The general consensus is a pirate movie will contain lots of epic sea battles and hidden treasures. Well “The Valiant Ones” may contain treasure of the stolen kind but there is barely a sighting of a ship throughout, despite the coastal setting. Yet this is a King Hu feature so put that initial concern to one side and prepare to rediscover one of his less prominent works as Eureka entertainment release it in a new 4K scan.
on Terracotta by clicking on the image below
Pirates are attacking the coast of China and the Emperor (Chao Lei) tasks General Zhu Wan (Tu Kuang-chi) to assemble a small group to defeat them. Under the command of General Yu Dayou (Roy Chiao), they include the husband and wife sword fighters Wu Ji-yuan (Wing Bai) and Wu Ruo-shi (Feng Hsu). As they learn more about their opponents, it becomes evident...
on Terracotta by clicking on the image below
Pirates are attacking the coast of China and the Emperor (Chao Lei) tasks General Zhu Wan (Tu Kuang-chi) to assemble a small group to defeat them. Under the command of General Yu Dayou (Roy Chiao), they include the husband and wife sword fighters Wu Ji-yuan (Wing Bai) and Wu Ruo-shi (Feng Hsu). As they learn more about their opponents, it becomes evident...
- 5/16/2024
- by Ben Stykuc
- AsianMoviePulse
Rom-coms often follow straightforward narrative structures, and one classic pattern involves the introduction of a prince or princess, charming or not, who disrupts the peace of a regimented or constrained life. This storytelling form inevitably strikes a chord with us, the majority of audiences, to varying degrees. Let's face it, whether casually scrolling through Insta or Tinder, getting dressed for yoga class or a night out, everyone seeks an unexpected twist in their lives, in 1977 as well as today. Furthermore, such pivotal moments often lead to a Cornelian choice, between reason and chance, wisdom and whimsy. This is precisely where Tuan Wan-lu finds herself.
Follow our tribute to Taiwanese by clicking on the image below
Everything started when Wan-lu, a young and carefree student crashed into journalist Meng-chiao. Love at first sight, end of the story. But that was without reckoning on Ku Yu-lan, her childhood sweetheart and prospective husband seemingly approved by her family,...
Follow our tribute to Taiwanese by clicking on the image below
Everything started when Wan-lu, a young and carefree student crashed into journalist Meng-chiao. Love at first sight, end of the story. But that was without reckoning on Ku Yu-lan, her childhood sweetheart and prospective husband seemingly approved by her family,...
- 4/5/2024
- by Jean Claude
- AsianMoviePulse
Watch too many movies and chances are you can predict the outcome within the opening minutes. Wuxia can feel often feel like this and so the enjoyment comes in the journey and not always the destination, as satisfying that inevitable confrontation might be. “The Swordsman of all Swordsmen” thus comes as a surprise with a twist in the expectations that focuses on the honor and chivalry as much as the notions of revenge. It's a perfect opportunity to revisit it with Eureka Entertainment releasing a restored version onto Blu-ray.
on Terracotta by clicking on the image below
As a young boy, Tsai Ying-jie (Tien Peng) witnesses the slaughter of his family by Yun Chun-chung (Tsao Tsien) and his accomplices in search or the Spirit Chasing Sword. Growing up into a swordsman in his own right, he seeks to exact revenge from those responsible. An encounter with Flying...
on Terracotta by clicking on the image below
As a young boy, Tsai Ying-jie (Tien Peng) witnesses the slaughter of his family by Yun Chun-chung (Tsao Tsien) and his accomplices in search or the Spirit Chasing Sword. Growing up into a swordsman in his own right, he seeks to exact revenge from those responsible. An encounter with Flying...
- 3/18/2024
- by Ben Stykuc
- AsianMoviePulse
King Hu's place in the history of world cinema as the man who reinvigorated and evolved the wuxia genre is well cemented, and “Raining in the Mountain”, which was selected as one of the Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures by the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2005, is another testament to the fact.
Raining in the Mountain is screening at Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema
The story is set in a remote Buddhist Monastery during the 16th century, whose ageing Abbot is about to retire and announce his successor. The Abbot invites three outsiders to advise him on the matter, but all three of them have their own agendas. Esquire Wen, a wealthy patron of the monastery, has brought with him White Fox, a legendary thief who poses as his concubine and another sidekick, to help him steal the legendary scriptural text of “The Mahayana Sutra,” hand-copied by Tripitaka.
Raining in the Mountain is screening at Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema
The story is set in a remote Buddhist Monastery during the 16th century, whose ageing Abbot is about to retire and announce his successor. The Abbot invites three outsiders to advise him on the matter, but all three of them have their own agendas. Esquire Wen, a wealthy patron of the monastery, has brought with him White Fox, a legendary thief who poses as his concubine and another sidekick, to help him steal the legendary scriptural text of “The Mahayana Sutra,” hand-copied by Tripitaka.
- 2/10/2024
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Acclaimed Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf will serve as jury president at the 30th Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema (Viffac), which runs from February 6-13.
Held in France, this year’s edition will spotlight Taiwanese cinema and Malayalam-language films from India. A total of 92 films from 29 countries will be screened.
Makhmalbaf’s works include A Moment of Innocence (1996), which won a special mention at the Locarno Film Festival, as well as Kandahar (2001), which won the Ecumenical Jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
Other jury members at Viffac this year include Taiwanese director Zero Chou, winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlinale in 2007, Iranian actress Fatemed Motamed-Arya and Japanese actor Shogen.
There are 17 films across the fiction and documentary competitions, which come from China, Korea, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal and Taiwan. There are two world premieres, five international premieres, six European premieres and four French premieres.
Held in France, this year’s edition will spotlight Taiwanese cinema and Malayalam-language films from India. A total of 92 films from 29 countries will be screened.
Makhmalbaf’s works include A Moment of Innocence (1996), which won a special mention at the Locarno Film Festival, as well as Kandahar (2001), which won the Ecumenical Jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
Other jury members at Viffac this year include Taiwanese director Zero Chou, winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlinale in 2007, Iranian actress Fatemed Motamed-Arya and Japanese actor Shogen.
There are 17 films across the fiction and documentary competitions, which come from China, Korea, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal and Taiwan. There are two world premieres, five international premieres, six European premieres and four French premieres.
- 2/1/2024
- by Sara Merican
- Deadline Film + TV
Taiwan and India in the spotlight at the 30th Vesoul Iff of Asian Cinema
The 30th Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema will feature 92 films, including 52 never-before-seen films from 29 countries, under the banner of commitment!
Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iranian director with 60 international awards to his credit, is President of the Jury. Other members include Taiwanese director Zero Chou, winner of the Golden Bear at Berlin 2007, Fatemed Motamed-Arya, the most awarded Iranian actress in the history of Iranian cinema, and Japanese actor Shogen, cinema ambassador at the Sea-Okinawa Pan-Pacific International Film Festival.
The 17 films in the fiction and documentary competitions come from China, Korea, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal and Taiwan. Four are French premieres, six European premieres, five international premieres and two world premieres.
Feature Film Competition :
China: All Ears by Liu Jiayin – China (Tibet): The Snow Leopard by Pema Tseden – Korea: Work to...
