Member KenHashibe Posted December 13, 2018 Author Member Share Posted December 13, 2018 After almost a year of being closed for upgrades, my favorite movie theater, the New Beverly Cinema, finally reopened its doors and is back to showing double features every night on 35mm film. And thankfully, they had decided to include a Hong Kong hitman double feature for one of their Grindhouse Tuesday. A Taste of Killing and Romance (1994) and The Odd One Dies (1997) were chosen since the New Beverly had made “Gangster Christmas” their theme for December. When I heard that these films were announced, I was ecstatic. The last double feature I had seen at the New Beverly was in November of last year, and I had been eagerly awaiting its reopen since then. Tickets for this event had sold out online ensuring that there is a lot of interest in these relatively unknown Hong Kong movies. These Hong Kong nights have gained a reputation for being ridiculously fun, even if you have no idea what the movies are. There’s always something special and exciting about seeing movies you’ve never heard of and being pleasantly surprised by them, which is similar to the experiences that Brian Quinn (programmer at the New Bev) had experienced growing up in New York. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s get to the actual event! After my mom and I drove for about an hour and a half to the Los Angeles, I finally got me first glimpse of the New Beverly in a long time. There was already a line of about 30 people when we got there at 6:30. We had started talking to one of the regulars in line about our experiences going here which was really nice. It’s always great meeting and talking to fellow film fans there. When we got inside, it was nice getting to see all the renovations that were done to the interior, but it still maintained the same old-school vibe. There were Hong Kong movie themes playing in the auditorium which always gets me excited for the films to follow. Shortly before the films started, Brian Quinn came up to the front of the theater to introduce the films. He briefly talked about how he wanted to recreate the experience of seeing these movies when they first came out. Living in New York, he would always visit the Chinatown theaters to see these movies and he (1) wanted to give others that same special experience and (2) he said he wanted to relive them himself. I definitely can’t blame him. He asked who in the audience had seen either of the movies before and there were only four people in the entire theater who raised their hand. I wasn’t one of them; I hadn’t seen either of these movies before and had no idea what to expect. Brian then said that they’ll be showing a short cartoon and after that would be a trailer reel with some classic Hong Kong movie trailers. He said that they have prints for all of the movies that they’re showing trailers for and you could tell him which films you’d want to see in the future. He then said thank you for coming, the lights dimmed, and a short Panama cigarette ad played. Shortly following that was a Mel Blanc cartoon: “Bunny and Claude” (a riff on Bonnie and Clyde) which is about a couple of rabbits who go around stealing carrots from carrot patches. Then there were the trailers. Sometimes, the trailers get some really crazy reactions and this time was no different. They showed original Chinese trailers for Killer Angels, Angel Mission, and Burning Ambition. I had seen the trailer for Burning Ambition years ago, and it’s probably one of my favorite trailers ever. And I wish that there was somewhere online that you could see that trailer. It’s just incredible. I think the Burning Ambition trailer got the most reactions because of the incredible stunt falls. Each trailer got an applause after they played. I actually haven’t seen Killer Angels or Angel Mission before, but judging by the trailers, they both look totally excessive and fun. Next up was the first film of the night. A Taste of Killing and Romance was shown in Cantonese with burnt-on Chinese/English subtitles, but additionally, there were Indonesian subtitles right above those (which was terribly distracting). The print was in pretty good condition. There was a bit of a red tint in certain scenes but nothing too distracting. There were a couple noticeable cuts made during some of the most violent scenes in the movie, probably for censorship reasons in Indonesia. During the intermission, Brian Quinn came back and talked about some of those cuts made to the film, including a scene where a dog gets put in a washing machine. It’s safe to say that A Taste of Killing and Romance is a crazy movie. It’s a really messy and uneven movie. Though the film is about Andy Lau and Anita Yuen falling in love, there are long segments of the film where they