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CloseFriend
Aug 21, 2002

Un malheur ne vient jamais seul.
I've only watched classic kung fu films for about eight months now, but I loving love them. I just devour them! So let's take a thread to talk about them in all their greatness.

I won't pretend to know enough about the genre to classify it down to a science, but by "classic" I mostly mean Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest with the occasional non-kaiju Toho film like Lady Snowblood, spanning from around the mid 60s to the mid 80s. Wuxia, wushu, swordplay with curvy swords, produced in Hong Kong or Taiwan or Japan… You know the kind.

I'll post YouTube links if I can find them, but I strongly recommend you watch the films on DVD or BluRay, and subtitled, if at all possible. Higher quality makes the choreography and acting (such as it is) so much more enjoyable.

Come Drink With Me/大醉俠 (1967)

This film predates most of the really successful martial arts films, but it has some amazing cinematography and a surprisingly interesting plot. Actress Cheng Pei-Pei stars as the protagonist and demonstrates astonishing agency both for the film's creation in 1967 and its setting within the Ming Dynasty. The deuteragonist shows off the "drunken" style of fighting that would become famous in the coming years. Director King Hu went for operatic, balletic overtones in Cheng's movements and in the general presentation of events. This film boasts a very clever plot as well, at one point having characters communicate a hint by encoding directions for drawing a Chinese character within a song! It also closes with one hell of a grudge match.

One-Armed Swordsman/獨臂刀 (1967)

I'd credit this film with launching the successful careers of Jimmy Wang Yu and Chang Cheh as well as helping to kick-start this entire genre. The action gets repetitive in the extreme—particularly in the second act—but it has gorgeous cinematography for its time and surprisingly nuanced characterization. I found myself very engrossed by the main character's conflict between a filial obligation to a woman who irreversibly wronged him and an obligation to repay the kindness shown him by a woman who doesn't quite understand him. The film pioneers two longstanding trends in the genre: disabled protagonists (the idea of which peaks in Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms) and the transformation of an ostensible disadvantage into a decisive advantage.

The Angry River/鬼怒川 (1971)

YouTube
This film marks Golden Harvest's debut. Much of the people involved behind the scenes defected from Shaw Bros.—particularly Huang Feng, an already-experienced director who took the Chang-Cheh-esque triple duty of writing, producing, and directing. This also marks Angela Mao Ying's first leading role, and the script gives her a surprising kind of agency; her protagonist gets kidnapped twice, yet she ends up playing the most important role of all in the film. The storytelling uses subtle elements of magical realism and mythology; the resulting film actually does feel more like a folktale than anything.

One Armed Boxer/The Chinese Professionals/獨臂拳王 (1971)

YouTube
Jimmy Wang Yu returned in this spiritual successor to One-Armed Swordsman—produced by Golden Harvest Studios as Yu's middle finger to his previous employers at Shaw Brothers—to prove to the world once again that his martial arts acumen far exceeds his ability to have arms. This film feels mostly like a trial run for its sequel, Master of the Flying Guillotine. Like that film, this one boasts frenetic martial-arts action and a diverse, quirky array of supporting fighters. This film lacks its sequel's style, but it still has a lot to enjoy in its own right.

Enter the Dragon (1973)

Enter the Dragon marks the beginning of Hollywood's relationship with martial arts films: Warner Bros. and Golden Harvest teamed up to make it happen. Unfortunately, it also marks the end of Bruce Lee's career, as he died less than a week before its release. Co-star Jim Kelly passed just last month.
Considering this film's status as America's first big-budget flirtation with this style of film, I find its subtle use of Yellow Peril characterization apropos. It also has inimitable Bruce Lee action that reaches a fever pitch in the famous, unforgettable mirror-hall climax.

Lady Snowblood/修羅雪姫 (1973)

Not many films can pack what feels like an epic into 97 minutes, but Lady Snowblood succeeds wonderfully. Toshiya Fujita does a ridiculously amazing job with winter and beach cinematography, making Japan look beautiful, mysterious, and unpredictable all at once. Tarantino fans absolutely must check this out, since Kill Bill (in particular Volume I) borrows enormously from this film.
In a way, Kill Bill subsumes this film's narrative as part of its own symbolism. Quentin Tarantino based O-Ren Ishii on this film's main character, now a warrior who already achieved her desired revenge and faces off against a new adversary with a vendetta of her own. In that sense, watching the two films in sequence enhances Kill Bill's statement about the cyclical, almost Sisyphean nature of revenge.

