Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for 1967’s Massacre Gun(read our review). Jo Shishido (Branded to Kill) stars in this violent yakuza flick from Seijun Suzuki’s (Tokyo Drifer) former assistant, Yasuharu Hasebe (Assault! Jack the Ripper).
Kuroda (Shishido) is a mob hitman who turns on his employers after being forced to execute his lover. He joins forces with Eiji (Tatsuya Fuji from In the Realm of the Senses) and Saburo (Jiro Okazaki from Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter). Together, the trio escalate their mob retaliation to all-out turf war!
We all go to the casino with the intention of bringing home the big buck, but the sad truth is that most of us have never experienced the thrill of taking the jackpot. What does it take to be a winner and how do we up our game?
The answer may be found on the silver screen. Long have movies enjoyed taking us to the casino and long have we sat enthralled by images of high stakes games and mind-boggling wins. It may be fiction, but some of these movies contain valuable tips that shouldn’t be dismissed. Let’s take a look at some true Hollywood-style casino show-downs.
Rain Man
Rain Man taught us that card counting is a sure-fire way to win big at the blackjack table. Unfortunately, you have to have an incredible memory and lightening quick processing abilities, which means card counting is not for everyone. It’s also heavily frowned upon and if you get caught you’re likely to get thrown out on your ear. It’s not illegal though.
21
21 took card counting to the extreme and taught us that it’s better to work as a team than work alone. The difference between this film and Rain Man is that 21 is based on a real story. A group of MIT students won millions in Vegas using complicated card counting methods. They got busted in the end, but they proved that teamwork goes a long way.
Rounders
This film centres on Matt Damon’s character and his ability to bluff his way to the win. The game is Texas Hold’em and the stakes are sky-high. Watch this movie and learn a few tips on how to perfect your poker face and how to ride out your bluff to the bitter end. It takes guts to go for a win with a dud hand but if you can mask your emotions and control your tells, you could take home all the glory.
Casino Royale
No list of casino movie moments would be complete without the inclusion of the debonair and daring Mr Bond. Daniel Craig sits down to play Texas Hold’em in the 2006 version, but the original game was baccarat. Baccarat attracts high rollers and risk takers. What we learn from James Bond and his opponents is that unless you’re willing to go all in you shouldn’t be at the table. Learn how to stay cool under pressure and learn how to spot your opponent’s weakness.
Lucky You
Lucky You might be the least familiar name on this list, but it probably has the most important lesson to teach us. In this film, father and son face off against each other in the World Series of Poker. Huch Cheever has to put his bitter feelings aside in order to keep his cool and win the game.
The lesson here is that playing casino games requires a level head. If you’re angry, sad, tired or bitter, or if your senses are dulled by too much drink or lack of sleep, then it’s time to take a break. Step away and come back to fight another day – unless, of course, you can do some kind of Jedi mind trick and master your thoughts and emotions.
Do yourself a favour and have a casino-flavoured movie marathon! You could learn plenty of lessons from those intrepid gamblers that went all in, not least of which is when to walk away! There does seem to be one link that unites all of these movie moments – the bankroll. You need a pretty heft bankroll if you’re going to take on the big guns.
Your best bet is to start off making small bets on low limit tables until you build up the confidence and skill to go bigger. And if all else fails, hit the online Canadian lotteries – these guys will help you get started: https://casinopilot.ca/games/lottery – and pray for a win that will get you a seat at any casino table that takes your fancy.
Tony Jaa (Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy) is on board for Silent, an upcoming action film that sees the martial arts legend play a reclusive, mute Thai restaurant delivery man with a violent and tragic past who gets mixed up with a group of mercenaries and dirty cops.
According to an exclusive story from FCS, Mike Selby (Skin Trade, Paradox, Triple Threat) will produce for SC Films Thailand with Jeremy Bolt (Resident Evil franchise) for Impact Pictures; Impact is also credited with producing Jaa’s upcoming video game adaptation, Monster Hunter, with Milla Jovovich also starring. Starlight Media Group is fully financing.
We’ll update you on Silent as we learn more. Stay tuned.
