Member soulkiss Posted June 16, 2010 Member Share Posted June 16, 2010 I've been collecting martial arts films for about 2 years now, and although I watched a lot of them as a child, its been that long since I've seen many of them, and I don't remember the names of my old favorites. I'm not a fan of wire fu movies like Crouching Tiger, and much prefer Chang Cheh and Lau Kar Leung films. Here's what I own, so far: The Master (3 Evil Masters) Challenge of the Masters Flag of Iron Five Element Ninjas Deadly Duo Martial Club Kid With the Golden Arm 5 Deadly Venoms Return of the 5... (Crippled Avengers) 36th Chamber Return to the 36th... Heroes of the East Fist of Legend the Enforcer (My Dad is a Hero) Enter the Dragon Fist of Fury Chinese Connection Way of the Dragon Rush Hour Rush Hour 2 the One Unleashed I also own Once Upon a Time in China 1, 2, & 3 but haven't watched them yet. Now, I know there's a little wire fu in the Venom Mob movies & recent Jet Li stuff, but not like in the Legend of Fong Sai Yuk. I'm wondering about specific movies (My Young Auntie, Come Drink with Me, One-Armed Swordsman), but would love to hear other suggestions. I'm brand new to this board, btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Knockabout Posted June 16, 2010 Member Share Posted June 16, 2010 You need to check out the works of Sammo Hung and Yuen Wo Ping: Sammo: The Victim The Prodigal Son Warriors Two Knockabout Wo Ping: Legend of a Fighter Snake in the Eagles Shadow Drunken Master Dance of the Drunken Mantis Maybe you could also try to check out some of the early bashers like Bloody Fists or Rage of the Wind.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member kungfusamurai Posted June 17, 2010 Member Share Posted June 17, 2010 Now, when you are talking about wirefu, you mean the stuff where everyone is up in the air for long periods of time, which was big during the 90s? If you're looking at classic kung fu stuff, almost all of it is non-wirefu. There might be a few moments here and there when someone jumps a little higher than they should, but it's not like OATIC or Kung Fu Cult Master. Just stay away from the Tsui Hark, Yuen Woo Ping (after '82. Duel to The Death from '83 probably has more wirework than you would like, but it's another swordplay movie. Don't get rid of your Once Upon A Time In China discs. You may hate wirefu now, but I think you'll enjoy it later when you see that it's more about fantasy than realism in a lot of those flicks. KFS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member soulkiss Posted June 17, 2010 Author Member Share Posted June 17, 2010 Exactly. that flying through trees, balancing on limbs, etc... really bores me. I'm a big fan of the training and evolution of a fighter; learning a new style; ethical and moral dilemma stuff. so I'm safe getting One-Armed Swordsman, Return of the One-Armed Swordsman, My Young Auntie, & Come Drink With Me? Any other recommendations besides the ones already mentioned? thanks for your help, KFS & Knockabout Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member sifu iron perm Posted June 17, 2010 Member Share Posted June 17, 2010 shaolin vs lama game of death 2.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Kwok Choi Posted June 17, 2010 Member Share Posted June 17, 2010 I've been collecting martial arts films for about 2 years now, and although I watched a lot of them as a child, its been that long since I've seen many of them, and I don't remember the names of my old favorites. I'm not a fan of wire fu movies like Crouching Tiger, and much prefer Chang Cheh and Lau Kar Leung films. Here's what I own, so far: I also own Once Upon a Time in China 1, 2, & 3 but haven't watched them yet. Now, I know there's a little wire fu in the Venom Mob movies & recent Jet Li stuff, but not like in the Legend of Fong Sai Yuk. I'm wondering about specific movies (My Young Auntie, Come Drink with Me, One-Armed Swordsman), but would love to hear other suggestions. I'm brand new to this board, btw. Tough question as this varies sometimes within the movies themselves and the theme/plot itself might require Wire-Fu for example The Chinese Ghost Story series and the Mr Vampire films. I hate Wire-Fu myself but some genres need it so from what you've said I think you will like Once Opon A Time In China part one / you are gonna have a struggle with part two but the Jet Li / Donnie Yen fight might bring a smile; as for part three...............well........... Anyway get the few Tony Jaa movies available if you haven't already and I'll advice you to go for most of the movies from 1975 - 85.You'll enjoy My Young Auntie but though Come Drink With Me and The One-Armed Swordsman are classics they are swordplay. The modern day movies from Golden Harvest and D & B films around 1986 - 96 are not too bad.From 97 onwards its hit and miss.There are many references and guides you can follow and hopefully many of our forum members will be able to guide you better. Welcome to the board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TibetanWhiteCrane Posted June 17, 2010 Member Share Posted June 17, 2010 Am I the only one who thinks Come Drink With Me is highly overrated?? I understand its historical significance etc. But it is NOT a must have in my book. At least not from an entertainment or action perspective, but maybe from a film history perspective! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Kwok Choi Posted June 17, 2010 Member Share Posted June 17, 2010 ........................................................Come Drink With Me? I understand its historical significance etc.............................................At least not from an entertainment or action perspective, but maybe from a film history perspective! You are correct with this view.It was the first mega successful mainstream commercial action oriented movie featuring a woman as the main protagonist which later transformed into something special for the martial art movie even to this day hence the reason why Shaws wanted to remake Come Drink With Me or make a sequel 37- 44 years later. Also one has to go back in time to 1966.Relive that moment those times.Picture it and think what movies were made at that time worldwide then one can see why Come Drink With Me is termed a classic by Hong Kong standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Fang Shih-yu Posted June 17, 2010 Member Share Posted June 17, 2010 TibetanWhiteCrane and Kwok Choi make some good points!... Come Drink with Me is a real "stand-alone" film which practically anticipates the "high brow" entertaiment of the ultimate "Wire Fu" movie, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which arrived [about] 34 years later! King Hu's attention to detail feels as intricate as the newer "Wire Fu" films, and the guy was compared to David Lean, yet CDwM was made in a fraction of the time Lean's classic movies were! (If King Hu tried to take as long with CDwM as Mr. Lean did on Lawrence of Arabia, the Shaws would've shown him the door long before if he went a DAY past the average Shaw movie shooting schedule!) It's agreed it's not for all tastes, but if it's possible for somebody to rent or borrow a copy to watch, one viewing [to see what the hype's all about] should be enough for most martial arts movie fans! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted June 17, 2010 Member Share Posted June 17, 2010 Am I the only one who thinks Come Drink With Me is highly overrated?? I understand its historical significance etc. But it is NOT a must have in my book. At least not from an entertainment or action perspective, but maybe from a film history perspective! You are certainly not the only one. Not only do I think it's overrated, but I think it's actually a pretty bad film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member masterofoneinchpunch Posted June 17, 2010 Member Share Posted June 17, 2010 TibetanWhiteCrane and Kwok Choi make some good points!... Come Drink with Me is a real "stand-alone" film which practically anticipates the "high brow" entertaiment of the ultimate "Wire Fu" movie, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which arrived [about] 34 years later! King Hu's attention to detail feels as intricate as the newer "Wire Fu" films, and the guy was compared to David Lean, yet CDwM was made in a fraction of the time Lean's classic movies were! (If King Hu tried to take as long with CDwM as Mr. Lean did on Lawrence of Arabia, the Shaws would've shown him the door long before if he went a DAY past the average Shaw movie shooting schedule!) It's agreed it's not for all tastes, but if it's possible for somebody to rent or borrow a copy to watch, one viewing [to see what the hype's all about] should be enough for most martial arts movie fans! This is kind of a strange thing to say since King Hu was later known for taking a long time for his later films and he didn't like working with the Shaws which is why he broke off with the Shaws after Come Drink WIth Me was successful and later went to Taiwan. There is good reason to compare him to David Lean. I personally feel Come Drink With Me is a good film. From a cinematic technical standpoint is is done quite well with great attention to use of the wide-screen Shawscope. It is not the most technical proficient MA compared to the later day Lau Kar-leung, but very little is. I liked the story and the actors as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Fang Shih-yu Posted June 17, 2010 Member Share Posted June 17, 2010 This is kind of a strange thing to say since King Hu was later known for taking a long time for his later films and he didn't like