disappear. It’s a strange, structure-less movie, but that was almost part of the fun. It’s completely unpredictable. A light-hearted cheesy romantic montage could be immediately followed by a super dark scene where people just killed. The action sequences were over-the-top and well-shot. Mark Cheng was probably my favorite part of the movie since he’s somehow both an intimidating and hilarious presence. And the ending is just madness. This movie is full of funny moments. It’d be hard to list them all. This movie is just fun, cheesy schlock. About 20 minutes before the movie ended, the film stopped and the screen went black. The lights came on and Brian Quinn came in and said “This is our first technical mishap since the reopen and it happened on the night I programmed.” (I’m paraphrasing) He then explained that one of the projectors wasn’t working and that getting a technician to come and fix it so late in this night was unlikely. For those who don’t know, film prints are made up of a number of reels that run for up to 20 minutes or so. At the New Beverly, they have one reel on one projector and the next reel on the other projector. So once the first reel is done playing, they can immediately play the next reel without interruption. However, with only one projector, they’d have to take out the reel that just finished playing, put the next reel in the projector, and then play the next reel. So for the rest of the night, that’s how the final film was shown. But, again, I’m getting ahead of myself. After A Taste of Killing and Romance, there was a brief intermission. Brian Quinn was there to talk about the film for a bit (as mentioned earlier) and answer some questions. There were especially a lot of requests for the trailers that were shown, which was great. Unfortunately, he said that the print they have of Killer Angels is in Cantonese with no subtitles. So it doesn't seem too likely that it'll be played at the New Beverly, but Brian said there's a chance he'd show it as a bonus film after a double feature for those who only care for the action. Before The Odd One Dies started, there was another short trailer reel which included original Chinese trailers for Triads: The Inside Story and Death Cage. I had seen both trailers years ago and they were both cool to see again, especially the one for Death Cage. After the trailer reel, there was a brief pause to cue up the first reel for The Odd One Dies. The Odd One Dies was shown in Cantonese with burnt-on Chinese/English subtitles. The print looked really nice. The colors were really vivid and there was very little wear-and-tear. The film was shown with only one projector, so there would be a 2 or 3 minute break between each 20 minutes or so. But it really wasn’t too distracting to me. People mostly used the time in between reels to chat about movies or get up to quickly grab a snack at the concessions. The Odd One Dies is a movie I’ve been meaning to see for a long time since I love other movies from Milkyway from the late 90’s/early 2000’s. And unsurprisingly, I thought it was a great movie. I love how quirky and funny it was. It’s definitely one of the more light-hearted movies that from Milkyway. I love how the movie was shot with the lighting and cinematography. It looks really incredible. I love the concept of this movie and how the story plays out. There are some really terrific scenes and performances throughout. I do have a pretty minor issue with the movie though, but it might be considered a spoiler, so click below if you’ve seen the movie already... Spoiler I almost wish that the ending was inconclusive. At the end of the movie, you find out that Takeshi Kaneshiro survived his mission, but I kinda wish that you never find that out. For a second, it seemed like the movie was going to have an “Ignorance is bliss” theme to it, which I’ve never seen in a movie before. But the movie does end up revealing if Kaneshiro lives or not, which is still a good ending, but I kinda wished that I didn’t know. I guess I’m just used to Milkyway movies having unredeeming endings. There weren’t a lot of crazy crowd reactions in this movie. There are some really funny scenes in this movie that got a reaction. There’s a recurring “gag” where a character repeatedly gets his fingers cut off (which doesn’t sound funny at all, but I guess you’d just have to watch the movie to know what I mean) and the audience laughed every time it happened. After The Odd One Dies ended, we started to pile out of the theater. But before I left, I quickly found Brian Quinn and made sure to tell him “I love Burning Ambition and I’d love to see it here some day.” He told me that he personally owns a print of it and that there’s a high chance that it’ll play some time in the next six months. So, I have that to look