True Legend Review

The Deal...

     I was in Walmart the other day checking if the Enter The Dragon blu-ray had dropped from its astronomical price of $35; unfortunately it hadn't. While I was there I scanned the shelves for other kung fu movies that had a more reasonable price tag.
     As luck would have it, there were blu-ray two-packs on sale for $12. While digging through stacks of movies that I didn't care about, I happened upon True Legend and Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame. I hadn't saw either movie, so i figured there was no harm in buying them and adding them to the ol' collection.

The Case Design/Movie Poster

     Yesterday I popped in True Legend because I liked the cover better. Yes, I really did judge the book by its cover. The picture on the front of the case was reminiscent of an old Shaw Bros. poster from the 60's. Hoping and praying that this would be an entertaining film, I pushed the play button.
   
The Praise...

     True Legend is a film that can be enjoyed by everyone,but especially so by fan-boys of HK cinema. Undetectable by the average viewer, True Legend drops hints at being the sequel to Five Deadly Venoms and a prequel to Drunken Master.
     The plot is essentially a retelling of the life of Chinese folk hero, Beggar So. If you remember correctly, Beggar So is the old red-nosed master of Drunken Fists style kung fu in Jackie Chans Hit Film, Drunken Master. The film starts with So, not as a beggar, but as an honorable Qing court warrior.
    So that the audience understands how great he is, the first scene is of Su Can (soon to be Beggar So) wrapped up in a daring plot to save a princess. Success seems to follow the guy wherever he goes, and after the rescue, is offered a promotion which he promptly turns down. Opting to settle down and start a family, he hand over his promotion to his adopted brother, Yuan.
     Fast forward, Su Can finds five years of bliss and happiness married to Yuans only sister interrupted by Yuans not so friendly home coming. Yuan, who is now a governor/warlord shows up unannounced and looking mighty pale. Arriving with a virtual army on the day of Su Can's fathers birthday, Yuan cuts down his adopted father and all of his servants.The reason for this extreme behavior is revealed when a dialog between Yuan and the Su Can takes place. It is uncovered that Yuan was adopted as a boy, out of sympathy, by Su's father after he had killed Yuans biological father. Yuans Father was the infamous leader of the Five Venom's Clan, a group of five martial arts experts who mastered the poisonous style of the toad, centipede, snake, scorpion, and lizard. Basically they did many bad things, killed a lot of people, yadda yadda... classic Shaw story lines.
   Yuan, looking for revenge, trained himself in all five styles which involved poisoning himself with the venom's of all five creatures. To top everything off, his poison filled body is covered in gold armor that is sewn directly to his skin. Ultimately he avenges his fathers death by killing his adopted father and tossing Su Cans beaten body into a raging river.

Gordon Liu looking like a drunk Pai Mei

     Su Can is able to survive the rushing waters with the help of his wife and the local medicine woman (Michelle Yeoh), but loses his kung-fu skills. The following sequences are the healing, re-learning, and semi-insanity of Su in a picturesque mountain setting. Two major names (well, more like one and a half) that pop up during the training settings are Gordon Liu as the "Old Sage" and Jay Chou as "the God of Wushu". The God of Wushu, with his over the top costume, helps Su Can develop his drunken style boxing while the old sage sits by and laughs/taunts the oft defeated Su. Any appearance by Gordon Liu makes me nerd out and, in my opinion, can save even the worst movie (kill bill vol.2). Jay Chou is simply not one of my favorite actors, and his role should have been played by someone who would have done the title "god of wushu" a little more justice. Nevertheless, he does ok, and with a little wire assistance manages to pull off the part.

The Complaint...

