Chinatown Video releases for May 1999
Weasel Alert: I occasionally do a bit
of work for Chinatown Video. This month I wrote the video cover blurb for Happy
Together.
FROM BEIJING WITH LOVE (1994) Rated MA.
92 mins. $29.95.
The second Stephen Chow release for Chinatown Video, following in the
funny slippers of Forbidden City Cop (1996). In fact, From Beijing With Love
is a sequel to Forbidden City Cop, despite the fact that it was made two years
earlier and set hundreds of years later. If you can understand that, you're ready for the
makes-no-sense comedy that is Chow's trademark. Here he plays Ling Ling
Chai (translates as 007 in Cantonese), a hick Mainland pork vendor who is drafted into
Beijing's espionage program, given $200 to buy a suit and bundled off to Hong Kong on the
trail of a missing dinosaur skeleton. Chow has his way with every spy
film convention along the way, from naff secret weapons to the the secret of why spies
always look so debonair. There are also send-ups of cantopop and Hong Kong movies (Wong
Kar Wai gets a repeated shellacking). A warning for the squeamish though: this is
at times a cruel satire in the literal sense, as outrageous violence forms part of the
comedy.
HAPPY TOGETHER (1997) Rated M. $29.95
Hong Kong's arthouse director Wong Kar Wai delivers one of 1997's best
films, not just in Hong Kong but anywhere - hence the Best Director prize awarded to him
at Cannes that year. Tony Leung Chiu Wai was awarded Best Actor at the
17th Hong Kong Film Awards for his role as Lai Yiu-Fai, a man stranded in Buenos Aires in
a love affair which has washed up but won't go away. Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing
is Ho Po-Wing, the object of Lai's helpless affections. See my full
review for more info; beautifully filmed, elegantly told, this film is a highlight of
world cinema.
PAPER MARRIAGE (1988) Rated M. 92 mins.
$29.95.
This one's three films in one. It starts as a light comic romance. Bo Chin (Sammo
Hung) has Canadian citizenship , and takes up an offer to marry Jade Lee (Maggie
Cheung) in exchange for money. (yes, most of us would only marry Maggie
Cheung if we were paid. Right. Sure) Bo needs the bucks so that he can pay his
gambling debts, and she needs the marriage so that she can live in Canada for 2 years and
then marry her real boyfriend. Hilarious hijinx ensue as the pair set out to fool the
eagle-eyed Canadian Immigration department, not an easy task given the unhappy couple's
mutual loathing for each other. Then it turns into Rocky, with Bo going
back into the ring to box for his money, while Jade pitches in with a bit of mud wrestling
(yes, Maggie Cheung mud wrestling, which sounds like a sure-fire recipe
for entertainment, but is actually a really touching scene - yes, I mean it - well watch
it if you don't believe me - hmph, be like that, see if I care). Then it turns into a
martial arts caper movie, with a stolen bag of money and a bunch of spin-kicking thugs who
come after it and get it back (tracking down our heroes in a mall, that most favoured of
places for a big biff-fest in Hong Kong movies). So, there you have it, three movies in
one - just think of the rental you're saving. Sammo is great as always,
and Maggie circa 1988 is as cute as lace pants. She even gets to kick a
mime in the nuts - attagirl.
BULLET IN THE HEAD (1991) Rated R. 126
mins. Rental only.
Not merely considered widely to be John Woo's finest film, but also
topped the poll of the collected critics in Hong Kong Babylon as the best Hong
Kong film ever. Strong stuff. Stars Jacky Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu
Wai, Simon Yam and Waise Lee.
HERO (1997) Rated MA. 97 mins. Rental
only.
This is a well-regarded gangster film period piece with astounding fight sequences
starring action legend Yuen Biao and romantic legend Takeshi
Kaneshiro, directed by Corey Yuen (My Father is a Hero, Fong
Sai Yuk, and many other great films). If Happy Together isn't your bag this
month, I'm betting that Hero is....
