Guest Ministry88 Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Can anyone recommend any HK gunplay films similar to Woo's work? I know about a few one-offs like POM POM AND HOT HOT, but it seems to be very hard to find others. Perhaps the amount of martial arts films outnumbers the gunplay films, or are the gunplay films just harder to find? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest limubai2000 Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Tiger on the Beat 1 & 2 Tiger Cage 1,2, 3 Red Shield A Better Tomorrow 1,2, 3 Return to a Better Tomorrow I think that Woo's work just overshadows the other guys coz he went to Hollywood, that also doesn't mean it's necessarily better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Yakuza954 Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Not really many good Heroic Bloodshed gunplay movies outside of John Woo's work. Most of them have some martial arts in them, like Hong Kong Godfather and The Club, or are really bad, like some of Michael Wong's cheap flicks. I'd recommend Long Arm of the Law 1 and 2, Full Contact, Flaming Brothers, and Crime Story.. but just the first half of Crime Story. It would have been a better film had Chan not toned down the content a few notches and put in his disctinct martial arts choreography. It just comes off as unrealistic and out of place considering the subject matter on hand. BTW, have you seen Time and Tide? I think you'd like that, though it's more like an anti-heroic bloodshed movie. What about Fallen Angels? Or City on Fire? The Mission? Not really similar to Woo's style, but some of my favorite HK films with gunplay in them. I've also heard Legacy of Rage has some good shoot outs, but thats treading more into Pom Pom and Hot Hot territory... I think that Woo's work just overshadows the other guys coz he went to Hollywood, that also doesn't mean it's necessarily better. No, John Woo's work in Hong Kong was easily head and shoulders above most of his peers. The only guys I can think of that could even compare to him at the time are Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark. Its when he went to Hollywood that the quality of his movies started to digress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest limubai2000 Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 No, John Woo's work in Hong Kong was easily head and shoulders above most of his peers. That would be your opinion. I don't agree, but I will give you that Hard Boiled is arguably the top of the heap. The Killer is a close 2nd at least for me. The only guys I can think of that could even compare to him at the time are Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark. No argument from me, but I do think Tiger Cage 1 & 2 stand up well against Woo's work, YWP just didn't have CYF in those films, so he did the best with what he had. Its when he went to Hollywood that the quality of his movies started to digress. Total agreement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tosh Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Well it's not HK, but if it's a good Asian gunplay movie you want, I can't sing the praises of "A Bitter Sweet Life" high enough, the Koreans are taking it to the next level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ministry88 Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Very good recs and a great conversation here! Yes, I totally agree that it's impossible to overrate Woo's brilliance (his HK films, of course). I was just thinking about this the other day. His films really are the "total package." You get unparralled action AND a great story and characters. Too many times HK films rely too heavily on action to salvage a paper-thin plot and laughable characters. But not with Woo's stuff. And he was so consistent with his quality too. Once he got into his groove with A BETTER TOMORROW, it was one after the other. And for my money, there is NO better "total action" film than HARD BOILED. I honestly don't think I'll ever see an action film that tops that one... *PS: Thanks Tosh for the Korean rec. I'll check out "A Bitter Sweet Life." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Beat TG Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Ringo Lam is definitely the equal to John Woo. He invented the bullet-perspective shot which was another huge change in action filmmaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MissScarlett01 Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 How bout City War starring Chow Yun Fat and Ti Lung and The Most Wanted starring Lau Ching Wan and Kent Cheng with the added bonus of seeing Robin Shou as a major gun toting bad buy. :eek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Running Man Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 Tiger on the Beat 1 & 2 Tiger Cage 1,2, 3 None of those movies fit the category. BTW...as silly as I find the term "Heroic Bloodshed" to be, I believe that "gun fu" is among the dumbest things ever invented. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chen Zhen Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 surprised nobody's mentioned Bullet in the Head....a fantastic piece of john woo filmmaking...minus CYF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Yakuza954 Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 Going by his original post, he's already seen Bullet in the Head. Big Bullet is one I forgot to mention, though it sorta suffers from the Crime-story syndrome and falls apart at the end. Great film apart from that. No argument from me, but I do think Tiger Cage 1 & 2 stand up well against Woo's work, YWP just didn't have CYF in those films, so he did the best with what he had. Chow Yun Fat wouldn't have made Tiger Cage 1 and 2 better, those are martial arts films and he's not a martial artist. Well it's not HK, but if it's a good Asian gunplay movie you want, I can't sing the praises of "A Bitter Sweet Life" high enough I'd also add in Fukasaku's 70's Yakuza movies. Both he and Woo were heavily influenced by Sam Peckinpah, so their movies share some of the same themes. Sympathy for The Underdog, in particular, has a big "heroic bloodshed" finale ala John Woo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Beat TG Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 a clip of the final gun battle: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YqGizvK-Fk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sea kelp Posted August 27, 2006 Share Posted August 27, 2006 i'd appreciate some recommendations for the genre as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Iron_Jinon Posted November 18, 2007 Share Posted November 18, 2007 the big heat(kuo chui in this one) big bullet island of fire(ok,bloodshed starts in last 10 mins but very