     Every party needs a pooper, and unfortunately this pooper comes in the form of the final 1/3 of the movie. Up to this point there has been some great old school style Shaw Bros. style filming, story telling, and acting. If True Legend would have kept this trend, the film would have been truly legendary. Much to my dismay, after the death of spooky uncle Yuan, the film takes a bizarre twist and tries to transform itself into Fearless, Ip Man 2, or a myriad of other politically driven films that HK has produced. Somehow the film shifts from a classic "You killed my teacher/family " revenge flick to a "the white devil is destroying our land and killing our buffalos" film.
     I suppose this was done to set up the scene showing the completion of the Drunken Fist style, but man oh man could they have done it better. In fact, the movie ends feeling like a completely different film than you started with.

Conclusion...

Though it has its flaws, I really do love this movie. Director Yuen Woo-Ping does an overall great job on the film. I would love to see more movies done in this style, but that would actually stick true to the genre. I think we could be on the verge of something special and have a possible re-vision in the world of martial arts films in the near future. I suggest you give this one a watch! HIYa!!!

Chow Yun Fat Movie Marathon



THE CHOW YUN-FAT MEGA MOVIE MARATHON



I had been planning a mega movie marathon for a few weeks, but hadn't decided which actor, series, or genre to watch...just kidding, of course it was going to be Hong Kong cinema! Jet li, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Donnie Yen, the Venom Mob, Gordan Lui, and a few others crossed my mind before I finally made a choice. Going to my DVD shelves, I selected a hand full of movies from one of Hong Kongs most loved actors. A man whose filmography spans drama, action, and comedy works and has received several Best Actor awards and nominations at the Hong Kong Film Awards (basically Asias Oscars).

Chow Yun Fat started his acting career in the mid 70's but was only rocketed to semi-stardom after his role in the 1981 film The Story of Woo Viet. As one of Hong Kongs first political dramas, Chow Yun Fat was able to show off his ability to convey emotion and captivate audiences. After the success of  The Story of Woo Viet, later dubbed The God of Killers in the US (hoping to capitalize on the success of the popular God of Gamblers series), Chow Yun Fats career took a four year slump. 

In 1984 the limelight hit him once again with his role as Fey in the wartime film Hong Kong 1941.Action Director John Woo picked up on Chows onscreen charisma and cast him to star in his 1986 flick A Better Tomorrow. The film was Chow's breakthrough movie, spawned an entire genre of copycat films, and made bankable stars out of both Chow and Woo.

While he had indeed made several successful films, Chow felt he had accomplished every thing he could in Hong Kong cinema. Being uncomfortable with his typecast characters of either cop or killer, He took a two-year break from filming to learn English. He then moved to America to try his hand in Hollywood as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and a select few others had done before him.
To say that Chows Hollywood career was a success would be an over exaggeration. His three American films were not very popular, and in 2000 Chow scurried back to Hong Kong to star in Ang Lees world wide hit Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. His part as Li Mu-Bi concreted him, in the minds of many, as the coolest man alive.

THE MARATHON

Friday:
After work I hustled home in order to get the party started. I selected several movies off of my shelf and used process of elimination to whittle the stack down to five flicks. I ended up with Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Hard Boiled, The Killer, Curse of the Golden Flower, and Hong Kong 1941; all movies that I have seen multiple times but cannot get enough of. 

Hard Boiled-
First up was John Woos classic cop/killer movie. Chow Yun Fat is Tequila, a cop who "breaks all the rules". His counter part is a Triad assassin by the name of Tony (played by Leung Chiu-Wai). Later in the film we find out that Tony is actually an undercover cop who is fed up with his double life. Anthony Wong plays Johnny, an evil illegal weapons dealer who does evil things for the sake of being evil. Got it? 
After about 60 minutes of Cop/Triad set up, Tequila and Tony are brought together to bring down Johnny. What ensues is some of the most epic gun fighting scenes you will ever see. I mean, If i was half as good with one gun as Chow Yun Fat is with two guns, id be the male version of Anne Oakley. To qualify as a true John Woo film, several criteria must be met: Sappy music, over the top gun battles, tons of bro-mance, melodramatic scenes, and women being used for emotional manipulation. Sounds great right? Somehow this combo works in a big way in Hard Boiled and has placed it in the hearts of many fans as the greatest action flick in Hong Kongs brief history of movie making. Overall, the movie starts a little slow but does not disappoint at the end, plus Tequila rescues a really cute baby!!!

