What was the last classic martial-arts film you watched?

[chazgower01]

11 minutes ago, sym8 said:

Loved this movie and the fact that Jackie knows very little Kung fu and wins just buy sheer will and heart,great review.👍👍

Yes! Another thing that made this movie so different than most of the previous 10 I had watched!

No training - and no learning a new Kung Fu style to beat the main villain!

[sym8]

1 minute ago, chazgower01 said:

Yes! Another thing that made this movie so different than most of the previous 10 I had watched!

No training - and no learning a new Kung Fu style to beat the main villain!

I personally think Jackie just got fed up with doing those type of movies,let’s face it by then they had been done to death anyway.

[chazgower01]

Aces Go Places (1982, Hong Kong) internet 3.5/5
For the influence it had on the Hong Kong Film Industry and Jackie Chan, in particular, I wonder if there was anything comparable to this when it was released?
Director Eric Tsang had tried to make a money chase type of comedy in 1980 with ‘The Loot’ and 1981 with ‘The Crazy Chase’, but neither of those had a star like Samuel Hui (his comedian brother starred with Jackie Chan in Cannonball Run the previous year). Making a perfect pairing with Karl Maka, they’d knock out four successful sequels and constantly give Jackie Chan a run for his money for the top of the box office over the next few years.
Yet these movies aren’t even much known outside of Hong Kong Film buff circles.
(Side note: I suspect, Aces Go Places beating Dragon Lord is PART of what made Jackie think Dragon Lord was a disappointment - it got beat by almost HK $10 Million) - he’d come back from America an even bigger star in Hong Kong, but got beat at the box office by a Pop Star - but I SUSPECT, what REALLY made Jackie think he had to start moving towards movies in a modern setting was that Dean Shek and Richard Ng’s ‘It Takes Two’ - a goofy comedy in a modern setting - just barely lost out to Dragon Lord for the #2 spot! Dean Shek! Dean Shek was also a producer and actor on Aces Go Places, but he wasn’t the STAR. He was one of the main stars of ‘It Takes Two’.!
Now I LIKE Dean Shek and even Richard Ng, mostly, but for Jackie’s ego, this had to seem crazy. Those guys were bit actors! Just an observation. And I've never seen 'It Takes Two'.)
Aces Go Places is a little bit absent on the Kung Fu, as in, almost non-existent in it, but it does have stunts, and comedy, and a nice pace that makes it easy to watch even now. And like I said, the chemistry between the two stars (and Slyvia Chang) really helps.
Samuel Hui is King Kong, a thief who steals some Diamonds from some bad guys, framing them for the crime. Two cops (Maka and Chang) are after him, but he ends up teaming up with them to go after the badder, bad guys.
The finale has a bunch of cars blowing up, but I guess people like that. And then Sam Hui jumps over a car as it speeds at him, which looks really cool (though it may not have actually been him). Tsui Hark has a small part as a ballet director. 

[Chu Liu Hsiang]

18 hours ago, Drunken Master said:

Thank you for that, much appreciated.  The Water Margin TV series was a classic in its entirety. I can remember a monk who joins the 108, but not the name. Now to watch Tiger Killer and The Water Margin, a bit out of sequence, oops.

Which tv series did you watch? I only know the Japanese series from early 70s but I know there are more. I found this list https://www.poisonpie.com/words/others/somewhat/outlaws/text/outlaws.html very useful, especially when reading as it also lists the chapters the characters appear in. The Monk you mean is Lu Da (no. 5 on that list).

[chazgower01]

Oh, and based on what information I had available, here is the Top 10 Hong Kong Box Office for 1982:

1. HK $26,043,773.00    Aces Go Places
2. HK $17,936,344.00    Dragon Lord (Jackie Chan)
3. HK $16,724,578.00    It Takes Two 
4. HK $16,157,801.00    Shaolin Temple (Jet Li)
5. HK $15,475,087.00    Boat People
6. HK $13,927,084.00    Till Death Do We Scare (Alan Tam)
7. HK $11,809,432.00    Carry On Pickpocket (Sammo)
8. HK $10,104,527.00     The Dead and the Deadly (Sammo)
9. HK $08,827,520.00     The Perfect Match 
10. HK $08,482,128.00    The Miracle Fighters 

I really want to check out Ann Hui's Boat People which I hear is great, and of course It Takes Two, which I'm sure is kinda goofy.... the two Sammo movies should be easy to find in some form...