Nikkatsu Diamond Guys: Vol 1 | Blu-ray (Arrow Video)
Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray collection for Nikkatsu Diamond Guys: Vol 1, which includes 1958’s Voice Without a Shadow, directed by Seijun Suzuki (Tokyo Drifter); 1958’s Red Pier, directed by (Tora! Tora! Tora!); and 1959’s The Rambling Guitarist, directed by Buichi Saito (Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril) – all in this 3-disc Blu-ray collection!
Read on for the full details:
Nikkatsu, the oldest film studio in Japan, inaugurated a star system in the late 1950s, finding talent and contracting to their Diamond Line for a series of wild genre pictures. This collection celebrates these “Diamond Guys” with three classic films from directors Seijun Suzuki (Branded to Kill), Toshio Masuda (Rusty Knife) and Buichi Saito (Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril).
An old hand at tough guy action roles, Hideaki Nitani (Massacre Gun) stars in Suzuki’s Voice Without a Shadow. Asako, a former telephone operator once heard the voice of a murder suspect which has continued to haunt her. Years later her husband invites his boss, Hamazaki, over for dinner and she realises his voice is suspiciously like that of the killer. Before she can investigate further, Hamazaki is found dead and her husband becomes the prime suspect…
Next, 50s subculture icon Yujiro Ishihara (Crazed Fruit) stars in Masuda’s Red Pier as “Jiro the Lefty”, a killer with a natural talent. Shortly after arriving in Kobe, he witnesses a man die in a crane accident which turns out to be a cover-up for a murder. Jiro soon finds himself on the run, tailed by a determined cop…
Finally, in Saito’s The Rambling Guitarist, mega star Akira Koabyashi (Battles Without Honour and Humanity) stars as wandering street musician Shinji, who falls in with mob boss Akitsu after saving one of his henchmen in a bar fight. Tasked by Akitsu with evicting an offshore fishery, Shinji finds himself in the middle of a very unusual domestic dispute…
Presented on Blu-ray and DVD for the first time in the West, these thrilling genre films feature Nikkatsu’s leading talent at their best.
In 2009’s Ninja, a westerner named Casey (Adkins), studying Ninjutsu in Japan, is asked by the Sensei to return to New York to protect the legendary Yoroi Bitsu, an armored chest that contains the weapons of the last Koga Ninja. In 2013’s Ninja: Shadow of a Tear, Casey is out for revenge when a loved one is murdered!
On July 2nd, 2019 Lionsgate is releasing John Herzfeld’s Escape Plan: The Extractors, on Digital 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital) and DVD.
From Emmy®-nominated writer-director John Herzfeld (1998, Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries or a Movie, Don King: Only in America) and co-writer Miles Chapman comes this epic third installment to Escape Plan.
Screen legend Sylvester Stallone kicks this explosive action tale into high gear. After security expert Ray Breslin (Stallone) is hired to rescue the kidnapped daughter of a Hong Kong tech mogul from a formidable Latvian prison, Breslin’s girlfriend (King) is also captured. Now he and his team must pull off a deadly rescue mission to confront their sadistic foe and save the hostages before time runs out.
The Escape Plan: The Extractors Digital 4K Ultra HD copy, Blu-ray, and DVD will include an audio commentary with director John Herzfeld, Sylvester Stallone, Devon Sawa, and Daniel Bernhardt as well as the featurette “The Making of Escape Plan: The Extractors,” which features never-before-seen cast and crew interviews that explain what it took to make this white-knuckle film.
The Escape Plan: The Extractors Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD will be available for the price of $24.99 and $19.98, respectively.
Director: Oliver Siu Kuen Chan Writer: Oliver Siu Kuen Chan Cast: Anthony Wong, Crisel Consunji, Sam Lee Chan-Sam, Cecilia Yip Tung, Wong Ting-Him Running Time: 115 min.
By Martin Sandison
One of the all-time greatest actors in Hong Kong movie history, Anthony Wong (The Untold Story), has appeared in so many of the classics in his time, in so many different genres, he’s unclassifiable. In recent times, Wong has shown outspoken support for the Umbrella movement in Hong Kong, and has taken a stance against the Mainland Chinese Government’s growing control of Hong Kong society. This has resulted in him being put on a blacklist for making films in China, and with the vast majority of Hong Kong movies being fully or partially funded by China, work has dried up for him. Enter the growing Independent film scene, and like Eric Tsang and Shawn Yue in Mad World (2016) three years ago, Wong waved his payment and worked to an incredibly tight schedule to make the low key drama Still Human last year. A revelatory performance, one that saw him win the Hong Kong film award for best actor, and beautifully sympathetic direction from first time director Oliver Chan, as well as great support from newcomer Crisel Consunji make the film a must-watch for fans of Wong and the vital new style of Hong Kong cinema.