Master of the Flying Guillotine/獨臂拳王大破血滴子 (1976)

YouTube
Of all the films in this thread, I saw this one first, and I have yet to see it beaten. Jimmy Wang Yu reprises his role from One-Armed Boxer; the master of two students he slew in that film seeks revenge: a blind martial arts expert with a weapon that decapitates whomever it lands on… and it tends to land wherever he intends! The film stands out less for its central conflict than its fluid plot involving a plethora of colorful fighters from all over Asia. If you've ever wanted to really understand Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and SNK's fighting games, you must watch this film.

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin/少林三十六房 (1978)

Perhaps the most famous collaboration between director Kar-Leung Lau (who directed a number of these and many other films and unfortunately died just last month) and Chia-Hui "Gordon" Liu, this film put the latter on the map as San Te, an aggrieved martial artist who joins a Shaolin monastery as part of a protracted revenge scheme. (He'd repeat this character arc many times, particularly in The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter, Shaolin and Wu Tang, and Legendary Weapons of China.) This film strikes me as somewhat of a Far Eastern mirror image of Rocky, inasmuch as it boils the protagonist's edge down to industriousness, frustration, and the realization of the importance of his goal. The film became famous as a source of inspiration for the Wu-Tang Clan. Indeed, RZA—who grew up on these films—did an interview and feature commentary for the film's BluRay.

5 Deadly Venoms/五毒 (1978)

5 Deadly Venoms serves as both the namesake and most famous film featuring the Venom Mob as well as one of Chang Cheh's many masterpieces. The masks induce me to see a bit of cross-pollination with tokusatsu superhero works as well, particularly Super Sentai.
This film helps establish a trend of supernaturally-skilled fighters that became perhaps most famous in America in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It doesn't have a huge amount going on story-wise—in particular the film telegraphs its central plot twist—but it has amazing and incredibly heterogeneous action.

Drunken Master/醉拳 (1978)

Crackle
Jackie Chan had not acted in film for long when he did Drunken Master, but it established his charisma and bankability not just in action, but action-comedy (I call this the Schwarzenegger strategy). I won't pretend I busted a gut, (seriously, why the gently caress did its writers find hairy moles so Goddamn funny?!) but this film gives an excellent cross-section of Chan's ability to integrate the comedy directly into his martial arts. King of Fighters fans should check this one out in particular, since a certain mainstay of the series undoubtedly descended from one of this film's main characters.
Of note, this film, among many, many others, serves as a biography of Chinese hero Wong Fei-Hung, a Qing Dynasty folk hero who inspired works ranging from an 89-movie series in Hong Kong to Xenogears. Yes. That Xenogears.

Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms/Crippled Avengers/殘缺 (1978)

All but one of the stars of 5 Deadly Venoms returned for this film. Four martial artists wage war against a warlord who permanently crippled them, as well as his son (who pulled a Dr. No after a hand amputation of his own). The characterization feels a bit gimmicky, but the film remains nothing if not novel. One can scarcely help but enjoy watching the martial arts interplay between a blind man, a deaf man, an amputee, and a man rendered… "special." I found the depiction of the heroes surprisingly affectionate; one would expect some severe ableism from the premise, but the film rarely veers into such territory… at least outside of the actions of the villains.

Heroes of the East/Challenge of the Ninja/中華丈夫 (1978)

Here we have another of Lau Kar-Leung's many collaborations with Gordon Liu. In a relative rarity for Liu, he actually doesn't end up shaving his head in this film. Heroes of the East starts with a lovers' quarrel between a Japanese kunoichi and a Chinese kung fu practitioner that escalates out of control. What starts as a comical "marital arts" lovers' quarrel escalates into a martial arts competition pitting Gordon Liu against eight Japanese martial arts masters.
In a strange contrast with most of the genre, this film's story revolves around exhibition matches with ultimately no serious stakes. Although half the cast actually did come from Japan, the Chinese bias quickly becomes clear as the film progresses. One can't help wondering how much of this film's plot serves as wishful thinking or blowing off steam over the Second Sino-Japanese War, in which Japan attacked Hong Kong and China ultimately won a Pyrrhic victory.