For dinner I made a pretty tasty Chinese Chicken dish. I served up these little honeys with some jasmine rice and then popped in the next movie. If you are interested in trying the recipe that I made, follow le' link---> Chinese Drumsticks

Curse of the Golden Flower-
The most beautiful melodrama you could ever hope to see! Zhang Yimou, the famed Chinese director, who in 2004 brought us House of Flying Daggers, returns with a flashy rewritten version of Cao Yu's play, Thunderstorm. Chow is Emperor Ping, a powerful mustached man who has built a successful empire through a series of deceptions, and he apparently aims to enjoy it. 

Things kick off with the revelation that the Emperor's second wife, Empress Phoenix (Gong Li), is being slowly killed by the "medicine" she is forced to take every hour by the Emperor. The Emperor's three boys are introduced in the following scenes: the eldest and Chows favorite son, the sniveling crown prince Xiang (Liu Ye),  followed by mama's boy Prince Jie (Jay Chou), and youngest son Cheng (Qin Junjie) who mopes around looking annoyed because everyone is too busy scheming and plotting to pay him any attention.

Grudges and betrayal are the name of the game in Curse of the Golden Flower. The Empress, Jie, Xiang, and even the baby faced Cheng all formulate treasonous plans with self-interest in mind. Even the Emperor has his own secrets involving his first wife. 

As far as a character analysis goes, Kozo of lovehkfilm was spot on when he said, "Chow Yun-Fat is powerfully smug as the Emperor, and uses his tremendous screen charisma to ooze smarm instead of the patented Chow Yun-Fat charm. Liu Ye perfectly embodies Xiang with a suitably over-the-top display of pathetic weakness." Jay Chou does a wonderful job in his acting debut, making the switch from Asian pop singer to big screen star with relative ease. Gong Li once again stuns the crowds; in my mind, she has really proven herself to fit into a wide array of character roles.

Curse of the Golden Flower is one of those rare films where no heroes exist. Every member of this disintegrating family contributes to the chaos and no one can be sided with. Overall this is a really fantastic film that I would highly recommend. 

After the last credits rolled on COTGF I hit the sack, for 8 A.M. would roll around quickly. 

Saturday:

The Police Story theme song sounded from my phone signifying that part two of the Chow Yun Fat party was beginning. I rolled out of bed and heated up some rice, before plopping down in my chair for the next film.

Hong Kong 1941-

Hands down my favorite Chow Yun Fat movie. In all honesty this movie is in my top 10 favorite Asian Cinema flicks. Set in wartime Hong Kong,A young Chow Yun-Fat is Fay, a loyal friend and heavily principled man who is not above using deception to act on his noble interests. The film opens with Fay trying stow himself away on an Australian bound ship. After having his plans foiled by a little girl and pausing for a few photos for the on-board Brits, he beautifully dives into the bay. Through a series of events, Fey befriends Keung (Alex Man) . In my humble opinion this is Alex Mans best film; he portrays the half-nutty local hero/tough guy, Keung, flawlessly. Fay tags along with Keung, despite Keung’s essential immaturity, and ignores the burgeoning romance between he and Keung’s fiance Nam (Cecilia Yip) whose father is played my none other than the legendary Shih Kien aka "Mr. Han". The motley crue decide to run away to Australia together and, by coincidence, schedule their getaway on the same day the Japanese attack. When the Japanese hit, Keung decides to stay and fight the invading army against the better judgment of Fay and Nam. Thanks to Keung, they all stay and things go from bad to worse. This is a fantastic film with a good story, believable characters, and a towering central performances from Chow Yun-Fat and Alex Man. Chow was rewarded with Taiwan’s Golden Horse award for Best Actor that year. Cecilia Yip is wonderful as the emotionally damaged Nam. Highly recommended for fans of Chow Yun-Fat. 

