Shanghai Noon

Shanghai Noon is a 2000 martial arts western action comedy film starring Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson and Lucy Liu. According to Wikipedia,

The film, set in Nevada and other parts of the American West in the 19th century, is a juxtaposition of a Western with a kung fu action film with extended martial arts sequences, as reflected by its title, which is a wordplay on the iconic western High Noon. It also has elements of comedy and the "Buddy cop film" genre, featuring two vastly different heroes (a Chinese Imperial Guard and an American Western outlaw) who team up to stop a crime. It is reminiscent of the iconic drama film of the genre from which it is largely inspired: Red Sun, with Charles Bronson (Wanted Cowboy) and Toshiro Mifune (Imperial Samuraï), but in the comedy register.

This is laugh-out-loud funny. You can watch it free if you subscribe to Amazon Prime.

trailer:

Roger Ebert's site concludes a glowing review with this:

Chan, who does his own stunts, creates moments of physical comedy so pure, it's no wonder he has been compared with Buster Keaton. If you see only one martial arts Western this year (and there is probably an excellent chance of that), this is the one.

Empire Online says, "A no-frills, unpretentious mixture of cowboy clichés, martial arts licks, buddy-buddy movies and low comedy, Shanghai Noon is the kind of fun flick that will never generate tons of hype or expectation, but is all the more refreshing for it" and says it "really works".

The sequel Shanghai Knights is also woth watching if you like this first one.

The Warrior's Way

The Warrior's Way is a 2010 New Zealand/South Korean martial arts western. Geoffrey Rush has a starring role. Part of it takes place during the Christmas season.

trailer:

Butterfly and Sword

Butterfly and Sword is a a 1993 Hong Kong martial arts film. Tony Leung and Michelle Yeoh star. The Imdb synopsis describes it this way: "Dynamo Michelle Khan stars as a loyalist who attempts to keep the King's empire from being overthrown by a revolutionary group." There's a lot of flying action in this one. There's too much campy humor and silliness here to suit me, though.

via Youtube:

Moria gives it 4 out of 5 stars and opens its review with this praise: "Of all the Wu Xia Pan (fantastical flying swordsman) films that began with Swordsman (1990), Butterfly & Sword is one of the finest of the genre." Weird Wild Realm calls it an "appalling bore". Hong Kong Cinema calls it "unremarkable" and says,

The only reason people will watch this movie to the end will be to see if there is a sweet fight scene to follow all the distracting filler. You will not give a damn about the characters, or have any real concern for the plight of the warring clans. There are so many plot threads that are either forgotten or ignored during the movie. This is just plain lazy. The only saving grace for Butterfly and Sword is the action...

DVD Talk says, "despite a confusing plot, mishandled action sequences, and its tendency to make me want to yell "what?!" in disbelief at some mind-boggling directorial decision, Butterfly and Sword is pretty entertaining, intentionally or unintentionally."

Ip Man

Ip Man is a 2008 film based on the life of the man who was Bruce Lee's martial arts master. I find it enjoyable as an action film.

trailer:



Salon.com calls it "A dazzling martial-arts epic". Slant Magazine gives it 3 out of 4 stars and opens by saying, "Just as historically erroneous, morally reductive, and narratively clumsy as we'd wish of a film about Bruce Lee's mentor, Ip Man is nonetheless an explosive exercise in bare-knuckled myth-biography." Empire Online concludes, "The action is enthralling even if the storyline doesn't always have the ring of truth about it." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 84%.

The Kid

The Kid, also known as Kid Cheung and My Son A-Chang is a 1950 Bruce Lee film, one of his first. 10-year-old Lee stars with his father in this story based on a comic book character.

I can't find a version online with English subtitles. Significant only for Bruce Lee's presence, the broad strokes of the story are easy enough to follow without subtitles for the chance to see him as a child. I saw enough to satisfy myself of Lee's cuteness but didn't watch the entire film.

clip via youtube:



Love HK Film says, "The story essentially boils down to a morality tale about taking responsibility for your life, leaving a life of crime behind, and getting a real job to become a useful person in society. It’s a message that hasn’t gone out of style".

Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain

Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain is a 1983 fantasy film from Hong Kong. There's plenty of special effects and comic relief. The plot is complicated, the action non-stop. Great fun.

The video embedded below is wonky, backwards, so that the print is backwards on the screen, but it's dubbed in English, so it doesn't much affect viewing.

via youtube:



Senses of Cinema concludes,

These constant, blurring oscillations between difference and similarity, as well as the repeated assertion that opposing forces actually come from the same place, could be read as Tsui’s way of navigating the internal conflicts brought about by Hong Kong’s evolving cultural identity both nationally and at a more individual level. It can then be said that the dizzying mythology, narrative complexity and intense frenetic energy that are generated by Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain reflect a complex but thrilling history of a nation’s cultural identity in the process of becoming.

Moria says,

This is where it all began – the flying swordsman cycle, the genre of Wu Xia Pan involving martial artists and monks taking on ghosts and demons with a combination of martial arts and Eastern beliefs.

Stomp Tokyo opens with this:

In the early '80s, the world of filmmaking in Hong Kong saw an explosion of vibrant, action-oriented films with fantastic settings and courageous heroes. Zu: Warriors of the Magic Mountain is one of the seminal films of that new wave. It was the first special effects extravaganza of its kind, and it made Tsui Hark into arguably the most powerful director in the territory.

DVD Talk praises it and offers this plot synopsis:

The film's plot is difficult to comprehend (even if you speak the language) and recounting the various twists-and-turns is not too easy. Basically, a young man named Ti Chi (Yuen Biao) goes to hide from a nearby battle and ends up in a haunted mountain that happens to be the gateway between the realm of good and evil. There he is confronted by a magic swordsman who has been trying for years to save the world from being consumed by the Kingdom of Evil. They team up -- with the help of a couple of monks and a princess -- to prevent the spread of evil in the universe. But eventually most of the team is killed so -- against overwhelming odds –- Ti Chi and one of the monks (Adam Cheng) get together and go in search of a pair of Celestial swords that, when joined, have the power to save the universe.

Love HK Film calls it "Dated fantasy epic that still packs a punch even today. Required viewing for Hong Kong Cinema fanatics, and we mean it." It gets a score of 86% from Rotten Tomatoes.

I'm including this as part of the Once Upon a Time Challenge in the Quest Onscreen.

7 Grandmasters

7 Grandmasters is a 1978 Taiwanese Kung Fu movie. I find this a bit tedious, and the lauded fight scenes aren't enough to make this worthwhile for me. The music is overbearing and intrusive in a cheerfully Western way. It heavily covers some scenes to the point I had trouble attending to anything else, only to disappear completely for the next scene. I feel like I need relief from the comic relief.

via youtube, dubbed in English:



HK Film concludes that it

might not be a true classic of the genre, but it does feature some very solid fight sequences, and the rest of the movie won't want to make you hit the fast-forward button. If you're a fan of old school kung fu movies and are looking for something new to check out, you could do a whole lot worse than this.

Rotten Tomatoes doesn't have a critics score, but the audience score is 83%.

Showdown in Little Tokyo

Showdown in Little Tokyo is a 1991 action film starring Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee.

This movie contains every stereotype you can think of through 1500 years of Japanese culture. It is one of the most sexist films I've ever seen and has a scene in which the female lead cozies up to the Dolph Lundgrun character, takes the initiative and makes mad passionate love to him (including light playful banter afterwards) on the same day she had been kidnapped and shown video of her best friend being beheaded by her kidnapper and then was brutally raped by that same kidnapper.

My favorite quote was one cop saying to his partner,

You have the biggest dick I've ever seen on a man.

So now I'm left wondering where else he has looked.

trailer:



I'm not sure how I ended up posting about this after I'd posted on The Crow, but there ya go.

