What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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chazgower01
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

Post by chazgower01 »

New statistic:
Time between the Death Blow and the 'The End' credit appearing!

Anyone that has Shaolin Wooden Men that can check and time that for me, it'd be appreciated - the version I was watching cuts out...
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

Post by grim_tales »

chazgower01 wrote: 12 Aug 2018, 22:25
grim_tales wrote: 12 Aug 2018, 18:32 Thanks :) I was confused by the 'Directed by Jackie Chan' credit on the poster.
Trying to pull in every sucker they could!
:D
What was Jackie's first movie as director? I thought it was Fearless Hyena but could be wrong.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

Post by chazgower01 »

grim_tales wrote: 12 Aug 2018, 22:41
chazgower01 wrote: 12 Aug 2018, 22:25
grim_tales wrote: 12 Aug 2018, 18:32 Thanks :) I was confused by the 'Directed by Jackie Chan' credit on the poster.
Trying to pull in every sucker they could!
:D
What was Jackie's first movie as director? I thought it was Fearless Hyena but could be wrong.
That's it.

His first as 'Action Director' is listed as Police Woman (1973).
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

Post by chazgower01 »

Snake In The Eagle's Shadow (1978, Hong Kong) youtube 3.5/5
A lot is made of the comedy used in Snake In The Eagle's Shadow and how it started Jackie on a path to fame and fortune (It did), but I think as much as that it's the heart and humanity of this movie that make it unique and special as well.
Chien's (Jackie Chan) friendship with the Beggar/Pai Chang Tien (Simon Yuen), despite being the school's punching bag, shows the compassion of the character, and their relationship is the heart of the movie.
How can you not like Jackie's character?
In hindsight, his fight with the Three Provinces Champ (Tino Wong) at their school is almost like an announcement of a new star. All of Jackie's hard work, trials and tribulations, and suddenly he has the confidence to carry a movie.
Director Yuen Wo-Ping in his first movie in charge makes Jackie a bankable star.
Wo-Ping and the main cast of this would all be back in a few months to do it all over again, even better in Drunken Master.
Essential viewing.

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Time between the Death Blow and the 'The End': 25 seconds
Last edited by chazgower01 on 14 Aug 2018, 10:36, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

Post by chazgower01 »

Jackie didn't get an Action Director credit in this movie, instead, its listed as Hsu Hsia and Yuen Wo-Ping and yet much of what we see here is what he's been working on and building up to... same with Drunken Master.
Does anyone have any insight on this?
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

Post by Killer Meteor »

chazgower01 wrote: 13 Aug 2018, 03:05 Snake In The Eagle's Shadow (1978, Hong Kong) youtube 3.5/5
A lot is made of the comedy used in Snake In The Eagle's Shadow and how it started Jackie on a path to fame and fortune (It did), but I think as much as that it's the heart and humanity of this movie that make it unique and special as well.
Chien's (Jackie Chan) friendship with the Beggar/Pai Chang Tien (Simon Yuen), despite being the school's punching bag, shows the compassion of the character, and their relationship is the heart of the movie.
How can you not like Jackie's character?
In hindsight, his fight with Master Chao (Fung Hak-On) at their school is almost like an announcement of a new star. All of Jackie's hard work, trials and tribulations, and suddenly he has the confidence to carry a movie.
Director Yuen Wo-Ping in his first movie in charge makes Jackie a bankable star.
Wo-Ping and the main cast of this would all be back in a few months to do it all over again, even better in Drunken Master.
Essential viewing.

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Fung Hark-on plays the Snake Fist master who dies in the first scene. I think you're thinking of Tino Wong?
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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chazgower01 wrote: 12 Aug 2018, 22:35 New statistic:
Time between the Death Blow and the 'The End' credit appearing!

Anyone that has Shaolin Wooden Men that can check and time that for me, it'd be appreciated - the version I was watching cuts out...
All the versions I've seen end with Jackie preparing to become a monk.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

Post by Killer Meteor »

chazgower01 wrote: 12 Aug 2018, 22:16 To Kill With Intrigue (1977, Hong Kong) youtube 2/5
I'll be honest - when Hsaio's (Jackie Chan) father says, "It's the Killer Bee Clan.", I chuckled out loud. And some of this dialogue is really bad, even for 70's HK movies, and I don't only mean "I'm just a beast!".

