scruff of the neck and never lets go. He makes it totally plain what you should feel
the whole time. He pushes every emotional button imaginable. But it works, and you'd need
a heart of stone not to be completely sucked into it. Keep the tissues handy for the
ending.
With a similar lack of subtlety, The Big Deal has an entirely different aim.
One thing HK filmmakers excel at is silliness, and none more so than this one. A bunch of
famous actors are given roles which mercilessly send up the roles they usually play. The
sight gags and silly jokes fly past at a gasping pace, and the action rarely even stops
for breath. And, perhaps in keeping with this tone, the subtitles set a new high (or
low?!) in extreme bad spelling and grammar, and this only makes it more fun.
Not quite such a laugh-a-minute in Screwball '94. But it's still a blast. This
film is basically a take on those cheap teen sex comedies which the US churns out by the
hundred. Imagine a film like Porky's, but with much more fun and nudity, and
hugely more explicit nudity. Screwball is notionally a vehicle for James Wong to
play his usual loud-mouth lecher, although a few of the others provide much of the fun.
Damn, if only senior high school really was that much fun, and all the kids were so
sexually savvy.
I could rave on more about the pics which just missed out. Benny Chan's brilliant A
Moment Of Romance II deserves a place, but I cannot rate it higher than the similar Love
And The City (which shares two of the same actors). The original Chinese Ghost
Story contains more than one scene that I would rate among my all-time favourites,
but the first half is too uneven and confusing to be up there with its stunning sequel.
It was a shame not to have a Jet Li film here. Tai Chi Master, Fong Sai
Yuk II and High Risk are all strong contenders for a place, and I'd dare to
say that, on average, Li's films are superior to those of Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee in
almost every respect. And I'm especially sad not to include The Heroic Trio,
which was one of the films which helped harden me in a HK film fanatic. Oh well, if I ever
get around to compiling a top one hundred.......