Knockabout/雜家小子 (1979)

YouTube
I've always admired Sammo Hung as a man who worked very, very hard for the success he's had. This film serves as a representative picture of his talent. As with Jackie Chan in Drunken Master, he plays a character who centers his combat around deception. The film vacillates strangely between drama and comedy; it has a strikingly dark second act turn for such an otherwise lighthearted film. It has some wonderful action, though, and in another comparison with Drunken Master, we see amazing choreography for a film that showcases a defensive style.

My Young Auntie/Fangs of the Tigress/長輩 (1981)

My Young Auntie stands among Lau Kar-Leung's quirkier entries and a deconstruction of the Chinese conception of respect for elders. Kara Hui stars as Cheng Tai-Nun, the most skilled martial artist in the film, but also an arrogant traditionalist. She marries into a superior position within the Yu Clan of martial artists, clashing particularly with male lead Ah Tao, a callow, Anglophilic college student given to querulous outbursts and code-switching. As in a number of Lau Kar-Leung's other works, he peppers the serious martial arts story with domestic comedy. The resulting film feels like an odd mix, but a memorable one. Kara Hui's martial arts prove the highlight of the film. Like Gordon Lui she excels not only at the martial arts itself, but intentionally downplaying it for a role.

Legendary Weapons of China/十八般武藝 (1982)

Legendary Weapons of China boasts a particularly confusing plot, mostly because it introduces characters in a way that makes events difficult to follow. If you can decipher it, though, there exist some interesting points made about the inevitable conclusion of the Boxer Rebellion and the conflation between realism, defeatism, and unfaithfulness. As the title suggests, the 18 legendary Chinese weapons serve as the real stars of the show, culminating in a protracted but very engaging fight scene where most of them come into play (the remainder show up in other fight scenes). Like 5 Deadly Venoms, we see elements of the supernatural, but here they mingle with history in an almost magical realist sort of way.

Five Element Ninjas/Super Ninjas/五遁忍術 (1982)

YouTube
I rarely say this about any film, but to describe the plot of Five Element Ninjas feels a bit like spoiling it. Suffice it to say the film chronicles the conflict between a martial arts clan and a cadre of ninjas separated into five groups by element. This film interested me because the concept of what the TVTropes crowd calls "Plot Armor" carries little weight in Hong Kong martial arts cinema. You may find yourself surprised by which characters die and which turn out to have actual importance later on.

The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter/五郎八卦棍 (1983)

Of the martial arts films I've seen, this one ranks among my favorites. Gordon Liu returns yet again as a wronged martial artist who turns to a Shaolin monastery to get revenge. This film struck me for its operatic appearance. The film opens with a borderline-surreal mêlée with minimalist backgrounds and heightened, stagey emotions and effects. This film gives us Liu and director Lau Kar-Leung at their respective best, with a final climax that ties the film's themes together wonderfully… even if an unexpected real-life death prevented the plot from fully cohering.

I have not even come close to naming all of this genre's best films. Still, you get the idea. Thankfully, a number of these show up on YouTube. They don't have much of a presence on instant viewing services (which frustrates me endlessly), but you shouldn't have much of a problem finding the discs for the ones you want to see. So if you haven't seen any, you have a lot of research to do!

CloseFriend fucked around with this message at 05:20 on May 19, 2014

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CloseFriend
Aug 21, 2002

Un malheur ne vient jamais seul.
I watched Lady Snowblood again last night, and something struck me… A consistent aesthetic dots the film's major moments throughout: the Japanese flag (nisshōki/日章旗). Red as a foreground element and, to a lesser extent, white as a background/secondary element suffuse most of the shot compositions in the film. Hell, look at the title: red blood and white snow. The Japanese title has 修羅 for red bloodshed and again, 雪 for white snow.