forward to hopefully in the near future. Overall, I had another amazing time at the New Beverly Cinema like always. There’s no other theater that shows movies like these. This place is really special and it has such a unique vibe that can’t be recreated. I can’t wait to return to the New Beverly. I’m planning on going to see Gremlins at the end of the month, and I hope to see another Hong Kong double feature very soon. Here are some pictures from the night: 9 hours ago, KUNG FU BOB said: Yes! That's why I had to mention it. What are the odds? This week my "before bed movies" were ZOMBIE, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE- FALLOUT, and SPIDER-MAN (2002). I'm watching you New Bev... if I see these three on your marquee I'm going to have to get a restraining order or something. 😆 We'll have to wait and see. 😉 Those all sound like things that would be shown at the New Bev (though I'm not sure if there was a film print made for Mission Impossible-Fallout). 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted December 14, 2018 Member Share Posted December 14, 2018 Wonderful report. That's for sharing that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KenHashibe Posted December 14, 2018 Author Member Share Posted December 14, 2018 (edited) 6 hours ago, Takuma said: Wonderful report. That's for sharing that Thanks! I love writing these; I'm always happy to share the experience as best I can! Edited December 14, 2018 by KenHashibe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KenHashibe Posted January 3, 2019 Author Member Share Posted January 3, 2019 The full January schedule hasn't been released yet, but the first week or so has been released on their website: http://thenewbev.com/schedule/ On January 1st, they showed The Godfather/Kung Fu Executioner, and The Godfather/The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight on January 2nd. I was waiting for the full schedule to be released before I start posting about January, but the schedule is really late this month. Besides Kung Fu Executioner, there aren't any other Hong Kong film screenings announced yet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KenHashibe Posted January 11, 2019 Author Member Share Posted January 11, 2019 Whoops, I forgot to post this early; the January calendar is out now! (open image in new tab for a larger image) No Hong Kong films this month (besides Kung Fu Executioner which screened January 1st). The highlights for me this month are The Long Goodbye (which I actually haven't seen but I love Robert Altman films), The Late Show, Arthur, Jackie Brown, and Romeo and Juliet. Overall, really good schedule. Not sure if I'll be going to the New Beverly this month, but we'll see what happens. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KenHashibe Posted January 30, 2019 Author Member Share Posted January 30, 2019 The February 2019 calendar was just released (open in a new tab to see larger image): Only one kung fu film this month. The Tongfather (1974; original title is The Notorious Bandit), a Taiwanese martial arts film, is showing February 3rd and 4th at midnight. Never heard of this movie, but I might consider going to support the Hong Kong/kung fu screenings. Jaws/The Deep is a pretty awesome double feature. Hollywood Shuffle is a movie I've been meaning to see for a while based on a friend's recommendation, so I might go if I don't have work that day. There's also a month-long Burt Reynolds tribute going on featuring White Lightning, The Longest Yard, Smokey and the Bandit, and many, many others. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KenHashibe Posted March 1, 2019 Author Member Share Posted March 1, 2019 Here's the March 2019 calendar (open in a new tab for a larger image): For Hong Kong movie screenings, there's Soul Brothers of Kung Fu and The Image of Bruce Lee on March 12th and The Tattoo Connection and Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger on March 26th (presumably all English-dubbed). I've seen Soul Brothers of Kung Fu and ETDETT before on home-video and I really enjoy both (especially ETDETT which I think is hilarious). The Image of Bruce Lee looks okay and I've always being meaning to see The Tattoo Connection. I'm learning to drive on the freeway so I'll hopefully be able to go to both. There are many other highlights for me this month: Kill Bill, Kentucky Fried Movie, Point Break, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Young Frankenstein, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Meaning of Life, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Excellent schedule this month! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Killer Meteor Posted March 2, 2019 Member Share Posted March 2, 2019 I hope one day all these great HK prints will be on home video for us all to enjoy! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Shaolin Patriot Posted March 4, 2019 Member Share Posted March 4, 2019 On 3/1/2019 at 3:03 PM, KenHashibe said: For Hong Kong movie screenings, there's Soul Brothers of Kung Fu and The Image of Bruce Lee on March 12th and The Tattoo Connection and Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger on March 26th (presumably all English-dubbed). I've seen Soul Brothers of Kung Fu and ETDETT before on home-video and I really enjoy both (especially ETDETT which I think is hilarious). The Image of Bruce Lee looks okay and I've always being meaning to see The Tattoo Connection. Yeah, I'll pass on these, as I've also seen them on home video. Soul Brothers and Tattoo Connection have been screened before and both are slightly worn & English dubbed prints. Among the more memorable highlights of Image of Bruce are Bolo Yeung and the lovely Dana (perhaps best known for the erotic comedy, Girl With the Long Hair). Glad to see HK flicks more consistently at the New Bev though! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KenHashibe Posted March 5, 2019 Author Member Share Posted March 5, 2019 22 hours ago, Shaolin Patriot said: Yeah, I'll pass on these, as I've also seen them on home video. Soul Brothers and Tattoo Connection have been screened before and both are slightly worn & English dubbed prints. Among the more memorable highlights of Image of Bruce are Bolo Yeung and the lovely Dana (perhaps best known for the erotic comedy, Girl With the Long Hair). Glad to see HK flicks more consistently at the New Bev though! I have a day off from work this Tuesday so I feel like I might as well. I know these have played at the New Bev before, but I didn't get the chance to see them yet. Pretty excited, and I'm glad that HK movies are playing more often since the reopen too. And now that I'm able to drive myself, I think I'll be heading there more often. 😁 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KenHashibe Posted March 22, 2019 Author Member Share Posted March 22, 2019 The April 2019 calendar is currently up on the New Beverly's website (except for April 30th): http://thenewbev.com/schedule/ Wow. Amazing schedule next month. Starting off with the Asian cinema, there's a kung fu triple feature next month on the 23rd: Fist of Fury 2 (1977), The Hot the Cool and the Vicious (1976), and Eagle's Claw (1978). I would love to go to this, but chances are extremely low that I'd stay for Eagle's Claw so late at night (as much as I'd love to see it). Then on the 24th and 25th, there's The Yakuza (1974) with A Better Tomorrow 2 (1987). I would love to attend this one. Never seen The Yakuza, but I have seen ABT2 which I consider one of the strangest sequels ever made (but still extremely entertaining). Besides these Asian movies, there are many many many other highlights for me including The Matrix, Rififi, The Hateful Eight, The 'Burbs, Animal House, Dirty Harry, Escape From Alcatraz, Jurassic Park, The Blues Brothers, and The Odd Couple (not the kung fu movie), among others. I'm definitely planning on going to the New Beverly as often as my schedule allows this month. Great stuff all around. P.S. I haven't found the time to work on my write-up for the Soul Brothers of Kung Fu/The Image of Bruce Lee double feature. I've barely had much free time since I've started working two jobs. And whenever I'm free, I'm either relaxing or spending time with friends. Not sure when you might expect the write-up, but I'll work on it as soon as I can. Maybe next week? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KenHashibe Posted March 22, 2019 Author Member Share Posted March 22, 2019 UPDATE: On Apil 30th, the New Beverly will be showing Dangerous Encounters-First Kind (1980) and School on Fire (1988). Never seen Dangerous Encounters but I hear it's very downbeat. I have seen School on Fire though, which I know is very downbeat. But I love these kind of bleak, intense movies anyway so I really hope I can make it. And I'm curious if it's the Category 2 or Category 3 version of School on Fire. Again, awesome schedule this month! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Shaolin Patriot Posted March 22, 2019 Member Share Posted March 22, 2019 Awesome April schedule is right, Ken. Looking forward to your review of Soul Brothers / Image of Bruce! 