Stranger from Shaolin | aka Fist of Flying Tiger (1977) Review

"Stranger from Shaolin" Chinese Theatrical Poster

“Stranger from Shaolin” Chinese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Wing Chun Warriors
Director: Tony Liu Jun Guk
Cast: Cecilia Wong Hang Sau, Sun Jung Chi, Thompson Kao Kang, Bruce Lai (Chang Il-do), Tony Liu Jun Guk, Chan Lau, Lee Ye Min, Wong Kwok Leung, Bruce Cheung Mong, Baak Wong Gei, Kwon Il-Soo, Baek Hwang-Ki
Running Time: 94 min.

By Matija Makotoichi Tomic

The name Tony Liu Jun Guk should be well known and celebrated among the fans of kung fu movies. His 1974 directorial debut The Black Dragon introduced Ron Van Clief as the new afro-american martial arts movie star, spawning two sequels in the same blacksploitation/martial arts movie manner. Hell’s Windstaff (1979), also known under the far less cool title The Dragon and the Tiger Kids, is without any doubt one of the best independently produced kung fu films ever made, and Tiger Over Wall (1980) should easily find its place in any serious collection. Tony Liu Jun Guk’s work was recognized and that same year he became a member of the Shaw Brothers family. I believe I don’t have to name all the classics he directed while working for the Bros., starting with the fantastic fu piece The Master (1980). Somewhere between his Black Dragon films and his best known independent hits, Tony Liu Jun Gukdirected this little kung fu classic.

During the Qing dynasty, Manchus are trying to clean the south of China, especially Kwangtung and Fujian where most of the rebels are located. They bring in kung fu experts and order them to eliminate kung fu schools. Rebels are hiding in temples and learning kung fu in hope they’d be able to restore the Ming dynasty one day. While the evil lord Kang is gathering troops for his attack, Yim Wing Chun trains hard so she could revenge the death of her family, but also help defending the Shaolin.

Shaw Brothers script master Ni Kuang wrote the screenplay and Tony Liu Jun Guk (credited as Tommy Loo Chung) turned it into a movie with the help of Chun Jo-Myuong who worked on the movie as cinematographer. Sources say this was the only time he was taking up the role of a director, though his name can’t be seen in the opening credits. As we all know, kung fu movies were often inspired by actual historical events and characters, but the authors never cared much about the facts. Those so-called “facts” are actually legends and oral history so there’s usually more than one version to every story. It seems that Ni Kuang followed that same recipe of enriching real stories with fiction since there’s no mention of Yim Wing Chun training in Shaolin Temple for any reason, least of all revenge.

Also, Shaolin don’t take female students, but Ni Kuang made that possible by making her character dress up as a man. He even went so far as to credit Yim Wing Chun as the founder of the style, though it was only named after her. The oral history of the Ip Man branch which is the closest to the film’s story says it was buddhist nun Ng Mui who founded the style by combining what she learned by observing the snake and crane fight with shaolin kung fu. She later passed on the knowledge to Yim Wing Chun, who learned kung fu to fight the local warlord who forced her into marriage. There is a buddhist nun in the movie and she takes Wing Chun as her student. Altough her name is not revealed, it is only possible that it’s Ng Mui. In the movie, Yim Wing Chun trains with the legendary Fong Sai-Yuk and Hung Hsi-Kuan, another shaolin hero seen in many kung fu films. The famous monk San Tak (San Te) is their teacher.

Yim Wing Chun: Teacher San, if you don’t let me enroll in the temple, then as soon as I leave here, I intend to jump off a cliff!

San Tak: Go on! You’ll find a cliff two miles away. It’s very high so use it then and solve all your problems.

Of course, Wong Kwok-Leung cannot match the masterful performance of Master Killer, but he fits the role well. After demonstrating forms on pole with twigs, San Tak says how that pole will become famous in years to come and how all students will want to learn it. He’s talking about the wooden dummy of course. Again, it was Ng Mui who’s said to have created the wooden dummy as we know it by combining the 108 dummies (one for every move) into one. Ni Kuang added a samurai sent by the Japs to serve under the Qing court, and a taoist priest who’s gathering kung fu experts to help fight the Shaolin. This indicates Wudang was included in the attack on Shaolin. There is a story saying Wudang disciples sided with the Qings in attempt to locate and eliminate San Te, but other than that, this is the first time I’ve heard the rivalry between the two schools went this deep.

Tony Liu Jun Guk plays a minor role here as Mr. Ho, keeper of the abandoned Buddhist Temple whose family has been killed by the Qings. Taking on a role in his own films, even if just a cameo, will in a way become almost a trademark for this director, peaking with his role in The Lady Assassin (1983) as the cold blooded japanese fighter wearing red lipstick. Unfortunately, Mr. Ho’s snake fist was not good enough to challenge the evil Kang, white haired villain with the lethal Manchu queue. He is of course, eagle claw master who attained higher level of skill by drinking children’s blood thus revitalizing his whole physique. Kang also mastered the golden bell shield which makes him immune to any weapon attack. In the role of lord Kang is Thompson Kao Kong, and his performance is on the level. Chan Lau is the taoist priest, and Cecilia Wong is brilliant as Yim Wing Chun.

By combining the Ming – Qing conflict with the inevitable revenge plot, Ni Kuang opens much space for action. That’s where Yen Shi-Kwan and Leung Ting come in. Action is not great, faster and better performed choreography can be seen in some of the 1976. kung fu films, but it’s pretty solid. Most of the fights were shot wide and often in long takes. Leung Tin was a real life wing chun master, so what we’re getting here are authentic wing chun forms showcased by Cecilia Wong through three elaborate training sequences. She learns the basics by training in the well at Shaolin Temple and then later on trains on a wooden dummy, practices with butterfly swords and works hard on her one inch punches. Finally, there’s another display of wing chun forms and training with rattan rings. Yim Wing Chun uses what she learned  in the final fight which, for some unknown reason, changes locations and seasons. The sandy coast of the river gets suddenly covered with snow, and then later on replaced by a valley surrounded with rocks.

Stranger from Shaolin can’t compete in the same league as the genre’s finest. It looks and is cheap, but far from being without it’s qualities. What makes it interesting and even important in a way is the fact that it is, as far as I know, the very first kung fu movie that portrayed wing chun! It will take another year for Sammo to direct the first of his two classics regarded today as some of the finest examples of wing chun style on film. Though Stranger from Shaolin isn’t that great, it deserves to be kept alive.

Matija Makotoichi Tomic’s Rating: 7/10

Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews | Tagged , , |

Tokyo Mighty Guy (1960) Review

"Tokyo Mighty Guy" Japanese Theatrical Poster

“Tokyo Mighty Guy” Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Buichi Saito
Cast: Akira Kobayashi, Ruriko Asaoka, Sanae Nakahara, Arihiro Fujimura, Hiroshi Kondo, Shoichi Ozawa, Toranosuke Ogawa, Shin Morikawa, Hisao Toake, Masao Mishima, Kyosuke Aihara, Yoko Kosono, Fudeko Tanaka
Running Time: 79 min.

By Kelly Warner

I don’t know about you, but when I think about Nikkatsu, I immediately think of their action movies (if your first thought is of Nikkatsu’s Roman Pornos, then you and I have very different tastes in movies, my pervy friend). Nikkatsu had a lineup of their top stars which they referred to as their ‘Diamond Guys,’ and if I were to try to name some of the films the Diamond Guys starred in, chances are they’d be some of the studio’s best action movies. Naturally, the action films only tell part of the story about what Nikkatsu and their Diamond Guys were up to during the “Golden Age” of Japanese cinema, and this is immediately evident when you put Arrow Video’s Nikkatsu Diamond Guys Vol. 2 Blu-ray into your player. Whereas Vol. 1 was a collection of three crime stories (highlighted by Seijun Suzuki’s Voice Without a Shadow), Vol. 2 instantly sets a much lighter tone. In this collection of three films (Tokyo Mighty Guy, Danger Pays, Murder Unincorporated), we get to see Nikkatsu’s tough guys in some of their earlier, more comedic roles.

Tokyo Mighty Guy announces its offbeat personality right off the bat with a colorful credit sequence. During the sequence, star Akira Kobayashi (Retaliation) sings while walking a hand-made Parisian set that’s been built out of cardboard. It’s purposefully cartoonish, looking like the set of a kid’s show, and sets the tone for what’s soon to come. The lyrics of Kobayashi’s song also act as an intro to the character: he just got back from Paris, he’s lacking in manners, but he’s basically good natured.

Akira Kobayashi plays Jiro Shimizu, a role that he would return to in future sequels. The “Mighty Guy” persona fit Kobayashi well, and the nickname followed the star for a while. As Jiro, Kobayashi got into comic mischief, beat up bad guys, romanced pretty ladies, and sang songs whenever the urge hit him (which is to say, pretty often). It’s a very similar role to the one he played in The Rambling Guitarist, made the previous year. I compared The Rambling Guitarist to an Elvis Presley picture and the same probably fits Tokyo Mighty Guy as well. In addition to making a mainstream movie, the studio also gave their star a chance to show off his singing abilities, which of course resulted in record sales and crossover appeal to music fans.

Fresh off the boat from Paris, Jiro is present when Japan’s former Prime Minister (Toranosuke Ogawa) drives his car through the shop that Jiro’s family owns. The Prime Minister is a bully who refuses to apologize for anything, but Jiro’s not impressed by the old man’s high-class status and demands reparations. Impressed by Jiro’s spirit, the two become unlikely friends, and the ex-Prime Minister helps rebuild the family shop as a fancy French restaurant after learning of Jiro’s expertise in all things French. (Jiro doesn’t seem like much of an expert to me and he can barely speak French, but whatever.)

Jiro also deals with yakuza grudges, scheming businessmen, and the romantic entanglements of his friends. There is a lot crammed into Tokyo Mighty Guy’s 79 minute running time. Just the same, it’s not a film that’s driven by story. Tokyo Mighty Guy is a series of amusing scenes, some of them playing like skits in a variety show, tackling various plot points before everything comes crashing together in a finale featuring one of the most awkward wedding ceremonies ever.

I can’t say I laughed much while watching Tokyo Mighty Guy but it is rather amusing in its old-fashioned way. Akira Kobayashi and romantic lead Ruriko Asaoka (Incident at Blood Pass) are incredibly charming actors. Supporting actress Sanae Nakahara (The Rambling Guitarist) provides the movie with some of its quirkiest moments and character actor Toranosuke Ogawa (The Hidden Fortress) plays one of his career best roles as the grumpy former Prime Minister.

Tokyo Mighty Guy is innocent escapism. I enjoyed it without ever feeling any love for it. That being said, as a fan of classic Japanese cinema, I liked getting the chance to see something that had been unavailable in the West until now. The key talent involved with the film would go onto make better movies later in their careers. But as far as mainstream popcorn flicks go, this ain’t bad.