Jet Li's Fearless

Jet Li's Fearless is a 2006 film based on the life of Chinese martial arts hero Huo Yuanjia (1868-1910). The Younger Son picked this. He had seen it before, but neither The Husband nor I had. We all enjoyed it. Good story, beautiful to watch.

trailer:



Slant Magazine closes by saying,

Beginning as a polished, visually ravishing capper to Li's illustrious action career, it ultimately sermonizes itself into something of a bloodlust-denigrating wet blanket.

Salon.com says, "This martial-arts epic is one of the most beautifully made pictures of the year." It gets a score of 73% at Rotten Tomatoes. Metacritic gives it 70 out of 100.

Enter the Dragon

Enter the Dragon is a 1973 Bruce Lee martial arts film and was Lee's last film. It also stars John Saxon. Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung have small parts. This is fun to watch. The fashions alone are a trip.

trailer:



Salon.com opens by saying, "Bruce Lee was the Fred Astaire of chop-socky, and “Enter the Dragon” represents his finest work." DVD Talk says,

Enter The Dragon is an extremely well made, polished, slick, and highly entertaining film that wears its age proudly on its sleeve. It's a high point in the genre that has rarely been outdone and that most fight films, even now, more than thirty years later, can't hold a candle to.

Rotten Tomatoes gives it a score of 97%.

Vengeance (1970)

Vengeance is a 1970 martial arts film made in Hong Kong. It stars David Chiang and Ti Lung and is directed by Chang Cheh. There are a lot of knives in this one. I'm hard-pressed to remember any fight scenes that didn't include knives. As a series of knife fights, it can't be beat. I did have some trouble keeping the characters and plot straight. The woman who plays the romantic interest reminds me enough of Shirley Temple that I find her appearance onscreen always distracts me from the plot. I'm not sure what it is about the actress' face, but every time I see her I think of Shirley Temple.

youtube has it online:


Chop Socky Cinema closes its review with this:

Vengeance! served as a milestone in brutal action cinema influencing many other great films to come, but had an impact in its time, with David Chiang and Chang Cheh winning awards, for best actor and best director, respectively. A visceral bloodshed epic.

Gotterdammerung has a detailed plot description with screen shots.

Five Fingers of Death

Five Fingers of Death (or King Boxer) is a 1972 kung fu film starring Lo Lieh, whose name I'm unfamiliar with.

watch it here via youtube:



There seems to be a problem with the framing in this video. The tops of heads -amd sometimes entire heads- are often not visible on the screen. The film is enjoyable even so, but it is a distraction.

DVD Talk says, "when it comes to kung fu films in the United States, none, if any, have had the incredible impact of King Boxer" and "there is no denying the merit or historical importance of King Boxer". It has a score of 80% at Rotten Tomatoes.

One-Armed Swordsman

One-Armed Swordsman is a 1967 martial arts film. It's a Hong Kong movie -by Shaw Brothers Studio- directed by Chang Cheh. It is an example of the wuxia sub-genre. It stars Jimmy Wang.

watch it here:



LoveHKFilm.com says,

it’s not hard to see why audiences flocked to the theater back in 1967. This film is a rousing crowdpleaser, introducing perhaps the first handi-capable hero in movie history.

DVD Verdict says it's not a classic despite its influence, but that it "is a clever and thoughtful film in some ways and, of course, there is camp appeal." Hong Kong Cinema says, "One Armed Swordsman's place in history is assured. ... this is where it all began in its primitive violent form."

The True Story of Wong Fei Hung

The True Story of Wong Fei Hung (which has no Wikipedia page or IMDB listing, oddly enough) is an early martial arts film. Made in 1949, it stars Kwan Tak-hing as Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung. This moves slowly. The video embedded below has English subtitles:



I haven't seen many films featuring the martial arts and decided I would look into the genre. This one seems obviously intended to kick off a serial.

The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires

The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974) is a Hammer/Shaw production and stars Peter Cushing, which surely must be enough to make it worth watching, right? A kung fu vampire movie with a Chinese Dracula. I learn something new every day.

Moria gives it 2 stars and says,

The plot never settles into being much more than its collection of influences – the various players are brought together, there is a journey, some martial arts battles, Dracula appears at the end and that is about all there is to the film.