[DrNgor]

5 hours ago, chazgower01 said:

Oh, and based on what information I had available, here is the Top 10 Hong Kong Box Office for 1982:

1. HK $26,043,773.00    Aces Go Places
2. HK $17,936,344.00    Dragon Lord (Jackie Chan)
3. HK $16,724,578.00    It Takes Two 
4. HK $16,157,801.00    Shaolin Temple (Jet Li)
5. HK $15,475,087.00    Boat People
6. HK $13,927,084.00    Till Death Do We Scare (Alan Tam)
7. HK $11,809,432.00    Carry On Pickpocket (Sammo)
8. HK $10,104,527.00     The Dead and the Deadly (Sammo)
9. HK $08,827,520.00     The Perfect Match 
10. HK $08,482,128.00    The Miracle Fighters 

I really want to check out Ann Hui's Boat People which I hear is great, and of course It Takes Two, which I'm sure is kinda goofy.... the two Sammo movies should be easy to find in some form...

Interesting. I had read in some places, including Conan Lee's personal website, that Ninja in the Dragon's Den was not only a huge success, it apparently broke records set by Bruce Lee. Perhaps it was released at tail-end of 1981? Or it broke records in other parts of Asia?

[NoKUNGFUforYU]

龍之忍者 Ninja in the Dragon's Den (1982)

Alias: The Legend of the Ninja

Alias: Knight and Warrior

Country: Hong Kong

Genre: Martial Arts

Release Date: 06/24/1982

Box Office: HK $7,587,002.00

[whitesnake]

On 8/26/2018 at 7:42 AM, Drunken Master said:

The Water Margin TV series was a classic in its entirety.

Which TV series?  There were at least two Chinese series (1998 and 2011) and the Japanese one, Suikoden, in 1973.  Peng Liyuan (now the wife of Xi Jinping) sang the ending theme song for the last 13 episodes of the 1998 series. 

[chazgower01]

9 hours ago, DrNgor said:

Interesting. I had read in some places, including Conan Lee's personal website, that Ninja in the Dragon's Den was not only a huge success, it apparently broke records set by Bruce Lee. Perhaps it was released at tail-end of 1981? Or it broke records in other parts of Asia?

According to hkmdb.com it was released in Hong Kong on 6/24/1982 and did HK $7.5 Million. However, it could have been a much bigger movie in Japan, Taiwan, Korea, etc.... whoops, now I see the graphic above!

Edited August 28, 2018 by chazgower01

[chazgower01]

Winners and Sinners (1983, Hong Kong) facebook 3.5/5
Winners and Sinners was the first of what many Hong Kong movie fans consider to be a part of Jackie Chan’s ‘three brothers’ movies (Himself, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao), even though Jackie’s part is minor and Biao only appears in one scene.
However it would set the stage for much of how Jackie changed his career - he plays a cop, the fight scenes are a mixture of brutality and comedy, and the stunts hurt just watching. But the real change is that, for once we see Jackie in a modern setting. What inspired this?
The previous year, the first  Aces Go Places would dominate the box office, and in February of 1983, the sequel would do almost as well at HK $23 Million. Could all three Dragons together, also in a modern crime caper comedy/action movie topple them from the top spot?
Nope. Winners and Sinners would finish 2nd at HK $21 Million and the great Project A (and let's make no mistake, it's better as a movie than either of those two OR the first Aces) would finish 3rd at HK $19 Million. Around the rest of Southeast Asia, those two movies probably did monster business - but in Hong Kong, they still weren't #1
Directed by Sammo Hung, Winners and Sinners tells the story of five petty criminals who meet in jail - Teapot (played by Sammo Hung), Curly (John Sham), Exhaust Pipe (Richard Ng), Vaseline (Charlie Chin), and Rookie (Stanley Fung) who decide to form a friendship and start a cleaning company, so they can stay out of trouble.
But, a crime boss dealing in counterfeits is released the same day and through co-incidence, their paths will cross, leading to hijinks and some fun fighting. 
Adding to the humor is Curly's sister Shirley (played by former Hong Kong beauty queen Cherie Chung), who the group jockey's for affection from. It also features Richard Ng's hilarious 'invisibility' scene.
Jackie Chan plays an unlucky cop who provides some of the better fight scenes, and he has a cool short spar with Yuen Biao during his cameo. 
They'd somewhat repeat this whole process with My Lucky Stars and Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars, but more importantly, Chan, Hung and Biao would team up for a number of movies together that many feel are some of Jackie’s best fighting movies.
Added notes: That’s Moon Lee as Yuen Biao’s girlfriend! Mars has a small role as a robber.