Jackie Chan is a character here it's not likely you'll see him play again - smacking his pregnant girlfriend, ringing the chimes (literally) in bed with the woman who killed his family just hours before (she whooped his ass previously, so her protests at getting bedded are a little suspect)... he's kinda glum in general and yet... this movie is neither as bad as people say or really all that good, but it is watchable with some interestingly colorful characters. You can almost feel Jackie ready to burst out as a star, and his fight choreography looks assured here. Lo Wei's direction even feels more focused.
But then there's the 'is he dead?' sequence that goes on a little long, the fight - train - fight - swallow this! - train - fight... ugh. Get on with it already. Oh and for the finale, it's probably not in the best interest of the star (Jackie) to have a pancake sized scar covering their face and big loose shaggy bangs covering their face. They're the STAR - you should be able to easily recognize them!
And did I mention the dialogue?
Overall it could've been better, but I've seen much worse.

Was this Jackie Chan's first movie after his eye surgery? Maybe THAT's why he only had one film in 1977...

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Hsu Feng and Jackie Chan
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No rubbing the eyes for at least a week!



New statistic:
Time between the Death Blow and the 'The End': 44 seconds
Ah yes, Lo Wei does Wuthering Heights...

I think KIller Meteors was Jackie's first-post surgery film (made after but released before Shaolin Wooden Men).
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

Post by chazgower01 »

Ivan Drago wrote: 13 Aug 2018, 21:50
Fung Hark-on plays the Snake Fist master who dies in the first scene. I think you're thinking of Tino Wong?
Yes, thank you, I made the correction.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

Post by chazgower01 »

Ivan Drago wrote: 13 Aug 2018, 21:54
I think KIller Meteors was Jackie's first-post surgery film (made after but released before Shaolin Wooden Men).
ok, I can see that.

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New Fist of Fury

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Killer Meteors

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Shaolin Wooden Men (shot before - released after Killer Meteors
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

Post by chazgower01 »

Drunken Master (1978, Hong Kong) internet 4.5/5
Is there anyone here who HASN'T seen this?
Jackie Chan plays Chinese hero Wong Fei Hung, as no one has portrayed him before: as a mischievous screw up who is talented but flawed and always getting into trouble. This leads to his father having him trained by an old master (Simon Yuen - the beggar from SITES), but he runs away and then promptly gets his ass kicked by Thunderleg (Hwang Jang-Lee, Master Hang from SITES). Returning to the master he trains to learn the Secrets of the Eight Drunken Gods so he can return for a showdown.
One of the best Kung Fu movies ever made, there's just so much here and it never lets up. Each fight scene adds something to the mix to keep it exciting, and even the training scenes are clever and creative. Much of course has been made about the comedy, which is silly and sophomoric, but brightens up what would otherwise be the same basic story having been told multiple times before.
You can see how this made Jackie a star - his unlimitless energy, martial arts, creative acrobatics, intense training to go along with amazing grace and discipline - he'd finally achieved his own place... (SITES did HK $2.7 Million, more than 5X better than anything Jackie had starred in before - Drunken Master upped that to HK $6.7 Million!)
Highest Recommendation.
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Time between the Death Blow and the 'The End': 28 seconds
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin (1978, Hong Kong) internet 2.5/5
Jackie Chan with one of his ugliest haircuts stars as Hsu Yin-Fung, the holder of a book containing the secrets of the Snake and Crane style of Kung Fu (the Eight Masters who combined their styles to create it have gone missing). He makes it known he has it to try and draw out all of the various clans who want it.

And boy do they want it. He fights, and fights, and fights, against a host of the colorful characters… and they even end up clashing with each other.

And who knew Nora Miao could be trained to perform movie martial arts like this (with her fighting flute)? And she has as close to a nude scene as you’re probably ever going to get as Jackie exposes her in a dudou (which does an amazing job of flattening her breasts), but this being Jackie, he turns down her offer of sex.

Speaking of which, there is the usual lack of sex appeal for a JC movie, but an unusual amount of females, as Miao has a good sized part - Petite cutie Kim Jeong-Nan adds some regular comic relief - and Jackie even has a scene where he battles two genie garbed ladies (also after the book).

Personally, I think this movie could’ve been better, but it takes on a lot, and it does bring it all together nicely as long as you follow along and just enjoy it for what it is. And the finale is pretty darn good.

It came out a week after Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow, and even though it did better than most all of Jackie’s previous starring roles, it paled in comparison to SITES’s HK $2.7 Million, pulling in only HK $662,000.