working with the Shaws which is why he broke off with the Shaws after Come Drink WIth Me was successful and later went to Taiwan. There is good reason to compare him to David Lean.I did not know about how long it took Hu to work on later films, so I was obviously a touch off with my remark! I was referencing the Bey Logan parts of the DD Come Drink with Me DVD, which I haven't watched in a while, and mixed things up!http://www.shaolinchamber36.com/kungfufandom/uploads/emoticons/default_default/squigglemouth.png' alt=':squigglemouth:'> Considering the short time he had to shoot CDwM, it is surprising how great it turned out, and that's in a fraction of the time it takes today's movie companies to produce the average "big-budget" crowd pleasers! (If it ever gets remade...well, nobody's gonna catch "lightning in a bottle" TWICE, no matter how much talent or money is used!) masterofoneinchpunch, do you think the latter parts of CDwM (the other swordswomen and "palm power") were conceived by Hu, or do you think other hands played with the movie? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member masterofoneinchpunch Posted June 17, 2010 Member Share Posted June 17, 2010 I did not know about how long it took Hu to work on later films, so I was obviously a touch off with my remark! I was referencing the Bey Logan parts of the DD Come Drink with Me DVD, which I haven't watched in a while, and mixed things up! Considering the short time he had to shoot CDwM, it is surprising how great it turned out, and that's in a fraction of the time it takes today's movie companies to produce the average "big-budget" crowd pleasers! (If it ever gets remade...well, nobody's gonna catch "lightning in a bottle" TWICE, no matter how much talent or money is used!) masterofoneinchpunch, do you think the latter parts of CDwM (the other swordswomen and "palm power") were conceived by Hu, or do you think other hands played with the movie? This is another of those films I would not want to see remade. Now I don't mind reusing plot points, but a full out remake does not excite me. If you are interested here are some (ignore the sarcasms of myself ) I did note that it took 10 Days to shoot Inn scene, 50-60 days in total for whole shoot To answer your question, I'm not quite sure. I'm looking through a few books right now. I can see interference from others as being an annoyance to him leading to his going elsewhere. But one thing I can say was that he had no problems with others helping with the action: "During the making of CDWM, it was quite difficult for me to handle the action. I had no problems with handling the story because I had read many martial arts stories. I have never had any training in the martials arts and I don't know how to fight, so I called in Han Yingjie, a Beijing opera actor, to help me out." -- Interview with Yamada Hirokazu and Koyo Udagawa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Fang Shih-yu Posted June 17, 2010 Member Share Posted June 17, 2010 Interesting stuff, masterofoneinchpunch! It's a breath of fresh air to see Mr. Logan is not infallible, after all; I do think he'd freely admit to mistakes more than Ric Meyers, however!... Anyway, you are quite well versed in King Hu, for starters! I have started to look around on other sites for Hu's other movies that are available, and the more I look at, the more I see quite a few more (at least) are out there as "Region 3's", so I'll grab them while I can. (Having an "all regions" DVD players makes this an easy possibility!) @soulkiss: Nice selection of movies, so far! If you ever get an "all regions" player, Chang Cheh's "Shaolin" movies (mentioned on other threads, but Media Blasters' Heroes Two is THE starting point) are fine works that are NOT "Wire Fu"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Koyuki Posted June 18, 2010 Member Share Posted June 18, 2010 I remember hearing on the CDWM interview commentary track with Chang Pei Pei (Golden Swallow, the female lead) that the swordswomen at the end were added at the request of one of the Shaw brothers - he was nervous about releasing a movie that only had one female character in it, and wanted more women on screen to boost the sex appeal of the film. The 'palm power' bit was in it from the beginning, CO2 gas running through hoses taped to the actor's off-camera sides. The escaping gas would supercool the hoses and nozzles, and the actors would end up with frost burns after a day of effects shots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Fang Shih-yu Posted June 18, 2010 Member Share Posted June 18, 2010 I remember those details now! My copy of CDwM is caught up in moving, so I can't get at it like I want to! Thanks for your input, Koyuki! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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