Cheong-Wing Leung (Wong) is a middle-aged man who is paralysed from the waist down after a construction site accident. Enter his new carer, Evelyn (Consunji), a Filipino immigrant who really needs the job. At first, Cheong-Wing is indignant and makes Evelyn’s life a misery, but as time goes on the two create a bond full of empathy, respect and support for each other. As they learn about each others lives and loves, a complex portrait of humanity is painted.
Mad World is a film I connect with on a personal level, as some of the experiences the characters go through in the film I can relate to. However, the film is so heavy and, as one friend put it, overly earnest, it’s not one I could watch again and again. Still Human, on the other hand, is so light, humorous and engaging in a sweet, natural way that I want to revisit it very soon. What impresses me so much about the upcoming directors like Chan and Wong Chun (director of Mad World) is that both films feel in the tradition of Hong Kong film-making – there is an innate Hong Kong-ness about them, but they avoid the pitfalls of older dramatic cues which put off many international viewers; namely saccharine, schmaltzy, cheesy aspects. Still Human has elements of the Hong Kong dramatic tradition in its style and approach, Chan said the classic Comrades: Almost a Love Story (1996) was an influence, but rises above them and has a playful feel in its performances and aesthetic that takes a left turn.
To say this is one of the best performances I’ve ever seen from Anthony Wong is not hyperbole; the awards and kudos he has received from all areas attest to this opinion. A world away from the excesses of Category 3 gems like Ebola Syndrome (1996) and cool gangster chic of films such as Exiled (2006), it’s one full of nuance, humour and humanity. Cheong-Wing seems a broken man in the opening scenes of the film, but regains his spirit as he sees the vitality and compassion of Evelyn. Consunji conveys this with great heart, and it’s no small feat that she manages to be a worthwhile screen partner for Wong, and also gives a voice to Filipino immigrants who live in Hong Kong.
The character arc of Cheong-Wing is one that lends itself to depth, and with a talent like Wong this is portrayed in quite beautifully. His rediscovery of life and companionship is communicated in a subtle and underlyingly powerful way, one that does not seem forced or pretentious, but real. When Evelyn lies to Cheong-Wing about selling a camera to provide for her family, he is understandably angry; but the empathetic side of him and the development of this as the film goes on means he cannot stay this way.
With the size of talent Chan managed to secure in Wong, this led to supporting parts by some other Hong Kong icons. Sam Lee (Wild City) plays Cheong-Wing’s old friend, and it’s great to see them together again onscreen, with my frame of reference being the brilliant Beast Cops. He plays up the amusing side of the film, like in one scene when the two have a porn marathon once Evelyn has left one day. Cecilia Yip (To Be Number One) also turns up. Onboard as producer is Fruit Chan (The Midnight After), whose career has had a resurgence of late with the upcoming Invincible Dragon and a film that has to be seen to be believed, the sexually extreme but comedic Three Husbands (2018).
There are some problems with the film’s presentation; sure you can give leeway for an ultra-low budget and tight production schedule, but there is a lacklustre visual sense at times. For my money, Mad World had a better style married with its substance. Scenes with other actors featured also fall a little flat, especially with the other Filipino characters that Evelyn befriends, despite adding to the dimensions of her character as an immigrant.
Still Human is a film that resonates hope; something in these critically uncertain times we all need. The new low key dramatic approach, with other movies such as the worthy recent offering The Crossing (2014) bolstering the genre, gives me hope for the future of Hong Kong film making. While we may bemoan the move away from what was once the vital action genre, with movies like these coming from new voices, it’s not all so bad.
After several years spent working almost exclusively in the direct-to-video world of “V-cinema” in Japan, Takashi Miike announced himself as a world-class filmmaking talent with this trio of thematically-connected, character-centric crime stories about violence, the underworld of Japanese society, families both real and surrogate, and the possibly hopeless task of finding one’s place in the world. His first films made specifically for theatrical release, and his first for a major studio, the Black Society Trilogy was the beginning of Miike’s mature career as a filmmaker and they remain among the prolific director’s finest works.