The 30th Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema will feature 92 films, including 52 never-before-seen films from 29 countries, under the banner of commitment!
Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iranian director with 60 international awards to his credit, is President of the Jury. Other members include Taiwanese director Zero Chou, winner of the Golden Bear at Berlin 2007, Fatemed Motamed-Arya, the most awarded Iranian actress in the history of Iranian cinema, and Japanese actor Shogen, cinema ambassador at the Sea-Okinawa Pan-Pacific International Film Festival.
The 17 films in the fiction and documentary competitions come from China, Korea, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal and Taiwan. Four are French premieres, six European premieres, five international premieres and two world premieres.
Feature Film Competition :
China: All Ears by Liu Jiayin – China (Tibet): The Snow Leopard by Pema Tseden – Korea: Work to...
- 2/1/2024
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Mubi has unveiled their December 2023 lineup, featuring notable new releases such as Rodrigo Moreno’s The Delinquents, Argentina’s Oscar this year; the Lily Gladstone-led drama The Unknown Country; Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s The Beasts; and the José González documentary A Tiger in Paradise. Additional highlights include films from Olivier Assayas, Takeshi Kitano, Jean-Luc Godard, Kelly Reichardt, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, the Shaw Browers, Lars von Trier, Arnaud Desplechin, and more.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
December 1st
The House that Jack Built, directed by Lars von Trier | Chaos Reigns: The Films of Lars von Trier
Breaking the Waves, directed by Lars von Trier | Chaos Reigns: The Films of Lars von Trier
The Element of Crime, directed by Lars von Trier | Chaos Reigns: The Films of Lars von Trier
Europa, directed by Lars von Trier | Chaos Reigns: The Films of Lars von Trier
Epidemic, directed...
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
December 1st
The House that Jack Built, directed by Lars von Trier | Chaos Reigns: The Films of Lars von Trier
Breaking the Waves, directed by Lars von Trier | Chaos Reigns: The Films of Lars von Trier
The Element of Crime, directed by Lars von Trier | Chaos Reigns: The Films of Lars von Trier
Europa, directed by Lars von Trier | Chaos Reigns: The Films of Lars von Trier
Epidemic, directed...
- 11/29/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Mostly known for elevating the wuxia genre in unprecedented heights, with films like “A Touch of Zen” and “Dragon Inn”, King Hu has also implemented his impressive aesthetics to this 1979 film, which lingers between the thriller and the ghost story, as usual including Zen Buddhist philosophy. Eureka Entertainment presents this epic in all of its 191 minutes, in a fully restored edition, in stunning 4K.
Legend of the Mountain is screening at Five Flavours
The story is adapted from a Song Dynasty folk tale and revolves around Ho Yunqing, a young scholar who is tasked by an eminent monk to transcribe a Buddhist sutra said to have immense power over the spirits of the afterlife. To execute his work in peace, he travels to the abandoned premises of an ex-general deep in the mountains, where he encounters a number of strange people. These include Mr Tsui, the man who welcomes him in the area,...
Legend of the Mountain is screening at Five Flavours
The story is adapted from a Song Dynasty folk tale and revolves around Ho Yunqing, a young scholar who is tasked by an eminent monk to transcribe a Buddhist sutra said to have immense power over the spirits of the afterlife. To execute his work in peace, he travels to the abandoned premises of an ex-general deep in the mountains, where he encounters a number of strange people. These include Mr Tsui, the man who welcomes him in the area,...
- 11/20/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
While his features are praised for their inventive and stylish fight sequences, costumes and other aspects, one of King Hu's trademarks was the influence of Buddhist philosophy in his works. Destiny is perhaps the most significant motif linking all of his works, with many of his characters fulfilling their fate in the form of a prophecy or their principles, which is the fight against corruption within the world. King Hu has created tales that might be staged in the distant past, albeit one spiced with fantasy elements, but in the end they also reflect the present with its reliance on narratives to make sense of events and actions. In one of his last projects “The Wheel of Life”, which he co-directed with Hsing lee and Pai Ching-jui, we are told three tales from different periods in time, showcasing the influence of fate on people and the world around them,...
- 11/19/2023
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Perhaps one of the most legendary titles in the genre, King Hu's iconic martial arts epic “Come Drink with Me” was a revelation when it first premiered in the mid-60s. Being one of the first films to adapt a stylish bent to the martial arts scenes while still keeping it's artistic touch, the film essentially launched Shaw Brothers as a studio for adrenaline-charged, hard-hitting action films.
Come Drink With Me is screening at Five Flavours
In the middle of the countryside, a group of bandits takes the imperial envoy Chang hostage in order to demand the return of their leader. Although she is really a girl, the renowned fighter Golden Swallow who claims to be Chang's brother, arrives to secure his release. Tracking them down, she takes on the bandits in their hideout at a Buddhist temple, massacring dozens before she's wounded by a poison dart. Subsequently, she...
Come Drink With Me is screening at Five Flavours
In the middle of the countryside, a group of bandits takes the imperial envoy Chang hostage in order to demand the return of their leader. Although she is really a girl, the renowned fighter Golden Swallow who claims to be Chang's brother, arrives to secure his release. Tracking them down, she takes on the bandits in their hideout at a Buddhist temple, massacring dozens before she's wounded by a poison dart. Subsequently, she...
- 11/16/2023
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
After “Come Drink With Me” Hong Kong director King Hu probably could have stayed with Shaw Brothers Studio, but instead left the country for Taiwan where he would form his own company and in the years to come, make some of the best movies of his career. While the budget and conditions had certainly changed, Hu continued exploring the themes of his last feature in “Dragon Inn”, arguably his most popular movie aside from “A Touch of Zen”. As one of the most referred to entry in the wuxia genre, it not only provided cinephiles with great fight choreographies, great performances and a wonderful setting, with the architecture of the inn itself being the star of the show, “Dragon Inn” also proved how the genre would blend a highly entertaining formula with a very interesting and (after all these years) still quite appealing social commentary about the relationship of subject and ruler.
- 11/16/2023
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Hailed as one of the biggest epics of the wuxia genre, “A Touch of Zen” is a true masterpiece of the category that stands apart particularly due to its technical prowess and high symbolism. The script is based on a short story titled “The Magnanimous Girl” by Pu Songling that was published in 1679.
A Touch of Zen is screening at Five Flavours
Gu is a talented painter and scholar who still lives with his mother, who worries about him being unambitious, unmarried and his decline to apply for a civil servant position. Eventually, a young girl named Yang and her mother settle in an abandoned house nearby, which everybody considers haunted. Gu's mother however, does not seem at all bothered by the fact and she proceeds in an effort to arrange a marriage between Gu and Yang. The girl declines but she and Gu strike a peculiar friendship, after she...
A Touch of Zen is screening at Five Flavours
Gu is a talented painter and scholar who still lives with his mother, who worries about him being unambitious, unmarried and his decline to apply for a civil servant position. Eventually, a young girl named Yang and her mother settle in an abandoned house nearby, which everybody considers haunted. Gu's mother however, does not seem at all bothered by the fact and she proceeds in an effort to arrange a marriage between Gu and Yang. The girl declines but she and Gu strike a peculiar friendship, after she...