Top 10 Hong Kong Box Office for 1983 (of the numbers I have available to me):
1. HK $23,273,140.00   Aces Go Places II
2. HK $21,972,419.00   Winners and Sinners (3 Dragons)
3. HK $19,323,824.00   Project A (Jackie Chan)
4. HK $15,439,323.00   Burning of Imperial Palace 
5. HK $14,102,667.00    Espirit D’amour (Alan Tam - 1st Ringo Lam)
6. HK $13,782,062.00   All the Wrong Spies (George Lam/Brigitte Lin)
7. HK $12,946,443.00   Perfect Wife?! (Dean Shek)
8. HK $12,021,886.00    Reign Behind a Curtain 
9. HK $09,386,443.00  Just For Fun (Frankie Chan)
T10. HK $07,691,332.00    Play Catch (Alan Tam)
T10: HK $07,373,743.00    Hong Kong Playboys (Wong Jing)
(Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain did HK $1,587,851!!!)

 

[Drunken Master]

On 8/27/2018 at 10:11 AM, Chu Liu Hsiang said:

Which tv series did you watch? I only know the Japanese series from early 70s but I know there are more. I found this list https://www.poisonpie.com/words/others/somewhat/outlaws/text/outlaws.html very useful, especially when reading as it also lists the chapters the characters appear in. The Monk you mean is Lu Da (no. 5 on that list).

 

On 8/27/2018 at 6:27 PM, whitesnake said:

Which TV series?  There were at least two Chinese series (1998 and 2011) and the Japanese one, Suikoden, in 1973.  Peng Liyuan (now the wife of Xi Jinping) sang the ending theme song for the last 13 episodes of the 1998 series. 

It was the Japanese one, shown here in the UK in the 1970`s on BBC1

[ShawAngela]

If you read French, The Water Margin book is translated as " Au bord de l'eau ", authors Shi Nai an and Luo Guan Zhong.

If not, you can try this site, but they only have it in Chines-Arabic language :

https://www.purpleculture.net/advanced_search_result/?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=the+water+margin

 

And I forgot to mention the movie The amorous Lotus Pan 1963 as related to The water margin.

 

[whitesnake]

47 minutes ago, Drunken Master said:

It was the Japanese one, shown here in the UK in the 1970`s on BBC1

Great TV series.  The dubbed version, narrated by Burt Kwouk, is the only one I've got.  It's still available at www.amazon.co.uk -   

[Rodolphe Dux]

Yeah, Snake in the eagle's shadow still lives up to the legend. God bless Yuen Woo Ping. The HD remaster is awesome by the way.

 

Edited August 29, 2018 by Rodolphe Dux

[chazgower01]