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Time between the Death Blow and the 'The End': 15 seconds (though he doesn't actually kill him) a new winner!
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Snake & Crane was my first non-Bruce Lee HK movie, and it's always had a nostalgic place in my heart, charmingly mad as it is.

It's probably the closest Jackie actually came to being Bruce Lee in the Lo Wei films. Up to this point, Lo Wei cast Jackie as an underdog who must learn kung fu from a superior master who frequently bests him. With Snake & Crane, and Magnificent Bodyguards, Jackie becomes an martial dynamo beating hordes with ease.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Pilgrimage to Japanese Baths (驚異のドュメント 日本浴場物語) (Japan, 1971) [DVD] - 1.5/5
A strange, semi-authentic documentary exploration of Japanese public baths and hot springs. The entirely fictional frame story features a man burdened by a mother complex journeying around Japan in search of a great bath. The Eiren synopsis speaks of nostalgia and tradition tied to spiritualism and health, contrasted to the modern era and captured with hidden cameras. It is questionable how much of that actually comes through in this 18 rated (by 1970 standards) film where half of the time you know the scenes are staged. That being said, its R18 labelling seems extremely dated by today's standards (toplessness, c-section, Turkish bath footage with no explicit sex). It's one of those cinematic oddities that don't exist anymore in the internet era.

Yellow Line (黄線地帯) (Japan, 1960) [DVD] - 3.5/5
A very enjoyable Shin Toho noir by Teruo Ishii. There's a terrific opening with hitman Shigeru Amachi accepting an assignment and then walking into the Tokyo night. During his getaway he kidnaps a lady (Yoko Mihara) whose boyfriend (Teruo Yoshida) then tails them to Kobe where they hide in a red light district. There's a great momentum through most of the film (minus the 2nd quarter), especially towards the ultra intense climax, as well as moody sets and fascinating location work capturing the Japan of the era. One sexy night club scene especially is pure Ishii. On the minus side we are served the worst black face job you'll ever see, on what appears to be a Caucasian blonde actress from her looks. This was Part 3 in the Line series, the only one in colour.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Magnificent Bodyguards (1978, Hong Kong) youtube 2/5
A Kung Fu road movie!
Jackie Chan is hired by a woman to escort her and her sick brother through the Stormy Hills (a notoriously bad place full of bandits and evil) to a doctor. They put together a team of strange misfits to fight off anyone trying to stop them.
Another Lo Wei produced spectacle that throws a host of colorful characters into the mix, it's also in 3-D (According to Wikipedia, the FIRST Hong Kong film to be in 3-D). Jackie plays it as a cocky wiseguy, and is actually fun to watch here (this came out before Drunken Master), but some of the fights are pretty bland.
One fight that's NOT (and one obviously choreographed by Jackie) is a free for all with a bunch of monks who have a nazi insignia up on the wall of their hideout, and ceiling of giant bells.
And the Star Wars music they use for one of the scenes is VERY noticeable!
Once again with Lo Wei, this is a movie that could've been a lot better than it is - it's not terrible - in the world of 70's Kung Fu movies, like Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin, I can see where this might have a loyal following. It certainly tries to have fun, keep our interest and tell a story.
And... a good final battle, but the ending...WTF?
One thing for sure, 1978 was a big (and interesting) year for Jackie Chan!

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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Song of Ossan of Kawachi (河内のオッサンの唄) (Japan, 1976) [DVD] - 2/5
Takuzo Kawatani, Toei's loud mouth punk bit player and comic relief, somehow landed starring a role in this short running series. This first film is a countryside drama/comedy with a yakuza undercurrent. Kawatani is fun to watch as good hearted village ossan (middle aged man) with no patience at all for anything, but the film doesn't utilize his talent for loud mouthing and tragicomedy as much as it should. There's too much non-eventful drama with supporting characters (young trucker guy Koichi Iwaki, his gal Emi Shimizu, and even a grumpy grandma) in what is a family friendly affair on top of all (light violence and brief boobs only). The film only becomes genuinely entertaining when Kawatani goes against Tokyo yakuza Kenji Imai at the end... largely because in spite of his overly optimistic attempts he nearly always gets his own ass kicked.