Kelly Warner’s Rating: 6/10

About this release: Tokyo Mighty Guy is the first film on the Arrow Video Nikkatsu Diamond Guys Vol. 2 DVD/Blu-ray release. The other films are Danger Pays and Murder Unincorporated, both starring Jo Shishido (Branded to Kill). Special features include trailers for the three films, photo galleries, and Jasper Sharp shares some background on both Kobayashi and Shishido. I enjoyed Sharp’s brief talk about Akira Kobayashi, one of the Diamond Guys I know less about. He refers to Kobayashi as the Diamond Guy’s Dean Martin, which fits. Also included in the release is a booklet featuring new writing by Stuart Galbraith IV, Tom Mes, and Mark Schilling. Tokyo Mighty Guy looks pretty good on Blu-ray. It shares the same Blu-ray disc with the two other films. Though the picture occasionally looks a bit soft, overall it’s a nice looking release for a classic foreign film. And just so you know, this release is supposed to be region-free and is limited to 3,000 copies.

Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews | Tagged |

The spirit of Bruce Lee is alive and well in ‘Double Dragon’

"Double Dragon" Chinese Theatrical Poster

"Double Dragon" Chinese Theatrical Poster

It’s been 43 years since the passing of Bruce Lee, yet the spirit of the martial arts icon is more powerful than ever. In addition to George Nolfi’s upcoming Bruce Lee biopic, Birth of the Dragon, a film titled Double Dragon – no relation to the popular arcade game of the same name – is finding its way to Chinese theaters this year.

Not much is known of the film, but judging from its trailer, the movie has Bruce Lee’s persona all over it. One of the guys even wears the famous yellow tracksuit made famous by Bruce in Game of Death.

Double Dragon is reminiscent of the popular Bruceploitation subgenre made famous by Dragon Lee, Bruce Li and Bruce Le in the 70s and 80s. If this is your kind of thing, don’t miss its trailer!

Posted in News |

El Gringo (2012) Review

"El Gringo" Japanese DVD Cover

“El Gringo” Japanese DVD Cover

AKA: Bad Yankee
Director: Eduardo Rodriguez
Writer: Jonathan W. Stokes
Cast: Scott Adkins, Yvette Yates, Christian Slater, Israel Islas, Erando Gonzalez, Sofia Sisniega
Running Time: 102 min.

By Zack Nix

British martial arts action star Scott Adkins is the saving grace of modern direct to video and low budget action. After breaking out onto the scene with Isaac Florentine’s Special Forces, which finally gave him the screen time necessary to showcase his skills, Adkins has gone on to star in numerous action films, either in a leading role (Ninja, Close Range) or in a show stealing supporting role (The Expendables 2, Undisputed II). Although all of his films range in quality, his martial arts abilities and die hard dedication to his craft makes all of them worth checking out if only to see Adkins kick an enemy to the ground or to see him shoot his way through cannon fodder. In an effort to work my way through every single one of his films, I finally checked out El Gringo, one of four films released in 2012 featuring Adkins, arguably his highest profile year. Produced by After Dark Action, known for low to modest budgeted genre pictures ranging from John Hyams’ Dragon Eyes to the Ethan Hawke fronted Getaway, the film is nothing more than a blip on Adkin’s busy resume. There’s some very solid action on display, but nary a compliment beyond that.

El Gringo, like other unfortunate DTV films, has a fairly simplistic plot on its surface, and yet, its director and screenwriter make every effort to overcomplicate it beyond belief. Adkins plays a nameless man who is clearly an homage to Clint Eastwood’s character from Sergo Leone’s The Man With No Name Trilogy. When “The Man” survives an ambush and makes off with a bag of money to El Fronteras, Mexico, he quickly finds himself at odds with the townspeople. No one will sell him a glass of water or tell him when the next bus out of town will depart. If that wasn’t bad enough, his bag of money attracts the eyes of the town’s corrupt sheriff and local gang. His former DEA boss, Lieutenant West (Christian Slater), is also hot on his tail. Unfortunately, none of these plot threads ever come together to form something worthwhile, thereby resulting in an extremely frustrating film that is far from satisfying to watch.

It’s clear from simply looking at the film’s DVD case, trailer, or title that El Gringo is very similar to Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi Trilogy, specifically Desperado. From the electric guitar music, to its Mexican setting, to the plentiful cowboy hats, and even its Neo-Western visuals, El Gringo is a wannabe Rodriguez film, which is ironic given that the director’s name is Eduardo Rodriguez. Even the film’s style is similar to Robert Rodriguez’s work, with its high octane action sequences, fast paced editing, extreme close ups, and gun fu-centric choreography. The similarities are so apparent that it almost hurts. There’s a fine line between homage and rip-off, and El Gringo dangerously dances on that line to the point where originality is almost nowhere in sight. It also doesn’t help the film’s originality quota in that it was released on VOD a few months apart from Mel Gibson’s under seen Get the Gringo, another Mexican border town action film about a down on his luck protagonist. I rest my case.

El Gringo is also guilty of one of the most heinous action movie pet peeves: on screen text that states characters’ names. This is the most obvious flaw of the picture, as it proves that the filmmakers don’t know how to organically introduce their characters beyond a lazy title card. It also doesn’t help that they take the time to give throwaway characters their own title cards and even include instances where one character will state another characters’ name directly after the on screen text. The only instance in which any on screen text is remotely clever is when Adkins walks away from an exploding car as the film’s title, El Gringo, appears next to him, thereby stating his name and relaying the title in one swift move. Otherwise, on screen text conveying character names is one of the worst offenses of DTV cinema, a kiss of death as I always like to refer too it.

I also cannot tell if Rodriguez and screenwriter Jonathan Stokes were actively trying to create a film where their protagonist is constantly annoyed whilst also annoying the viewer at the exact same time, because I cannot confirm if the obstacles that “The Man” confronts throughout the picture are supposed to undermine him as a character. I also have no clue if many of said obstacles are supposed to be dramatic, tense, or comedic, because Rodriguez seems to aim for every tone at all times. All “The Man” wants is to catch the town bus by 2 P.M. in order to leave El Fronteras. However, this simple goal becomes so impossible, that it makes one wonder why “The Man” doesn’t bother to steal a car or ride a bike out of town if the bus is apparently so hard to catch. The poor guy’s money is also constantly being stolen from him throughout the picture too, which is yet another annoyance on top of everything else, including the painfully unfunny scenes where towns folk deny him water.

The best way to describe this movie is if it were an annoying kid sitting behind you at a baseball game as they keep flicking food at the back of your head or kicking your seat. The annoyance may be mild, but the overwhelming consistency is what will ultimately drive you insane whilst watching the film. Never have I ever felt an equal level of annoyance with a character’s plight while watching a movie. But not in a good way to where I want to root for them, but in a bad way that makes their character look uneven and watching the film a chore.

If bad storytelling and unlikable characters wasn’t bad enough, than how about some horrendous editing as well? The technical merits of this film are quite frustrating, as they range from the work of an amateur who has no clue what they are doing to the work of an expert with a graceful eye for continuity and action filmmaking. For example, all of the camera work and fight choreography is top notch, from beginning to end. However, all of the fights in the first half of the film, which mostly come from a repeating flashback, are plagued by some terrible editing choices comprising of unnecessary filters, quick cuts to black, and distorting noises. I don’t know what was going on in the editing room with this film, as these editing choices ruin the natural flow of what could have been solid fights. Superior DTV filmmaker and Adkins regular, Isaac Florentine, who happens to be an executive producer on this project, would never allow for such debauchery in his own films.

With that being said, El Gringo comes to life and transports the viewer to masterful action territory around its middle point in which “The Man” engages in a lengthy shootout with numerous members of the town’s gang. He rolls around, kicks a guy’s shotgun Matrix style, and switches from gun to gun whilst racking up an insane kill count. What’s odd is that this action sequence is completely devoid of the terrible edits and filters that plagued all previous action scenes. Every shot is clear as daylight, with all kills landing hard thanks to graceful cinematography and smooth editing. It’s almost as if Florentine himself swooped into the set that day and took over to deliver the kind of action that he and Adkins are typically known for. But alas, we may never know the truth. Besides this sequence being the highlight of the picture, it’s unfortunate that the driving force behind this sequence is so weak. Once again, “The Man” simply wants to get to the bus by 2 P.M. However, his epic gunfight with the local gang prevents him from reaching the bus on time. It’s a shame that the motivation behind this action sequence couldn’t have been more dramatically compelling or gripping, as it once again results in a simple annoyance. However, the action is so well shot and cut in this sequence, it ultimately doesn’t matter, as a slice of excellent action is all you need sometimes.

On a final note, I figured that I would discuss the attraction and problem with After Dark Action films and propose a solution as well. The kind of action films that After Dark produces are more or less the kind that used to be released by bigger studios and with bigger budgets back in the 80s and 90s. Unfortunately, as old fashioned action films haven fallen to the wayside in the mainstream, it seems that hard hitting action now only survives in either world cinema or on DTV/VOD. And while these contemporary low budget action films have the action and the name value to attract action fanatics like myself, they don’t have the plots or character development necessary to make me or many others care about the story at hand. It’s a shame that After Dark Action cannot push them selves harder as far as storytelling comes. Their kind of films typically have semi-interesting characters who are only watchable because they are played by notable action stars and feature half baked plots that could be told by superior filmmakers. Still, the action scenes in their films are quite good, and that’s ultimately the draw for action junkies at the end of the day. Therefore, until they can merge great action on a shoe-string budget with engaging story and solid character work, they are going to be producing nothing more than mildly recommendable but average B-movie fluff. I guess that’s all some viewers want at the end of the day, but with the likes of great DTV films like Universal Soldier: Regeneration proving it is possible to be great on a low budget, companies like After Dark can do better.

I may be going a little harsh on El Gringo, as many other DTV films feature the same stylistic and storytelling flaws as it. But alas, it’s simply dull to watch, and to me, nothing is worse than a boring movie. Even mid-level Adkins ventures like the goofy comic book-esque Ninja and the drab but impressively character driven Assassination Games are more watchable and even filled with mildly interesting plots, memorable characters, and great action sequences. At the end of the day, El Gringo may have some excellent action sequences and Adkins doing what he does best, but it offers up little more beyond that. All budgetary restraints aside, El Gringo almost actively works against itself and the viewer with terrible on screen graphics, lousy plotting, and horrid pacing that damns the film to the bottom of Adkin’s oveure of bad ass action. Die-hard Adkins fanatics have probably already seen it, but I for one never plan on watching it ever again.

Zack Nix’s Rating: 3/10

Posted in All, Asian Related, News, Reviews | Tagged , |

Cityonfire.com’s ‘Vigilante Diaries’ Giveaway! – WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

Vigilante Diaries | Blu-ray & DVD (Anchor Bay)

Vigilante Diaries | Blu-ray & DVD (Anchor Bay)

To celebrate the release of the action-comedy Vigilante Diaries, Cityonfire.com and Anchor Bay are giving away the following prizes to three lucky Cityonfire visitors:

  • Grand Prize: 1 Blu-ray + 1 signed poster by Michael Jai White
  • 1st Runner Up Prize: 1 Blu-ray
  • 2nd Runner Up Prize: 1 DVD

To enter, simply add a comment to this post and describe, in your own words, the film’s trailer.

We will be selecting a winner at random. Be sure to include your email address in the appropriate field so we can contact you for your home address. Additionally, you must ‘Like Us‘ on cityonfire.com’s Facebook by clicking here.

Anchor Bay Entertainment will release Vigilante Diaries in select theaters and on iTunes on June 24, and On Demand, DVD and Blu-ray on July 5.

The film features an all-star ensemble cast led by Paul Sloan (I Am Wrath), UFC’s Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (A-Team), action icon Michael Jai White (Falcon Rising), Paul Sloan (I Am Wrath), Jason Mewes (Clerks), Michael Madsen (Kill Bill), Jaqueline Lord (Mercenary for Justice), WWE star Sal ‘Chavo’ Guerrero, Jr. and James Russo (Once Upon A Time in America).

CONTEST DISCLAIMER: You must enter by July 10, 2016 to qualify. U.S. residents only please. We sincerely apologize to our non-U.S. visitors. Winners must respond with their mailing address within 48 hours, otherwise you will automatically be disqualified. No exceptions. Contest is subject to change without notice.

WINNERS: Grand Prize/David; 1st Runner Up/Michael S; 2nd Runner Up/Danny H.

Posted in News | Tagged |

Cecilia Cheung and T.O.P. are seriously ‘Out of Control’

"Commitment" Korean Theatrical Poster

"Commitment" Korean Theatrical Poster

Hong Kong star Cecilia Cheung (Legendary Amazons, 12 Nights) and Seung-Hyun Choi (Tazza: The Hidden CardCommitment), better known as T.O.P. – his pop idol stage name – are currently putting finishing touches on Out of Control, a big-budget German-Chinese co-production, directed by Axel Sand (Alarm for Cobra 11) and Richard Lin.

According to Variety, the story involves a Chinese film and martial arts star (Cheung) who is ensnared by a dangerous plot while visiting the Berlin Film Festival. Her survival and the success of a major rescue mission depend on a Korean secret agent (T.O.P.), who is also her ex-fiance.

A release date is still pending, but until then, don’t miss the film’s exciting trailer (via AFS).

Posted in News |

Andy Lau and Gong Li for Johnnie To’s ‘Vampire Killers’?

"The Fearless Vampire Killers" Japanese Theatrical Poster

"The Fearless Vampire Killers" Japanese Theatrical Poster

With the recently announced production of War, the 2+ decade collaboration between Johnnie To (Office) and Wai Ka Fai (Too Many Ways to Be Number One) is showing no signs of weakness. In fact, it’s stronger than ever.

According to a scoop from AFS, the duo are planning project titled The Fearless Vampire Killers, which will star Andy Lau (My Bodyguard) and Gong Li (Shanghai).

If you’re wondering if it’s a remake of the 1967 Roman Polanski cult classic of the same, welcome to the club. Given To and Wai’s eclectic film influences from around the world, we definitely wouldn’t rule it out.

We’ll keep you updated on this blood-sucking story as we hear more.

Posted in News |

Cityonfire.com’s ‘The Midnight After’ DVD Giveaway! – WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

The Midnight After | DVD (Well Go USA)

The Midnight After | DVD (Well Go USA)

Cityonfire.com and Well Go USA are giving away 3 DVD copies of Fruit Chan’s The Midnight After to three lucky Cityonfire visitors. To enter, simply add a comment to this post and describe, in your own words, this video.

We will be selecting a winner at random. Be sure to include your email address in the appropriate field so we can contact you for your home address. Additionally, you must ‘Like Us‘ on cityonfire.com’s Facebook by clicking here.

The DVD for The Midnight After will be officially released on June 21, 2016. We will announce the 3 winners on June 20, 2016.

CONTEST DISCLAIMER: You must enter by June 20, 2016 to qualify. U.S. residents only please. We sincerely apologize to our non-U.S. visitors. Winners must respond with their mailing address within 48 hours, otherwise you will automatically be disqualified. No exceptions. Contest is subject to change without notice.

WINNERS: Andrew O, Ernie E and Dilford.

Posted in News | Tagged |

Ghost Warrior | aka Swordkill (1984) Review

"Ghost Warrior" Theatrical Poster

“Ghost Warrior” Theatrical Poster

AKA: Swordkill
Director: J. Larry Carroll
Cast: Hiroshi Fujioka, John Calvin, Janet Julian, Charles Lampkin, Frank Schuller, Bill Morey, Andy Wood, Robert Kino, Joan Foley, Peter Liapis, Mieko Kobayashi, Toshishiro Obata
Running Time: 81 min.

By Kelly Warner

One of Ghost Warrior’s poster taglines was, ‘100 Years Ago, He Was a Living Legend… Today, He’s a Living Hell.’ You can almost hear the trailer voice guy reading that, can’t you? Well, I think that Ghost Warrior’s tagline should’ve read, ‘Unthawed samurai popsicles and the women who love them,’ as it more accurately describes the film. But even then, my tagline would’ve hinted at a more entertaining picture than the one we actually got. How do you take a concept like unthawing a frozen samurai in modern day LA and turn it into a boring movie? Seriously, how? It seems impossible and yet the people behind Ghost Warrior somehow managed it.

Before I get ahead of myself I want to say a little something… about myself. If there’s one type of martial arts movie that I still remain largely unfamiliar with it’s the ninja boom that hit Hollywood in the 1980’s. TV’s Shogun and Kung Fu were wildly popular and helped spawn a wave of American productions about Asian martial arts. We Americans were especially intrigued by the ninja, apparently. Well, I grew up sometime after the American ninja craze, and the films didn’t engrain themselves into pop culture the way that other 80’s genre cinema did, so I’ve been slow on the uptake. I mean, I can name over a dozen Toshiro Mifune films at the drop of a hat, but I can’t name more than one Sho Kosugi movie (City on Fire has other people for that job!). So, Ghost Warrior, a 1984 film about a samurai at large in Los Angeles… it’s not something I can put into any sort of historical perspective beyond the fact that it was riding a wave of ninja and samurai popularity. I’m just going to review Ghost Warrior as a peculiar action movie about an unthawed samurai and hope that that’s enough.

In the film, the samurai Yoshimitsu (Hiroshi Fujioka) is defeated in battle and falls into a frozen lake. He’s later discovered frozen in modern day Japan and shipped to Los Angeles where scientists will attempt to revive him. Apparently the original order was to do an autopsy, but weirdo scientist Dr. Richard (John Calvin) decides it’d be cool to secretly revive the samurai instead… I guess he’d been sitting on the technique for how to revive a century old dead guy and was just dying to try it out. After a complicated, unexplained surgery involving rotating blue lights, the doctors are able to successfully revive Yoshimitsu. They leave him in a room and he’s seen to by the young Ms. Chris Welles (Janet Julian), an expert in “Oriental studies” who barely knows a word of Japanese and is their go-to pick for communicating with Yoshimitsu. It’s maddening. Why wouldn’t they at least hire somebody who spoke Japanese to speak to the samurai? Ms. Welles teaches Yoshimitsu like he’s a smart chimp, showing him shapes and seeing if he can duplicate the patterns. She even teaches him how to drink sake—she is the expert, after all. Anyway. The samurai and the lovely Ms. Welles form a bond, despite never understanding each other. One night, the special scientific program’s only security guard sneaks into Yoshimitsu’s room to steal his swords so he can pawn them. BIG MISTAKE. Yoshimitsu nearly cuts the guard in half, then escapes the facility to wander aimlessly around LA.

There is some entertainment to be had watching a samurai encounter his first automobile, or watch a hard rock band on TV, or visit a bar and get mistaken for Toshiro Mifune. It’s the usual comedy that you see in other such “fish out of water” time travel tales. And though the film’s attempt at humor is nothing special, Ghost Warrior really could’ve used more of it. The action is remarkably dull, the characters barely make sense, and I think I put more thought into the plot while writing this review than they did when they wrote the damn script.

The “unthawed traveler from another time” thing had been done before and revisited again since. Ghost Warrior has a lot in common with Donnie Yen’s Iceman, which was itself a remake of 1989’s Iceman Cometh. There was also an early Brendan Fraser comedy called Encino Man (that film co-starred Pauly Shore, which automatically makes Ghost Warrior the better movie). If you were to make up a list of unthawed hero movies (an odd list, to be sure), I’d put 1984’s Iceman starring John Lone and Timothy Hutton at the top of the list. This Iceman asked some interesting questions about the complicated nature and responsibility of bringing a man back to life from so long ago. It’s actually a pretty good, underrated piece of science fiction.

To be fair, Ghost Warrior makes it clear very early on that it has no intention of asking big questions or even in playing with the clever sci-fi ideas. The movie unthaws a samurai, unleashes him on street gangs in LA until he causes enough violence for the police to hunt him down, and meanwhile that lady who claims to be an expert follows him around everywhere. I can’t fault it for not trying to be a bigger, more thoughtful film, but its failure to be an entertaining one is an egregious offense. There’s no reason why something so silly (and kind of cool) as a samurai in LA should be so remarkably dull and dimwitted. Credited to screenwriter Tim Curnen (who wrote only one other film) and director Larry Carroll (this is his sole directing credit), Ghost Warrior is a huge swing and a miss. Maybe if I had more to drink or the right crowd to laugh along with, I might’ve had more fun. As it is, my first impression is that Ghost Warrior is best left in the ice.

Kelly Warner’s Rating: 3/10

Posted in All, Asian Related, News, Ninja, Reviews | Tagged |

Good, the Tough & the Deadly, The (2016) Review

"The Good, the Tough, & the Deadly" Book Cover

"The Good, the Tough, & the Deadly" Book Cover

Author: David J. Moore
Publisher: Schiffer Publishing
Description: 1 Edition May 25, 2016, Hardcover
Length: 560 pages

By Zach Nix

The Good, the Tough & the Deadly, the latest book from film journalist, David J. Moore, is possibly the most expansive exploration of action and genre cinema to date. Moore’s previous book, World Gone Wild: A Survivor’s Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Movies, was already an impressive feat, as it covered practically every single post-apocalyptic genre film ever made. It even tackled live action and animated television series! However, while World Gone Wild tackled a very niche sub-genre, his latest, The Good, the Tough & the Deadly, covers a much wider array of genre cinema, specifically action films released from 1960 until now. Packed with over one thousand movie reviews, and loads of informative and revealing interviews with the stars and filmmakers responsible for said action films, Moore’s latest is immediately the most encompassing and comprehensive examination, exploration, and celebration of all things action.

Although one may be eager to dive into the book to read about their favorite action movies, it is extremely important to read the introduction, as it breaks down exactly which action movies and stars Moore and his fellow co-writers set out to examine within the book. First off, all of the movies reviewed within the book were chosen based upon which action stars headlined or inhabited said films. Second, the action stars chosen to write about had to come from a background in sports, wrestling, martial arts, bodybuilding, and/or stunt work. Actors who happen to make action films, such as Clint Eastwood, Kurt Russell, or Mel Gibson, were not considered. Moore and his co-writers are only interested in the real deal: actors who are labeled as action stars, who more or less play themselves from film to film, and have dedicated a majority of their career and persona to action cinema. They also chose to exclude the multitude of sword and sorcery and martial arts films that exist, as those sub-genres could suffice their own book and are truly never ending. Speaking of martial artists, only those who made a huge impact on the genre or crossed cultures to have an effect on international audiences were included. After all, Moore and friends had to narrow their criteria down to something. Otherwise, their book could never end.

The plentiful movie reviews make up the bulk of the text. Each review includes which format the film was watched upon (they keep it simple, DVD or VHS only), a paragraph or two on the summary of the film, and than a piece on the writer’s opinion of the film and how it reflects its action star. Some films have very little written about them, as much as two paragraphs, while others have fairly lengthy pieces spanning a couple paragraphs. While it would have been nice to have more in depth reviews for every single one of the films, it makes sense that most of them just get small blurbs, as an in depth review for every film would turn the book into its own encyclopedia series. Therefore, understand that in order for the book to amass over one thousand reviews, it couldn’t provide an in depth essay for every single film. Than again, I don’t think anyone is chomping at the bit to write an essay about Death Wish V: The Face of Death or Cyborg Cop 2. There are simply too many films and too many sequels to cover in an equal fashion.

As far as the specifics of the reviews come, each one is written in a matter that gives you a sense of the film’s plot and overall experience. After tackling the introduction, which I cannot stress enough, I still found myself repeatedly surprised to see which films made the cut, but understood the author’s criteria and reason for their inclusion. For example, Scooby Doo! WrestleMania Mystery, a DTV children’s cartoon, is included because it features John Cena, an action star whose background comes from sports and wrestling. While I fully expected to see English language Jackie Chan ventures like the Rush Hour and Shanghai films pop up, I completely forgot that Chan had co-starred in Disney’s remake of Around the World in 80 Days, and that it even included extensive martial arts sequences. I even forgot that Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, starring world famous animal expert, Steve Irwin, even existed, let alone classified as an action film. But alas, Moore breaks down how Irwin is essentially a stunt man, regarding his crazy antics with animals, and therefore, qualifies for the book. In regards to films that I know and expected, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the writer shared my sentiments towards Safe, arguably Jason Statham’s greatest all around action movie, an opinion that I had always felt alone on. However, I was a little taken aback by some of the over whelming positive words written about some of Steven Seagal and Jean Claude Van Damme’s lesser DTV films. I never expected to read praise about Seagal’s performance in A Dangerous Man or that Derailed is superior to Seagal’s own Under Siege 2. But alas, that’s where some of the fun comes from in reading this book.

The real treasures of this book, as with World Gone Wild, are the interviews, which offer up a great insider’s look at these stars and their work. The stars interviewed range all over the place, from Carl Weathers, to Michael Dudikoff, to Al Leong, to Cynthia Rothrock, to Zoe Bell, and even Wesley Snipes. Honestly, if you can think of them, they are probably interviewed within the book. Several directors and writers are interviewed as well, including DTV veterans Isaac Florentine and John Hyams. It’s really nice to hear some of these stars and filmmakers discuss both their successes and failures in detail. After all, failures and bombs deserve to be given the time of day as much as the successes.

For example, Martyn Burke, the director of Avenging Angelo, reveals a lot about Stallone’s one and only DTV film, the movie that more or less marked the lowest point of his career. Burke describes how shady the production was, and how $15 million of the film’s budget vanished. He even discusses how he would have to go toe to toe with Stallone every morning of the shoot regarding creative differences. Even though it’s clear that Avenging Angelo was nothing more than a disaster, you can tell that Burke has a great attitude about the whole experience from his interview. Another interview, one with writer Steve Latshaw, reveals that Van Damme’s In Hell was originally to be a forty million dollar theatrical comeback vehicle at Warner Bros, but instead became a Millennium picture for a mere $5 million. An interview with Daniel Bernhardt, the star of Bloodsport II, reveals how truly genuine and humble a person he is, even going so far as to not consider himself an action star. And as a big fan of Scott Adkins, I was over joyed to find not one, but two interviews with him that cover nearly all of his films. All in all, the interviews are the true treasure of the text, and a big incentive to buy this book instead of simply flipping through it at the bookstore.

At the very end of the book, one will find both an index on the book’s stars, as well as an all around index of every single film covered. I especially enjoyed the index of action stars, as it makes it simple to figure out who is and who is not covered within the book, along with which pages one can find their interviews.

In conclusion, The Good, the Tough & the Deadly is mostly a book for people who already love action movies, and are looking for opinions or a historical overview of the films they already love, whilst also discovering new action movies and stars that they have never heard of along the way. If you are new to action films, than you should probably start with a more historical text and watch many of the action classics yourself, because Moore’s epic hardcover isn’t going to give you the “Action 101” you may need. That being said, The Good, the Tough & the Deadly is a celebration amongst action fanatics like myself, as it is more or less the ultimate love letter to all things action and bad ass cinema. As I write this review, I still have not been able to take in every single piece of text within the book, as it is that overwhelming and comprehensive. I cannot recommend a purchase enough, as the book will last any action fanatic weeks from cover to cover. From now on, when action movie lovers go on to Amazon and type in “action movies book,” Moore’s bible to all things action and the action star will always be the one that pops up, and rightfully so.

I would like to thank David J. Moore and Schiffer Publishing for providing me with a copy of the book to review. It will forever stand as one of my prized possessions within my book collection.

Zach Nix’s Rating: 9/10

Posted in All, News, Reviews |

Outlaw: Kill! (1969) Review

"Outlaw: Kill!" Japanese Theatrical Poster

“Outlaw: Kill!” Japanese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Gangster VIP 6
Director: Keiichi Ozawa
Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Eiji Go, Kenji Imai, Goro Mutsumi, Koji Wada, Hiroshi Kondo, Fujio Suga
Running Time: 85 min.

By Kelly Warner

“I don’t get involved in yakuza feuds,” says Goro Fujikawa, the Outlaw antihero who seriously gets involved in a new yakuza feud practically every time he hops off the train. Goro’s not fooling anybody, least of all the audience. We’ve heard these kinds of things from him before. The Outlaw series is a yakuza crime saga caught on a carousel, taking us whizzing past similar sights and sounds every time we take a ride. Goro doesn’t want to get involved… but then he gets involved. Goro meets up with the Chieko Matsubara of the Week… and they fall in love. Goro dishes out justice with a blade… and shambles off to an uncertain fate by each film’s end. The sixth Outlaw film, titled Kill! (the exclamation point is part of the title), is a bit different because we know it’ll be the last time we ever see Goro. Despite that, the film plays just like all the others, and doesn’t offer any closure for the series at the finale. It’s almost like the series just ran out of gas.

In the opening moments of Outlaw: Kill! the Toyu Clan attacks yakuza boss Matsunaga (Michitaro Mizushima) of the rival Iriezaki Clan. Not only does Matsunaga manage to defend himself, the old man goes a bit overboard, hacking his would-be assassins to death in the streets for everyone to see. That’s just fine by Toyu boss, though. As the man in control of the Toyu Clan, Kenwachi (Fujio Suga) willingly sacrifices his men as he attempts to achieve dominance over the city of Keihin. His rival Matsunaga going to jail for seven years is almost as good as seeing him dead. With Matsunaga out of the way, Toyu declares open season on all rival yakuza in Keihin, putting a target on the backs of the Iriezaki boys and any other yakuza in the city.

Tough guy drifter Goro Fujiwara (Tetsuya Fujiwara) just happens to be passing through Keihin at this point. And though Goro at first claims to have zero interest in siding with either Toyu or Iriezaki, his link to an old cellmate in the Iriezaki family lets us know pretty early on whose side he’s ultimately going to fall in with. Goro can lie to himself all he wants that he’s not ready to get involved with more warring gangsters, but he’s too much of a standup guy to idly watch as bullies pick on the weak.

Much of Outlaw: Kill! has Goro acting the mentor to young yakuza. It’s an interesting but natural turn for Goro, who started out the series as stupid as the youth he’s now taking under his wing. But it also tells something rather unflattering about Goro: that, though he knows the game is rigged and the bosses are monsters, he still can’t break away from the yakuza lifestyle completely. It’s not like Michael Corleone raging about, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in,” because Goro never really leaves the life. He walks the tightrope between a past he wants no part in and a future he’s unable to stick with, unable to fully commit to either.

In addition to Goro’s failings at going straight, he continues to have a weird love life with women that all look the same, as Chieko Matsubara returns yet again as a new character who’s destined to fall for Goro. The formula is familiar: she’s a complete stranger, then she hates him, then she realizes he’s not so bad, and then she can’t live without him. Chieko Matsubara is perhaps the most wasted part of the Outlaw series. She’s put through the paces of playing with the same drama time after time while Tetsuya Watari gets to experience actual character growth and other returning actors get to play something wildly different in their respective sequels. Her character seems a complete afterthought in the Kill! (I’m undecided if this hurts or helps the film). It’s like they realized they’d gone five films with Chieko Matsubara as a romantic lead and figured they might as well make it the complete six.

Though much of the film’s drama feels overly familiar, Kill! does provide us with Outlaw’s best villain. Character actor Fujio Suga is positively loathsome as Kenwachi. A character actor best known for supporting parts in Yasujiro Ozu dramas and the Zatoichi series, I’ve seen Suga in many films but his presence is usually regulated to the background. In Kill!, Suga demands your attention. The character is written as the lowest of the low who sees his men as petty pawns in a game of chess and Suga seems to have a fun time in the role. In the film’s climactic finale (which calls to mind the first film as well as the punk rock flair of Stray Cat Rock), Goro takes on the Toyu Clan in a nightclub. Kenwachi and his goons are seated below the dance floor, looking up the skirts of young girls, when Goro comes in with a knife. The brawl plays out below while the oblivious dancers enjoy their lives above, even as blood sprays on the glass that separates the two worlds. Maybe there’s some social commentary here about the separation of the young upper class and the criminals who kill themselves for scraps just beneath their feet? Or, more likely, it’s just a cool action sequence to finish off the film.

With the exception of praising actor Fujio Suga’s performance and director Keiichi Ozawa’s action sequences, I realize that I’m not exactly heaping praise on the final Outlaw film. But that’s not really the film’s fault. It’s just that, by this point, I’m feeling acute Outlaw burnout. The Outlaw series is fun but it repeats its themes and characters with more regularity than I would’ve liked. By the end of Outlaw: Kill!, it’s as though the seventh film was just over the next horizon. Maybe it’s for the best that they stopped here, though. I enjoyed the Outlaw series, for the most part. I didn’t really dislike any of its six films and I loved one of them. However, by this point, it was becoming clear that the series had run its course and had nothing new left to offer.

