Member AlbertV Posted February 14, 2011 Member Share Posted February 14, 2011 The team behind BODYGUARDS AND ASSASSINS are going to make a remake of the Shaw Brothers classic THE FLYING GUILLOTINE. Teddy Chen is set to direct with Peter Chan Ho-Sun producing again. Also returning from B&A are Kenneth Mak (production designer) and Dora Ng (costume designer). Choreographing the action sequences is Yuen Bun, who recently worked on Tsui Hark's FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON GATE. The only casting announcement so far is that of Ethan Ruan of MONGA and IP MAN 2's Huang Xiaoming. Source: Screen Daily Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member daisho2004 Posted February 15, 2011 Member Share Posted February 15, 2011 I had heard that awhile ago that that film was getting a remake? I would love to see Avenging Eagle get a remake! WOW I hate to see certain films get remakes and here I'm saying I wish one of the Greatest SB movies get one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member OpiumKungFuCracker Posted February 15, 2011 Member Share Posted February 15, 2011 Heck if Hollywood is doing it to their own movies, why not Asians??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted March 2, 2011 Author Member Share Posted March 2, 2011 Peter Chan and Ethan Ruan at the announcement of THE FLYING GUILLOTINES Shooting begins in April. Yuen Bun will be training the cast members this month behind closed doors in Beijing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted April 25, 2011 Member Share Posted April 25, 2011 Production has been suspended. http://www.filmbiz.asia/news/guillotines-suspended-in-mid-air Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member mpm74 Posted April 30, 2011 Member Share Posted April 30, 2011 Damnit! Out of all the films, it HAD to be one which revolves around my favorite weapon! Hope they get it back on the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted June 20, 2011 Member Share Posted June 20, 2011 The project has been green-lit. Shooting will start in August with Andrew Lau taking over directing reigns originally given to Teddy Chen. http://www.filmbiz.asia/news/guillotines-to-fly-again-with-new-director Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member lillippa328 Posted June 21, 2011 Member Share Posted June 21, 2011 Wooooooooooooohhooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Space Posted June 21, 2011 Member Share Posted June 21, 2011 Sounds good. Too bad I had to rewrite my script though, because of this. I had started writing a screenplay that was an unofficial sequel to the Flying Guillotine but have had to cut out the weapon and everything to do with it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted September 7, 2011 Author Member Share Posted September 7, 2011 Shooting begins this week!!! Added to the cast are Shawn Yue and Boran Jing. Lee Tat-Chiu will serve as the film's action choreographer. I'm guessing Yuen Bun, who was training the cast when the project was first announced is probably gone (maybe a schedule conflict). Lee's name is the only one in the recent article as to action directing. FilmBizAsia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted June 12, 2012 Member Share Posted June 12, 2012 A new film known as the remake of the Shaw Bros classic The Flying Guillotine. Written by Teddy Chan (Purple Storm, Bodyguards & Assassins), produced by Peter Chan (The Warlords, Wu Xia) and directed by Andrew Lau (Infernal Affairs trilogy), the film has a cast consisting of Huang Xiao-Ming (Ip Man 2), Ethan Ruan (Monga), Li Yu-Chun (Bodyguards & Assassins), Jing Bo-Ran, Purba Rygal, Zhou Yiwei, Shawn Yue and Jimmy Wang Yu. The film's action sequences will be handled by veteran action director Lee Tat-Chiu (Bodyguards & Assassins). Release date for the film is set to December 20 in China/HK. C0HH62T3VeE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted June 12, 2012 Member Share Posted June 12, 2012 http://www.filmsmash.com/?p=2475 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator One Armed Boxer Posted June 15, 2012 Moderator Share Posted June 15, 2012 Looks like it has potential, already a thread for this one here though - http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13616 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted August 20, 2012 Member Share Posted August 20, 2012 Teaser is out. nUlg6aUjD78 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member daisho2004 Posted August 20, 2012 Member Share Posted August 20, 2012 OK that teaser isn't showing anything, so I cannot even comment on how it looks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted August 21, 2012 Member Share Posted August 21, 2012 The cinematography looks nice, at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member xianzai Posted August 21, 2012 Member Share Posted August 21, 2012 I'm just happy we're getting one big-budget wuxia after another. Anyone have Tsui Hark's address? I'll send him the collected works of Gu Long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member lillippa328 Posted September 7, 2012 Member Share Posted September 7, 2012 looks awsome!!! Doesnt show much but well put together, love the sound effects at the end! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted October 30, 2012 Member Share Posted October 30, 2012 Newest trailer. Looks they are taking it to the The Warlords level. Plus first glimpse of the titular weapon in action! Bs9aBqIo1FA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member QueMuchita Posted October 31, 2012 Member Share Posted October 31, 2012 That trailer looks a lot better than I expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted October 31, 2012 Member Share Posted October 31, 2012 So this is less a martial arts film and more a period production, right? I can't say I'm too thrilled with the trailer but I'll probably give it a go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member jmungus Posted October 31, 2012 Member Share Posted October 31, 2012 I can't say I'm too thrilled with the trailer and heres my yang to your yin- i think its a very good trailer suggesting the awesomest of potential for what COULD BE one of the very best of 'contemporary' (approx last 15 yrs) period flick productions out there. promises one heck of a set, competent sfx, decent characters, lots of doom and drama, one seriously cool weapon, that exotic oriental vibe of mystery. eerie parts, straight in your face raw parts, lots of entertaining action and then some. also, it looks to be a project handled in a very solid, competent way. most likely quite grounded with only a hint of the 'supernatural' (to the initiated, this translates to ie extra excellent body lifting gung, taoist wizardry based sinister martial tactics, [insert any of the kick ass, seemingly inexplicable, far fetched asian cinema antics here, that kinda do make sense due to their backgrounds in chinas historical art and culture]. i for one am seriously hyped. doesnt happen often. in the last decade or so, only with red cliff, detective dee & good/bad/weird. and those turned out nicely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Sheng Posted December 26, 2012 Member Share Posted December 26, 2012 Went to watch this with sky-high expectations the other day in a Foshan theatre after the cashier had assured me that it comes with English subs - it didn’t, but anyway I stayed and managed to pick up at least snatches of the dialogue thanks to the translation efforts of my wife. Therefore some of the more intricate plot twists eluded me, but the overall feeling that I left the theatre with was that of yet another letdown! The action was very sparse, consisting basically out of two longer sequences at the beginning and end and Lee Tat Chiu’s action design was just gratingly mediocre. The opening sequence is basically the only one where you get to see guillotines used as weapons and it was exercised as hollow as they come in Hollywood, the almost comic-bookish, CGI-created bladed saucers swishing back & forth, thundering score, quick editing and endless close-ups in slo-mo masking the non-existent fighting skills of almost the entire cast. Yep, that kind of film! There was a minimum of gore, once you witness a split second of a severed head rotting in the sun, another time you’ll catch a glimpse of a man being quartered by four buffalos, but for a movie about the Jinyiwei, the most vicious killing squad in Ancient China, it was all fairy tame. The much-touted 3 D effects were pretty unimpressive as well, a lot of times just consisting out of the glowing sparks of campfires dancing your way and I felt the film’s pop-star cast was simply poorly chosen. The exception being Shawn Yue, who played his scheming, menacing, stoic bastard part very convincingly. Huang Xiaoming who impressed me in IP MAN 2, SNIPER and THE MESSAGE was pretty bland here, during the final bout he’s just posing like a pillar of salt looking like a Michelangelo Jesus, beard and lions mane fluttering in the wind while explosives rain from the sky going off all around him. The most pathetic moment arrived when a sword-wielding Wang Luo-Dan “attacks” an entire Manchu firing squad and consequently gets pounded by hales of bullets in slo-mo… well, the script dictated that she still had enough time to expire in the arms of Ethan Ruan though and all action seemed to be suspended until enough tears could be shed between them… Yes, the cinematography, the film’s top-notch production design and its great use of the rural Shanxi backdrops should be noted – this is a Peter Chan production directed by Andrew Lau after all! - but just like the Chow Yun Fat-helmed ASSASSINS before it, THE GUILLIOTINES qualifies as nothing but a serious disappointment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member oneskyforall Posted December 28, 2012 Member Share Posted December 28, 2012 Well that is sad to hear Thanks for the review. I suppose I will stick to the old Shaw Bros films for my flying guillotine fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG Posted January 28, 2013 Member Share Posted January 28, 2013 New Review from LoveHKFilm.com Chinese: 血滴子 Year: 2012 Director: Andrew Lau Wai-Keung Producer: Peter Chan Ho-Sun, Jojo Hui Yuet-Chun, Andrew Lau Wai-Keung Writer: Jojo Hui Yuet-Chun, Joyce Chan Ka-Yi, Aubrey Lam Oi-Wah, Philip Lui Koon-Nam, Guo Jun-Li, Chit Ka-Kei Action: Lee Tat-Chiu Cast: Huang Xiaoming, Ethan Ruan, Li Yuchun, Shawn Yue, Jing Boran, Wen Zhang, Jimmy Wang Yu, King Shih-Chieh, Zhou Yiwei, Pubajia, Gao Tian, Li Meng, Guo Peng, Andrew Lau Wai-Keung The Skinny: Gritty reworking of the classic 1975 Shaw Brothers actioner capsizes under its own amibitions. Despite a great production and good acting, The Guillotines can't convince that it means as much as it thinks it does. The worst part: very little action featuring the guillotine weapon – flying or otherwise. Review by Kozo: Andrew Lau’s The Guillotines features a Qing Dynasty team of assassins called The Guillotines, but not much of the actual flying guillotine weapon. Seriously, Andrew Lau? In a disappointing move, this update of the 1975 Shaw Brothers classicThe Flying Guillotine is mostly nostalgia-through-concept, with little use of the iconic weapon and not much bloodletting. The flying guillotine does get an upgrade: it’s now a CGI-enhanced hand scythe with retractable blades and apparent GPS homing capability. In the opening scene, the Guillotines corner rebel leader Wolf (Huang Xiaoming), using their nifty guillotines to decapitate Wolf’s comrades and nearly him. The opening is an over-directed CGI orgy but at least it promises some fun. Also, the CGI-enhanced guillotine