- 11/15/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
by Yann Benarrous
Is it really worthwhile for me to comment further? Just imagine throwing into a defective Thermomix in no particular order Bruce Lee's early classics, (not-the-best) Blaxploitation undercover stories, few OSS177 and other cheap cold war spy fictions with just a drop of Nunsploitation to spice it up. Tempting, isn't it? No surprise to see the B-movies undisputed ruler Quentin Tarantino resurrecting this underground piece for an interview to the Straight Times while promoting “Kill Bill”.
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
Obviously, the name Cleopatra Wong is directly inspired form Jack Starrett's “Cleopatra Jones” (1973), just like the introductive “They call her… “ is a common pattern of the Exploitation scene, the most famous probably being the Spaghetti Western “They Call Me Trinity” (1970). Moreover seeing the coming-from-nowhere-soon-returning-to-nowhere leading actress Doris Young getting renamed Marrie Lee is certainly making her a sibling of King Bruce,...
Is it really worthwhile for me to comment further? Just imagine throwing into a defective Thermomix in no particular order Bruce Lee's early classics, (not-the-best) Blaxploitation undercover stories, few OSS177 and other cheap cold war spy fictions with just a drop of Nunsploitation to spice it up. Tempting, isn't it? No surprise to see the B-movies undisputed ruler Quentin Tarantino resurrecting this underground piece for an interview to the Straight Times while promoting “Kill Bill”.
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
Obviously, the name Cleopatra Wong is directly inspired form Jack Starrett's “Cleopatra Jones” (1973), just like the introductive “They call her… “ is a common pattern of the Exploitation scene, the most famous probably being the Spaghetti Western “They Call Me Trinity” (1970). Moreover seeing the coming-from-nowhere-soon-returning-to-nowhere leading actress Doris Young getting renamed Marrie Lee is certainly making her a sibling of King Bruce,...
- 11/11/2023
- by Guest Writer
- AsianMoviePulse
This year's Special Screenings section features two classics directed by the masters of Taiwanese cinema – Tsai Ming-liang and Hou Hsiao-hsien. The screenings of films, restored in 4K, will be a nostalgic trip down the memory lane to the magic tales that have already earned an indisputable cult status and entered the canon of Asian cinema.
The process of digital restoration allows festivals to return to classic titles and bring them back to audiences to revisit and reevaluate through the lens of time passed. The feeling that the world is changing and that cinema follows in its steps will be one of the key emotions accompanying the screenings.
Tsai Ming-liang's “Goodbye, Dragon Inn” is not just a tribute to King Hu, whose retrospective is one of this year's Festival highlights, but also a symbolic goodbye to the golden era of the classic wuxia films that have been kindling the emotions of Asian audiences for many decades.
The process of digital restoration allows festivals to return to classic titles and bring them back to audiences to revisit and reevaluate through the lens of time passed. The feeling that the world is changing and that cinema follows in its steps will be one of the key emotions accompanying the screenings.
Tsai Ming-liang's “Goodbye, Dragon Inn” is not just a tribute to King Hu, whose retrospective is one of this year's Festival highlights, but also a symbolic goodbye to the golden era of the classic wuxia films that have been kindling the emotions of Asian audiences for many decades.
- 10/30/2023
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
Hong Kong cinema is associated with action films which most often bring to mind male protagonists. Most undeservedly so since, thanks to the characteristics of Hong Kong martial arts films, women have been successfully surmounting their male counterparts with training, agility, and wits in them for many decades. The masters, such as King Hu and Tsui Hark, were well-aware of it. They were among the ones who discovered outstanding artists whose roles were ahead of their times and set out new directions for the development of popular cinema.
Hong Kong is not just about action cinema, but also brilliant comedies and dramas, and sharp tales with social overtones, in which fascinating, complex female characters are also present. The Hong Kong Heroines section brings back strong heroines and the great roles of stars, including Cheng Pei-pei, Sylvia Chang, Cherry Ngan, and Maggie Cheung. The section presents Hong Kong cinema from the...
Hong Kong is not just about action cinema, but also brilliant comedies and dramas, and sharp tales with social overtones, in which fascinating, complex female characters are also present. The Hong Kong Heroines section brings back strong heroines and the great roles of stars, including Cheng Pei-pei, Sylvia Chang, Cherry Ngan, and Maggie Cheung. The section presents Hong Kong cinema from the...
- 9/22/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Mainland China, July 2021: Another day another online movie made its way to the massively popular video streaming platforms there to catch the roving eyes of the viewers looking for a quick fix. Produced by Henan Guanglan Culture and starring a bunch of unknown actors, at least outside of China anyway, Tencent Video's “Longmen Town Inn” or “Dragon Gate Town Inn” in Chinese, is one such production like many countless more.
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
Set in a nameless desert, the simple plot concerns Wu Long Jian Xian (Chu Xiao Long), a peerless swordsman who has to fight off challengers from other cults eager to take him down in order to claim the top position in Jianghu. Ultimately this leads to a standoff at Broken Soul Cliff in which he is the sole survivor and thereupon he also decides to live in seclusion.
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
Set in a nameless desert, the simple plot concerns Wu Long Jian Xian (Chu Xiao Long), a peerless swordsman who has to fight off challengers from other cults eager to take him down in order to claim the top position in Jianghu. Ultimately this leads to a standoff at Broken Soul Cliff in which he is the sole survivor and thereupon he also decides to live in seclusion.
- 7/16/2023
- by David Chew
- AsianMoviePulse
Arrow’s recent box sets Shawscope Volume One and Volume Two highlighted the golden age of Hong Kong’s Shaw Brothers studio, spanning roughly from the mid-1970s to their pivot toward TV in 1986. Now, Shout! Factory’s Shaw Brothers Classics: Volume 1 focuses on the studio’s rapid commercial ascendency at the end of the ’60s with their then-new, harder-edged take on martial arts cinema.
The earliest film in the set is, fittingly, Chang Cheh’s The Assassin, from 1967. Made hot on the heels of Chang’s (and the studio’s) breakout feature The One-Armed Swordsman from the same year, The Assassin furthers the filmmaker’s interest in moving the martial arts film away from its erstwhile emphasis on female heroes who are prone to musical outbursts and flowery romances as they are violence and toward the sort of male-centric revenge narratives that dominate the titles collected here.
One-Armed Swordsman...
The earliest film in the set is, fittingly, Chang Cheh’s The Assassin, from 1967. Made hot on the heels of Chang’s (and the studio’s) breakout feature The One-Armed Swordsman from the same year, The Assassin furthers the filmmaker’s interest in moving the martial arts film away from its erstwhile emphasis on female heroes who are prone to musical outbursts and flowery romances as they are violence and toward the sort of male-centric revenge narratives that dominate the titles collected here.
One-Armed Swordsman...