Kelly Warner’s Rating: 6.5/10

About this release: The six-film Outlaw: Gangster VIP series hits DVD and Blu-ray with a 6-disc box set for the first time in the West thanks to the good folks at Arrow Video. It comes with 3 DVDs and 3 Blu-rays, with each disc sporting two films plus special features. (I only viewed the Blu-rays, so some DVD layout may differ.)

Special features include trailers and photo galleries for each film, a visual essay by Kevin Gilvear, and an audio commentary on the first film by Jasper Sharp. The visual essay is basically a rundown of the entire series, with Gilvear talking plot points and characters. (The visual essay begins with a warning that you should wait to watch it until you’ve seen all six films. It’s wise to follow this piece of advice.) Gilvear mixes a fan’s praise with a critic’s cynicism and has some fun with the “cloning” operation involving Chieko Matsubara.

Jasper Sharp’s commentary is a little less focused than I would’ve liked. Sharp spends much of the commentary talking about Nikkatsu’s history and the film careers of those who worked on the film, but I would’ve liked to have known more about the production of Gangster VIP and the series that followed.

The real highlight of the extras is the 40 page booklet with writing by Chris D., Mark Schilling, and Kevin Gilvear. Chris D. puts the Outlaw series in a historical perspective, Mark Schilling lends some information about the real-life gangster who wrote the books on which Outlaw is based, and Schilling and Kevin Gilvear write biographies for the three directors who worked on the series. The best part of the booklet is a reprinted interview with director Toshio Masuda conducted by Schilling which originally appeared in Schilling’s book No Borders, No Limits: Nikkatsu Action Cinema. It’s an entertaining talk with one of Japan’s best directors who still remains largely unknown in the West.

In regards to the picture and sound quality of the films… sadly, the best film looks the roughest. Gangster VIP shows signs of age and wear that the other films don’t. The remaining five Outlaw films look great on Blu-ray. I obviously have no idea how they looked when they originally debuted in cinemas in the 1960s, but I think the films look as good as or better than you would expect. The sound is also handled nicely, with clashing daggers ringing loudly over the speakers.

If you’re interested in this set, you should know it is a limited edition release of 3,000 copies in the US. After that, who knows? I give the first film, Outlaw: Gangster VIP, the strongest possible recommendation for fans of gangster movies and fans of Japanese cinema in general.

The rest of the films – Outlaw: Gangster VIP 2, Outlaw: Heartless, Outlaw: Goro the Assassin, Outlaw: Black Dagger and Outlaw: Kill! – aren’t quite up to the quality of the original, but there’s some entertainment to be had with the stylish action and a strong lead performance from Tetsuya Watari. If you do decide to dive into the Outlaw set, my advice would be to space the sequels out a bit, as it’ll make for a more entertaining and less repetitive film viewing experience.

Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews | Tagged , |

Final Score | aka Elegy of a Massacre (1986) Review

"Final Score" Theatrical Poster

“Final Score” Theatrical Poster

Director: Arizal
Writer: Deddy Armand
Cast: Chris Mitchum, Mike Abbott, Ida Iasha, Dicky Zulkarnaen, Zainal Abidin, Siska Widowati, Nizar Zulmi, Ivonne Elisabeth, Andre Mathias, Gino Makasutji, Syarief Friant
Running Time: 88 min.

By Paul Bramhall

It’s an age old dilemma – how does one carve out a successful career for one’s self in Hollywood, when one of your family members is an A-list star? It’s a question no doubt such names as Eric Roberts and Frank Stallone would have plenty of input on, however one name who did for a time appear to have cracked the formula, was Chris Mitchum. The second son of legendary actor Robert Mitchum, well known for his roles in the likes of Cape Fear and The Yakuza, Chris looked to be following in his father’s footsteps, with starring roles in the likes of Howard Hawks’ Rio Lobo, and featuring alongside John Wayne in Big Jake.

However it was his association with John Wayne which inadvertently set his career off-course. Known for sharing the same conservative outlook politically, along with similar controversial views on the Vietnam War, Mitchum quickly fell out of favor with the Hollywood studios, and by the mid-70’s the offers of work had all but dried up. As a result, he turned his attention to appearing in productions in Europe and South East Asia, and although arguably it was never his intention, Mitchum found himself re-born as a B-movie action star. Most frequently working in Indonesia and the Philippines, his filmography quickly filled up with titles such as One Armed Executioner, American Commandos, and American Hunter.

One such movie was Final Score, an Indonesian action flick which paired him with the same director as American Hunter – the man simply known as Arizal. Having begun his career in the film industry working as an artistic assistant for the Walt Disney studio, upon returning to his native Jakarta, Arizal found his niche creating explosive action movies. Cranking out such titles as The Stabilizer, Ferocious Female Freedom Fighters (both of which got released on DVD by Troma Entertainment), and Double Crosser, Arizal quickly gained a reputation for his no holds barred style of filmmaking, and his name came to become synonymous with Indonesian action cinema.

For many, the concept of Indonesia even having an action movie scene in the 80’s could well be one that induces blank expressions, and rightfully so considering their lack of exposure, but it was a scene that was very much alive and kicking. Such titles as Lady Terminator (which far from being a play on words, is exactly what you hope it’ll be), Virgins from Hell, and the countless Barry Prima starring swordplay flicks, contributed to a local film industry which embraced its own wackiness, aiming for a go-for-broke style of action mayhem. Lest we forget a certain Billy Chong as well, who by the end of the 80’s had also returned to his motherland, working on several local martial arts flicks under his birth name of Willy Dozan. All this of course, more than thirty years before The Raid would put Indonesia back on the action cinema map.

Final Score in many ways could be considered Arizal’s finest moment, and is a superlative slice of Indonesian action. Mitchum plays a decorated Vietnam War veteran, as was the case with almost every role Caucasian actors would play in these Indonesian and Filipino action flicks. He lives with his Indonesian wife and son in Jakarta, and for those wondering why he’s living in Indonesia and not America, thankfully this question happens to be addressed by his son, who asks the exact same thing. Mitchum calmly replies, “Well, because we love it here, it’s a beautiful country and a peaceful place to live.” Promote tourism in Indonesia checkbox – ticked! They may indeed love it, but it doesn’t stop both his wife and son being brutally murdered while he’s out shopping for his son’s birthday present (which ironically enough, sees him pick a toy machine gun).

The man behind the hit is a ruthless business rival played by British actor Mike Abbott. While he may have started in the Indonesian film industry (like Mitchum, he’d team up with Arizal again for American Hunter), Abbott soon after moved to Hong Kong, where he must hold the record for featuring in the highest number of Godfrey Ho movies with the word ‘ninja’ in the title, often alongside Richard Harrison. Bionic Ninja, Ninja Operation 7, Death Code: Ninja, Rage of Ninja, Ninja Knight Brothers of Blood, and Ninja Empire all feature healthy doses of Abbott in action. He did manage to feature in more respectable HK productions, namely the likes of A Better Tomorrow 2, City Hunter, and A Purple Storm, but once you’ve seen Final Score, it’ll most likely be the role you remember him for.

In a runtime which clocks in at less than 90 minutes, Mitchum’s family is slain in the first 15, and it’s no exaggeration to say that he spends the remaining hour plus simply going around massacring anyone who has the slightest connection to it. He even has a list of people he’s going to kill on a piece of paper, not so much a ‘to-do’ list, as a ‘to-kill’ list if you will, and whenever he offs one of the names on it, he happily flicks out his biro pen and crosses it off. Such a simplistic plot should get old pretty quickly, but Arizal has Mitchum rampaging around Jakarta with such a degree of violent reckless abandon, that it’s never anything less than pure entertainment.

Early on he intercepts a car stacked to the brim with weapons that was on its way to a deal, and Mitchum has no hesitation in arming himself to the teeth with everything available in his newly acquired wheels. From then on, the thumping synthesiser soundtrack is frequently accompanied by the sounds of glorious machine gun fire and explosions. Bad guys get shot in the crotch, have red hot pokers thrust up places where the sun don’t shine, and are blown to pieces at regular intervals. Just as Death Wish could well be considered the template for Final Score, all be it Arizal’s piece ramps things up to 100, so the likes of Final Score could be considered the template for the likes of Taken. Mitchum maintains his take-no-prisoners attitude throughout, and there’s something cathartic about watching him relentlessly mow down all those involved in his families death.

Perhaps the aspect that most stands out most about Final Score, is how likely all of the stuntmen involved made it to the end of the production alive. There are some insane stunts on display, mostly involving vehicle chases, which make you wonder how they could have survived it. At one point during a car chase, a bad guy has half his body outstretched from the passenger window, firing a machine gun at Mitchum’s car in front. In the same shot that we see him shooting in, the car careens off the road, and flips over into a ditch out of sight. How on earth did he survive? In another, Mitchum is surrounded in a house, and two bad guys are standing side by side in the driveway shooting the place up. A secretary who Mitchum becomes friendly with comes to his rescue, suddenly appearing in her car, and she drives full speed into the back of the two bad guys. One of them literally flies head over heels from the impact!

Indeed the vehicle chases in Final Score are so entertaining, they were copied and pasted into Italian director Umberto Lenzi’s 1990 Euro-action movie Cop Target 4 years later. There’s plenty more in Final Score to recommend, from the hilarious dubbing (at one point a group of bad guys find their car trapped on a railway track as an oncoming train approaches, and just before the impact they yell in unison, “You son of a biiiiiiitch!”), to the bewilderment inducing plot points, such as when Mitchum decides half way through his rampage that he’s over his families death, and decides to get it on with the secretary who’s been helping him out. Throw in a motorbike kitted out with rocket launchers, more explosions than you can shake a stick at, an assault on a warehouse that’ll most definitely bring to mind a scene in The Raid 2, and Final Score is a glorious hark back to how action movies used to be, and more importantly, should be.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 8.5/10

Posted in All, Asian Related, Indonesian, News, Reviews | Tagged , , |

Vigilante Diaries | Blu-ray & DVD (Anchor Bay)

Vigilante Diaries | Blu-ray & DVD (Anchor Bay)

Vigilante Diaries | Blu-ray & DVD (Anchor Bay)

RELEASE DATE: July 5, 2016

Anchor Bay Entertainment will release the action-comedy film Vigilante Diaries in select theaters and on iTunes on June 24, and On Demand, DVD and Blu-ray on July 5.

The film features an all-star ensemble cast led by Paul Sloan (I Am Wrath), UFC’s Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (A-Team), action icon Michael Jai White (Falcon Rising), Paul Sloan (I Am Wrath), Jason Mewes (Clerks), Michael Madsen (Kill Bill), Jaqueline Lord (Mercenary for Justice), WWE star Sal ‘Chavo’ Guerrero, Jr. and James Russo (Once Upon A Time in America).

Vigilante Diaries is directed by Christian Sesma (Shoot the Hero) from a script co-written by Christian Sesma and Paul Sloan.

In the film, Mewes stars as an in-your-face filmmaker known for his web videos of an urban avenger known only as ‘The Vigilante’ (Sloan). But when The Vigilante terminates a creep with deep connections, it’ll trigger a live-feed bloodbath between the Armenian mob, Mexican cartels, a rogue team of Special Forces commandos, and an international black ops conspiracy that’s about to make things very personal.