Images Journal calls it "one of Hammer's most underrated movies, with several truly macabre sequences."

The Forbidden Kingdom

The Younger Son gave me The Forbidden Kingdom for Mother's Day, and we watched it tonight. We meant to see this one on the big screen when it came out last year but somehow missed it. It's a bit of mindless fun in which kung fu fighters can fly and live forever. I think the film is beautiful, and the difference between the look of the different settings is striking. I like the costumes. It stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

Googlevideo has it online:


The New York Times says it "is a faithful and disarmingly earnest attempt to honor some venerable and popular Chinese cinematic traditions." Slant Magazine calls it a "family-friendly fusion of The Lord of the Rings, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and The Karate Kid". The Guardian calls it "a close thematic relative" of The Karate Kid. Salon.com calls it a "love letter to the conventions of martial-arts movies" and says it "is so good-natured, it's easy enough to disregard many of its flaws." Moria doesn't like it. Locus Magazine has a review. Variety has a mixed review, closing with this:

On the upside, "The Forbidden Kingdom" is brisk and colorfully realized, with excellent contribs not only from Pau's handsome widescreen lensing and the impressive Mainland sites deployed but also from Bill Brzeski's splendid production design and Shirley Chan's costumes.

Seven Samurai

Today is Day 3 of the filmsquish Kurosawa Blogathon. This is our 4th film.

Seven Samurai (1954) trailer:


I see that the film is available online with commercials here:

LikeTelevision Embed Movies and TV Shows



This is a movie we have wanted to see for some time because it is the inspiration for The Magnificent Seven. That one makes a hit every time we show it, and we have been curious about the samurai film it is based on. This blogathon provides just the extra motivation to go ahead and watch it. We have the Criterion edition of Seven Samurai. We wish cheaper editions of these movies were available because we're just not that interested in all the special features, but it seems like once Criterion puts out their version other versions disappear.

There is some background historical information here. CNN.com has an article on "How 'Seven Samurai' was saved". Roger Ebert has a review here. Salon.com has an article here that focuses on the audio commentary on the Criterion release. The Criterion Contraption reviews it here.

It was a joy and a surprise to see Takashi Shimura again. We hadn't realized he was in this as well as Ikiru, Sanshiro Sugata and Rashomon. To be honest, I hadn't realized he was in all of these until I recognized him in Seven Samurai. Turns out he was also in Godzilla, Mothra and Ghidorah.

8/9/2008:
1001 Flicks has a review.

Sanshiro Sugata

Today is the first full day of the Kurosawa blogathon at filmsquish. There has already been one post, and I'm looking forward to reading what others have to say about this director. I have just recently started paying attention to directors, so this is all new to me.

After yesterday's look at Rashomon, I decided to see what other Kurosawa films might be in the public domain and available online.

Sanshiro Sugata (1943) was Japanese director Akira Kurosawa's first film. The version embedded below is from Internet Archive and has no English subtitles, though there is a separate subtitle text file at the site and a different translation altogether here. This makes it much more difficult for me to get into the film as much as if I had on-screen translation. Once I realized what I was up against I researched the plot and looked through the written translations of the dialog. There are long sections with no dialog and that helped. This movie has been removed from GoogleVideo, and I've been unable to find the film online except for the Internet Archive site. The wikipedia article linked above reports the Japanese decision to place this movie in the public domain, so I'm not sure why there is a problem with access. Maybe the subtitles are the copyright issue?

[this film is no longer available at internet archive]

edit 7/17/2018: I still can't find this online, but here's a trailer without subtitles:

The movie is listed at the PBS Great Performances site as an "essential film". Ferdy on Films focuses on the place of the film as Kurosawa's solo directorial debut.

Note to The Husband: I've found something you'll hate more than a foreign-language film with subtitles -a foreign-language film without subtitles!

House of Flying Daggers

Some of us watched this movie almost a year ago. I've seen it now 3 times and #2 Son has seen it at least 4 times, but tonight was the first time #1 Son had seen it. What stands out most to me in this film is the color. Color is a more important element in this movie than in any other one I can recall.

Here's the trailer: