Blog Archives

The Man from Hong Kong (1975)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by Mark Morrison

Piss off Picnic at Hanging Rock, stuff Strictly Ballroom, bugger Breaker Morant — this is the Aussie film that you were born to watch!

Two-fisted and way groovy, The Man from Hong Kong is a lost Australian/Hong Kong kung fu classic. ScreenSound have wonderfully restored both the Technicolour (TM) print and the funkadelic audio. It hasn’t looked this good since 1975 (come to think of it, neither have I…)

See Sammo Hung and an Ocker cop go at … (read more)

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The Magic Blade (1976)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by Justin

This is a hard film to write a synopsis for — while every word of the one above is true, it doesn’t really do The Magic Blade justice. While directors Chang Cheh and Lau Kar-leung were making the transition from the swordplay and wuxia films with traditional actors to kung-fu films with actors trained in martial arts, Chor Yuen made a long series of films based on the novels of Ku Lung. These are proper wuxia films, but with more … (read more)

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Love on a Diet (2001)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by Ching Yee

How will your loved one[s] react if you suddenly put on 200 pounds? Will they love you any less? Does being beautiful = thin? What sort of message is this film trying to send? These questions whizzed through my head as I watched Love on A Diet, Johnnie To’s latest offering, with HK’s über popstars, Sammi Cheng and Andy Lau [suffering for their art by packing on heavy sumo suits]. These human insecurities form the basis for the premise of … (read more)

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The Last Blood (1991)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by Alison

Fairly ordinary action piece with a less than credible premise, made more interesting by the presence of Andy Lau. Director Wong Jing does some terrible things to young Andy, including throwing him through a plate glass window, blowing things up near him, and generally treating him as he oughtn’ta be treated. Worth it for curiosity value only.… (read more)

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Kung Fu Hustle (2004)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by Ching Yee

Hai-yah!!! If I was 10 and watched this film I would have high-kicked my way out of the cinema. But as a, *ahem*, mature and none-too-lithe adult… I just made do with imagining I was high-kicking.

Although I didn’t kick and punch my way out of the cinema, I can understand how Stephen Chow felt when he saw his first Bruce Lee film. If this was the feeling he was trying to recreate for his audience, his effort is not … (read more)

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Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan (1972)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by Justin

Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan is one of Shaw Brothers’ more infamous and influential films, one that shocked audiences when it was released in 1972. It’s since been remade by the same director (as 1984’s Lust for Love of a Chinese Courtesan) and was apparently the inspiration for Clarence Fok’s Naked Killer. It’s garnered its reputation for its marriage of the kung-fu genre with eroticism, usually a recipe for thoroughly B-grade cinema. Intimate Confessions’ acting, production … (read more)

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Inner Senses (2002)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by Alison

Hong Kong produced a rash of “I see ghosts” films over the space of a couple of years, and this is one of the better ones. This is probably largely because of the cast: it’s really a two-person film, with several supporting actors popping up briefly just to show that the city’s not completely uninhabited.

It’s not just that they’re good, although that’s definitely true. Leslie Cheung Kwok Wing was one of the finest actors around, and particularly good at … (read more)

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Initial D – The Movie (2005)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by John Snadden

In the opening minutes of Initial D, we watch as a street legal sports car “drifts” down a narrow mountain road – the driver accelerating into the tight corners, then gliding around the glasslike hairpin bends. All shot under moonlight, this short sequence captures the sublime and surreal beauty of pure auto power.

Initial D was originally slated for Tsui Hark to direct, but early in the production he left the project and was replaced by Infernal Affairs directing … (read more)

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