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Barry Convex posted:seen at Brooklyn's Spectacle Theater yesterday: The Dragon Lives Again, the infamously bizarre Bruceploitation feature in which “Bruce Lee” awakens in the underworld (which looks suspiciously like the real one, or rather how you’d expect the "real world" to look in a low-budget martial arts film from 1977) and quickly becomes embroiled in a power struggle for the throne involving numerous copyright-infringing knockoffs of iconic pop-culture characters, including “Clint Eastwood” as the Man with No Name, “James Bond,” Dracula, “The Godfather,” “The Exorcist,” “Emmanuelle,” and “Popeye,” among others. I can't say it quite lives up to that premise - among other things, it's too talky, the fight choreography isn't great, and there's some pretty bad comedy - but you can't really come away with ill will towards a movie in which "Bruce Lee" defeats Dracula by kicking him in the head with a literal "third leg," or where a Hong Kong Popeye knockoff downs a can of spinach before defeating a gang of mummies in a kung fu fight. My god, was it a nice widescreen print? I've been dreaming of such a thing, every version I've ever seen has been bad or worse quality
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Nov 15, 2022 06:29
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The American Genre Film Archive has a restored widescreen print I saw at the SF Drafthouse a few years ago, looks amazing compared to the public domain discs out there.
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Nov 15, 2022 21:08
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Tars Tarkas posted:The American Genre Film Archive has a restored widescreen print I saw at the SF Drafthouse a few years ago, looks amazing compared to the public domain discs out there. Ahhhh you guys are killing me!
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Nov 16, 2022 01:01
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Hope the VCI Pearl River collection updates sometime soon, The Leg Fighters and Dynamo (Bruce Li!) were both great releases. Gold Ninja's Thrilling Sword and Revengeful Swordswoman were also two world beater releases - haven't listened to the commentary on Thrilling Sword, Tars, but I'll get along to it sometime!!!
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Nov 16, 2022 01:04
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Dr. Jerrold Coe posted:My god, was it a nice widescreen print? I've been dreaming of such a thing, every version I've ever seen has been bad or worse quality It was widescreen iirc, though not great quality
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Nov 16, 2022 01:58
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I see Vinegar Syndrome has Righting Wrongs which I'm familiar with, and Iceman Cometh, a Yen Biao movie. Is Iceman any good?
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Nov 16, 2022 15:15
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El Gallinero Gros posted:I see Vinegar Syndrome has Righting Wrongs which I'm familiar with, and Iceman Cometh, a Yen Biao movie. Is Iceman any good? Iceman is really really really good. So fun! Maggie Cheung too, it's a romp.
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Nov 26, 2022 23:36
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Watching Thundering Mantis from 1980 on tubi in a low quality 16:9 print, clean enough for me. Film opens with the classic red backdrop and Bryan Leung (aka Leung Kar-yan) doin' all the moves over the credits except also some guys show up to spar and the first line of dialogue in the film is one of the dudes saying, "Watch out, that guy's crazy!" with great dubbed goofiness as Leung does some uh very expressive moves. Love it!!! Also on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZMMiELsxZiM Fake edit: Leung is a great lead, kind of scruffy looking, looks like a real dude you might see around. A real lovable himbo type (so far anyways)  Image unrelated Dr. Jerrold Coe fucked around with this message at 01:18 on Nov 29, 2022 |
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Nov 29, 2022 01:12
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Haha yessss, the little street urchin has learned drunken mantis style by getting drunk, and now he's beating up the gang of street toughs. Honestly great choreography for the little kid kicking three grown men's asses.
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Nov 29, 2022 02:05
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So, about that ending...
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Nov 29, 2022 02:12
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moller posted:So, about that ending... I'm already tore up about what the Eagle Fist Champion did to Master ... edit: holy loving poo poo dude Dr. Jerrold Coe fucked around with this message at 02:31 on Nov 29, 2022 |
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Nov 29, 2022 02:17
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Goddamn that movie is pure joy. That kid’s one-handed brick stacking trick is amazing, that’s some real hk opera school stuff, I assume.
