Member 66 Mantis Posted July 2, 2013 Member Share Posted July 2, 2013 Finally got my hands on the Hong Kong Legends dvd and it re-confirmed what I first thought about Dragon From Russia since first seeing a vhs bootleg of it back in '91; that it's one of my favorite Hong Kong films from this or any period. I just love the whole look of it and the action ist incredible, some of the best I've ever laid eyes on. I realize the film has many detractors (some of whom absolutely loathe it) and I realize it ain't perfect; the casting of Sam Hui is questionable (for the record, I generally liked him in it but agree with the Clarence Ford that Andy Lau would have been a better overall choice and that Hui was better suited for City Hunter), the editing of violent scenes, the complete removal of soft core sex scenes that the Manga was known for, etc. Still for me, this was 90 minutes of almost pure joy. Curious to know what others here think of it, love it? hate it?... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Karlos Posted July 2, 2013 Moderator Share Posted July 2, 2013 Completely agree - GREAT bit of early 90s HK action. Like you, I rewatched it recently and enjoyed it even more now. Makes an interesting double-bill with Mark Dacasco's official Crying Freeman film, but I think DfR has the edge by adding a heaping dollop of nuttyness. To be a free man...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted July 3, 2013 Member Share Posted July 3, 2013 Brilliant action scenes but otherwise a huge mess. Way too many gaps throughout the whole thing, it should've just been canceled when the idea of it being a TV series was changed into a movie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Markgway Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 Nay. Terrible film. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Keung Posted July 3, 2013 Member Share Posted July 3, 2013 I turned it off after about 40 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TibetanWhiteCrane Posted July 3, 2013 Member Share Posted July 3, 2013 Im also going with nay.... While visually interesting, I find the narrative too messy, and the action to wire dependent. Never really liked Clarence Fok's work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member odioustrident Posted July 3, 2013 Member Share Posted July 3, 2013 Always thought the aesthetic choices and action overshadow any plot issues in this one... I think some of the other Fok movies were handled better but it's the same situation in those too. The camera angles in the finale really highlight good wirework in a way I haven't seen since. I tend to value visuals and choreography over plot if either stand out.... or at the very least hold them all as equal factors when enjoying a movie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member HAZ Posted July 3, 2013 Member Share Posted July 3, 2013 Nay. Was offered this on 35mm and passed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Phoenix Posted July 3, 2013 Member Share Posted July 3, 2013 This looked decent but I never had the strength to sit through it all. Might try again. HK was quite obsessed with Crying Freeman it seems, there's quite a few films influenced by it.I haven't seen them all but it would make a good list. The Hollywood version was very disappointing to me, although not as bad as the terrible Fist of the North Star film. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TibetanWhiteCrane Posted July 3, 2013 Member Share Posted July 3, 2013 For the HK take on CF, I would rather watch Killer's Romance, though that is far from perfect either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member 66 Mantis Posted July 3, 2013 Author Member Share Posted July 3, 2013 For the HK take on CF, I would rather watch Killer's Romance, though that is far from perfect either. Other than a really good performance from Simon Yam, I thought Killer's Romance was nearly unwatchable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShaOW!linDude Posted July 3, 2013 Member Share Posted July 3, 2013 DRAGON FROM RUSSIA (1990) Bonzai Media Corp. Running time: 91 mins. Stars: Sam Hui, Maggie Cheung, Nina Li-Chi, Carrie Ng, Lai-Chun Lee, Dean Shek,Suen Hing, Yuen Tak Choreography: Yuen Tak Dir.: Clarence Ford This is English dubbed. There are no other language selections and no subs whatsoever. This movie is based off of the "Crying Freeman" manga comic/ cartoon series. It has an 80's feel to it and that's fine. (I only recently saw this advertised in another movie so I thought it was more current.) Sam Hui is Joe Lee. (Hui looks like a cross between Donnie Yen and James Lew to me.) Dean Shek plays his adoptive father who has also adopted Maggie Cheung's character, Amy Yin. Shek had been a student of the "Master Of Death" (heretofore referred to as MOD) who trains assassins. MOD is comically disfigured from years of altering his appearance (he looks like a psycho-Vulcan). MOD decides he wants Joe as a trainee and kidnaps him after killing off Shek (I hear some of you applauding already). The training sequences are fast and furious and the injected comedy is painful and inane. (I mean it is achingly insipid.) The English dubs are delivered at a 'rat-a-tat-tat' pace and I found it very annoying. Joe is kidnapped (again) by some of MOD's former students and inducted into the 1000 Dragons and given the name Gallant Dragon. The 2nd half of the movie has assassinations familiar to those in the comic/cartoon series. Amy witnesses an assassination by Joe and recognizes him. Of course he is sent to kill her but saves her instead and takes her into hiding. He spends the rest of the film fending off both those seeking revenge and his handlers who are determined to kill Amy as she is a liability to him. Of course she gets kidnapped by MOD and Joe must save her. The final fight has a butt-load of wirework, quick cuts, and crazy undercranking for a whopping 2 minute climatic fight. (I timed it.) With a knife stuck in his throat (and absolutely no blood spew or loss), MOD delivers a short speech and dies. As I said, I thought this was a newer film. Sam Hui (a pop singer) is obviously doubled for a good portion of the fights and it's easily detectable. Some of the fights fail but a number of them are quite good. The problem is the editing and the undercranking. It's just too fast. But there are some good sword fighting bits with a wakizashi and it's nice to see some nunchucks used. Even though it wasn't exactly what I had expected or hoped for, I still kind of, sort of liked it. Therefore I won't say 'go get it' but I won't say 'don't' either. This is a mini-review I did almost 3 yrs ago. Haven't watched it since. That's not to say I won't though. I'm really ambivalent about it. It does have a few good points but I think they're outweighed by its faults. I honestly prefer the Gans/Dacascos version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Killer Meteor Posted July 3, 2013 Member Share Posted July 3, 2013 It has some very stylish moments but too much silly comedy. Isn't this Dean Shek's last film performance - he seemed to vanish after this. And what was with the master being both Yuen Wah and Yuen Tak? Made a great, but misleading, HKL promo - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member RogueWarrior Posted July 5, 2013 Member Share Posted July 5, 2013 Yay for me!!! Time to be a douche and namedrop. I know someone well who is in it. He plays the Russian and has a cool fight in the Subway. He shared some cool stories with me too. He was also on Stone Age Warriors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cognoscente Posted June 4, 2021 Member Share Posted June 4, 2021 On 7/4/2013 at 12:43 AM, Killer Meteor said: It has some very stylish moments but too much silly comedy. It's strange because you would think that Cinema City would have learned from their success with A Better Tomorrow that drama can result in huge box office success. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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