😉 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KenHashibe Posted April 19, 2019 Author Member Share Posted April 19, 2019 (edited) Busy, busy, busy, busy, busy. But better late than never I hope. Last month on March 12th, I went to the New Beverly Cinema to watch their Bruce Li double feature: Soul Brothers of Kung Fu and The Image of Bruce Lee. Now that I’m a licensed driver, I was able to drive myself this time (fortunately for my mom who hates English-dubbed kung fu movies). When I got there, I met up and caught up with @ShaolinPatriot who I hadn’t seen for about a year. It was great getting to catch up with him before the film. Before Soul Brothers started, New Bev programmer Brian Quinn came out and introduced the two films, and encouraged everyone to stay once Soul Brothers ended because of a surprise interview with Carl Scott himself! Coincidentally, @ShaolinPatriot and I were talking about how Carl Scott lives in LA and the chances of him being here for the screening. I was already excited for the films, but this just made everything better. They showed a live-action comedy short film entitled “So You Want a Raise” starring Joe McDoakes which was pretty enjoyable. The following trailer reel included trailers for Amazon Women on the Moon, Slumber Party Massacre, and Sorority House Massacre (all of which showed later that month). The print for Soul Brothers of Kung Fu was an English-dubbed print, and it was in great shape for being over 40 years old. The print shown didn’t include any music from the Rocky soundtrack (unlike other versions), but it was completely uncut. And without spoiling anything, the ending included was the “happy ending” instead of the alternate downbeat ending. I hadn’t seen Soul Brothers of Kung Fu for a few years, and I had forgotten how innovative the fight scenes were for the time. The film is otherwise pretty standard, but the fight scenes really make it exceptional and thoroughly entertaining. The story is half-decent as well and the audience reactions added a lot to the excitement. Following Soul Brothers was the live interview with Carl Scott which was very informative and fun. Apparently, Carl Scott disliked making live appearances until recently. He actually reached out to the New Beverly when he found out they were showing this film and said he’d love to come by. Brian Quinn asked questions about his background and how he got involved in Hong Kong films. Then, they opened up questions to the audience where they asked about his martial arts background and who his favorite people were to work with (among other things). He also said his favorite film that he made is Sun Dragon (aka A Hard Way to Die). Brian Quinn then said they haven’t been able to find a print of that yet, but if they were to show it, Carl Scott said he would definitely come back for that. I would go more in-depth, but maybe another time on a separate post. I’m scrambling to get this write-up posted. 😁 But, overall, it was a super cool surprise and Carl Scott was a very nice guy. Next was an intermission, and before The Image of Bruce Lee started, there was another brief trailer reel including trailers for Exit the Dragon Enter the Tiger (which I actually enjoy a lot for some reason) and Bruce Lee Fights Back From the Grave (which I refuse to see because it looks horrendous). The Image of Bruce Lee was shown English-dubbed with faded colors, but was otherwise in decent condition. The version they showed was strange. None of the nudity was censored, but certain scenes were clearly trimmed for violence by the distributor. And the ending was cut as well. The airport scene at the end of the film was completely absent, and instead it ended with the shot of John Cheung and Han Ying-Chieh followed by a title card that said “The End”. It was a shock to everyone that it ended so abruptly, but I couldn’t help but laugh. This was my first time seeing The Image of Bruce Lee, and though it has a few moments to shine, it was otherwise horribly boring and repetitive. My biggest problem with some low-budget kung fu movies of the time are the fight choreography. One of the main reasons why kung fu movies appeal to me is because you get to see incredible feats of athleticism that few in the world can achieve. But the fight choreography in The Image of Bruce Lee was completely devoid of any creativity, and it all looked like stuff that I could do. And it didn’t help that the fight scenes took up a majority of the film. It was pretty rough to sit through, but at least it was on the big screen with an audience, making it only slightly more engaging. It’s really hard to complain, because I’m just so appreciative that a theater in LA is still showing these kind of movies. Despite being indifferent about The Image of Bruce Lee, I still had a great time going to the New Beverly again. I say this every time I go, but it’s absolutely true. If I’m free next week, I’m gonna try to see the Lee Tso Nam triple feature (but I’m not sure if I can stay for the third film) and A Better Tomorrow 2. I am definitely gonna try to see Dangerous Encounters-1st Kind and School on Fire the week after. Intense downbeat movies like that are my jam. Can’t