Enough of these emotionally draining wartime films; we need more gun fights! Enter our next film.

The Killer-

Long story short, Chow Yun-fat is Jeff, a professional killer with a heart of gold. On what was to be his final job, he accidentally injures a young nightclub singer named Jenny (Sally Yeh). 

"She risks becoming blind if she can't find the money to undergo surgery, and Jeff decides to take one last job to pay for the operation. However, things go wrong and he's spotted by a cop (Danny Lee). What follows is the building relationship between Jeff and the cop against the backdrop of a much bigger conflict between justice, crime and love. Like the heroes in many Yakuza films, the conflict between giri (sense of duty) and ninjo (instinct, inner feeling) brings suffering to the characters. It also brings them together, creating a bond between the two due to what they have in common." -lovehkfilm.com

This is not my favorite Chow film, but is a classic none-the-less. Personally, I feel like the story drags on for an hour before culminating in one of the strangest endings you will ever see... I mean seriously, how did that even happen? Haven't seen it yet? Give it a watch and you will understand what I'm talking about.

Moving on to our fifth and final film.

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon-

Easily the most famous Asian film of our time; Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is a masterpiece in every sense of the word. After being nominated for ten Academy Awards and named "Best Picture of the Year" by over 100 critics nationwide, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon can be safely awarded the title of "film classic."

 CTHD is the story of two couples coming to grips with life in the martial world.Li Mu-Bai (Chow Yun Fat)and Yu Shu-Lien (Michelle Yeoh) are on the older side of the spectrum as two well versed  martial artists whose plans for retirement are interrupted by the theft of Li's prize possession: the Green Destiny sword. The other couple includes Jen Yu (Zhang Ziyi), a beautiful, well-to-do noble who is more than she seems, and Lo (Chang Chan) the desert dwelling bandit known to the countryside as Dark Cloud. While Mu-Bai and Shu-Lien have grown tired of the life of Jiang Hu, Jen desires it, setting herself up as a student Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-Pei), a vicious kung fu mistress and killer of Mu-Bai's Wudan master. The movies central theme is the question of whether the talented Jen will remain a puppet of the evil Jade Fox or become a faithful disciple of the stoic Li Mu-Bai. In the end, the impetuous Jen follows her own will…with tragic results.

Interestingly, this film would have turned out far different had filming gone according to plan. Jet Li was offered the part of Li Mu-Bai, but he declined after accepting the starring role in Romeo Must Die. Similarly, Shu Qi and Takeshi Kaneshiro were offered the parts eventually given to Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chen. Reportedly, Shu Qi's manager Manfred Wong (of Young and Dangerous fame) turned down the role of Jen Yu because Shu Qi had to film a commercial in Japan.

That concludes this episode of Kung Food and a Movie!

Wish Listing

     After a long, and rather hot day at work (94 degrees? Whats up with that, Oregon), I dragged my nearly cooked self home and began re-organizing my kung fu movie collection. A man sitting in his air conditioned house, organizing towers of great movies is a beautiful thing. However, one branch of the glorious tree that is my kung fu collection has become a proverbial thorn in my side.

     Dragon Dynasty (logo pictured above) started releasing a numbered collection of hit films on Dvd and Blu-Ray in 2007; about the same time I became addicted to Hong Kong Cinema. The simple formula was to remaster movies ranging from the 60's to modern day films, pack in tons of extra features, put them in a shiny numbered case, and get them into the hands of fanboys everywhere. Hong Kong cinema fans rejoiced; Shaw Bros, John Woo films, classic Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat, and many other great films/actors were now getting the love and hugs they deserved.  Hong Kong movie expert and virtual voice of Hong Kong cinema , Bey Logan (pictured bottom left), had a steady stream of blog posts on the DD website (the guy is a walking encyclopedia of all things HKC)  and new release updates were flowing down the interweb river on a regular basis. No longer did we have to settle for worn out VHS tapes of our favorite animal style, wire effected, "you killed my teacher" flicks! Or did we?