- 6/26/2023
- by Jake Cole
- Slant Magazine
Having been one of the contributors to the script for King Hu's “Come Drink With Me” while also serving as an assistant director for Hu himself, it should come perhaps as no surprise Taiwanese filmmaker Ting Shan-hsi would follow in the same tradition as his mentor. In the busy 1970s world of wuxia, he created several entries within the genre, with an astonishing nine feature films under his belt three years after his debut. As it also became obvious, the genre needed to explore further territories, with some of its conventions feeling stale and predictable, Shan-hsi decided it was about time to venture into fantasy and other genres. “The Ghost Hill” is the result of this tendency to spice up the wuxia conventions, with some elements indeed working to its advantage, while others not working quite as well.
The Ghost Hill is screening at Old School Kung Fu Fest
For twenty years,...
The Ghost Hill is screening at Old School Kung Fu Fest
For twenty years,...
- 4/15/2023
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
After the commercial success of wuxia-titles such as “Dragon Inn”, it was obvious there was an audience for swordplay and high drama. Many directors jumped on the trend, with many features being truly extraordinary and many rightfully forgotten, with Joseph Kuo's genre entries being from the first category. While having made a career for himself directing drama, Kuo employed this experience and many of the elements used by filmmakers such as King Hu to create his first major venture into wuxia, namely “The Swordsman of All Swordsman”. It is a movie which looks and feels very much like a typical genre entry, but at the same time Kuo's approach to themes such as revenge and honour is quite skillful and certainly deserves a closer look.
The Swordsman of all Swordsmen is screening at Old School Kung Fu Fest
Traumatised by witnessing the gruesome murder of his parents and the rest of his family,...
The Swordsman of all Swordsmen is screening at Old School Kung Fu Fest
Traumatised by witnessing the gruesome murder of his parents and the rest of his family,...
- 4/14/2023
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Wong Kar-wai isn't a filmmaker particularly known for his sense of humour. His work is many things: romantic, sumptuous, sensual, atmospheric. When he does attempt comedy, it's often tied to one character, an oddball outlier who provides a humorous foil to one of his stony-faced protagonists. The last thing you would expect his name attached to is a wacky parody wuxia movie less in line with King Hu and more on the same page as a Zucker Brothers production, and yet, from the spare change of the enormously expensive and troubled production behind his own “Ashes of Time”, “The Eagle Shooting Heroes” exists.
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
Jet Tone Films was established after the release of Wong's first two sensitive tough guy movies (“As Tears Go By” and “Days of Being Wild”), and its initial efforts went towards adapting Jin Yong's classic wuxia novel,...
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
Jet Tone Films was established after the release of Wong's first two sensitive tough guy movies (“As Tears Go By” and “Days of Being Wild”), and its initial efforts went towards adapting Jin Yong's classic wuxia novel,...
- 4/2/2023
- by Simon Ramshaw
- AsianMoviePulse
You could argue that no one has done more for cinema in Asia, and more for global cinema from Asia, than Sammo Hung.
There was proof of that on display at the Asian Film Awards on Sunday night (Hong Kong time) when the veteran filmmaker and martial arts master was handed a lifetime achievement award and a highlight reel traced his 200-plus film career back to the 1960s and showed the audience flashes of the genius that has driven Hung’s career ever since.
From child star to getting bashed by Bruce Lee in the opening scenes of Enter the Dragon; from an assistant to the great Hong Kong action director King Hu to the stunt director who help guide Jackie Chan and helped invent the action comedy genre and on to the star and director of a string of hits of his own, Hung has helped shape the action...
There was proof of that on display at the Asian Film Awards on Sunday night (Hong Kong time) when the veteran filmmaker and martial arts master was handed a lifetime achievement award and a highlight reel traced his 200-plus film career back to the 1960s and showed the audience flashes of the genius that has driven Hung’s career ever since.
From child star to getting bashed by Bruce Lee in the opening scenes of Enter the Dragon; from an assistant to the great Hong Kong action director King Hu to the stunt director who help guide Jackie Chan and helped invent the action comedy genre and on to the star and director of a string of hits of his own, Hung has helped shape the action...
- 3/14/2023
- by Mathew Scott
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The newest season of the "Gundam" franchise, titled "The Witch From Mercury," has been an odd one. Rather than a tale of interstellar conflict, it's a high school story about teenagers who fight each other in school-sanctioned robot duels. It's the first "Gundam" series to star a female protagonist, and it borrows heavily from the surreal anime classic "Revolutionary Girl Utena." As always, there are fans out there who do not take kindly to that kind of thing — fans who believe that "Witch From Mercury" is a "Gundam" series in name only, made to appeal to casual viewers rather than the serious nerds who make up the franchise's real audience.
These embittered "Gundam" fans are wrong. "Witch From Mercury" is hardly the first weird "Gundam." In fact, "Gundam" has always been weird. This is a series whose characters have names like "Full Frontal" and "Biscuit Griffon." It is a series...
These embittered "Gundam" fans are wrong. "Witch From Mercury" is hardly the first weird "Gundam." In fact, "Gundam" has always been weird. This is a series whose characters have names like "Full Frontal" and "Biscuit Griffon." It is a series...
- 11/9/2022
- by Adam Wescott
- Slash Film
The Korean War has been a fertile ground for epic war features over the past few decades. Predominantly these have emerged from South Korea where the war is part of the national subconscious. Chinese cinema had tended to focus more on the impact of World War 2 and its aftermath until the release of “The Battle at Lake Changjin” in 2021. A huge success at the box office and another in the current trend of “Melody” blockbusters that incorporate patriotic themes in amongst the entertainment. With the endeavor requiring three directors, it comes as no surprise that the sequel was shot back-to-back to make the most of the production costs.
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
The 7th Company headed by Qianli (Wu) accompanied by his brother Wanli (Jackson Yee) attack the airfield protected by the American 1st division, supported by the artillery battalion headed by Yang...
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
The 7th Company headed by Qianli (Wu) accompanied by his brother Wanli (Jackson Yee) attack the airfield protected by the American 1st division, supported by the artillery battalion headed by Yang...
- 10/19/2022
- by Ben Stykuc
- AsianMoviePulse
After starring in and directing the hugely successful “One Armed Boxer Vs the Flying Guillotine / Master of the Flying Guillotine” (1976) Jimmy Wang Yu was back with both arms and fighting yet another version of the famed Shaw Brothers flying guillotine in this low-budget Taiwanese clone.
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
Nicknamed the Silver Spear, Lung Fei Yung is a ruthless assassin for hire and he only kills people who deserve to die. Apparently during a massacre ten years ago, a trio of powerful experts known as The Devil’s Three was responsible for the downfall of one hundred and twenty members from eight kung fu schools. Now for some unknown reason, a certain female clan leader has decided to have them killed and trusting that Lung the Spearman is the only one who can do the job, she promptly hires him.
Lung easily dispatches...
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
Nicknamed the Silver Spear, Lung Fei Yung is a ruthless assassin for hire and he only kills people who deserve to die. Apparently during a massacre ten years ago, a trio of powerful experts known as The Devil’s Three was responsible for the downfall of one hundred and twenty members from eight kung fu schools. Now for some unknown reason, a certain female clan leader has decided to have them killed and trusting that Lung the Spearman is the only one who can do the job, she promptly hires him.
Lung easily dispatches...
- 10/8/2022
- by David Chew
- AsianMoviePulse
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSKing Lear.Jean-Luc Godard, groundbreaking French-Swiss filmmaker across six decades, died last week at age 91. In the week since, a number of tributes have been shared: among them, Blair McClendon in n+1, J. Hoberman in The Nation, Manohla Dargis in the New York Times, and Richard Hell in Screen Slate. Alternatively, you can find a 2002 essay on Godard by filmmaker and theorist Peter Wollen on Verso's blog, watch a 1988 conversation between Godard and critic Serge Daney, or read this list Godard contributed to the British film journal Afterimage in 1970. Shadow and Act founder Tambay Obenson is fundraising to launch Akoroko, a new platform devoted to African film and television. The platform intends to combine film journalism with “consultation, cataloging, and curated film streaming.”Two posters (below) for the 61st New York Film Festival feature photographs taken by Nan Goldin.
- 9/20/2022
- MUBI
‘The Heroic Mission’ is named and inspired by two titles of To’s films during the 90s: The Heroic Trio (1992) and The Mission (1998). The imagery of ‘hero’ created by To in most of his films represents a fated statement: ‘We all came with a mission’. Influenced by the film directors King Hu, Sam Peckinpah and Akira Kurosawa, To enjoyed his international breakthrough with a film noir signature and gangster films. To specialises in angling at different characters in daily life and portraying their inner struggles and conflicts between desire and making choices. To once said, ‘I can see two to three faces of a person.’ Three films have been selected in this programme and each tells a different story about heroism.
Presented jointly by UK-China Film Collab and Trinity CineAsia, this programme provides a wider context of the societal changes in Hong Kong in recent decades. It wishes to...
Presented jointly by UK-China Film Collab and Trinity CineAsia, this programme provides a wider context of the societal changes in Hong Kong in recent decades. It wishes to...
- 6/15/2022
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Before the Shaw Brothers burst onto the Hong Kong film scene with "Come Drink With Me" in 1966, there wasn't a lot of leeway through which martial arts could be portrayed on film. The most popular films in the genre up to that point leaned heavily on melodrama and the superhuman feats of their heroes, often with the help of special effects or animation. They were certainly fun, but they lacked the gravity to carry the genre into the modern age.
All that changed, however, with "Come Drink With Me." The film, which marked the legendary King Hu's second time in the director's chair,...
The post Come Drink With Me Was a Major Step For the Martial Arts Genre appeared first on /Film.
All that changed, however, with "Come Drink With Me." The film, which marked the legendary King Hu's second time in the director's chair,...
The post Come Drink With Me Was a Major Step For the Martial Arts Genre appeared first on /Film.
- 5/24/2022
- by Lyvie Scott
- Slash Film
If you’re looking to take a summer film analysis course for free, David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson have graciously offered that opportunity. The invaluable film theorists, who previously hosted a selection of their digital books on PayPal, have now made them available at no cost in protest of Peter Thiel’s campaign contributions to J. D. Vance and other Maga cretins. “[We]e see no reason to add to PayPal’s revenues, not even the few cents it receives from a purchase here,” notes Bordwell on his site.
Freely available books include On the History of Film Style, in which Bordwell “scrutinizes the theories of style launched by André Bazin, Noël Burch, and other film historians” and looks at a wide-ranging span of cinema; Planet Hong Kong, an essential text featuring analysis on works from Wong Kar-wai, King Hu, Stephen Chow, Johnnie To; and many more. There are also books...
Freely available books include On the History of Film Style, in which Bordwell “scrutinizes the theories of style launched by André Bazin, Noël Burch, and other film historians” and looks at a wide-ranging span of cinema; Planet Hong Kong, an essential text featuring analysis on works from Wong Kar-wai, King Hu, Stephen Chow, Johnnie To; and many more. There are also books...
- 5/18/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
“Winter Vacation” is a Chinese Independent film, an absurdist comedy, with a stark streak of pessimism. Winter Vacation is an extremely arty film too, with long static visuals punctuated with explosions of intelligent humour that can be laughed out loud. All the generations feature in this mini odyssey into perplexed ennui of an Inner Mongolian town. Children, teenagers, middle-aged adults and the elderly are all in a state of existential angst, all going nowhere with nothing to do; they’re all bored out of their minds. Traditionally, the Chinese winter vacation is a time of the year when families get together for a big celebration. With the itinerant nature of migrant work in China, family members can travel hundreds, if not thousands of miles to re-join their families for this celebration. Li Hongqi deconstructs this celebration and family relations, where in this mysterious town, the celebration seems to be occurring at some unknowable distance.
- 2/24/2022
- by Jonathan Wilson
- AsianMoviePulse
Action cinema back in the golden era of Hong Kong cinema was encapsulated with an anything goes ethos. You would get almost guerilla style film-making techniques with a complete aversion to safety and what you subsequently got on screen was the result. “Devil Hunters” concludes with one such stunt that will leave the mind boggling at how nobody got sued! It’s also a classic example of B-movie filmmaking with it fitting comfortably into the female fighting flicks that followed the success of Michelle Yeoh and “Yes Madam”. With a lot of these poorly put togethe,r will this stand out from the crowd or just be remembered for the finale?
on Amazon
A transaction between two sets of mobsters is interrupted by the police headed up by Superintendent Tsang (Alex Man) and Madam Tong (Sibelle Hu). Bing (Moon Lee) also interferes, and her interaction allows them to escape.
on Amazon
A transaction between two sets of mobsters is interrupted by the police headed up by Superintendent Tsang (Alex Man) and Madam Tong (Sibelle Hu). Bing (Moon Lee) also interferes, and her interaction allows them to escape.
- 2/21/2022
- by Ben Stykuc
- AsianMoviePulse
“They call me Drunken Cat”
King Hu’s Come Drink With Me (1966) will be available on Blu-ray March 22nd from Arrow Video. It can be pre-ordered Here
Years before Shaw Brothers’ kung fu films made them the biggest film studio in Hong Kong, local audiences flocked to their wuxia pian films: mythic tales of swordfighting (and often gravity-defying) heroes fighting for honor. In his final film for the studio, Come Drink With Me, director King Hu (A Touch of Zen) broke fresh new ground in martial arts storytelling, and catapulted fresh-faced lead actress Cheng Pei-pei to stardom in the process.
When the Governor’s son is taken hostage by bandits, a mysterious swordsman named Golden Swallow (Cheng) is hot on their trail to ensure the son’s release. What the bandits don’t realize, however, is that Golden Swallow is actually a woman, and that the hostage is her brother.
King Hu’s Come Drink With Me (1966) will be available on Blu-ray March 22nd from Arrow Video. It can be pre-ordered Here
Years before Shaw Brothers’ kung fu films made them the biggest film studio in Hong Kong, local audiences flocked to their wuxia pian films: mythic tales of swordfighting (and often gravity-defying) heroes fighting for honor. In his final film for the studio, Come Drink With Me, director King Hu (A Touch of Zen) broke fresh new ground in martial arts storytelling, and catapulted fresh-faced lead actress Cheng Pei-pei to stardom in the process.
When the Governor’s son is taken hostage by bandits, a mysterious swordsman named Golden Swallow (Cheng) is hot on their trail to ensure the son’s release. What the bandits don’t realize, however, is that Golden Swallow is actually a woman, and that the hostage is her brother.
- 2/10/2022
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Mijke de Jong’s Along The Way was the only film to officially receive a physical screening.
Vanja Kaludjercic, festival director of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), struck an upbeat note on the closing weekend of the 51st edition which included the physical world premiere of Mijke de Jong’s Along The Way, at cinemas in Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Groningen.
She hailed the efforts made by her festival team in putting together an online edition for a second year in such challenging circumstances. The entire festival had to be re-thought as an online event at short notice when in late December,...
Vanja Kaludjercic, festival director of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), struck an upbeat note on the closing weekend of the 51st edition which included the physical world premiere of Mijke de Jong’s Along The Way, at cinemas in Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Groningen.
She hailed the efforts made by her festival team in putting together an online edition for a second year in such challenging circumstances. The entire festival had to be re-thought as an online event at short notice when in late December,...
- 2/6/2022
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Adilkhan Yerzhanov’s “Assault” and “Kung Fu Zohra” from Mabrouk El Mechri are among the lineup at International Film Festival Rotterdam’s (IFFR) 51st edition.
The films were among 10 features selected for the Big Screen competition, which aims to bridge the gap between popular, classic and arthouse cinema.
IFFR also boasts the Tiger Competition for emerging talent and Ammodo Tiger Short competition for shorts.
Among the 14 titles selected for the Tiger Competition, Roberto Doveris will present “Proyecto Fantasma,” Morgane Dziurla-Petit will deliver “Excess Will Save Us” and David Easteal will show “The Plains.”
The festival, whose full lineup was announced on Friday, will run as a virtual festival on IFFR.com from Jan 26-Feb. 6 for the second year in a row due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Festival director Vanja Kaludjercic revealed that the lockdown in the Netherlands had enforced some changes in previously announced elements of the program. For example,...
The films were among 10 features selected for the Big Screen competition, which aims to bridge the gap between popular, classic and arthouse cinema.
IFFR also boasts the Tiger Competition for emerging talent and Ammodo Tiger Short competition for shorts.
Among the 14 titles selected for the Tiger Competition, Roberto Doveris will present “Proyecto Fantasma,” Morgane Dziurla-Petit will deliver “Excess Will Save Us” and David Easteal will show “The Plains.”
The festival, whose full lineup was announced on Friday, will run as a virtual festival on IFFR.com from Jan 26-Feb. 6 for the second year in a row due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Festival director Vanja Kaludjercic revealed that the lockdown in the Netherlands had enforced some changes in previously announced elements of the program. For example,...
- 1/7/2022
- by K.J. Yossman and Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
After a hiatus as theaters in New York City and beyond closed their doors during the pandemic, we’re delighted to announce the return of NYC Weekend Watch, our weekly round-up of repertory offerings. While many theaters are still focused on a selection of new releases, there’s a handful of worthwhile repertory screenings taking place.
Metrograph
A Kurt Russell retrospective—featuring Escape from New York, The Thing, Used Cars and more—is underway, while Tsai Ming-liang’s masterpiece Goodbye, Dragon Inn has been restored, which paves way for a wuxia series featuring films by King Hu, Ang Lee and more.
IFC Center
A Clockwork Orange and Princess Mononoke are available for a double feature, if you’re fucking insane, while a double feature of Scorsese’s Italianamerican and American Boy is underway.
Roxy Cinema
On Friday our friends at Screen Slate are presenting a print of the Japanese nunsploitation...
Metrograph
A Kurt Russell retrospective—featuring Escape from New York, The Thing, Used Cars and more—is underway, while Tsai Ming-liang’s masterpiece Goodbye, Dragon Inn has been restored, which paves way for a wuxia series featuring films by King Hu, Ang Lee and more.
IFC Center
A Clockwork Orange and Princess Mononoke are available for a double feature, if you’re fucking insane, while a double feature of Scorsese’s Italianamerican and American Boy is underway.
Roxy Cinema
On Friday our friends at Screen Slate are presenting a print of the Japanese nunsploitation...
- 1/6/2022
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
“Golden Swallow” is, technically, a follow-up to King Hu’s 1996 gem “Come Drink With Me” in which Chang Pei Pei played Xie Ru Yan, nicknamed Golden Swallow. Two years later, Chang Cheh cast her in the titular movie, which was named after her character, although Xiao Pang, the Silver Roc (Jimmy Wang Yu) is now the main focus. However, she still gets a fair share of screen time and there is even a love triangle among her, Xiao Pang and the righteous swordsman Han Tao.
on Amazon
Poisoned by a dart during a combat at the start of the movie, Xie Ru Yan is lucky to escape death as Han Tao, the Golden Whip, comes to her rescue and nurses her back to life in his mountain hideout and he even teaches her a few swordplay moves. One day, Han’s best friend Flying Fox, Hu Zhen...
on Amazon
Poisoned by a dart during a combat at the start of the movie, Xie Ru Yan is lucky to escape death as Han Tao, the Golden Whip, comes to her rescue and nurses her back to life in his mountain hideout and he even teaches her a few swordplay moves. One day, Han’s best friend Flying Fox, Hu Zhen...
- 12/28/2021
- by David Chew
- AsianMoviePulse
Considering that it took up to five directors to finish filming the first “Swordsman” after King Hu left the project, it was indeed a miracle that it turned out to be a success and a trend setter for the many new wave wuxia movies to follow. This visually arresting sequel, again produced by Tsui Hark but now directed by Ching Siu Tung, it’s a different beast all together. However, the theme of swordsmen retiring from the jianghu (martial world) and live a peaceful life is still the main focus. The film went on to win William Cheung Suk Ping and Yu Ka On the Best Costume and Makeup Design award at the 12th Hong Kong Film Awards in 1993.
on Amazon
After roaming the jianghu for about a year, our swordsman hero Ling Hu Chung (played by Jet Li this time), and Yue Ling Shan, “Kiddo” (Michelle Reis...
on Amazon
After roaming the jianghu for about a year, our swordsman hero Ling Hu Chung (played by Jet Li this time), and Yue Ling Shan, “Kiddo” (Michelle Reis...
- 12/21/2021
- by David Chew
- AsianMoviePulse
Arrow Video goes from strength to strength next March with long-requested Uhd upgrades and some several other amazing offerings in yet another stunning lineup announcement. Paul Verhoeven's Robocop makes its 4K Uhd debut across the US/UK/CA with this new limited edition upgrade of Arrow's already stellar limited edition package. An American Werewolf in London also receives a Uhd upgrade this month, along with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, directed by Kenneth Branagh, also gets the 4K Uhd treatment across all territories. King Hu's wu xia classic Come Drink With Me, starring the legendary Cheng Pei-pei gets its first North American Blu-ray release. Hayashi Kaizo's cult film, To Sleep So As To Dream also makes its Blu-ray debut across the US/UK/CA territories. Both Robocop and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 12/17/2021
- Screen Anarchy
When Apichatpong Weerasethakul calls it “The best film of the last 125 years,” lend a second of your time. Largely unseen upon its 2004 release by Steve Bannon’s Wellspring Media, Tsai Ming-liang’s Goodbye, Dragon Inn is returning—some might say getting its proper coronation—this month courtesy Metrograph Pictures. No fear if you’re outside New York: along with a December 31 release in Chinatown, the film arrives via Metrograph at Home.