weapons are ridiculously cool – if the Guillotines decapitated all their foes in similar fashion the film would get an immediate pass. Hong Kong Cinema fans can be easy to please. Unfortunately, pleasing the audience does not seem to be a priority here. Plot first: after the flashy opening, Wolf is imprisoned and reveals to Guillotines field leader Leng (Ethan Ruan) that he “knows” him from personal visions. Wolf believes that Leng is fated to kill him – and hey, that makes sense because Wolf is a rebel and Leng is a government assassin. Despite this apparent date with destiny, Wolf escapes execution and kidnaps female Guillotine member Musen (Li Yuchun), before hightailing it to the wilderness. At the behest of the Qianlong Emperor (Wen Zhang), the Guillotines pursue along with palace official Haidu (Shawn Yue), whose high-ranking position doesn’t sit well with the rough-and-ready Guillotines. Haidu looks down on the Guillotines members because they’re uneducated lower class ruffians who are considered expendable assets by the Emperor. However, Haidu is much more charitable towards Leng because, unbeknownst to the rest of the Guillotines, they share a private bond of brotherhood with the Qianlong Emperor, and grew up alongside him as kids. Haidu wants Leng to quit the Guillotines to work in the palace, but Leng is conflicted. As detailed in male bonding montages, the Guillotines get along famously and Leng hesitates to leave his pals to return to his secret brotherhood with Haidu and Qianlong. Complicating matters, Leng belongs to yet another brotherhood: he’s actually a Han Chinese and a lower-class citizen in the Manchu-run Qing Dynasty. Leng may work for the government, but this is a government that oppresses his people. Wolf uses this dynamic – not to mention some sweaty, manly gazes – to sway Leng into questioning his loyalties even further. Meanwhile, the Qianlong Emperor makes a decisive move. Unfortunately, said move may not mean good things for Wolf or the Guillotines. The Guillotines has a potent setup, mixing history, politics, nationalism and solid if farfetched character details. Leng’s conflict is easily identified – it’s really up to the filmmakers to sell his internal struggle and ultimate decisions. Unfortunately, the filmmakers do a poor job of convincing at anything besides their technical prowess. The Guillotines looks great, with gritty art direction and cinematography that effectively spotlights the film’s dusty rural settings. True to Andrew Lau form, there’s flashy MTV technique to spare; slow motion and handheld camera work make this a stylish affair, though the style is ill-fitting to 3D projection (the film was post-converted from 2D). Andrew Lau and crew know how to put together a quality-seeming product, but the result is superficial. The Guillotines offers portentous details but handles them unconvincingly. This is a film that takes itself too seriously when it should be having more fun. A lot of men cry in The Guillotines, but the tears aren’t earned. The brotherhood is mostly nominal, with Leng’s close relationships with the Guillotines and Haidu coming off only as appointed script details. Despite its labored setup, Leng’s link to Wolf is more convincing, in large part because Huang Xiaoming shares better chemistry with Ethan Ruan than Shawn Yue does. The Guillotines are barely discernible from one another, making them difficult to care about. Other than Jing Boran, who plays the mouthiest Guillotine, the rest are handsome or rough-looking meatheads. If this were a Shaw Brothers film, the Guillotines would be differentiated by their fighting skills but there’s little fighting. Other than minor skirmishes the action scenes are usually one-sided assaults, and it’s not exciting to see one group mow down another without a struggle. It can be sad or tragic, but not when used repeatedly and with the same side always winning. Also, the story doesn’t progress organically and many details are sloppy or illogical. Characters are shot by multiple guns but surrounding extras go unscathed. People run unnecessarily to their deaths, characters just show up whenever the story requires it, and too much exposition is handled via flashback. The film also trots out religious imagery – a snake here, a hailstorm there – to support the messianic countenance of Wolf, who with his beard and robes does resemble Jesus. But the Christ references are just blatant spoon-fed symbolism. Subtlety, thy name is neither Andrew Lau nor his committee of six screenwriters. Lau also serves up another obvious parallel: he reuses a music theme from his Young and Dangerous movies to reinforce the film’s brotherhood. Unfortunately, the film’s brotherhood is unconvincing and is only given weight with pandering details like reusing music from a better film. This is the tail wagging the dog. The lack of memorable action is doubly disappointing because this is a reworking of an action movie that gained its notoriety from its outlandish titular weapon. Remaking The Flying Guillotines in this manner is like remaking The Road Warrior without any big car chase or battle sequences. The filmmakers do reference their roots with an appearance by Jimmy Wang Yu (who appeared in One-Armed Boxer vs. The Flying Guillotine, not The Flying Guillotines), who adds veteran presence to the solid young cast, all of whom acquit themselves well. The problem here is in concept and execution. Given the themes and the final twists, Andrew Lau and company appear to be making their version of Hero, (i.e., a martial arts film with grander ideas about the use and responsibility of power). Unfortunately, Andrew Lau is not Zhang Yimou, and that difference is more than enough to doom The Guillotines’s ambitions. (Kozo, 12/2012) Too Bad. GD Y_Y Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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