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Nov 29, 2022 07:43
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Remulak posted:Goddamn that movie is pure joy. yeah, the film's your typical loosy goosy kung fu storytelling but the physical performances are so intense it raises it above the pack
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Nov 30, 2022 04:30
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We need more movies where the protagonists all have single-digit IQs. It's like this weird bridge connecting wuxia films and the Coen brothers
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Nov 30, 2022 07:23
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Saw the bizarre Taiwanese wuxia Wolf Devil Woman - about a woman raised by wolves who takes revenge on the sorcerer, or possibly demon, responsible for her parents' deaths, yesterday at Spectacle in Brooklyn. fight choreography is mostly cut to shreds by the rapid-fire editing scheme, and most of what remains decipherable is nothing to write home about, but that editing! rapid zooms, hyper-fast match cuts of sorts to imagery that tangentially relates to what’s currently happening, flashbacks, repeated shots, very similar shots in rapid succession, and more. Combined with the supernatural craziness, decapitations, dismemberments, impairments, and the protagonist Snowflower tossing men around with a rope, it’s a truly, memorably weird experience, even if I can't exactly call it a great entry in the genre. the woman who plays the lead in this, Pearl Chang, was also the director (not exactly common in early '80s martial arts cinema), and she made three more films I hope to check out at some point.
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Dec 12, 2022 19:23
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Almost done with Shawscope Volume 2. Mercenaries from Hong Kong is an absolute blast.
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Dec 17, 2022 02:41
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Barry Convex posted:Saw the bizarre Taiwanese wuxia Wolf Devil Woman - about a woman raised by wolves who takes revenge on the sorcerer, or possibly demon, responsible for her parents' deaths, yesterday at Spectacle in Brooklyn. fight choreography is mostly cut to shreds by the rapid-fire editing scheme, and most of what remains decipherable is nothing to write home about, but that editing! rapid zooms, hyper-fast match cuts of sorts to imagery that tangentially relates to what’s currently happening, flashbacks, repeated shots, very similar shots in rapid succession, and more. Combined with the supernatural craziness, decapitations, dismemberments, impairments, and the protagonist Snowflower tossing men around with a rope, it’s a truly, memorably weird experience, even if I can't exactly call it a great entry in the genre. I picked up the Pearl Chang collection Gold Ninja Video put out a few years ago. Her stuff is a lot of fun! She does colourful, creatively bizarre kung fu comedy like few others. Be sure to check out stuff she acted in as well, especially Fantasy Mission Force.
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Jan 9, 2023 21:25
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They're doing a Sammo Hung screening series https://www.academymuseum.org/en/programs/series/sammo-hung-from-stuntman-to-star embarassingly have not seen any on the upcoming any more essential than others?
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May 19, 2023 15:33
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Lord Seo posted:I picked up the Pearl Chang collection Gold Ninja Video put out a few years ago. Her stuff is a lot of fun! She does colourful, creatively bizarre kung fu comedy like few others. Be sure to check out stuff she acted in as well, especially Fantasy Mission Force. Just want to confirm this movie owns
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May 19, 2023 15:40
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Neo Rasa posted:Just want to confirm this movie owns Man I remember when you could only get stuff like this on poorly copied VHS in plastic cases with homemade labels at conventions.
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May 19, 2023 15:43
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Alan Smithee posted:They're doing a Sammo Hung screening series Eastern Condors is my favorite of the ones they haven't shown yet. The tone is a little darker than the average Sammo as it's a Dirty Dozen/Wild Bunch type movie, but it's really good. Millionaire's Express unfortunately already screened, but it's the quintessential Sammo movie imo. Great and creative stunts interspersed with vaudeville comedy bits. If you were only going to watch one Sammo movie ever, that's the one I'd recommend.
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May 19, 2023 15:55
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I vote Wheels on Meals for the most Sammo Hung-rear end Sammo Hung movie. Encounters of the Spooky Kind was also kind of a genre-definer.