Set in the bustling Kabuki-cho nightlife neighborhood of Tokyo, Shinjuku Triad Society follows a mixed-race cop (Kippei Shiina, Outrage) struggling with private issues while hunting a psychotic criminal (Tomorowo Taguchi, Tetsuo the Iron Man) who traffics in children’s organs. Rainy Dog, shot entirely in Taiwan, is about an exiled yakuza (Dead or Alive’s Show Aikawa) who finds himself saddled with a son he never knew he had and a price on his head after the Chinese gang he works for decides to turn on him. Ley Lines moves from the countryside to the city and back, as three Japanese youths of Chinese descent (including The Raid 2’s Kazuki Kitamura) seek their fortune in Tokyo, only to run afoul of a violent gang boss (Naoto Takenaka, The Happiness of the Katakuris).
Three of the most dramatically moving films created by the director, the Black Society Trilogy offers clear proof that Miike’s frequent pigeonholing as a specialist in bloody spectacle is only one aspect of his filmmaking career, and taken as a whole, the films are among the finest works ever to deal with the way violence and brutality can unexpectedly destroy even the most innocent of lives.
The fictional character of Chen Zhen – previously made famous by Bruce Lee in Fist of Fury (1972), Jet Li in Fist of Legend (1994) and Donnie Yen in both a 90’s Hong Kong TV show and in Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen (2010), is once again proving that Chinese are not “the sick men of Asia.”
Directed by Scott Ma Zhongxuan (who served as one of the action directors in 2000’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Chen Zhen Legend (or Legend Chen Zhen) stars Li Hao, Cai Xinru, Bell Jin, Waise Lee (A Bullet in the Head) and Huang Ziyao.
According to press releases, Chen Zhen Legend does not rely on cool special effects and flowers and fists, does not use substitutes, and focuses on the charm of traditional Chinese kung fu, in order to achieve a higher visual enjoyment for the audience (via CZX).
Chen Zhen Legend will premier on Youku’s online streaming service on June 14th. Don’t miss the film’s Trailer below:
On July 23, 2019, Film Movement is releasing the Blu-ray & DVD for King Hu’s classic The Fate of Lee Khan (1973). For the first time ever, the film is being presented in a Brand New 2K restoration.
Read the official details below:
Synopsis: In his follow-up to the critically acclaimed A Touch of Zen, trailblazing filmmaker King Hu brings together an all-star female cast, including Hong Kong cinema stalwart Li Li-hua (The Grand Substitution) and Angela “Lady Kung Fu” Mao (The Association), in this lively martial arts adventure.
When Lee Khan, a powerful general of the oppressive Yuan Dynasty, procures the battle map of the Chinese rebel army, resistance fighters, aided by an undercover girl-gang, strive to corner him at an inn. Featuring stunning action sequences choreographed by Jackie Chan’s “Kung Fu elder brother” Sammo Hung and a generous mix of intrigue and humor, The Fate of Lee Khan is a legendary wuxia masterpiece.
On July 30th, 2019, Well Go USA will be releasing the Blu-ray & DVD for The Island, a film that marks the directorial debut of Huang Bo (Mojin: The Lost Legend), who also stars, alongside Shu Qi (The Assassin).
In The Island, a cataclysmic event during a team-building trip, leaves a man shipwrecked on an island with an odd group of coworkers… and a winning lottery ticket in his pocket.
Rounding up the rest of the cast are Wang Baoqiang (Kung Fu Jungle), Zhang Yixing (Kung Fu Yoga), Yu Hewei (Mr. Six), Wang Xun (Lost in Hong Kong) and Li Qinqin (The Bodyguard).
Outlaw Gangster VIP Collection | Blu-ray (Arrow Video)
Today’s Deal on Fire is for Arrow Video’s Blu-ray for the Outlaw Gangster VIP Collection.
