Member Cold Bishop Posted November 27, 2013 Member Share Posted November 27, 2013 It is a pleasure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KyFi Posted December 1, 2013 Member Share Posted December 1, 2013 Lady General Hua Mulan (1963) My first foray into Huangmei opera. I bought this and The Grand Substitution a couple years ago, but never got around to watching them. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this. Although I'm not a big fan of musicals as a film genre, I do like traditional Chinese music and singing well enough. This had a classic story, and it looked pretty big budget, with great, colorful costumes and sets, and big battle scenes. A lot of familiar Shaw actors, and Ivy Ling Po is really charming in the lead--and surprisingly, some pretty fun martial arts scenes, especially where Mulan has to duel a bunch of other soldiers with various weapons, as the army is assessing the talent of its troops. I can imagine this must have been a grand family night at the movies for Hong Kong families in 1963. It has a really classic feel to it, IMO. If you're like me, and mostly like the Shaw martial arts movies but wanted to give the opera genre a try, I think this one might be a good choice. Just go in expecting more singing than fighting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cold Bishop Posted December 2, 2013 Member Share Posted December 2, 2013 I've been meaning to do a proper reckoning of the Huangmei Opera for quite some time, but I can recommend The Grand Substitution, which is surprisingly dark for a film of its type. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tex Killer Posted December 2, 2013 Member Share Posted December 2, 2013 After years of owning IVL disc of 14 amazons, I finally managed to watch it...Amazing movie, time really did fly with this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member xianzai Posted December 3, 2013 Member Share Posted December 3, 2013 This had a classic story, and it looked pretty big budget, with great, colorful costumes and sets, and big battle scenes.The operas seem to have had the biggest budgets for costumes and sets of all the Shaws; some of them are incredibly opulent. If you're like me, and mostly like the Shaw martial arts movies but wanted to give the opera genre a try, I think this one might be a good choice.I agree, Lady General Hua Mulan is the easiest to get through of the several SB operas I've watched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member wongfeihung62 Posted December 3, 2013 Member Share Posted December 3, 2013 THE RESCUE - Enjoyable romp and quite bloody as well, with Lo Lieh and the lovely Shi Szu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tex Killer Posted December 4, 2013 Member Share Posted December 4, 2013 The Rescue is great...I have still about 100 IVL discs of Shaws to be seen, hollywood and japan has taken my time lot this year. I managed to premiere Life Gamble today. That is one hell of a movie. Fu Sheng and Kuo Chui shine in this. Ok, maybe there could have been more martial arts instead of knife-fu but plot is too interesting so can forgive some lack of fighting. And magnificent final, this movie is one of reasons why me/we love Shaw Brothers. I am not good in words but if you have not seen this, get it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member xianzai Posted December 4, 2013 Member Share Posted December 4, 2013 I managed to premiere Life Gamble today. That is one hell of a movie. Fu Sheng and Kuo Chui shine in this. Ok, maybe there could have been more martial arts instead of knife-fu but plot is too interesting so can forgive some lack of fighting.You might also enjoy the wuxias made by Chu Yuan; Life Gamble reminded me very much of the wuxias he made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tex Killer Posted December 5, 2013 Member Share Posted December 5, 2013 You might also enjoy the wuxias made by Chu Yuan; Life Gamble reminded me very much of the wuxias he made. Yes, it has quite similar feeling to some Chu Yuan films. I have almost all his Shaw films, maybe 1 missing. Or perhaps I have them all I have not updated my list for long time. I watched heroes shed no tears two weeks ago. Although I heard from few sources it`s not good movie, personally I enjoyed it. Not among his finest hours but certainly above average. Only minor complaint sets were not quite up to high, dreamylike C Y standards but plot, fighting and actors were good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Omni Dragon Posted December 11, 2013 Member Share Posted December 11, 2013 I watched THE MAGNIFICENT RUFFIANS on Monday enjoyable Venoms film. & I just watched HONG KONG GODFATHER really enjoyed haven't seen Beardy that intense since THE THUNDERING MANTIS perhaps he was the Thundering Blade in that lol. Talking of the blades I liked how they used the knives it feel a bit like the knives where what would have been guns or hand to hand combat in other triad films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member wongfeihung62 Posted December 17, 2013 Member Share Posted December 17, 2013 WARNING SPOILER ALERT. DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THESE FILMS YET. Having watched THE WATER MARGIN on Saturday I watched ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS last night. Although I enjoyed TWM (apart from the annoying keyboard score), I preferred AMAB due to a higher action quota, with a lot of our heroes from the previous film meeting their end. Also I would have liked to have seen more of Ti Lung, who's part in this was more of an extended cameo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted January 7, 2014 Member Share Posted January 7, 2014 Invincible Shaolin (1978) Finally watched this one this afternoon as a sort of tribute to Run Run Shaw. Definitely one of the best MA movies in my collection, really great action, the training scenes are entertaining and the characters are really likeable. Overall, great stuff. Only downside was that my DVD is (apparently) faulty and that caused having to miss a couple of scenes. But I got to enjoy the original (Mandarin ?) dub in mono (chose it over the 5.1 Mandarin (?) dub and the 5.1 French dub). The DVD is a Celestial release BTW, great release. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member kevenz Posted January 7, 2014 Member Share Posted January 7, 2014 I watched 2 venoms movie today, Ten Tigers from Kwangtung, great stuff as usual but the story is kind of confusing isn't it? I enjoyed it anyway, tokyo shock dvd looks stunning imo. Life Gamble, excellent venom with Fu Sheng, the funimation dvd looks great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member NoKUNGFUforYU Posted January 9, 2014 Member Share Posted January 9, 2014 Watched Crippled Avengers, Duel to the Death and Soul of the Sword. Duel to the Death and Crippled Avengers I had seen back in the 70's with my old girlfriend in high school, so there were sentimental memories. I found Soul of the Sword depressing, but well made. Actually need to finish Crippled Avengers. It is my favorite Venoms movie (I'm actually not a fan, they put me off) I tend to like old school, pre venom Shaw's movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member reason108 Posted January 9, 2014 Member Share Posted January 9, 2014 The Proud Youth - Pretty good movie that turned out different than I thought it would. Sometimes it is hard to know what the movie is about just by the trailer. I need to finish watching My Rebellious Son and Rendezvous With Death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member kevenz Posted January 10, 2014 Member Share Posted January 10, 2014 I think the main reason to watch the venom movies are the crazy choregraphy they perform..... it's just insane sometimes. Even movies made recently don't have the same intensity. The movies themselve aren't that great if you remove the fighting...... well I guess you could say that of about every kung fu movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KyFi Posted January 10, 2014 Member Share Posted January 10, 2014 Just watched Blood Brothers again. It's too bad that there's just a couple silly scenes of guys endlessly rolling down the hills after they're knocked down, because other than that this is one of Chang Cheh's two or three best movies, IMO. I don't quite get why some people say this isn't really a kung fu movie---I thought this had just about as many fight scenes as most Shaw movies from the early 70's, and it had cutting edge choreography for its day--and some long one-on-one fights, barehand and with weapons. Anyways, this is just a great story, really strong acting from Ti Lung, David Chiang, Chen Kuan Tai and Ching Li. Unlike many of Chang Cheh's movies, the female lead (Ching Li) was really important to the story. I thought this was well-filmed, with great music, excellent fight scenes, and a very powerful story and character study that really drew me in. This is one of my favorite Shaw movies ever--a real epic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cold Bishop Posted January 10, 2014 Member Share Posted January 10, 2014 I just don't get the Blood Brothers cult. The script is pretty much hackneyed. And while it does indeed have a lot more action than people give it credit, it's all just kind of.... there. I agree that Ching Li's character is fascinating, but she's still underutilized. I do like the ice-cold ending, which is far away from Chang Cheh's usual heroic violence. Disciples of Shaolin is far and away a better example of a Chang Cheh film that spends real time on drama. The "rolling down hill" motif would at least pay off at the end of Five Shaolin Masters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted January 10, 2014 Member Share Posted January 10, 2014 I think the main reason to watch the venom movies are the crazy choregraphy they perform..... it's just insane sometimes. Even movies made recently don't have the same intensity. The movies themselve aren't that great if you remove the fighting...... well I guess you could say that of about every kung fu movies. Not sure if Invincible Shaolin can be counted even as a some kind of unofficial Venom film (no reference to the Venom characters but all the guys are here), but what you say here applies perfectly to that film. The choregraphy and the action are really great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tex Killer Posted January 10, 2014 Member Share Posted January 10, 2014 Blood Brothers And while it does indeed have a lot more action than people give it credit Does it? I have seen movie several times, though memory now might be making a tric few years from last viewing. I can recall only some sparring in beginning when trio meet, one larger attack to enemy camp where thick guy(who was regular face in early 70`s Shaws) is leader, killing of CKT character and end fight... I love movie though, 4.25/5 from me.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cold Bishop Posted January 10, 2014 Member Share Posted January 10, 2014 There's also David Chiang and Chen Kuan-Tai's capture and escape (after Ti Lung warns them to stay in camp; another of the film's obvious narrative turns). I also remember the montage detailing Ma's military campaign being extended. Also, isn't there a fight when David Chiang discovers the affair? The film just hammers home the "loyalty vs. ambition" in such an obvious manner, and you can guess every turn of event scenes ahead of them happening. By far, this and The Water Margin were the biggest disappointments of my ongoing walkthrough Chang's filmography. After hearing about how lavish and ambitious they were, you watch them and realize they're just as mediocre and formulaic as some of his smaller films. Both films have the seed of an interesting idea that could have been developed (The way Ching Li is jostled between three cads in the first film; the way the Bandits are actually more cutthroat and less honorable than their enemies in the latter) but both keep that idea secondary to convention. Most of the fights in either aren't particularly memorable. With that said, its all worth it when you discover something like the Nikkatsu Noir-like Four Riders, which has to be among the most underestimated films of his career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tex Killer Posted January 10, 2014 Member Share Posted January 10, 2014 Water margin is indeed really bad. It`s propably most boring Shaw CC movie I have ever seen, even with his modern day films included.Fights are bad and storyline moves forward slower than turtle. Sequel was lot more entertaining... It`s something like 15 years when I saw four riders so far only time but I have ivl disc so give it a go on coming weekend.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TheKungFuRobber Posted January 10, 2014 Member Share Posted January 10, 2014 Probably Crippled Avengers. Haven't seen enough to comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member reason108 Posted January 10, 2014 Member Share Posted January 10, 2014 Just finished watching Rendezvous With Death. Pretty good. Pretty good action, though the plot was somewhat predictable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member kevenz Posted January 13, 2014 Member Share Posted January 13, 2014 just finished watching the last 2 funimation dvd I have. Shaolin Hand Lock: decent but nothing special, for a 78 movie, it feel like a 74 one, some good cast but I found David chiang's kung fu to be boring in general. Shaolin Prince: I bought this one because of the good reviews but I'm not sure If I like it or not, it's a mix of shaolin kung fu movie with wu xia pian costumes and storyline mixed with goofy comedy and even a bit of horror movie.... It's pretty weird to be honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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