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May 19, 2023 18:38
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To me Pedicab Driver was the one that showed him as a star. I haven’t seen all of the movies listed but probably will soon! Fantasy Mission Force is a gas tho.
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May 19, 2023 18:53
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It's tough with Sammo because some of his best stuff is in ensemble parts. Like Dragons Forever, Sammos subplot is the heart of the movie and then that scene where Jackie is trying to keep him hidden in the apartment from his date is quintessential Sammo but at the same time Dragons Forever isn't the best Sammo movie for action scenes.
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May 19, 2023 19:06
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Basebf555 posted:It's tough with Sammo because some of his best stuff is in ensemble parts. Like Dragons Forever, Sammos subplot is the heart of the movie and then that scene where Jackie is trying to keep him hidden in the apartment from his date is quintessential Sammo but at the same time Dragons Forever isn't the best Sammo movie for action scenes. I watched dragons forever for the first time last month and just about died laughing during that apartment bit.
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May 19, 2023 20:12
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Kingtheninja posted:I watched dragons forever for the first time last month and just about died laughing during that apartment bit. You really really don't think there's any way possible for him to fit in that closet but then he does!
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May 19, 2023 20:28
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I enjoyed Wheels on Meals more than Dragons Forever but both are great.
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May 19, 2023 22:23
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Magnificent Butcher is absolutely worth your time
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May 20, 2023 02:10
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I remember being pretty impressed by his acting ability in Heart Of Dragon, it's kinda great that there's still an action showdown at the end of a melodrama about Jackie Chan having Sammo Hung as a mentally disabled brother
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May 20, 2023 03:56
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Oracle posted:Man I remember when you could only get stuff like this on poorly copied VHS in plastic cases with homemade labels at conventions. I got mine out of the FYE bargain bin with a generic cover of Jackie in that black t-shirt and a generic plot summary about WWII. What a great wtf film experience that was for the first time
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May 20, 2023 06:26
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just saw Eastern Condors. Neat because it's a weird setup: Vietnam war movie made by the Hong Kong film industry? I don't even know where to begin with historicity. Probably doesn't showcase the best of sammo. I'm curious to where the inspiration came up and to be a fly on the wall when they did. Interesting tidbits Deer Hunter was 1978 and EC was 1987, so it's not like there weren't already Nam movies from Hollywood. Platoon came out 1986 and this is complete speculation but I wonder if there was a particular gritty one that struck a nerve. John Woo's A Better Tomorrow came out same year too (I don't know enough about his older stuff). maybe someone who knows HK film trends better can say if any of this means anything or if I'm just seeing coincidences
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May 20, 2023 12:36
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Spectacle Theater in Brooklyn did a marathon of martial arts/horror genre hybrids yesterday. The two I caught were Holy Virgin versus the Evil Dead and Exorcist Master, both pretty fun vampire flicks, though I enjoyed the pacing and action in the later better (the former does have Donnie Yen and a whole lot of female nudity, though). also, Criterion Channel added Encounters of the Spooky Kind and the first four Mr. Vampire films last month. I've only seen the first Mr. Vampire. Also recommend the Jet Li Once Upon a Time in China movies, though I think only I-III and VI are on there at present, for whatever reason Barry Convex fucked around with this message at 17:12 on Oct 2, 2023 |
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Oct 2, 2023 17:10
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Hey, with permission from MacheteZombie, I would like to extend an invitation for CD goons to come watch BYOB Movie Nite with us, which is all about martial arts films and series this month. It happens twice a week (Wednesday and Saturday) at 4pm PDT / 7pm EDT / 23:00 UTC on Discord. So if you don't have an aversion to any of those things you are more than welcome to join us to crack jokes together or exchange notes on camera work, directing, and so on. Tonight we'll be watching Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and an early episode of Cobra Kai. Last Wednesday, we watched Enter the Dragon. BYOB rules in effect: be chill, be respectful, and be whimsical (if you like)
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Oct 7, 2023 13:28
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Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky is coming to Criterion Channel next week
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Oct 24, 2023 20:22
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