Song of Ossan of Kawachi: Yokita no ware (河内のオッサンの唄 よう来たのワレ) (Japan, 1976) - 3.5/5
Now we're talking! This is the Takuzo Kawatani show the first film should've been! The ossan runs into a sympathetic conman (excellent Kunie Tanaka) whom he mistakes as a gambling genius. He agrees to shelter his gal (spunky Hiroko Isayama) which sends all kinds of sparks flying with his wife, the other piranhas and gangsters. And then there's Hideo Murota taking the piss out of Kawatani at every turn! This is a very enjoyable sequel that omits the dull drama of the first film and replaces it with fast pace and likeable characters. Also included is a cool soundtrack, a gambling duel that makes most proper gambler movies pale in comparison, and lots of hilarious moments with the short tempered Kawatani haunted by objects that are destined to land on his face. For a comparison especially apt for this film, Kawatani was the Donald Duck of Toei!

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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

Post by Killer Meteor »

chazgower01 wrote: 16 Aug 2018, 13:24 Magnificent Bodyguards (1978, Hong Kong) youtube 2/5
A Kung Fu road movie!
Jackie Chan is hired by a woman to escort her and her sick brother through the Stormy Hills (a notoriously bad place full of bandits and evil) to a doctor. They put together a team of strange misfits to fight off anyone trying to stop them.
Another Lo Wei produced spectacle that throws a host of colorful characters into the mix, it's also in 3-D (According to Wikipedia, the FIRST Hong Kong film to be in 3-D). Jackie plays it as a cocky wiseguy, and is actually fun to watch here (this came out before Drunken Master), but some of the fights are pretty bland.
One fight that's NOT (and one obviously choreographed by Jackie) is a free for all with a bunch of monks who have a nazi insignia up on the wall of their hideout, and ceiling of giant bells.
And the Star Wars music they use for one of the scenes is VERY noticeable!
Once again with Lo Wei, this is a movie that could've been a lot better than it is - it's not terrible - in the world of 70's Kung Fu movies, like Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin, I can see where this might have a loyal following. It certainly tries to have fun, keep our interest and tell a story.
And... a good final battle, but the ending...WTF?
One thing for sure, 1978 was a big (and interesting) year for Jackie Chan!

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There was a 3-D martial arts film before this one - http://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?i ... ay_set=eng. Suppose it depends on what's a Taiwanese movie and what's a Hong Kong movie - I tend to think of Lo Wei Productions as Taiwan based.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

Post by Killer Meteor »

chazgower01 wrote: 12 Aug 2018, 14:58 Unless you make the mistake of counting...

36 Crazy Fists (1977, Hong Kong) youtube 2.5/5
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I wonder how many people bought a copy of this movie originally, thinking it was a Jackie Chan movie? I did, back in the mid-90's, and I was more than a little annoyed by it.
Jackie is in it for not quite a minute at the start, which isn't even a part of the story!
And for anyone who thinks there wasn't any comedy in Kung Fu movies before Jackie 'invented' it, this typical chop-socky flick has plenty of exaggerated silly behavior in it.

The story is pretty standard: some Shaolin students intervene in a young guy (Tony Leung) getting beaten up, and find out some thugs are terrorizing the town. After meeting his really cute sister (Michelle Yim), and finding out the gang killed their father (of which Leung wants revenge of course) they decide to try and enroll Leung in their school. Their teacher says no, so they convince a rival school to take him in, and he begins his...training. And more training. And then later... more training. But lots of fights!

And the fights are actually pretty good because the one area of this movie that Jackie Chan DOES involve himself is as the Action Director, and it shows. Some might say this is for Jackie Chan completists only, but really, if you like movies with a LOT of fighting and don't mind the looney tunes type humor (it also includes one of the silliest nude scenes), this isn't a bad Sunday afternoon viewing.

In fact, some might say... in looking at the fight choreography Jackie does, and goofy humor involved... this might be a template for what Jackie begins the following year, before Jackie actually played the part! It's no surprise then that director Chen Chi-Hwa would direct Chan in two of his 'new career' movies the following year (Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin and Half a Loaf of Kung Fu).

They also put Jackie in the post credits via his movie posters - did they think people would mistake Tony Leung as a young Jackie?