Project A (1983, Hong Kong) DVD 4/5 
After Aces Go Places dominated the Hong Kong box office in 1982, and then started off 1983 with a HK $23 Million sequel, Jackie must've realized that it was time to at least APPEAR in a modern Hong Kong movie with Sammo's Winners and Sinners. It still wasn't enough to overtake AGP2, but it did finish the year at just under HK $22 Million.
He brought Sammo and Yuen Biao on to his own directed Project A, which was at least a little more modern... but still not present day. It would finish 3rd at the HK box office at $19 Million.
I've always seen this movie as being in three parts. The first part has only one fight - the police vs the navy - and mainly consists of the Chinese Navy being disbanded and having to become cops. It's ok.
The second part is far and away the best - Jackie and Yuen Biao attack the bad guys headquarters and an all out brawl ensues - with Jackie quitting the police force and delivering his man to the chief - one of my favorite scenes. It then has Jackie on the run and includes a few fights side by side with Sammo and all of his cool stunts through the city streets, including his drop from the clock tower.
The third part (and the longest) is almost as good with the great Dick Wei, in one of his most classic roles (and that's saying A LOT) as the Pirate leader, where the Three Dragons begin their assault on their hideout. And off the top of my head, if this is the last time Jackie outright KILLS his adversary, it sure is a wild way that him and Sammo and Biao do it! 
That finale is maybe the best thing they've done up to that point and it should rightfully be remembered as a great battle with all three of them taking on a savage Dick Wei.
Neither Jackie or Sammo (with Yuen Biao's help) could top the popularity of Aces Go Places 2 in Hong Kong, but they still had TWO hit movies, totaling over HK $40 Million in 1983, which is something no one else could claim. 

[DragonClaws]

 

Here's one for @LuFengLover

Got me a fix of Chi Kuan-Chun action recently, didnt quite get time to add this to the last Twin Monthly Mutual Review's, so here it is as a stand alone ramble/write-up.

Those Kung Fu Fandom followers/controbutor's who are interested in my ramblings, click on this link elow, THANK YOU.

 

 

Edited August 30, 2018 by DragonClaws

[chazgower01]

Wheels on Meals (1983, Hong Kong) Amazon Prime 3.5/5
I never understood how people rated this movie as highly as they do - if not for the finale, I might even put it below Winner and Sinners. The story is flimsy, the comedy is ok, the stunts are few and far between, and the fights throughout are quick and sporadic. The finale is pretty good, which features the first Jackie/Benny 'the Jet' Urquidez fight but... even that seems shorter than it should be. Jackie gets his ass kicked through most of the fight and then throws a magical punch out of nowhere to wobble Benny, before finishing him off. Yuen Biao is getting his butt handed to him when he suddenly picks up a vase and knocks his opponent out. That's the best they could come up with?
Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad movie - just more on par with Winners and Sinners than Project A or some of what would follow. Was Jackie trying to get Sammo to make a movie more like Winners and Sinners because it had topped him at the box office the year before? In other words... for a Jackie Chan movie, it's very light on fighting, and very heavy on characters.
Which isn't necessarily bad - we get one of the few sexy scenes in a Jackie movie, where Lola Forner is shown in silhouette showering, before walking out in just a dress shirt and panties to tease Jackie and Yuen for a bit. Wouldn't see a whole lot more of those kind of scenes in JC's movies... 
And there is the stunt with knocking the two punks off their motorbikes as they drive toward Jackie and Yuen, which is still cool to see, in the Spanish marketplace... but Richard Ng and John Shum as mental patients just seems to be shoehorned in to flesh out some kind of story (or fill up space). 
Still... for what we do get of excitement, it's worth seeing. Almost like a test run for what would come next...

[Omni Dragon]

8 hours ago, chazgower01 said:

I never understood how people rated this movie as highly as they do - if not for the finale, I might even put it below Winner and Sinners.

I personally do rate Winners & Sinners higher than Wheels On Meals.

[chazgower01]