Vigilante Diaries is based off the popular web series on Chill.com that ran from 2013-2014. The show was driven by fans, in a unique episodic-funding model, where the money spent by viewers to view the first two episodes, would go towards funding subsequent episodes. | Watch the trailer.

Pre-order Vigilante Diaries from Amazon.com today!

Posted in DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, Martial Arts Titles, News |

River | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

River | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

River | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

RELEASE DATE: July 26, 2016

This July, Well Go USA is releasing XYZ Films’ (The Raid 2River on Blu-ray and DVD.

In River, American doctor John Lake (Sutherland), volunteering in the north of Laos, becomes a fugitive after he intervenes in the sexual assault of a young woman. When the assailant’s body is pulled from the Mekong River, things quickly spiral out of control.

River is directed by Jamie M. Dagg and starring Rossif Sutherland (High Life), Ted Atherton (Max Payne), Sara Botsford (The Fog), and Vithaya Pansringarm (Lupin the Third).

“It’s terrific when we can find a film so riveting, it holds on to you from beginning to end,” said Doris Pfardrescher, President and CEO of Well Go USA Entertainment. “That gripping tension is what’s so exciting about it – [Sutherland] is so raw, and so believable, that you really want to see him escape, and the tension just builds and builds – it’s nearly claustrophobic. I was really impressed,” she said. The film is currently scheduled for a Summer 2016 theatrical release. | Don’t miss the teaser trailer for River.

Pre-order River from Amazon.com today!

Posted in DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, News, Other Notable Titles |

Exclusive: Interview with martial arts star Sammo Hung

If you were to ask me who I thought was the ultimate kung fu filmmaker, one name would instantly spring to my mind: Sammo Hung.

During my childhood, his movies – such as Prodigal Son, Warriors Two, Magnificent Butcher and many others – stoked a fire in my imagination and helped me through some dark times. When I heard he was appearing at the Udine Far East Film Festival in Italy, I immediately thought: “I have to go!” Thanks to my friend Ryan Law and the great staff at the festival, my dream of meeting my personal hero came true.

Sammo was everything I’d hoped he would be: funny, kind, warm and a true gentleman in the purest sense of the word. Despite being in a collective interview, it was an experience words cannot describe. My friends Matija Makotoichi Tomic and Goran Grey managed to get a one-to-one with him, which is also included in this exclusive interview.

Without further ado, here’s the interview for one of the true legends of martial arts cinema.


"My Beloved Bodyguard" Chinese Theatrical Poster

“My Beloved Bodyguard” Chinese Theatrical Poster

TIM YOUNGS: I’d like to welcome our special guest today, Sammo Hung! (audience clapping, cheering)

SAMMO HUNG: Thank you, thank you.

TIM YOUNGS: Sammo’s here to receive the lifetime achievement award for his contributions to Hong Kong cinema over more than 5 decades. He has an incredible filmography, and his first onscreen credit was achieved when he was just a child in 1961.

SAMMO HUNG: (In English) Me too, I’m a child too. (audience laughter)

TIM YOUNGS: By the late 60’s he had progressed to assistant action director. By the mid to late 1970’s, he had moved in to directing, and that progressed in to a career that became one of making hit films as a director and actor. He was one of the most popular Hong Kong actors since the late 1970’s. Over the years he has had experience in all sorts of genres, from martial arts to horror to modern day action. Now, he is very well known as an action choreographer working on major productions. This year the Far East Film Festival is showing his new film The Bodyguard. So perhaps you would like to introduce the movie?

SAMMO HUNG: (In English) The Bodyguard is a good movie. (audience laughter) I had stopped being a director for the last 18 years. So I feel like I’m a new director again for The Bodyguard. I feel like at this point to get a lifetime achievement award is a little bit too early for me. (audience laughter)

Sammo Hung, Jacqueline Chan and Andy Lau.

Sammo Hung, Jacqueline Chan and Andy Lau.

Actually, I wanted to be director of this movie. So when the boss showed me the script, I read it and 2 weeks later he asked me: “What do you think?” I said: “It’s a very good script” He said: “Do you have the time?” I said: “Yes”. I have been working in this industry most of my life and it’s very rare to find a really good script. I really love movie making. Acting and directing. However, if you want me to count it, I could only say maybe a handful – like 5 or 6 movies I’ve made – have good scripts. So if I see a movie with a really good script and I wasn’t involved, I feel aggrieved that I wasn’t part of that collaboration. So if there’s a good script and nobody invites me to be involved, that’s very hard, because opportunities are rare to come by. So, in a way, I’m really involved in this movie, I was the director, I was acting in it, I was also the action choreographer and I think I totally invested myself into the whole collaboration and creative side of this movie. When I made The Bodyguard, I enjoyed everything. In the morning, I enjoyed it. Even when BREAK! GO! I enjoyed it. (audience laughter)

TIM YOUNGS: When you first saw the script, was there a specific theme, idea, or concept that appealed to you in particular?

SAMMO HUNG: This is a script that is very strong and complete, and I don’t feel I need to change a lot. I just added my own thoughts and ideas in making the movie.

Twinkle Stars reunite: Yuen Biao, Andy Lau and Sammo Hung.

Twinkle Stars reunite: Yuen Biao, Andy Lau and Sammo Hung.

TIM YOUNGS: The film also has different genre types. There’s a lot of drama, there’s a lot of action. It’s an interesting balance. I feel that in a lot of your older films, you like to cross into different types of genres. What appeals to you in that way?

SAMMO HUNG: Before I did everything… horror movies, action movies. Now, I want to try love stories. Before it was just fighting, now I want to try everything. Now, I want to find the new, young action stars. In Hong Kong, it is very difficult, in Mainland China, they have had the chance, but don’t really make kung fu movies. Because before, everybody loved it when I made the kung fu movies. But now, give me a chance to make the love story (audience laughter).

TIM YOUNGS: Where would you look for the new martial arts talent?

SAMMO HUNG: I will start after June to look for Martial Arts Champions in China, and give them a good chance to join me.

TIM YOUNGS: Now we can jump to the floor: are there any questions for Sammo about his career?

A fight scene from "My Bodyguard"

A fight scene from “My Bodyguard”

JOURNALIST: I enjoyed the movie. I think everyone will like it. I’d like to ask you about the Hong Kong movie market. Less and less good movies are made in Hong Kong, and I wanted to ask you what will you do. Will you do something to save the Hong Kong movie market or will you abandon it and move to mainland China?

SAMMO HUNG: Now, the problem is nobody in Hong Kong is making kung fu movies. Even for the last 5 years. There is no training platform for the students. 20 years ago, 30 years ago, they have the training and they thought, with hard work, I can be an action star. Now, we don’t have these kinds of dreamers who want to shoot the movies. This is the problem in Hong Kong. The young kids, they don’t dream. They become waiters. Or they dream of being singers, dancers, and TV is very popular. So they go this way, they don’t think “I need to train hard”.

Mainland China is young in terms of the movie market, and in ten years they have grown up. Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan and Yuen Baio are popular until now. How many new action stars coming up? Only 5 or 6. Now in Mainland China there are kids training… they all know kung fu. So now they need a chance, so we will see the next generation of kung fu movie stars. Immediately, in my mind, I want to establish my own company in Shanghai. I will set up martial arts schools and call all the Martial Arts Champions and students to come. And of course, they will have to love movie making, acting as well.

"Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars" Japanese Theatrical Poster

“Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars” Japanese Theatrical Poster

I want to create an opportunity for them to train to be kung fu stars. So my next goal is to find the next kung fu actors from China. If I discover these people, they don’t need to only work for me. I will be equally proud and happy if they can become a success in all the areas of movie production. So I will stay behind them and wish them success. I’m not Jackie Chan. Jackie Chan is a hero. In my movies before, you can see there are so many actors, I’m not the top guy. I love movies, I love characters. I love people who can do a good job. They work for me, they don’t work for me, I’m happy. (audience clapping, cheering)

TIM YOUNGS: I’d just like to extend that a bit. You are obviously very interested in martial arts cinema. How have you seen the market change? In Hong Kong for example, martial arts films haven’t been as popular as they were in the mid-90’s. Is it difficult to find investors to work with new talent?

SAMMO HUNG: First I want to say, in Hong Kong, not only martial arts movies are going down. In the last 7 years, the Hong Kong film market is always going down. To make the drama movie, you need 7 million dollars. For the kung fu movie, you need 12 million dollars. But now in Hong Kong, the market is very low. Before when we start shooting in Hong Kong, they say “Sammo Hung, we have a new movie has started”. And in lots of places like Korea, Thailand, Malaysia they say “Oh, we will buy your movie”. Now they need to see the movie, then they will decide to buy or not. So, if we make the kung fu movies with new guys, nobody wants to buy it. So, you’re asking me when in Hong Kong martial arts movies go up, I really don’t know. And Mainland China, they will put a lot of money in to casting. They don’t know how to push the new people.

"SPL" Chinese Theatrical Poster

“SPL” Chinese Theatrical Poster

FRED AMBROISINE: I wanted to talk about your career as an actor. You stopped working as an actor in the mid 90’s. And then you played a very important role as an actor in SPL. This one was important because you played a bad guy, and you hadn’t played that since maybe in the 70’s, where you were fighting Angela Mao Ying. So could you tell me what made you decide to accept this role?

SAMMO HUNG: I don’t normally play bad guys, as you said. Now, it’s a very simple answer, it’s who pays me the most! (laughter) Joking. I actually examined the script very carefully. I looked at how this character was portrayed, why was he the bad guy, how was he described in his personal life. I Wanted to make sure the audience understood who this bad guy is. Obviously, I didn’t want the role of the bad guy to affect people’s perception of me. So, whether playing a good guy or a bad guy, I want to see that the script has the full character development for me to be a good actor, so that I could use my acting methods to express the character, which will eventually enhance the story telling.

So, for a while I was like Robin Hood. I was always helping people and because a lot of people in the industry are good friends – actors, directors – and they all have interesting projects, and I say: “I have a role for you, come and help me out”. So I was playing Robin Hood for a long time, for a lot of my friends. Just like this movie The Bodyguard, there are a lot of old friends in it. They just come in one day to shoot. Like Tsui Hark, Karl Maka, Dean Shek. And my Seven Little Fortunes classmate Yuen Baio. So in the industry we really value our old friendships. We all reciprocate this too, and I will never reject them and help them out whenever I can.

Tsui Hark, Karl Maka and Dean Shek featured in a character poster from "My Bodyguard"

Tsui Hark, Karl Maka and Dean Shek featured in a character poster from “My Bodyguard”

TIM YOUNGS: I’d like to introduce another topic as well, because we’ve talked about your work as a director and actor. What about action choreography. Do you follow a specific school or style, or do you like to mix it up?

SAMMO HUNG: I like to mix it up, because every character, every movie, is different. Like, who is the character, how do they fight? I like to give the audience something new.