In 1968, acclaimed director Toshio Masuda (Rusty Knife, Tora! Tora! Tora!) and rising star Tetsuya Watari (Tokyo Drifter) teamed up for Outlaw: Gangster VIP, a gritty yakuza yarn based on the writings of real life ex-gangster Goro Fujita
The series offers up a depiction of the Japanese underworld that was unprecedented in its realism and its sympathetic portrayal of its protagonist as a man haunted by his past, unable to escape a life of crime. The success of the initial instalment spawned five sequels, continuing the story of the lone wolf “Slasher” Goro and his quest for redemption
The films presented a new kind of realism and violence that would prefigure Kinji Fukasaku’s Battles Without Honor and Humanity series, with their winning combination of brutal violence, gang warfare and sweeping romance, these films make for a unique and unforgettable viewing experience
The set includes six films in the Outlaw series released for the first time in the west: Gangster VIP (our review), Gangster VIP 2 (our review), Heartless (our review), Goro the Assassin (our review), Black Dagger (our review), and Kill! (our review).
In the world of cinema the word ‘epic’ gets thrown around a lot these days, with what often feels like little time spent on justifying if the movie in question is truly deserving of the description. However one movie that definitely warrants the term, is director Jia Zhang-Ke’s latest Ash is Purest White. Although on paper it may be described as a sprawling gangster epic, onscreen it’s a very different beast. A more appropriate description would be a sprawling epic of one woman’s journey to redefine herself, set against the world of jianghu (the Chinese title directly translates to ‘Sons and Daughters of Jianghu’).
After experimenting with the omnibus format for 2013’s A Touch of Sin and 2015’s Mountains May Depart, Ash is Purest White marks a return for Zhang-Ke to the more linear narrative format. A French and Chinese co-production, Zhang-Ke casts his wife and frequent collaborator Zhao Tao as a boisterous owner of a small mah-jong parlour, one who’s taken a liking to a local gangster played by Liao Fan. A talented actress, Tao rarely acts outside of productions not helmed by her husband, but never has she been as front and center as she is here. While it’s the first time for Fan to work with the director, after his award winning turn in Black Coal, Thin Ice, to see him work with Zhang-Ke is an exciting prospect.
In a story spanning from 2001 to 2018, Ash is Purest White feels like a movie of 2 halves. During the first half Tao feels very much like the gangsters moll. When we see Fan watching Chow Yun Fat stocking up on armaments in Tragic Hero, Tao tells him he’s been watching too many gangster movies, and indeed the influence of the Hong Kong Triad genre seems to act as an unspoken rulebook to Fan’s more grounded endeavours. Moments of tension appear from minor, almost inconsequential events, such as when Fan’s dancing gets a little too energetic in a disco, and the gun he has tucked in the back of his pants falls to the floor. Tao stares at him silently, and for a few moments we’re not sure what’s going to happen next, before the tension lifts and they carry on dancing together.
It’s when the pair visit a local volcano that the worlds they perceive themselves to live in are defined – Fan describes the jianghu world they live in as a dangerous one, but Tao insists she’s not a part of it. Fan hands her his gun to study, before taking her arm and guiding her to fire off a round, after which he states “you are now.” This single act leads to wider consequences when the car they’re being escorted in finds itself being surrounded by a motorbike gang from a rival faction. After both the driver and Fan attempt to fight them off, it becomes clear they’re outnumbered, and they begin to get heavily beaten. Unable to watch her boyfriend being pummelled to a pulp anymore, Tao gets out of the car armed with the gun, and fires off two warning shots. The gang disperse, and she’s sent to prison for 5 years for owning an illegal firearm and discharging it in public.
When she gets out in 2006, she expects Fan to be waiting for her, but instead, he’s nowhere to be found. Life has moved on, and so has he, but Tao wants to hear it come directly from him that they’re no longer together. So begins an almost road trip like odyssey through the vastly changing landscapes of a rapidly developing China, as she endeavours to track Fan down, and in doing so find the closure that she thinks she needs. Track him down she does, and they continue to float in and out of each other’s lives over the course of the next 12 years, with each time they meet the boundaries of the jianghu world redefining the dynamics of their relationship.
There’s no mistaking that Ash is Purest White is not a movie for everyone. It has a deliberate pace which will either immerse the viewer, or leave them feeling alienated, but for those willing to drift through the 17 years the story encompasses, it’s a rewarding experience. In many ways Zhang-Ke’s latest shares DNA with the socially conscious dramas that came out of Korea in the 1970’s, as the same rapid urban development that took place then is reflected in what China is going through now, and the displaced souls that go with it. During a cruise along the Three Gorges which passes the city of Fengjie, the announcer explains how the building of a dam will mean that in a few years everything will be underwater, its residents relocated. In another scene the camera pans over rows and rows of identical tower blocks, intentionally providing a stark contrast to the rustic streets we see at the beginning, and reflective of the upheaval in both Tao and Fan.