enjoyable prison movie with jackie,samo,jimmy wang yu,andy lau and tony leung) naked killer(there is enough nudity,martial arts and gunplay to make it worth seeing) iron angels life is a bet hong kong godfathers deadly china dolls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest silver hermit Posted November 18, 2007 Share Posted November 18, 2007 john woo is the top guy of the sub genre no doubt about that. that causes alot of films to me over looked. there is many different reasons why each of us watch these movies to be entertained. some want action, some want emotional depth, some only want the best directing and production values some want the whole package some are only willing to hide behind classics and the big names. i only need one mofo with hate in his heart on the wrong day with a reason to blow mofos to hell! lots of movies cross the lines into this sub genre and don't belong to it so the lines become blurred so forgive our ingorance if we add a few that don't belong here on yeah i'm a keep bring this film up untill it pops up "REQUITAL" its no john woo but its a little more character driven and the gun play delivers the goods. i watched "STORY OF THE GUN" not too long ago and while its style is more of the cheap cookie cutter shot up i was entertained i'll see how it holds up on repeat viewing others are a firey family a profile in anger cheetah on fire burning ambition widow warriors fatal termination last but not least "TOTAL DESTRUCTION" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest silver hermit Posted November 18, 2007 Share Posted November 18, 2007 john woo is the top guy of the sub genre no doubt about that. that causes alot of films to me over looked. there is many different reasons why each of us watch these movies to be entertained. some want action, some want emotional depth, some only want the best directing and production values some want the whole package some are only willing to hide behind classics and the big names. i only need one mofo with hate in his heart on the wrong day with a reason to blow mofos to hell! lots of movies cross the lines into this sub genre and don't belong to it so the lines become blurred so forgive our ingorance if we add a few that don't belong here on yeah i'm a keep bring this film up untill it pops up "REQUITAL" its no john woo but its a little more character driven and the gun play delivers the goods. i watched "STORY OF THE GUN" not too long ago and while its style is more of the cheap cookie cutter shot up i was entertained i'll see how it holds up on repeat viewing others are a firey family a profile in anger cheetah on fire burning ambition widow warriors fatal termination last but not least "TOTAL DESTRUCTION" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Iron_Jinon Posted November 18, 2007 Share Posted November 18, 2007 burning ambition .I mentioned that earlier today in period vs modern thread.perfect film IMO and only time in movies I have seen non-chinese does drunken boxing.fight between jeff falcon and frankie chan is top class and so is rest of movie:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest silver hermit Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 final run is another wicked movie but i like the cheapy HK/taiwan action B-movies with gun fire, stunts, pyro and kickboxing based choreo. final run is a perfect balance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest froffeecoffee Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 Full Contact, can't believe nobody has listed this title yet. A classic!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Iron_Jinon Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 ^check out yakuzas post in page#1:p.it`s classic indeed IMO it`s Chows 2nd best movie..a better tomorrow#2 still reigns supreme Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted November 19, 2007 Member Share Posted November 19, 2007 I liked Legacy of Rage. Brandon Lee only had one martial arts fight in the film, against Bolo Yeung, but the finale where Brandon teams with Mang Hoi goes all "bullet ballet" on everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest froffeecoffee Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 Quote: check out yakuzas post in page#1 Found the quote right after I posted. Knew someone was going to point that out. My bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TibetanWhiteCrane Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 Return Engagement (Alan Tang, Andy Lau) A Taste of Killing and Romance (Andy Lau, Anita Yuen) The Last Blood (Andy Lau, Alan Tam) Beyond Hypothermia (Lau Ching Wan, Wu Chien Lin) Final Justice (Danny Lee) OCTB (Danny Lee) Peoples Hero (Ti Lung) Bullet for Hire (Jacky Cheung) Best of the Best (Jacky Cheung) A Hero Never Dies (Lau Ching Wan, Leon Lai) The Longest Nite (Lau Ching Wan, Tony Leung Chiu Wai) Fulltime Killer (Andy Lau) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mark187 Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 the last post beat me to mentioning A Hero Never Dies! as for a recent Johnnie To film, Exiled is hard to beat. in my opinion, after John Woo, Johnnie To seems to be the next best at doing this specific genre. I really hope that project w/ Chow Yun-Fat happens soon! there are a ton of other heroic bloodshed films from the late 80's/early 90's, most of them are just average, but there are some other really good ones to be found. I don't think anyone has mentioned My Heart is that Eternal Rose or As Tears Go By, they're some of the better non John Woo ones from the late 80's. from back in the 70's there are several from Chang Cheh, although they're martial arts instead of gunplay (Vengeance, The Boxer From Shantung, etc.) one more new one that nobody seems to mention is Blood Brothers, which may not interest uninitiated viewers due to it's lack of character developement, however for fans of the genre I would recommend it, actually John Woo even produced it. essentially, it's just a loose remake of Bullet in the Head, and while certainly not as good as that film, I still enjoyed it quite well. and yes, A Bittersweet Life is also highly recommended! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Milkyway Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 it's good that you brought up Johnnie To. that guy has done some of the most interesting crime movies ever, both for story and character development and for action. he has this flavor to it that makes his stuff fascinating, very different and overall more enjoyable to watch than the usual movies of the genre. looking forward to see what movies he'll do next (he has like 2-3 movies a year too which is amazing)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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