JOURNALIST: I noticed that Jackie Chan also is doing something similar, trying to discover martial arts talents in China. Are you doing it the same way or using different ways as him?

SAMMO HUNG: Jackie Chan has his own way of discovering the talents in China. It seems like I am doing the same. It is not about who is doing what, the matter is that all of us are doing it. We have all started this path. This path is for long term development. We want to create a cradle of new talents. In the long run it’s a very strategic decision to train new talents, to create new opportunity’s for the future of the movie industry, especially for the martial arts genre. There are schools everywhere, everybody is learning something, and it’s important for the future that’s what matters.

MARTIN SANDISON: I wanted to ask you about traditional kung fu films because they seem to be dying. Your films such as Warriors Two and Prodigal Son are two of my favorite films and I wanted to ask will you make another traditional kung fu film?

Martin Sandison getting closer to his idol at the Udine Far East Film Festival.

Martin Sandison getting closer to his idol at the Udine Far East Film Festival.

SAMMO HUNG: You need to have faith, and you need to have patience, and give me time, and I will bring back the traditional kung fu movie that you like. (audience clapping, cheering)

FRED AMBROISINE: As an action choreographer you have won awards for Prodigal Son and Ip Man. There is no such award in Hollywood. I want to know if you think action films are less respected in Hollywood than Hong Kong because there are no awards for best action choreography.

SAMMO HUNG: Because they don’t have martial arts movies, so they don’t know what martial arts or what kung fu is. Only the TV show, Kung Fu. But you notice that recent Hollywood film are influenced by Hong Kong action movie elements. Like in 1999, when I was in America shooting the TV series, Martial Law, I was in my trailer, watching period movies, Chinese movies. They fight in the air y’know. Suddenly the American guy came to my trailer. He watched the Chinese actors flying, fighting. He said: “Wow!” I said: “Americans only have one Superman. In China we are all Superman!” (audience laughter)

In Chinese or Hong Kong martial arts movies, our history of making them goes way back. This does not exist in American culture. Actually, martial arts as a school is already deep rooted in Chinese people’s mentality and their culture. So, martial arts movies are deep rooted in everybody’s mind. Given time we believe Hollywood will have the same perception from the audience. So, you notice more and more fighting scenes are shown in new Hollywood Blockbusters. Just like Hong Kong before. So back a long time ago in the Hong Kong Film Awards, there was no award for action choreography, it did not start right from the beginning. So having the award is an endorsement and a recognition of the Hong Kong movie talents. It’s not like we got a prize, but it’s are endorsement for the talents that have worked all their lives in this trade. It’s a very significant award. Thank you. (audience clapping)

Sammo Hung and Arsenio Hall in "Martial Law," which aired on CBS in 1998-2000.

Sammo Hung and Arsenio Hall in “Martial Law,” which aired on CBS in 1998-2000.

JOURNALIST: I would like take the opportunity to ask you a question, Mr. Sammo Hung, because we are really happy to have you here, in our town. I would like to know how do you feel here? Also, there is another thing because martial arts is very important as you said to Asian culture, and here, we have a similar thing about soccer. We have a team here and you will go tomorrow to see the game. So do you think there is any link between martial arts and soccer?

SAMMO HUNG: Actually, I like martial arts and I like soccer, too. I’ve been like a deputy captain in a team for 2 years in the South of China before it was very popular. When I was there it was popular, now it’s not! (audience laughter)

And then also, I was an investor in my own soccer team for 2 years. I didn’t want it to be a commercial for Sammo Hung. At the time everyone knew me. So I put a lot of money in to the team, and I watched them play, they got hurt. I thought: “why in Hong Kong is there no young soccer team?” I could see that they work very hard but I didn’t see many young players on the field anymore. A lot of the time, they hired players from England and other players to play in the Hong Kong team. So the question always lingered in my mind: “why don’t we train our own local soccer players?” So I spent 20 million Hong Kong dollars to invest in and finance my own team. This kind of investment, a lot of the time is a one way street. The money just goes out and you never get your investment back. I don’t need the money. I want to help the young boys. Like: “Do a good job, train hard, then maybe 2 or 3 years later you will be a star. Don’t be narrow minded. Don’t have your own little clan. When you train, train as a team.”

Yuen Biao, Jackie Chan and Sammo Hun reunite to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Seven Little Fortunes.

Yuen Biao, Jackie Chan and Sammo Hun reunite to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Seven Little Fortunes.

Some guys train and don’t care about the other players. This is no good. I really tried to train them with the philosophy of team spirit. The first year it was very good, almost champions. The second year we went down a bit. The third year they were asking me: “How is the planning for next year?” I said: “Very good!” Before, when I was young, I had a team and Jackie Chan had a team. We all played together. Who Lost? Go to the restaurant. (laughter)

I hate him. I really hate him. (laughter) I said to him: “We will play in the Summer, only for fun. Who will lose, will pay. Then we get together, he hires a football team! He cheated! I said: “ Why are you cheating?! What for?” (laughter) He said “Eat” (laughter). So, Jackie Chan has his own production crew and we would like to go and play a game, and the loser would foot the bill of the dinner. So for me, it was just a game. There were 12 people! A banquet! My heart felt very painful (laughter). My players were always movie workers. Jackie would bring the professional soccer players! I will remember it my whole life. (laughter)

JOURNALIST: In The Bodyguard, which aspect of the character is most challenging to play?

SAMMO HUNG: My desire was to have a love making scene in the bed! (laughter) The challenge is to get out of the bed! Actually, it’s true there are a lot of 70 year old people wake up at the same time. So, to portray an older person is more difficult. The alarm goes off at 6, they probably woke up already. But it’s still hard for them get out of bed. I really value my time spent with senior people, just like my grandfather. I was practically brought up by my grandfather. When I was shooting Wheels on Meals in Spain, someone called and told me my grandfather had passed. I sat there for some time thinking about it. It’s quite shocking when you realize someone that close to you has passed. Also, my mum just passed a few years ago. I used to go down to her room every day and say “Hi Mom!” And then one day you go to that room and they are not there anymore. So, it’s very important to while they are still alive to spend time with your seniors, your family. And I encourage every one of you to spend more time with them, every minute counts, that’s very important. (audience clapping)

Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung (with Jheri curl) and Yuen Biao in "Wheels on Meals"

Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung (with Jheri curl) and Yuen Biao in “Wheels on Meals”

JOURNALIST: The first question is about the fighting style you use in The Bodyguard. Did you use a particular style of kung fu?

SAMMO HUNG: I used some kung fu and some more realistic styles. I did some research about secret agents’ training techniques. So, the principle of The Bodyguard is he is not going around to stir up fights. The Bodyguard is supposed to protect whoever he is working for, like a leader or senior person. The Bodyguard mentality is to stay alert all the time, aware of the environment and detect danger even before it comes to you. So the main job is to control danger before it comes to you. So, the main thing is The Bodyguard is not out to attack, it’s more for protection. Control them and not kill them. So they don’t have any chance to come again.

JOURNALIST: That’s why you break the arms and the legs?

SAMMO HUNG: Yeah, yeah. Arms and legs. So it’s easy to control the other people. So one punch, the guy lies down, 30 seconds later, he comes again. Very tired! (audience laughter) So many years ago I wanted to try and make a movie like The Bodyguard, but I didn’t make it. I wanted to make it set before this one, when his profession was a bodyguard. Now I did more research before shooting. And the old guy who has already retired in the movie, someone comes to attack him, he has an automatic reaction. So many years have passed but he has a natural reaction. So I decided to shoot differently than my older movies. Not just TA! TA! (Sammo acts out punching and blocking) Just like how the attacker comes, I want to do one move, then they don’t have a chance again. So in this movie I use a lot of grabs.

Yasuaki Kurata's Sai vs. Sammo Hung's Tennis Racquets in "Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars"

Yasuaki Kurata’s Sai vs. Sammo Hung’s Tennis Racquets in “Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars”

JOURNALIST: I’ve seen most of your movies, and you have different styles from movie to movie. I would like to know, I would guess that the fight is not written in the script, but it’s something that you create on the set. I want to know how you stage a fight. And how you use the props, like in Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars you use the tennis racquets. So how do you create a fight? On the set, or before?

SAMMO HUNG: It’s already decided. I know what I want. I don’t want the fight scene to always be the same. When I fight with the Japanese guy (Yasuaki Kurata) and use the tennis racquets, I think it’s funny. We have a similar weapon in Chinese Opera on the stage. So I think the audience will be excited, they have never seen that before. Now before shooting, I need to decide everything.

JOURNALIST: Like a ballet, a dance? So you decide where to put the camera later?

SAMMO HUNG: No. When I shoot, when I decide the movement, I already have the camera angle. I have a system, I can see my movement, from this side I can see it’s good or no good. I will tell my crew my camera angle is like this, more power, more clear. So we already decide. And then at the end we shoot on the set. A long time ago, we all think about it on the set. This wastes so much time. We will take a lot of time to think. Now it’s a chance with every movie, we need 2 to 3 months to practice. The main cast, if they have time, come to train.

"The Prodigal Son" Chinese Theatrical Poster

“The Prodigal Son” Chinese Theatrical Poster

JOURNALIST: So it’s you who decides the camera, how to film the fight?

SAMMO HUNG: Yeah I will decide everything.

JOURNALIST: Because your style is very clear. We can see everything. It’s not like the American movie where you can’t see who received the punch, it’s very clear.

SAMMO HUNG: Well sooner or later they will catch on. They have already imported a lot of ideas from martial arts and they have studied a lot of Asian kung fu movies, so eventually all of this will be implanted in their ideas and incorporated in them in time.

JOURNALIST: Is it the fault of the editor?

SAMMO HUNG: It depends what kind of editor they’re hiring to do the job. To be able to capture the Chinese martial arts, every stroke and punch, it’s better with Chinese training. Somebody from Asia with that kind of experience will be a better editor. Very easy, I will show you (Sammo asks the journalists to grab his wrist) If you catch me – harder, harder – (Sammo breaks the hold). Very easy. In America the audience they don’t know what has happened. People, they don’t have much power in the wrist. If you just show in one shot, you don’t know what happened. So if you know the martial arts, know the action, then you will think about the way it’s shot. So two hands – (the journalists holds both of Sammo’s wrists) – very easy (Sammo breaks the hold). So it’s what you want the audience to see, and what angle you use. Before you create a fight, you have to already have the shot.

 

Sammo Hung, on the set of "Ip Man," demonstrating the use of the wooden dummy, a training device associated with the Wing Chun martial arts style.

Sammo Hung, on the set of “Ip Man,” demonstrating the use of the wooden dummy, a training device associated with the Wing Chun martial arts style.

MARTIN SANDISON: You made two of the original Wing Chun films Warriors Two and Prodigal Son, then you made Ip Man and Ip Man 2. Could you talk about choreographing the Wing Chun style and how it changed?