In this sense, the film exhorts us to see the title character's story as one of Japan in general. Indeed, throughout the film, Yuki's costumes betray Japanese flag imagery. The reddish colors vary between a bright, bloody scarlet, lavender, maroon, purple, auburn, burgundy and orange, but the dominant shape remains near the center of the screen against desaturated or bright negative space. Just look at her birth—surrounded by a large cluster of prison jumpsuit orange against a white bed in the dead of winter—or her very first adult appearance—holding a circular umbrella above the snow-encrusted landscape…





From this, we infer that Yuki embodies Japan… or, more specifically, pre-Meiji Japan. We infer that Japan's entire history has the same driving force as Yuki herself: revenge. The film implies that up to this point in history, Japan has lived in a Saṃsāra-esque cycle of revenge. Look for the subtle Japanese flag composition in these sanguinary backstory paintings: a red splotch against a mostly-white background…




Nearly all of Yuki's costumes have a reddish element against a white background. When they don't, the entire costume becomes that element. Just try not to catch your eye on Yuki's lavender kimono in its contrast against the otherwise quotidian tea room.



As for her other costumes, with their reddish sashes against the white, Yuki spends most of the film looking like a five-foot Japanese flag turned on its side, especially when blood mottles her clothes.





The Japanese flag, then, recurs in the film to keep us cognizant of Japan's history. This becomes strikingly apparent in this scene, where a blood-read rickshaw blanket anchors a Dutch-angle composition wherein deuteragonist Ryūrei Ashio comes face-to-face with his shameful past, and later in the scene where a rufous safe does the same.




The film avers, in essence, that even before the Meiji Restoration, Japan's history had problems of its own. Look for bright red elements in the middle of the screen in these scenes featuring gambling, a release of poison gas, a prostitute's recompense (linked for spoiler), and an unprovoked murder (linked for spoiler).




Since Yuki stands surrogate for Japan itself, her upbringing then tells us the story of the formation of the Japanese mindset through unforgiving inculcation. We see it in this shot of young Yuki—wearing in a red sash to indicate her status as the rising sun—tethered to her punitive yet motivated guardian Priest Dōkai, clad in white as the sky against which she rises to take her place.



In a cyclical note, Kobue wears mostly red throughout the film, hinting that she represents the incipient successor of the "rising sun" mantle, herself marred by adversity and injustice and motivated by revenge. The relative lack of white tells us that unlike Yuki, her youth leaves her in the beginning stages of her own trip through the revenge cycle.



Even the villains get in on the composition; take a look at Tsukamoto Gishirō's headband as the blood therefrom drips down his rubicund face, Shokei Tokuichi's eye-grabbing bright red loincloth in the compositional center, Kitahama Okono's fiery invocation of the Vajrayana god Acala across her backside, and the way the blood stains the white foam that buoys Takemura Banzō's hemorrhaging body in its last moments.





All of this points to the film's idea that revenge, bloodshed, and remonstrance underpinned Japanese history up to that point. The turning point of the climax—where Gishiro dies dragging down the flag of Japan and staining that of the United States in his failure to grab it as well—tells us that Bakumatsu marked not only the end of Japan's isolationist foreign policy and shogunate, but the end of Japan as the Japanese knew it.

The decidedly Pyrrhic nature of the victory also tells us not to regard Japan's sea change as entirely a positive. The film ends with Kobue becoming the new symbol of Japan by nearly slaying the old one, thereby positing that while Japan itself may change, the themes governing its history never will.

CloseFriend
Aug 21, 2002

Un malheur ne vient jamais seul.

Drunkboxer posted:

So much of the coolness of that movie is in the way Lee delivers his lines. "It is like a finger, pointing away to da moon..."


edit: I guess the sequel to Drunken Master is too modern for the theme of this thread? The fight choreography in that is untouchable in my opinion.
I haven't seen it yet, but go for it! Hell, your username is made for it. :v: Speaking of more modern films along these lines, I recently watched House of Flying Daggers and I really liked it.

Speaking of films I recently watched, I added My Young Auntie and Heroes of the East to the OP, if that interests anyone.

CloseFriend
Aug 21, 2002

Un malheur ne vient jamais seul.
I just watched Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance.



Like its predecessor, the film boasts beautifully violent visuals. It also depicts a continuation of the Japanese flag motif from the first film. Again, we see it mostly in blood, specifically in the sanguinary results of Yuki's handiwork and in various Yuki-related plot turns…





Although the context for this shot severely spoils the film, suffice it to say this composition symbolizes the release of Japan from the fetters of the Meiji restoration and its exploitation of the lower classes.



As in the first film, this one also contains subtle reminders of the Japanese flag in its less bloody compositions. Quite a few shots will put a red color shape in or near the center of the shot as a hidden nod to the rising sun.