wait! I can’t thank the New Beverly enough for these awesome film-going experiences! Edited April 19, 2019 by KenHashibe 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member gskmeva Posted May 10, 2019 Member Share Posted May 10, 2019 On 4/20/2019 at 3:02 AM, KenHashibe said: Busy, busy, busy, busy, busy. But better late than never I hope. Last month on March 12th, I went to the New Beverly Cinema to watch their Bruce Li double feature: Soul Brothers of Kung Fu and The Image of Bruce Lee. Now that I’m a licensed driver, I was able to drive myself this time (fortunately for my mom who hates English-dubbed kung fu movies). When I got there, I met up and caught up with @ShaolinPatriot who I hadn’t seen for about a year. It was great getting to catch up with him before the film. Before Soul Brothers started, New Bev programmer Brian Quinn came out and introduced the two films, and encouraged everyone to stay once Soul Brothers ended because of a surprise interview with Carl Scott himself! Coincidentally, @ShaolinPatriot and I were talking about how Carl Scott lives in LA and the chances of him being here for the screening. I was already excited for the films, but this just made everything better. They showed a live-action comedy short film entitled “So You Want a Raise” starring Joe McDoakes which was pretty enjoyable. The following trailer reel included trailers for Amazon Women on the Moon, Slumber Party Massacre, and Sorority House Massacre (all of which showed later that month). The print for Soul Brothers of Kung Fu was an English-dubbed print, and it was in great shape for being over 40 years old. The print shown didn’t include any music from the Rocky soundtrack (unlike other versions), but it was completely uncut. And without spoiling anything, the ending included was the “happy ending” instead of the alternate downbeat ending. I hadn’t seen Soul Brothers of Kung Fu for a few years, and I had forgotten how innovative the fight scenes were for the time. The film is otherwise pretty standard, but the fight scenes really make it exceptional and thoroughly entertaining. The story is half-decent as well and the audience reactions added a lot to the excitement. Following Soul Brothers was the live interview with Carl Scott which was very informative and fun. Apparently, Carl Scott disliked making live appearances until recently. He actually reached out to the New Beverly when he found out they were showing this film and said he’d love to come by. Brian Quinn asked questions about his background and how he got involved in Hong Kong films. Then, they opened up questions to the audience where they asked about his martial arts background and who his favorite people were to work with (among other things). He also said his favorite film that he made is Sun Dragon (aka A Hard Way to Die). Brian Quinn then said they haven’t been able to find a print of that yet, but if they were to show it, Carl Scott said he would definitely come back for that. I would go more in-depth, but maybe another time on a separate post. I’m scrambling to get this write-up posted. 😁 But, overall, it was a super cool surprise and Carl Scott was a very nice guy. Next was an intermission, and before The Image of Bruce Lee started, there was another brief trailer reel including trailers for Exit the Dragon Enter the Tiger (which I actually enjoy a lot for some reason) and Bruce Lee Fights Back From the Grave (which I refuse to see because it looks horrendous). The Image of Bruce Lee was shown English-dubbed with faded colors, but was otherwise in decent condition. The version they showed was strange. None of the nudity was censored, but certain scenes were clearly trimmed for violence by the distributor. And the ending was cut as well. The airport scene at the end of the film was completely absent, and instead it ended with the shot of John Cheung and Han Ying-Chieh followed by a title card that said “The End”. It was a shock to everyone that it ended so abruptly, but I couldn’t help but laugh. This was my first time seeing The Image of Bruce Lee, and though it has a few moments to shine, it was otherwise horribly boring and repetitive. My biggest problem with some low-budget kung fu movies of the time are the fight choreography. One of the main reasons why kung fu movies appeal to me is because you get to see incredible feats of athleticism that few in the world can achieve. But the fight choreography in The Image of Bruce Lee was completely devoid of any creativity, and it all looked like stuff that I could do. And it didn’t help that the fight scenes took up a majority of the film. It was pretty rough to sit through, but at least it was on the big screen with an audience, making it only slightly more engaging. It’s really hard to complain, because I’m