SAMMO HUNG: So before, Lau Kar Leung is famous for depicting another style, Hung Kuen onscreen. So I found out that I need to come out with a new idea, something innovative. Another type of martial art that is also exciting and interesting to be depicted onscreen. And then I learnt about Wing Chun. I know that Wing Chun is a very interesting style, and has a very strong philosophy. So I picked up the story of Grandmaster Leung Tsan, so I developed the story using this protagonist. I studied Wing Chun for a long time, and also studied the philosophy, the methods and teaching behind it. I believe if I don’t learn everything inside out it won’t be right for me to be directing the film about Wing Chun. So in order to tell the correct story and depict Wing Chun onscreen, I had to learn it inside out. And then I had to draw my own conclusion – how best to show it to the audience. So it took a while, but then I began to design the shooting style.

Sammo Hung developing the round table scene in "Ip Man 2"

Sammo Hung developing the round table scene in “Ip Man 2”

So the first Wing Chun style films I made were set in the Ching Dynasty, wearing the Ching costumes, it’s a period piece. So there is a big difference between making these movies and Ip Man, because of the background. So the time changed from the Ching Dynasty to a little but more modern. So the first Ip Man, the story is set about 1940, so quite close to modern times. So you gotta create more like a modern movie. When you’re fighting you gotta let the audience believe the fight. Not only like a drama, it’s gotta be a modern film. So the audience will say: “Yes. This is a real fight.” Like Ip Man 2, when we finished the first one, the director Wilson Yip said “If we have a chance to make part 2, we fight on the table. Ok?” (laughter) So when we were shooting, I had to be thinking “What kind of table? How big is the table? What’s at the side of the table?”

So when I was creating the scene, I used the round table, the chairs at the side. Before, at the side there would be knives, in the period movie. So if someone fell, BA! They would get killed. But now in the modern times, just chairs. So I was thinking “How do we fight on the table? So we turn like that. I’ve gotta be thinking of everything. Then we keep trying. Actually it’s not dangerous! The table was not that high. One problem was the table was very slippery. So we poured the Coca-Cola. Very sticky! (audience laughter) So every movie I’ve gotta be thinking “What am I showing to the audience?”

Sammo Hung gets pinned by Bruce Lee in "Enter the Dragon"

Sammo Hung gets pinned by Bruce Lee in “Enter the Dragon”

JOURNALIST: So you’ve been in a lot of fight scenes in countless films, what do you think has been the most challenging fight scene, or the most rewarding?

SAMMO HUNG: In one film I did a stunt. It was about 60 feet high, somebody kicked me. Before we have a lot of cardboard boxes to protect me. But there were only 6 of them this time, very small! And I was standing on the mountain! (Sammo gets up to act it out; audience laughter) So the director said: “Rolling!” And I am still there, I need a few minutes. Then I said to the actor: “Kick me!” “Rolling! Action!” PA! Don’t worry I’m still there. I said to the actor: “No, no, no” (audience laughter) He kicked me three times. You gotta be controlled PA! The position, holding your body you cannot turn to fast. If you go to fast you will roll, roll too much. Holding the position AAHH! Almost get there! When I do that, I think this is a mountain on the beach, so lots of sand. So if I fall I will just bleed a little, not be seriously wounded. Maybe I won’t die (audience laughter).

JOURNALIST: Which movie was it?

SAMMO HUNG: (Sammo gives Cantonese title) The two words mean selling your life. It was back in the 60’s, when I was a stuntman and action director. So that is one of the scenes that was most memorable. The other is an ending scene, I fight the Japanese guy. The action director is Lau Kar Leung. He directed the sword fight with Andy Lau. Then the action director changed to me, because it was an open hand fight. The second shot follows me running, jumping PA! Kick the Japanese guy. I fell down, and get up, stand up. I said “Ok. I will take the third shot first”. Then we fight. The whole sequence was shot, the fight was finished. Then we started from the beginning. “Action!” TUNG! Not a good take. Not enough power. One more take PA! I kick him. He was scared and thought he would lose his balance. We did it again, I said no, because my hand was broken. Nobody believed it! I said: “Hey!” You could see my hand was broken! (audience laughter) Because I fell on my hand. The director said: “Are you kidding?” I said: “NO!” (audience laughter) I went to the hospital, and got the plaster cast on my hand. Then I went back to the set, shoot again. Because the next day I was leaving for Canada. In the shot if you see my hands, it’s a double. (audience laughter)

JOURNALIST: In the film The Bodyguard, for the action scene why do we see this movement of the camera, like the shaky-cam style?

SAMMO HUNG: I don’t think the shaky camera was a special artistic expression, at that moment someone bumped in to the cameraman! (audience laughter)

JOURNALIST: Was it shot in Manadarin?

SAMMO HUNG: No, some of the cast spoke Mandarin, I spoke Cantonese. Because in Mandarin they have lots of different accents. I can speak general Mandarin. But I don’t have an accent. I speak Cantonese because I’m from Hong Kong. So when I shoot I speak Cantonese. The Young girl speaks Cantonese, Andy Lau speaks Cantonese. The other actors are from China, they already have their accent.

Martin Sandison and Sammo Hung.

Martin Sandison and Sammo Hung.

MARTIN SANDISON: Thanks so much, your movies mean so much to me. (shaking hands with Sammo)

SAMMO HUNG: Thank you, thank you. Did you see my movie?

MARTIN SANDISON: Yes, I loved it. I will watch it again tonight. Can I get a quick picture?

SAMMO HUNG: Ok, 500 dollars. (laughter) Wow, this is a long time ago, Mao Ying huh? (as Sammo looks at my 36 Styles Angela Mao Ying T-shirt)

MARTIN SANDISON: Yeah great movies! Thank you so much!

SAMMO HUNG: Thank you!

Note: The following portion of the interview is a one-on-one conducted by Matija Makotoichi Tomic and Goran Grey:

MMT/GG: As one of key figures of Hong Kong action cinema, what’s your view on martial arts movies today and back in the good old days?

Sammo Hung accepting his award (photo courtesy of Matija Makotoichi Tomic).

Sammo Hung accepting his award (photo courtesy of Matija Makotoichi Tomic).

SH: I can rightfully say that during our time, we knew how to make martial arts movies, and those were real martial arts movies. I don’t see that same type of martial arts movies coming out of Hong Kong today.

MMT/GG: There’s an export of Hong Kong talents today, filmmakers that went to Mainland China and became actively involved in the movie industry there, working over there. So, it seems like today in Hong Kong there is a void of martial arts movies being made.

SAMMO HUNG: That’s because the Chinese market has grown so big. The box-office revenue in the country these days is so high, people are going to the theatre so much. It’s very hard to compete for Hong Kong market alone to survive. Chinese box-office revenue exceeded those of many American markets, they are so big. I’ll give you an example of the calculation: the production cost of a typical Hong Kong movie could be, say about 1.5 million, but you can only get maybe 5 million back from the box-office. So, it’s for the practical reasons, it’s not possible to make the same type of movies just for Hong KOng market alone.

Sammo Hung with Casanova Wong in "Warriors Two"

Sammo Hung with Casanova Wong in “Warriors Two”

That’s why I didn’t want to make my new movie for any market in particular, I made it to be universally acceptable by both Hong Kong market or Hong Kong audience, or the Chinese audience in Mainland China. Or outside the country, like Europe. People say: this is Mainland China, this is Hong Kong… no, I just want to make a movie. That’s entertainment you know? I hope everybody likes it. But in Hong Kong there’s a problem when we have some actor or actress coming from Mainland China. The reviews say it’s Mainland China movie and people don’t wanna watch it. Mainland China is the same. They have a lot of Chinese actors, there’s one actor from Hong Kong and they say that is a Hong Kong movie. I don’t know why. I wanted to make this movie entertaining, I want entertainment. I wanna say: “People, go to the theatre, only one hour and forty minutes, you’ll have a great time. You will enjoy!” That is my point, you know? Did you enjoy in the theatre, did you see my movie?

MMT/GG: No, not yet.

SAMMO HUNG: Ok, you will enjoy it tonight, or maybe tomorrow (laughs)

MMT/GG: Tomorrow… yes, I’m sure we will.

"Warriors Two" Chinese Theatrical Poster

“Warriors Two” Chinese Theatrical Poster

SAMMO HUNG: But it seems that the segregation is initiated by the audience themselves because of the geographic division. It was not my intention to make any division, I wanted to make an entertaining movie so that everybody could enjoy. There shouldn’t be any barriers basically.

MMT/GG: Can you tell us who brought Casanova Wong in Golden Harvest?

SAMMO HUNG: That was a long time ago?

MMT/GG: Yeah, late 70’s. The South Korean kicker.

SAMMO HUNG: Yes… now he’s boss in South Korea.

MMT/GG: He stared in your movie Warriors Two.

SAMMO HUNG: Yes, actually he starred in a lot of movies. He was popular for his jump over the table, then kick. His kick is very nice, very good. He knew how to do it, but he needed somebody to decide for him. I scolded him a lot because of that, I gave him a hard time. I used to tell him: “You’re brainless!“ Why? I said to him: “You gotta be thinking. I tell you one, you go one, I tell you two, you go two. If I say one, you gotta say ten! You gotta be different!” (yelling)

MMT/GG: Speaking of Casanova, is it true that South Korean kung fu movies influenced the choreography in Hong Kong movies?

"Painted Faces" Theatrical Poster

“Painted Faces” Theatrical Poster

SAMMO HUNG: A little bit, not a lot. They did influence, but not a lot. Because I choreographed, I decided the kicks, the acts for him (Casanova). I don’t want people just to follow my orders. I want you to come up with your own individual idea and use your own brain to digest what’s been taught to you and then bring out the new. Your own creative method of doing things.

MMT/GG: In 1988, you stared in a movie called Painted Faces. It’s about your growing up and training at the Peking Opera School. How much of it is true?

SAMMO HUNG: Almost 70%. Actually, the real training was harder than what is portrayed in the movie.

MMT/GG: About a month ago, martial arts community lost another great legend, Fung Hak-On. Some of his most memorable roles were in your movies The Iron Fisted Monk and Warriors Two. What can you say about him?

The late Fung Hak On in "Ip Man 2"

The late Fung Hak On in “Ip Man 2”

SAMMO HUNG: Ah, nothing to say. We had a relationship a long time ago, then we fell apart. Of course, my heart is sad. I was overseas at the time when he passed away, I wanted to pay my respect but… He was a long time collaborator from very old days. He left Hong Kong and went to America long time ago and there he won the lottery. He won the lottery in San Diego, he was very lucky. And then, when he came back to Hong Kong, we worked together on Ip Man 2. I would tell him what to do and he would just do it. That’s ok, I taught about everything for him.

We were friends before. When we were young, we were always going out to bar, drinking, fighting on the street. It was long time ago. Of course I’m really upset, but what can I say? What can I do? Just pray to him: “Hey you on the other world! Watch us, ok? Give me luck!”

Thanks again to Martin Sandison, Matija Makotoichi Tomic, Goran Grey, Ryan Law, the great staff at the Udine Far East Film Festival, as well as all names involved – and of course, Sammo Hung himself – for making this interview happen.

Posted in Interviews, News |