The sequel continues in its depiction of Yuki as a symbol of Japan herself… and of the Meiji Restoration as a time when corruption and authoritarianism have left the proletariat mute and destitute.

Indeed, at the 9-minute mark, when the inciting incident happens, we see Yuki wake up to a rising sun: the literal manifestation of the Japanese flag.



The film even goes so far as to juxtapose Yuki herself with the sun in the same shot.



However, in an intriguing statement of the pernicious effects of Meiji corruption on all of Japan, we only see the actual Japanese flag used in irony. First, soldiers and their families wave the flag as they sing about pride in winning a battle that cost a third of a million Japanese lives and in celebration of the Spartan ideal of not even returning home without victory.



Second, the main antagonists walk under the flags on their way to a ceremony. Here, the Japanese flag symbolizes the war, famine, pestilence, and death they unleashed to their own selfish ends.



This motif doesn't recur in this film to the extent that it does in the first. In fact, this film starts new motifs of its own, most prominently symmetry…



For other examples, several characters who sustain an injury on one side of their bodies later become injured in the same place on the opposite side. Two brothers who have bad blood between each other ultimately find themselves in similar roles in the story. Both films prominently feature a women's prison and cemeteries. Characters in this film have antecedents with roughly the same role in the first film.

Yuki's umbrella returns as a symbol in this film as well (spoiler), this time not as a symbolic calling card, but as a symbol of protection. She uses the umbrella to signal a shift in loyalty after she learns some new information.

This all serves to convey the idea of Love Song of Vengeance as a mirror-image of its predecessor. Whereas the first film dealt with Yuki's internal struggle behind her own existence, this one makes her struggle external, a struggle for all of Japan.

Anyway, while this film doesn't compare to its counterpart, I recommend it to anyone who likes violence and Japanese cinema, and I think fans of the first will find something to enjoy.

CloseFriend
Aug 21, 2002

Un malheur ne vient jamais seul.
As I've watched more of these movies, I've noticed a common thread emerging: most, if not all, Shaw Bros. films portray the state negatively.

This shows up in particular in Venom Mob movies. 5 Deadly Venoms reveals the chief constable as the most ruthless and manipulative of the venoms. Several times—in particular, in Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms and Invincible Shaolin—the Venom Mob's resident heavy Lu Feng plays the main antagonist, who works for the government in some capacity. In the former, he ruins the protagonists' lives, setting them on their course. In the latter, he tries to destroy Shaolin by fanning sectarian flames. Shaolin & Wu-Tang, although not a Venom Mob film, uses a similar plot device.

When the government doesn't serve as the heavies, they either serve as ineffectual buffoons—as in Knockabout—or they don't show up at all. Interestingly, in their absence, they make dynastic China look like a lawless frontier, a Far Eastern Wild West.

Considering Shaw Bros. operate out of Hong Kong and Macau, with distribution in Singapore, and their movies have seen particular success in Hong Kong and Taiwan, one gets the feeling that in this trend we get an idea of how Chinese-speaking peoples outside the PRC (at the time) regarded their government. Although Communist China's government has little in common at the surface with the dynasties who ruled for most of its history, the films' recurrent distrust of the state seems redolent of contempt for Mao Zedong and his legacy.

CloseFriend
Aug 21, 2002

Un malheur ne vient jamais seul.

HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:

What's that one where they're transporting taels of silver across famine stricken land, Masked Avengers? That's got some nasty anti-government stuff in it from what I recall.
The Kid With the Golden Arm, if memory serves. It really does! The last-minute twist almost exists entirely to say, "gently caress everyone but the common people."

CloseFriend
Aug 21, 2002

Un malheur ne vient jamais seul.
I thought some people would find this interesting: the back cover copy for Clan of the White Lotus

CloseFriend
Aug 21, 2002

Un malheur ne vient jamais seul.

Lucasar posted:

Well a lot of the movies are set during the Qing/Ching dynasty, no? In that case, there was some resentment from ethnic Han Chinese to their Manchurian neighbors sitting on the imperial throne.