My Lucky Stars (1984, Hong Kong) Amazon Prime 3/5
1985 would be a big year for Jackie Chan, and it would start off in February with the second 'Lucky Stars' movie, which shot to #1 at the box office and outdid every movie the rest of the year. Of course, it helped that the Aces Go Places team decided to take a year off, but My Lucky Stars' HK $30.7 Million made it Jackie's highest grossing film yet.
It starts off promising enough, in Japan, with Jackie and Yuen Biao (as plain clothes cops) chasing some bad guys (driving stunts and then acrobatic stunts at a carnival) before being surrounded by.... ninjas! They put up a good fight (shot somewhat unevenly by a usually sure directed Sammo), but Yuen gets captured, so Jackie has to call in a favor to have some of his old 'orphanage buddies' released from jail to help him.
From there, we get a good 40 minutes of 'lucky stars', that depending on how you feel about it, is either a huge waste of film or some amusing laughs. Sure we get a young, attractive Sibelle Hu slinking around in a flimsy nighty for one scene, but watching 30+ minutes of these knuckleheads vying for her attention gets old.
We get a good fight, as Sammo and Jackie take on a few goons before we get even more 'Lucky Stars' (Richard Ng, Eric Tsang, Charlie Chin, and Stanley Fung) and a slow work up to the finale.
Much of this film feels like filler, but once Jackie reappears and makes his way through the fun house it picks up quickly. Jackie takes on Dick Wei (as a Japanese fighter!) in easily the best fight in the film, though Sammo taking on a roomful of goons is entertaining as well and Yuen Biao gets in on some action. Also Sibelle Hu has to battle Japanese muscle lady Nishiwaki Michiko, though Sammo finishes her off way too early.
In fact, the whole finale is over far too quickly, and it always leaves me feeling a bit underwhelmed. It has its moments, but it still baffles me how this outdid one of Jackie's greatest movies (Police Story) at the box office released later that year.
 

[kevenzz]

this week I watched

 The Ring of Death: lots of familiar faces in this one, Hwang Jang Lee, Cliff Lok, Dean Shek Tin from Drunken Master, Roy Horan from Game of Death 2 and Snuff Bottle Connection and many others....it's a great films with lots of actions and a bit of comedy... the old couple that teach kung fu to cliff lok is pretty funny. recommended.

Snake in the Monkey Shadow 2: good one too but the first half of the movie was a bit boring I guess. again lots of familiar in this one, like Carter Wong who only appears for 5 minutes even if he's on the dvd cover. Don Wong Tao is great as always. some great fights but I was a little confused by the story in this one. Ten Tigers from Shaolin: decent movie but I didn't like this one that much.... there is lots of fights and actions but the battles are a little too chaotic for my taste.... it reminds me of the Chang Cheh Shaolin movies from the mid seventies. I like Jason Pai Piao a lot but you don't seem him much in this. Michelle Yim which I think is pretty cute but doesn't appear much also.

[Rodolphe Dux]

Don't know if it applies the topic but let's dare. Royal warriors aka In the line of duty aka In the line of duty 2 aka yes madam 2 (I probably forgot some I can't keep up with all the titles...). Well that was the movie who makes me fall in love with HK 80-90's action movies. Michelle Yeoh is awesome, very cool script, awesome stunts, I don't ask for more. Legendary action movie.The HD/Blu remaster gives it a second youth which is kinda awesome.

 

 

[ShawAngela]

Rodolphe Dux, I love your signature !!

[Rodolphe Dux]

11 minutes ago, ShawAngela said:

Rodolphe Dux, I love your signature !!

Thanks! I just love that 2016 NY times interview of Angela Mao plenty of similar awesome quotes in there  There are too few of that kind of interviews though... I want more.

[ShawAngela]

46 minutes ago, Rodolphe Dux said:

There are too few of that kind of interviews though... I want more.

Mee too !!

I just saw that you are from France, that's great ! I don't think that we are many to love these old movies here...

[Rodolphe Dux]

17 hours ago, ShawAngela said:

Mee too !!

I just saw that you are from France, that's great ! I don't think that we are many to love these old movies here...

Unfortunately your are right! Asian movies distribution sucks in France nowadays. Last example to date, the last Tsui Hark Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings only distributed in a few theater with french dub only. I mean dubbing Chinese movies is more than stupid... But back in the day, we had some great companies like HK video which provided an awesome magazine and stunning catalog of classics in the 90's. But, I guess people don't wan't to watch asian movies except Japanese or Korean (which are trendy nowadays, which doesn't mean french people will buy it, they want it for free). I can't believe that such a crap like train to busan is the only asian movies which french remembered lately. But from time to time some independant publisher will edit a blu of a classic at 1000 copies at a maximum, so one year later those copies's price will be crazy. Stupid distribution market, stupid audience.