just so appreciative that a theater in LA is still showing these kind of movies. Despite being indifferent about The Image of Bruce Lee, I still had a great time going to the New Beverly again. I say this every time I go, but it’s absolutely true. If I’m free next week, I’m gonna try to see the Lee Tso Nam triple feature (but I’m not sure if I can stay for the third film) and A Better Tomorrow 2. I am definitely gonna try to see Dangerous Encounters-1st Kind and School on Fire the week after. Intense downbeat movies like that are my jam. Can’t wait! I can’t thank the New Beverly enough for these awesome film-going experiences! I love reading your stories. Your writing really reminds me when I was young in my teens (I'm 36 now) who was passionate for kungfu movies and films in general. I was nerdy then but nerdy for the best things in life. And I'm impressed with your technical knowledge because I was also interested in the technical aspects of films. When I was a teenager in the 90s, 35mm film was still standard but it was at the height of the digital audio format war. Dolby Digital vs. DTS vs. SDDS vs THX (although not an audio format [they were just using Dolby 5.1], these theaters were setup differently). Unlike today when we're spoiled with uncompressed lossless DTS Master or Dolby Atmos, all the movie theaters in my neighborhood were set up with different sound formats and I learned my stuff on yahoo (as google wasn't even around yet). Anyway, hope to hear more of your stories. Peace! Michael 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KenHashibe Posted May 10, 2019 Author Member Share Posted May 10, 2019 Here's the May 2019 calendar (open image in a new tab for a larger image): I'm very late this month, but here's the May calendar for the New Beverly. For Hong Kong cinema, they have a Kao Pao-Shu double feature on May 28th including Blood of the Dragon (which I actually haven't heard of before) and The Master Strikes (which I don't really like but I think the fights are incredible). If I'm free, I'd love to make it to see these films. Side note: I unfortunately wasn't free to see any of the Hong Kong films shown last month. 16 hours ago, gskmeva said: I love reading your stories. Your writing really reminds me when I was young in my teens (I'm 36 now) who was passionate for kungfu movies and films in general. I was nerdy then but nerdy for the best things in life. And I'm impressed with your technical knowledge because I was also interested in the technical aspects of films. When I was a teenager in the 90s, 35mm film was still standard but it was at the height of the digital audio format war. Dolby Digital vs. DTS vs. SDDS vs THX (although not an audio format [they were just using Dolby 5.1], these theaters were setup differently). Unlike today when we're spoiled with uncompressed lossless DTS Master or Dolby Atmos, all the movie theaters in my neighborhood were set up with different sound formats and I learned my stuff on yahoo (as google wasn't even around yet). Anyway, hope to hear more of your stories. Peace! Michael Thanks for the comment! I try to be as specific as I can when I write these so the reader can almost share the experience. Unfortunately, I wasn't as in-depth this time, but I'm glad you enjoyed reading it! I'm actually not super knowledgeable with sound systems and digital audio, but going to the New Beverly so often has taught me a lot about how films were made and shown in theaters. It's such a fun experience going there because it's like you're stepping back in time. Thanks again! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member gskmeva Posted May 14, 2019 Member Share Posted May 14, 2019 The Master Strikes is one of my favorites since a young kid and I would love to see this on 35mm especially in English. I've seen this in English and also in Mandarin (which I'm fluent in) and Cantonese (I can wing it if I need to) and surprisingly, the Chinese dubs are actually quite mediocre. It's one of those rare occasions when the English dub is superior because you can hear the dubbers actually enjoyed this wacky but fun film. BTW, my friend had this film on VHS which had a few extended scenes of dialogue (which I assume is a Taiwanese cut). No extended fights though. Unfortunately, my friend has no idea where that tape went. Bummer. Michael 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KenHashibe Posted June 9, 2019 Author Member Share Posted June 9, 2019 Here's the June 2019 schedule (open image in a new tab for a larger image): No kung fu/Hong Kong movies this month, but highlights for me are 2001, Once Upon a Time in the West, and Bullitt. I've unfortunately been really busy with work and haven't found the time to go to the New Beverly, so we'll see if I can make it to anything