Also whenever I read about dynastic China it seems that no mid-level politicians ever died of natural causes or managed to live long enough to step down - they always seem to get betrayed and murdered/made to kill themselves. Backstabbing and political corruption are probably familiar elements to fiction over there. But I don't think you're wrong to suggest that Hong Kong (and Taiwan in King Hu's case) had reasons to resent the mainland Chinese government.
I've started watching some Golden Harvest films and I've already noticed one marked contrast with Shaw Bros.: Golden Harvest's films don't have nearly as much of that anti-government spirit. In fact, from what I've seen, while I wouldn't call Golden Harvest pro-government and certainly not propagandist, their films tend to involve protagonists who behave lawfully and antagonists who don't have any affiliation to the state. The antagonists usually engage not in government malfeasance but just general evils like rape, murder, and theft.

Speaking of Golden Harvest, I got another film to recommend…

The Angry River/鬼怒川 (1971)

YouTube
This film marks Golden Harvest's debut. Much of the people involved behind the scenes defected from Shaw Bros.—particularly Huang Feng, an already-experienced director who took the Chang-Cheh-esque triple duty of writing, producing, and directing. This also marks Angela Mao Ying's first leading role, and the script gives her a surprising kind of agency; her protagonist gets kidnapped twice, yet she ends up playing the most important role of all in the film. The storytelling uses subtle elements of magical realism and mythology; the resulting film actually does feel more like a folktale than anything.

McNerd posted:

Wasn't this what Executioners from Shaolin was like too? The bad guy had some ridiculous power where his one weak point migrated all over his body and to simulate this, they had to build some ridiculous practice dummy with balls constantly rolling through it. I'm not sure if they were actual migrating testicles but they might have been.

The best kung fu gonad action is still the ending scene of 7 Grandmasters though.

Incidentally I assume any old Shaw Brothers films available on Youtube aren't really legal; does anyone happen to know otherwise? (If they were I'd put up some links.)
Now that I've seen Executioners From Shaolin I can comment: I'd say that film implies the testicle-movement but doesn't actually say it (as weird as that feels to even type). Actually, both films feature the same Pai Mei as the main antagonist. Each film treats Pai Mei as though he only appears in that film; he seems like a really odd choice for a recurring character.

You can post links to films on YouTube, under the theory that if they pose a problem they'll get taken down anyway. Shaw Bros. seems more litigious than Golden Harvest, though; Shaw Bros. movies that show up on YouTube seldom stay there long. (Shaw Bros. still produces a tiny trickle of films, while Golden Harvest gave up production altogether for financing and distribution a decade ago. Also Shaw Bros. had a famously prolific output. Golden Harvest didn't, although it did have Bruce Lee.)

CloseFriend fucked around with this message at 07:15 on Oct 14, 2013

CloseFriend
Aug 21, 2002

Un malheur ne vient jamais seul.
I wanted to post something to this effect, but I actually thought this thread was archived.

For people who don't fully realize just how much Run Run Shaw had to do with this entire genre of film, read this handy obituary.

CloseFriend
Aug 21, 2002

Un malheur ne vient jamais seul.

Tharizdun posted:

would this then be the appropriate thread to bemoan how bad Man with the Iron Fists turned out then?
Man With the Iron Fists disappointed the gently caress out of me. RZA knew so much about the films he wanted to replicate but so little about what makes them tick.

Mechafunkzilla posted:

This is one of those hilarious quirks of early-mid kung fu cinema. I just watched Prodigal Son (1981), a lighthearted Sammo Hung action-comedy which features a scene where a few dozen sleeping men and women have their throats slashed, which goes on for a solid 5-10 minutes complete with gore effects and torrents of blood. :stonk:
Every Sammo Hung film I've seen—Pedicab Driver, Knockabout, and Prodigal Son for sure—starts out lighthearted and then right in the second act, out of nowhere, WHAM. The dark side hits like a punch to the face.

In all the movies I've seen, though, Sammo Hung ranks as one of my favorite stars. By several accounts, he worked haaaaaard to get to where he got.

CloseFriend fucked around with this message at 05:18 on May 1, 2014

CloseFriend
Aug 21, 2002

Un malheur ne vient jamais seul.

Boinks posted:

I have the 2 disc anniversary edition DVD and there's a disclaimer before the movie starts that says the print was heavily damaged and this was basically the best they could do with it.
For anyone browsing Amazon, I have both major releases and this one is far superior to this one.

CloseFriend
Aug 21, 2002

Un malheur ne vient jamais seul.