     
All was well, until one day, the website came to a screeching halt. No new posts, no announced releases, no "dear John" letter, nothing. Several months after I noticed that the sight had become frozen in time, I was pillaging the martial arts section of a local F.Y.E., when to my surprise, 5 newly released dragon dynasty films stood un-purchased on the shelf!!! 
With high hopes, I purchased the films and scurried back to my house just to find a still dead website. To this day, the sites inactivity is a head scratcher. From that time on I began periodically checking amazon.com for new releases from DD. This really only worked part of the time and makes it really hard for a guy to complete the collection (first world problem). Today, I added several movies to my wish list on amazon and will be looking at purchasing them in the near future, when funds allow.

So what made the DD Kung Food and a Movie wish list?
     I believe the current count for DD releases is 56, though there is no way of telling. 
If that is the accurate count, then eleven movies are missing from my DD collection. These eleven movies made my wish list, totaling to around seventy buckaroos on amazon.com. A few of them I have seen on several occasions and I thought deserved honorable mentions below. 

The Flying Guillotine 1&2 ~This early Shaw Bros. classic was essentially the film that started Hong Kong cinemas over the top love affair with inventive weaponry. Few of these weapons are as iconic and original as the flying guillotine, and this was the first film to use them. The weapon was so iconic in fact, that it spurred a short segment on Discovery's Myth Busters. The evil Emperor, on his quest to sever the insubordination of upstanding local officials who oppose his wicked rule,commissions a new deadly weapon to clandestinely carry out the killing of these men. Enter the Flying Guillotine and the elite squad trained to use the new, seemingly invincible weapon.

(Pictured Left)
The Royal Tramp~ A very young Steven Chow stars in the Blockbuster parody of the famous "Duke of Mt. Deer" novels and television series. Though not considered to be one of Chows best films, the constant attack on your funny bone makes it worth a purchase. So what is the best Steven Chow movie? My personal favorite Steven Chow film is the greatly underrated 'God of Cookery' that I'm sure will appear in later blog posts. In the words of Bull Tong, "God of Cookery is the BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSST!"


Last Hurrah for Chivalry~ (pictured left) I'll let David Chutes description speak for itself. "In the Chinese wu hsia (martial chivalry) genre, sword-swinging heroes are often referred to as "altruists," and it's that aspect of the legend that gets a workout in this 1978 John Woo effort. Kao (Lau Kong), the duplicitous pivotal character, has purchased a beautiful wife for 1,000 taels of gold; alas, his rival, the prodigious fighter Pei, has paid her 2,000 taels to kill him. The moral is that when loyalty can be purchased, it no longer exists. The central action unfolds against this backdrop of a cynical, mercenary world. Kao selects a couple of fighters as soldiers in his quest for revenge, but being rare and noble souls they won't fight for money alone. Only after Kao, in a calculated move, helps Chang's dying mother will the fighters agree to take the case. This is only a moderately successful action movie, but it was a crucial stepping-stone in Woo's career: the action scenes, the highly emotional friendships, and the romantic music recall Chang Cheh, who Woo credits as an inspiration for his later gangster pictures, A Better Tomorrow and The Killer. The mournful resignation, the fading values, even the final assault on the baddie's headquarters, all these flourishes became staples of the Hong Kong gang films of the 1980s--though the gang flicks can't boast eccentric characters like the Sleeping Wizard, who fights in his sleep." --David Chute 


Mad Monkey Kung Fu~ (pictured Right) Easily one of the best displays of monkey-style kung fu to ever grace the silver screen. This film is a classic Shaw Brothers winner! Master Chen is tricked into a compromising situation, for which he is punished by crippling his hands. He takes on a new student and routine master-student training follows.  "Little Monkey" then sets out to avenge his masters pet monkey that has been killed by the ruthless baddies. The final fight scene is a must see! 

That is all for the first edition of Kung Food and a Movie. Tune in next time for more HKC and Asian Food talk! Thanks for reading and I hope to see you back. HIYa!