this month. On 5/13/2019 at 6:32 PM, gskmeva said: The Master Strikes is one of my favorites since a young kid and I would love to see this on 35mm especially in English. I've seen this in English and also in Mandarin (which I'm fluent in) and Cantonese (I can wing it if I need to) and surprisingly, the Chinese dubs are actually quite mediocre. It's one of those rare occasions when the English dub is superior because you can hear the dubbers actually enjoyed this wacky but fun film. BTW, my friend had this film on VHS which had a few extended scenes of dialogue (which I assume is a Taiwanese cut). No extended fights though. Unfortunately, my friend has no idea where that tape went. Bummer. Michael I think I've seen the Cantonese and English version of The Master Strikes, and I agree that the English dub is much better. Also, though I'm not the biggest fan of the film, you have me intrigued with those extended scenes. I'm always interested in alternate versions of Hong Kong films. (I definitely would've hoped for some additional fight scenes 😁) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member gskmeva Posted June 10, 2019 Member Share Posted June 10, 2019 Yeah, I remember it back in the mid 90s and I knew my friend's dad had a collection of kung-fu films on VHS. One of them was a "The Master Strikes" in Mandarin and it featured several extended scenes but mainly just dialogues that were cut from the current version. The Ocean Shores VHS and Crash Cinema DVD are the same cut. I have seen another version online on a Chinese website that features the same Mandarin dub but the same cut as the previous two. Anyway, there are a few quick abrupt edits that exists on all current versions if you look close enough where the extended dialogues once existed. Luckily, no added fights like some other kung-fu films. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member wackiechan Posted January 24, 2020 Member Share Posted January 24, 2020 I just heard the other day, from somebody I know who works part-time for the New Bev, that there are possible plans to show some movies directed by Robert Clouse(of "Enter The Dragon") next month. Some of the movies might include "Golden Needles", "Hot Potato", "Force Five", and others. It probably won't include "Gymkata". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member NoKUNGFUforYU Posted January 24, 2020 Member Share Posted January 24, 2020 7 minutes ago, wackiechan said: I just heard the other day, from somebody I know who works part-time for the New Bev, that there are possible plans to show some movies directed by Robert Clouse(of "Enter The Dragon") next month. Some of the movies might include "Golden Needles", "Hot Potato", "Force Five", and others. It probably won't include "Gymkata". That's a shame. It was a twist of fate that he got to direct all those Karate movies. Just show some stuff from Asia. Only good one he did was Enter The Dragon, and that had Bruce. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Killer Meteor Posted January 24, 2020 Member Share Posted January 24, 2020 Robert Clouse might as well not bothered showing up to any of his movies after ENTER - there's no sense anyone is directing them, and his scripts make Lo Wei look like Mario Puzo! It must be said the fight scene in his debut DARKER THAN AMBER is very, very effective. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member saltysam Posted January 24, 2020 Member Share Posted January 24, 2020 Clouse was a hack but i liked a few of his movies- Golden Needles, Black Belt Jones, Force:Five,Deadly Eyes are good fun (btw Hot Potato,mentioned earlier isn't a Clouse movie) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Killer Meteor Posted February 2, 2020 Member Share Posted February 2, 2020 Hilarious review of Force Five 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member wackiechan Posted February 28, 2020 Member Share Posted February 28, 2020 "Master of the Flying Guillotine"/"The Tattooed Dragon" will be shown on Friday 3/27/20, and Saturday 3/28/20. "Master of the Flying Guillotine" seemed to have been shown too often, in special screenings. It will have those upcoming screenings because of Quentin Tarantino’s birthday(March 27), and "MOTFG" is one of his favorite movies though. Hopefully, other Jimmy Wang Yu movies can be shown, such as: "The Chinese Boxer", "A Man Called Tiger", "Beach of the War Gods", "The Man From Hong Kong", or "The Screaming Tiger" Info about those New Beverly screenings: http://thenewbev.com/program/march-27-master-of-the-flying-guillotine-the-tattooed-dragon/ http://thenewbev.com/program/march-28-master-of-the-flying-guillotine-the-tattooed-dragon/ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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