So comes a trailer that gorgeously summarizes the movie’s cumulative effect: decay, loneliness, longing, and King Hu. Too close to midnight to call this 2021’s great repertory release? Whatever your designation, Goodbye, Dragon Inn‘s proper presentation is a cause célèbre when cinephilia needs those more than ever.
Find preview and poster below:
Like the Royal Theater in The Last Picture Show and the title movie house in Cinema Paradiso, the Fu-Ho is shutting down for good. A...
So comes a trailer that gorgeously summarizes the movie’s cumulative effect: decay, loneliness, longing, and King Hu. Too close to midnight to call this 2021’s great repertory release? Whatever your designation, Goodbye, Dragon Inn‘s proper presentation is a cause célèbre when cinephilia needs those more than ever.
Find preview and poster below:
Like the Royal Theater in The Last Picture Show and the title movie house in Cinema Paradiso, the Fu-Ho is shutting down for good. A...
- 12/13/2021
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
A project by producer Tsui Hark and director King Hu and a story taken from the wuxia novel “Xiao Ao Jiang Hu” which roughly translates as “Smiling Proudly in the Martial World” written by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). Anyhow, be it creative differences or sickness, Hu left the production and it was the ensemble of Ching Siu Tung, Raymond Lee, Tsui Hark himself and Ann Hui (uncredited) working together as acting directors to finish the job. However, as seen in the opening credits, Hu was the only one listed as the original director nonetheless.
on Amazon
Although “Swordsman” has a plot which involves masses of characters, basically it’s about a happy-go-lucky young swordsman Ling Hu Chung (Sam Hu) from the Wah Mountain Clan who gets caught up in the pursuit of retaining a Sacred Scroll, wanted by numerous clans including his own greedy Master, Yue Bu...
on Amazon
Although “Swordsman” has a plot which involves masses of characters, basically it’s about a happy-go-lucky young swordsman Ling Hu Chung (Sam Hu) from the Wah Mountain Clan who gets caught up in the pursuit of retaining a Sacred Scroll, wanted by numerous clans including his own greedy Master, Yue Bu...
- 11/18/2021
- by David Chew
- AsianMoviePulse
After “Come Drink With Me” Hong Kong director King Hu probably could have stayed with Shaw Brothers Studio, but instead left the country for Taiwan where he would form his own company and in the years to come, make some of the best movies of his career. While the budget and conditions had certainly changed, Hu continued exploring the themes of his last feature in “Dragon Inn”, arguably his most popular movie aside from “A Touch of Zen”. As one of the most referred to entry in the wuxia genre, it not only provided cinephiles with great fight choreographies, great performances and a wonderful setting, with the architecture of the inn itself being the star of the show, “Dragon Inn” also proved how the genre would blend a highly entertaining formula with a very interesting and (after all these years) still quite appealing social commentary about the relationship of subject and ruler.
- 9/20/2021
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
A plumber drills a hole between the basement of one apartment and the ceiling of another as a strange disease that causes people to act like cockroaches sweeps over Taiwan at the turn of the millennium. A depressed homeless man, desperate to provide for his family but invisible to the people who drive past his roadside advertising sign, violently mauls the cabbage that his young daughter has adopted as a friend. A Taipei cinema screens King Hu’s “Dragon Inn” during a torrential downpour on its final night in business as various patrons shuffle around inside the theater, each of them looking for a connection that seems to be flickering away forever before our eyes.
While Taiwanese auteur Tsai Ming-liang has long been associated with slow cinema, the non-linear deceleration of his style has been interjected with soaring dreamscapes, electric moments of self-reflexivity, and even a handful of sexually charged musical numbers.
While Taiwanese auteur Tsai Ming-liang has long been associated with slow cinema, the non-linear deceleration of his style has been interjected with soaring dreamscapes, electric moments of self-reflexivity, and even a handful of sexually charged musical numbers.
- 8/11/2021
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Gordon Lam and Ann Hui, recipients of Variety honors at the New York Asian Film Festival, could scarcely be more different. Actor-turned producer Lam, who is receiving Variety Star Asia Award is ebullient and busy. Hui, for all her renown in Asia and Europe as a top director, is quiet and unassuming. She will be presented with the Variety Star Asia Lifetime Achievement Award.
What they have in common is a lengthy career that has taken them from the bottom of the Hong Kong entertainment industry to the upper echelons. Both have achieved reputations that have been earned by endless hard work, which has served their carefully honed talent.
Born in Manchuria of Japanese and Chinese parents, Hui was convent school-educated in Hong Kong and studied film in London, where she brushed up against industry icon King Hu.
Returning to Hong Kong in 1976, Hui was thrown in at the deep end,...
What they have in common is a lengthy career that has taken them from the bottom of the Hong Kong entertainment industry to the upper echelons. Both have achieved reputations that have been earned by endless hard work, which has served their carefully honed talent.
Born in Manchuria of Japanese and Chinese parents, Hui was convent school-educated in Hong Kong and studied film in London, where she brushed up against industry icon King Hu.
Returning to Hong Kong in 1976, Hui was thrown in at the deep end,...
- 8/6/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Hailed as one of the biggest epics of the wuxia genre, “A Touch of Zen” is a true masterpiece of the category that stands apart particularly due to its technical prowess and high symbolism. The script is based on a short story titled “The Magnanimous Girl” by Pu Songling that was published in 1679.
Gu is a talented painter and scholar who still lives with his mother, who worries about him being unambitious, unmarried and his decline to apply for a civil servant position. Eventually, a young girl named Yang and her mother settle in an abandoned house nearby, which everybody considers haunted. Gu’s mother however, does not seem at all bothered by the fact and she proceeds in an effort to arrange a marriage between Gu and Yang. The girl declines but she and Gu strike a peculiar friendship, after she explains that she and her mother are fugitives,...
Gu is a talented painter and scholar who still lives with his mother, who worries about him being unambitious, unmarried and his decline to apply for a civil servant position. Eventually, a young girl named Yang and her mother settle in an abandoned house nearby, which everybody considers haunted. Gu’s mother however, does not seem at all bothered by the fact and she proceeds in an effort to arrange a marriage between Gu and Yang. The girl declines but she and Gu strike a peculiar friendship, after she explains that she and her mother are fugitives,...
- 7/27/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
This year’s festival will highlight in-person programming at Film at Lincoln Center and Sva Theatre, featuring over 60 world, international, and North American premieres, with many selections also available virtually to fans of Asian cinema across the country.
On August 6, 2021, the New York Asian Film Foundation and Film at Lincoln Center will kick off the 20th edition of the New York Asian Film Festival (Nyaff), a hybrid event with Nyaff’s largest film lineup to date. The Festival will screen over 60 films, both virtually and in person, to audiences in New York and across the country from August 6 – 22, 2021.