It’s on the cruise where Tao gets swindled out of her money, and suddenly finds herself having to rely on only her wits to get by. Although she never considered herself a part of the jianghu world, she soon finds herself a part of it through necessity, as her determination to survive sees her enact a series of smartly staged scams just to get through the night. In one of the earlier scenes, Fan explains a misdemeanour to Tao by falling back on how it’s a jianghu thing, so she wouldn’t understand. By the time it’s 2018, a wheelchair bound Fan is being wheeled around a vast sports stadium, still in the middle of being built, his carer a black leather adorned Tao (looking like the sister of Lee Young-ae in Sympathy for Lady Vengeance). The balance of power has changed, and now Tao finds herself using the same line on Fan, an indicator of how far their worlds have grown apart.
In the hands of French DP Eric Gautier Ash is Purest White employs a variety of visual looks, including experimenting with the aspect ratio. When proceedings open they’re shot in 1:85, before later on shifting to the more traditional widescreen ratio that we’re accustomed to. It’s a bold move, and plays well to incite the passing of time. By the time events return back to the mah-jong parlour in Shanxi, director Zhang-Ke’s hometown, the full weight of the 17 years is felt through the smallest of changes. Where once insignificant moments passed with no furore, now everyone has a smartphone in their hand, and Fan’s return to his old stomping ground is recorded by those that used to know him. The old world of the jianghu has changed, with all the drinking and hustling that it once entailed taking its toll on those that were in it.
Like the characters onscreen, Zhang-Ke also appears to hold a degree of affection for the Hong Kong triad flicks that populated the screens during their formative years. In addition to the clip from Tragic Hero, Sally Yeh’s song Xiao Sa Zou Yi Hui from The Killer both opens the movie and drifts in and out of the 135 minute runtime, as nostalgic for some of us as it is for the characters we hear the song playing over. It could be argued that Fan’s state ultimately reflects a more realistic outcome for someone like Mark Gor, with the alcohol fuelled brotherhood portrayed in the earlier scenes nowhere to be seen once times get tough. Fan was a big fish in a small pond, but when that pond got dredged to make way for the latest redevelopment, there was no last hurrah for glory in a hail of bullets and explosions, just a lost soul looking for former glories that were no longer there to be found.
Special mention should also go to Zhang-Ke’s frequent composer Giong Lim (The Assassin, Long Day’s Journey Into Night), whose score incorporates both traditional Chinese instruments, through to the throbbing synthesizers that linger on during the later scenes. Music may be used sparingly, but when it’s there it enhances every scene it’s in, reflecting an understanding that’s been developed through their many collaborations together.
For newcomers to Zhang-Ke’s work, Ash is Purest White would be a good starting point. It’s easily his most reflective work to date, and as his muse Tao offers up an amazing performance that anchors the whole movie. She’s rarely off the screen, and not once do you tire of her being on it. Spanning the human spectrum of emotions from the carefree and adventurous, to being bound by a sense of duty and honor, the way her and Fan’s lives cross each other at various points makes for an engaging journey for those that attune to it. Like The Master and Shadow, the reined in emotions and deliberate pacing will be off-putting for some, but for everyone else Ash is Purest White deserves a chance to be seen. Providing a powerful insight into both what it means to reinvent yourself, as well as knowing when to let someone go, it’s a poignant and sometimes gruelling journey, but one that’s undeniably worth taking.
On July 30th, 2019, Well Go USA will release the Blu-ray for The Swindlers (read our review), a crime-caper from first-time director Jang Chang-won.
The Swindlers involves a con artist who goes head to head with a corrupt prosecutor. It’s a game of revenge, fraud and elimination from both sides of the field.
“Young Lovers on Flying Wheels” Chinese Theatrical Poster
AKA: The Motorcycle Director: Ti Lung Cast: Ti Lung, Ching Hoh Wai, Got Dik Wa, Dean Shek Tien, Lee Man Tai, Lam Fai Wong, Gam Gwan, Lee Hoi San, Chiang Nan, Lo Wai, Wu Ma, John Woo Running Time: 99 min.