Snowman_McK posted:

Just a quick question, is there any particular reason no new, stable stars have emerged out of Hong Kong/China? I may be completely wrong about this, but it seems that all the martial arts stars that are leading men now were already big when I was a kid. Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Donnie Yen. Have there been big stars that just haven't made it to the West?
Louis Koo is the biggest name I can think of. As for why he hasn't broken through in the west, your guess is as good as mine, but he's a giant star in Hong Kong.

Snowman_McK posted:

EDIT: I also got reminded by the mention of Heroes of the East how very few Tonfa fight scenes I've seen. The only other one off the top of my head is the first hallway fight in The Raid, which isn't quite the same thing. Any recommendations?
I remember Legendary Weapons of China having a tonfa scene. It has fight scenes with practically every martial arts weapon one can imagine, so it should.

CloseFriend
Aug 21, 2002

Un malheur ne vient jamais seul.

SALT CURES HAM posted:

The best/worst thing about Master of the Flying Guillotine is... I can't do it justice with words.





It's so drat goofy and clueless that I'm honestly not sure if it's racist anymore.
Master of the Flying Guillotine feels like an ancestor to The Quick and the Dead. Despite its goofiness, I love the variegation in the costume designs. That really makes it stick out in my mind. To this day I consider it my favorite film in this thread's purview.

CloseFriend
Aug 21, 2002

Un malheur ne vient jamais seul.

SALT CURES HAM posted:

I don't think you realized what I was pointing out there. Don't get me wrong, the movie's dope as hell and probably my favorite classic martial-arts movie I've seen so far, but god drat they just did not give a single gently caress at all about any kind of cultural sensitivity, did they?

(For bonus points, the Japanese fighter also cheats in the actual tournament.)
No, I'm cognizant of it; I was mostly just agreeing with you. I find the film hard to fault for such an obvious invocation of brownface.

At the risk of derailing, the way the film handles race makes for an interesting discussion all on its own anyway, since while it's pretty easy for us Americans to find it revolting, that sort of minstrelsy doesn't offend nearly as much outside of America. For instance, Wendy van Dijk is a famous Dutch comedian who actually still performs in yellowface and blackface; she released a movie featuring her famous yellowface character as recently as last year!

Boinks posted:

I don't think they had a choice with the limited budget to get an actual Indian guy to play that part. And without blackface Chinese guy we would never have Dhalsim from Street Fighter 2.

My favorite part of MotFG is the fact that the Japanese samurai is played by the guy who played Black Betty in Kung Pow: Enter The Fist.
I really don't think the fighting game genre would ever have happened if not for Master of the Flying Guillotine. Hell, aside from Dhalsim, you can see progenitors of Adon, Chun-Li, Sokaku Mochizuki, Joe Higashi, Shang Tsung… Even in other kung fu films, Chin Gentsai obviously comes from the title character in Drunken Master, and Fei Long famously derives straight from Bruce Lee.

CloseFriend
Aug 21, 2002

Un malheur ne vient jamais seul.

Speleothing posted:

Okay. Seriously: how many 'flying guillotine' movies are there? Because the one I've seen doesn't seem to be the same one most people talk about.
The best one.
A good one.
The sequel to the good one.

Watch Master of the Flying Guillotine as soon as possible. It's my favorite film in this thread's entire purview.

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CloseFriend
Aug 21, 2002

Un malheur ne vient jamais seul.
Found a 12-pack of old kung fu movies dirt cheap. Can anyone speak to the quality of any of these?

5 Pattern Dragon Claws (1983)
7 Steps of Kung Fu (1979)
18 Fatal Strikes (1978)
Crane Fighter (1979)
Crazy Horse, Intelligent Monkey (1982)
Drunken Tai Chi (1984)
Phantom Kung Fu (1979)
Tai Chi Shadow Boxing (1979)
Tiger at the Top (1975)
Wu Tang Magic Kick (1977)
Ninja Fists of Fire (1974)
Mantis Under Falcon's Claws (1983)

I know these mega-packs usually have one or two actually-good movies amidst a sea of mediocrity. But I haven't heard of any of the production companies (no Shaw Bros. or Golden Harvest here), so I have a hard time narrowing it down. I know Drunken Tai Chi marks Yuen Woo-Ping's first collaboration with Donnie Yen, but I don't know a thing about the other films. Can anyone tell me any I should go out of my way to watch?

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