And it looks like they even tried to trick people in a theatrical release!
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New statistic:
Time between the Death Blow and the 'The End': 1 minute 17 seconds
Given we don't have an actual recorded release date, I wonder if this film was made post Jackie's '78 stardom, as he chroreographed this and Dance of Death for Chen Chi-Hwa and both films suggest a post Drunken Master influence. As we have no record of release dates for HK/Taiwanese films not release in HK, i think some of the dates ascribed to them are pure guess work.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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chazgower01 wrote: 16 Aug 2018, 13:24 Magnificent Bodyguards (1978, Hong Kong) youtube 2/5

One fight that's NOT (and one obviously choreographed by Jackie) is a free for all with a bunch of monks who have a nazi insignia up on the wall of their hideout, and ceiling of giant bells.
I'm pretty sure that's just a normal Buddhist symbol!
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

Post by chazgower01 »

Ivan Drago wrote: 18 Aug 2018, 22:41
chazgower01 wrote: 16 Aug 2018, 13:24 Magnificent Bodyguards (1978, Hong Kong) youtube 2/5

One fight that's NOT (and one obviously choreographed by Jackie) is a free for all with a bunch of monks who have a nazi insignia up on the wall of their hideout, and ceiling of giant bells.
I'm pretty sure that's just a normal Buddhist symbol!
You're almost certainly correct - I seem to recall reading about that somewhere the similarities between the Nazi emblem and a few others from different cultures throughout history. Though in some of these Hong Kong movies, it wouldn't surprise me all that much to see it thrown into the mix somewhere!
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

Post by chazgower01 »

Ivan Drago wrote: 18 Aug 2018, 22:27
chazgower01 wrote: 12 Aug 2018, 14:58 Image
Given we don't have an actual recorded release date, I wonder if this film was made post Jackie's '78 stardom, as he chroreographed this and Dance of Death for Chen Chi-Hwa and both films suggest a post Drunken Master influence. As we have no record of release dates for HK/Taiwanese films not release in HK, i think some of the dates ascribed to them are pure guess work.
Yep. And I know it's not specific proof of anything, but the Roman Numeral copyright date on that movie ad for it is 1982.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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The Seventh Curse (1986, Hong Kong) Amazon Prime 4/5
This might be one of the greatest Hong Kong exploitation mish-mashes ever and when it popped up on my Amazon Prime, I had to see it again. And it's just as crazy ass awesome as I remember it. It's a shame that whoever made this cover for it felt the need to highlight it as if Chow Yun Fat stars in it - he IS in it - and has an important role - but this is a Chin Siu-Ho movie and he carries it quite nicely considering the rest of the cast and the insane amount of stuff going on.
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Lets see: blood curses, Alien like creatures, an Evil Dead 2 like skeleton thing that transforms into a monster, human sacrifice, CHILD sacrifice (about 100 of them), head crushing, spine sucking, lots of guns and grenades, martial arts fighting, kung fu monks, an evil priest with an effeminate voice, and a whole bunch of cameos including Wong Jing (as a horny rich socialite).

It's the story of a Dr. Chen (Chin Siu-Ho), who when on safari in Thailand (where else?) saves a young lady from sacrifice (Sau-Lau Tsui), but gets infected with a curse, that one year later he must return to Thailand to find a cure for.

When Sau-Lai Tsui makes her big screen debut (Hong Kong big screen debut anyway) she's supposed to stop Dr. Chen in his tracks, completely mesmerizing him with her innocence, beauty, and... uh... wet t-shirt nakedness. And she does! And anyone else who has ever watched this movie! She's a beauty, and this is one of those scenes that sticks in your head, because they found the perfect girl for it, and you almost want to fly to Thailand and save her yourself.
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Sau-Lai Tsui

So with the help of a good native named Dragon (Dick Wei with a full head of hair) and a nosy reporter (a young Maggie Cheung) and some occasional help from Dr. Wesley (Chow Yun Fat - looking suave as hell) and his serum administering wife (Sibelle Hu), they take on the evil priest (Elvis Tsui - a LOT of stars in early roles here), his tribe and his monsters! This is one of the movies that got me into wanting to see more Hong Kong movies other than just chop socky flicks and Jackie Chan movies and even though the special effects looking kinda goofy by today's standard's this movie is a blast.