Nyaff’s 2021 lineup will include two world premieres, six international premieres, 29 North American premieres, eight U.S. premieres, and nine New York premieres, showcasing the most exciting action, comedy, drama, thriller, romance, horror, and art-house films from East Asia.
Following an unprecedented year in which Covid-19 and increased violence against the Asian...
On August 6, 2021, the New York Asian Film Foundation and Film at Lincoln Center will kick off the 20th edition of the New York Asian Film Festival (Nyaff), a hybrid event with Nyaff’s largest film lineup to date. The Festival will screen over 60 films, both virtually and in person, to audiences in New York and across the country from August 6 – 22, 2021.
Nyaff’s 2021 lineup will include two world premieres, six international premieres, 29 North American premieres, eight U.S. premieres, and nine New York premieres, showcasing the most exciting action, comedy, drama, thriller, romance, horror, and art-house films from East Asia.
Following an unprecedented year in which Covid-19 and increased violence against the Asian...
- 7/8/2021
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Amongst a group of films – such as Yim Ho’s “The Extras” and Alex Cheung’s “Cops and Robbers” – that ushered in the Hong Kong New Wave, “The Secret” is the debut feature by veteran and prolific directress Ann Hui. Like many of her fellow directors of the New wave Movement, she received her film education abroad, at the London Film School, after a degree in English and Comparative Literature at the University of Hong Kong and she proceeded in working briefly as an assistant to the director King Hu and then making television films for Radio Television Hong Kong (Rthk) and Television Broadcasts Limited (Tvb). Her experience with local broadcasting corporations mixed with her European film studies resulted in an accomplished and excitingly fresh piece of work.
In the opening credits a Taoist funeral ritual is being performed and we are thrown immediately into a mood of superstition and death.
In the opening credits a Taoist funeral ritual is being performed and we are thrown immediately into a mood of superstition and death.
- 5/17/2021
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
In the twelfth episode of Amp Talks, Panos Kotzathanasis and Rhythm Zaveri discuss Shadow
A comparison with Shaw Brothers’ Wuxia, King Hu’s works, and later films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, House of Flying Daggers and The AssassinThe script that transcends action movies and actually includes a focus on the characters and the storyThe symbolism in the filmThe combination of monochrome and color, the slow motion, the visual effects and the cinematographyThe action scenesThe actingWhich is the best modern wuxia?...
A comparison with Shaw Brothers’ Wuxia, King Hu’s works, and later films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, House of Flying Daggers and The AssassinThe script that transcends action movies and actually includes a focus on the characters and the storyThe symbolism in the filmThe combination of monochrome and color, the slow motion, the visual effects and the cinematographyThe action scenesThe actingWhich is the best modern wuxia?...
- 4/15/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Ann Hui was born to a Japanese mother and a Chinese father in Northeastern China in 1947, and settled in Hong Kong with her family when she was 5. After graduating in English and Comparative Literature from Hong Kong University, she studied for two years at the London Film School before returning to Hong Kong to work for King Hu, as an assistant director. Following this, she joined the broadcaster Tvb where she directed dramas and documentaries before making her feature debut with “The Secret”, a film which established her as one of the leaders of Hong Kong’s New Wave movement. Her career since then has included adaptations of literary works, family dramas, martial arts movies, and supernatural tales with notable award-winners like “Boat People”, “Summer Snow”, “A Simple Life” and “Our Time Will Come”. Hui was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice International Film Festival 2020 where her latest film,...
- 3/6/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
“Mekura no Oichi” is a manga about a blind swordswoman created by Teruo Tanasita and adapted into four live action “Crimson Bat” films by the Shochiku Studio, all starring Yoko Matsuyama who’s also the creator Teruo’s wife. However, Sadatsugu was only responsible for directing the first two movies; Hirokazu Ichimura took over the last remaining two.
When we first meet Oichi during a stormy night, she’s a little child desperately looking for her mother who has taken off with a man and abandoned her. A lightning strikes the tree she takes shelter under and knocks her unconscious; when she wakes up she discovers that she’s blind. Fast forward a few years later, Oichi is now an adult, raised up by Yasuke, a kind old man. One day, a samurai and his thugs arrive and accordingly kill him. As they try to kill Oichi, a wondering samurai...
When we first meet Oichi during a stormy night, she’s a little child desperately looking for her mother who has taken off with a man and abandoned her. A lightning strikes the tree she takes shelter under and knocks her unconscious; when she wakes up she discovers that she’s blind. Fast forward a few years later, Oichi is now an adult, raised up by Yasuke, a kind old man. One day, a samurai and his thugs arrive and accordingly kill him. As they try to kill Oichi, a wondering samurai...
- 2/25/2021
- by David Chew
- AsianMoviePulse
Chinese streaming giant iQIYI reports that it has started production on “Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain,” a film adapted from the classic novel of the same name by Louis Cha (aka Jin Yong), a renowned Hong Kong novelist who was one of the most read Chinese-language authors of the 20th century.
Cha, who also co-founded the Ming Pao newspaper, and directed two films, is best known for his wuxia (chivalric martial arts) novels that with one exception stretch in time from the 11th to the 18th century. He died in October 2018 and received a celebrity memorial with Alibaba founder Jack Ma in attendance.
An estimated 90 films and TV series have been made as adaptations of Cha’s 15 wuxia novels, though iQIYI says that “Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain” is not one of them. Its “Fox Volant” film is pitched as a fantasy adventure that tells a tale of...
Cha, who also co-founded the Ming Pao newspaper, and directed two films, is best known for his wuxia (chivalric martial arts) novels that with one exception stretch in time from the 11th to the 18th century. He died in October 2018 and received a celebrity memorial with Alibaba founder Jack Ma in attendance.
An estimated 90 films and TV series have been made as adaptations of Cha’s 15 wuxia novels, though iQIYI says that “Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain” is not one of them. Its “Fox Volant” film is pitched as a fantasy adventure that tells a tale of...
- 1/13/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Though far better known by its English title, the appropriately elegiac Goodbye, Dragon Inn, Tsai Ming-liang’s 2003 masterpiece bears a rather different name in Mandarin (rendered here via pinyin): Bú sàn, which roughly translates to “never leaving,” or—if one prefers the Sartre connotation—“no exit.” It forms the root of two distinctly contradictory Chinese idioms, which perfectly encapsulate the lamentation and beauty of Tsai’s film: Tiān xià méi yǒu bù sàn de yán xí, the infamous “all good things must come to an end,” and Bù jiàn bù sàn, which more or less means “even if we don’t see each other, don’t give up and leave,” or “I’m not leaving until I see you.”
From title on down, Goodbye, Dragon Inn, one of the greatest films in the history of cinema, construes itself not as the simple paen to a dying artform as which it is often perceived,...
From title on down, Goodbye, Dragon Inn, one of the greatest films in the history of cinema, construes itself not as the simple paen to a dying artform as which it is often perceived,...
- 12/17/2020
- by Ryan Swen
- The Film Stage
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