By Matthew Le-feuvre
Although, in part, influenced by the ‘biker’ B-flicks of 60’s Americana. This interesting ‘variation on the theme’ was a radical departure for matinee idol, Ti Lung; whose ‘then’ career had been proliferous under Chang Cheh’s mighty guardianship before moving on to collaborate with the analogous likes of Sun Chung, Lo Chen and Tang Chia. Here, this inclusion to Lung’s (already) hulking filmography – bar exception his anaemic cameo in The Generation Gap (1973) as well as the erstwhile, long overlooked Dead End (1969), was more or less engineered to be an urban commentary on 70’s materialism; in this case, a Suzuki motorcycle and the accompanying social status that comes with owning one.
In a change from the habitual slew of wuxia theatre or the empty hand dynamics of The Savage Five or They Call Him Mr. Shatter (both, also 1974), Lung dutifully and creatively appropriates duel responsibilities of leading man/director for what tentatively appears to be an endearing essay about the fundemental standards of ‘life decisions’ and the ‘maturity’ to effectuate the importance of emotional growth over conceited ambition or needless ‘materialistic’ philosophies: being the “best” or possessing the “best” does not necessarily conjure limitless happiness or contentment. In fact, it can also (un)intentionally draw its opposites – society being superfluous with ‘hungry wolves’, ever prowling for opportunity, hoping too inherit the slightest fraction of the top dog’s mantle.
While this is a minor aspect of I Keung’s bulky, if not frenetic screenplay, Lung is certainly assiduous in tackling these contemporary issues and situational ingredients which; for the sake of external padding, emerge in frequency to the point of ridiculousness, I.e, Loan sharks who (instead of regular re-payments) want to peddle Lung’s rare blood type to two inept thieves played with moronic abandon by stalwarts: Li Hoi San and the over gesticulative Dean Shek, toppled by the contrived inclusion of a potential father-in-law who abhors bikes of any description, involuntarily morphes into a dramatic impediment rather than anchoring audiences into states of empathy,
Lest do we ignore that these mushrooming subplots and emotionally bloated diversions actually smokescreens the essential crux about an office clerk’s singular passion (or obsession?!) for motorcycles. Yet, from a psychological perspective, this hehaviour would be a typical catagorization for a neo-freudian where the bike itself becomes a symbolic extension of the character’s (Song Da/Lung) manhood; whilst in concurrent terms his zealous need for ownership via unorthodox means (entering a kung fu tournament) subtly represents/conceals an inability to interact with society and relationships in general, particularly from the picture’s opening shots of Song Da/Lung rejecting his girlfriend’s amourous advances to ensueing sequences where he’s virtually hypnotized outside a dealership showroom.
As per usual, Lung is worthy of acclamation, combining social naivety with forceful resolve for a performance, which, although supported by a consistent flux of balletic altercations – courtesy of Liu Chia Liang/Lau Kar Wing’s toned-down action arrangements, undividedly showcases a very complex, not necessarily ‘heroic’ character who is basically a ‘victim of circumstance’ despite being (A): one-dimensional in his thinking, (B): competitive the next to (C); a complete egotist governed by his own maxims until external factors truly challenge him both in combat and reponsively. Thus birthing an optimistic conclusion.
In a profound way, one could assert that the characteristic nuances of Song Da/Lung are to some extent almost a physical epitomization of the late Robert South’s philosophical/psychological observance on “possessions”:
“In all worldly things that man pursues with the greatest eagerness and intention of mind, he finds not half the pleasure in the actual possession of them as he proposed to himself in expectation”.
Verdict: By no means a memorable or essential Shaw Brothers classic. Still, regardless of “too many situations” that tends to ricochet from urbanized drama to replicative incongruity, when viewed today, Ti Lung’s proficient direction and usage of familiar locations/stock players; contrarily, adds a touch of nostalgic charm as well as a sense of irony to an otherwise pretentious excursion into mediocrity.
Watch out for an extremely youthful John Woo in an unflattering cameo, sobbing at a police reclamation vehicle depot. Needless too say, twelve years later, woo would rescue Lung’s declining career by casting him as one of the triumvirate leads for his pioneering gangster epic: A Better Tomorrow (1986).
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