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A young Maggie Cheung

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Chin Siu-Ho and friend
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Half A Loaf of Kung Fu (1978, Hong Kong) Amazon Prime 1.5/5
Not really all that funny, it still did HK $1.5 Million at the box office, which was better than any of his non-comedy starring roles.
The problem with it seems to be it's much more slapstick than what we've seen from Jackie, and slapstick tends to be less disciplined and unique than the kind of physical comedy Jackie is known for. On top of that, many of the fights are subpar - which is weird because Jackie is the action director (the one big exception is the finale which is the one really pretty good battle). But they rely far too much on silliness in Jackie's fights through most of the movie (because he doesn't yet know Kung Fu).
Then when you add that it's basically the same freaking story - Jackie's a loser, Jackie gets in trouble, Jackie learns Kung Fu from some old guy, Jackie saves the day - and it's easy to see why this doesn't much hold up.
The goofy sound effects and music are annoying too.
Pint sized cutie Kim Jeong (in one of her only 11 movies and one of two Jackie Chan movies) provides a few surprising kicks and punches, while Doris Lung makes her only Jackie Chan movie appearance. Besides that, some of the usuals are here, Dean Shek providing comedy and James Tien who is always worthy.
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Time between the Death Blow and the 'The End': 1 minute 25 seconds
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Spiritual Kung Fu (1978, Hong Kong) Amazon Prime 2.5/5
Jackie is a... bad student in a Shaolin Temple (imagine that!), where some Ninja breaks in and steals an ancient book of secret kung fu. Worried about what to do, (what looks like) a comet crashes into the temple, and 5 ghosts appear. (It's 5 actors dressed in white clothing and makeup with red rag doll wigs on).
Some of the ghostly humor is kinda funny, and I probably would've loved this as a 15-year-old in 1978. Sure the special effects look tame now, but back then this probably seemed like quite another departure from the usual kung-fu fare. The ghosts have to TRAIN Jackie (naturally) to learn Kung-Fu so that he can get the book back.
The fights throughout though seem far in between each other, as James Tien (as the bad guy) is shown using his kung fu for bad and the older Ms. Wong - Mo Man-Sau - gives Jackie an occasional workout - until he gets good enough to beat her, but ends up spanking her instead!
It all leads to the showdown - beginning with Jackie having to fight 20 monks using staffs before he can leave the temple (I have no idea why I was watching an OL version). It's a great scene, but doesn't make much sense - you're going to save us, so, we'll wear you out first?
So rather than have to chase him down, James Tien shows up at the temple, and after roughing up Ms. Wong, he battles Jackie. And then...
This finale, which of course he directed, at times looks very reminiscent of his classic work... and some of his best fighting yet... He was ready to move on from Lo Wei. Jackie finished off the year with a HK $2.3 Million box office for this.
I kinda enjoyed this!

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Time between the Death Blow and the 'The End': 25 seconds
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chazgower01
King of Beggars
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

Post by chazgower01 »

Dragon Fist (1978, Hong Kong) Amazon Prime - Original Language 3/5
It's hard for me to believe Lo Wei had anything to do with directing this. The story, sure - it's as convoluted as usual, with strange twists, but repeated themes, and colorful characters, all leading to a showdown.
But hkmdb lists two directors (the other is Lee Jeong-Ho), Jackie was the Action Director, and according to Jackie, Lo Wei wasn't even speaking to him by this point, so...
Besides that, the camera seems so much more assured of what it's doing - this is a REAL movie, as well as a quality Kung Fu movie - NOT the work of a director's last film, who couldn't stand the star, was more interested in horse races, slept on the set, and whose track record leading up to it is... not very good. Just some thoughts for discussion...
As for the movie, it has many things to make me NOT like it - James Tien plays a recurring type, Jackie is not the Jackie who he'd become, and despite its well-talked about twist it's still a movie about the same old revenge.
But I LIKE James Tien in this role (talk about an underrated career), and Jackie is actually really GOOD in this role here, and, well.... I never really get tired of revenge movies.
Add to that Nora Miao, the spunky fighting of the cute Pearl Lin (how'd she not become a star - one of only eleven films she did), a really great performance from Yen Shi-Kwan, some of Jackie's most confident fighting scenes yet and... yeah, a little bit different of a story than usual, and you have something interesting here.
But make no mistake - it'd all be JUST interesting if not for the assured camera work and steady storytelling. This is a real movie - not a cheap knockoff - and I think it says a lot about how the inmates were taking over the asylum in Lo Wei's last days.
And it's drama is good as well... Pearl Lin confronting Jackie (and throwing some furious kicks and punches) and him refusing to fight back because of the sadness he feels being the same as hers... this is good stuff in the middle of a fight movie!
But it IS a fight movie and there's plenty of it, and even smaller roles like Eagle Han Ying flashing some skills to keep us entertained, and a free for all finale, some added drama (the poor mom!) and then the multiple showdowns are just what you hope for and more.
It only did HK $1 Million at the box office, but this is a good movie.
Jackie was done with Lo Wei. (Sort of)
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Ou-Yang Sha-Fei, Nora Miao, Jackie Chan, and some unwelcoming company
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Pearl Lin



Time between the Death Blow and the 'The End': 41 seconds
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