Member The Dragon Posted December 31, 2007 Member Share Posted December 31, 2007 Which GH swordplay films do you feel are on par with what Shaws had going during the heyday of Wu Xia?... Beach of War Gods was pretty good for one, imo. Other titles i remember... The Valiant Ones The Fast Sword Bandits From Shangtung The Chase Invincible Sword ... to name a few. I was hoping to start a small conversation regarding these early works... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member lightning hopkins Posted January 1, 2008 Member Share Posted January 1, 2008 Having just recently dusted off my old VHS copy of "The Chase" (aka "Shanghai Killers") and watched it again, I can definitely attest that this is one GH release which doesn't come anywhere near prime-era Shaws wuxia. While the film hold some nostalgia value as one of those first early HK imports to hit the US during the kung fu movie heyday in the early '70s, and Maria Yi looks great in her role as a cute xia nu, the production values are pretty thin, and it shows in the sloppy choreography and painfully clumsy wirework. At least James Tien and Maria Yi went on to better things soon after at Golden Harvest with some new guy named Bruce... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Winfred Posted January 1, 2008 Member Share Posted January 1, 2008 I was disappointed with The Angry River even though I viewed it without high expectations. Though not a wu xia, I must add that last night I was similarly disappointed with Jimmy Wang Yu's A Man Called Tiger. GH just can't compare with good old Shaws in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Dragon Posted January 10, 2008 Author Member Share Posted January 10, 2008 They should have recruited Bruce to do a period Wu Xia flick. Tony Liu Yung got away from GH to have a better career. Maybe using those better actors would have served them. Carter Wong, James Tien, and Don Wong were all good Kung Fu stars that GH let slip away, only to become indie stars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Chinatown Kid Posted January 11, 2008 Member Share Posted January 11, 2008 I liked the Fate of Lee Khan, not so much for the action which was decent for the time but more so for the solid drama. I think it was a fine production that could rivil the Shaw's swordplay films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Dragon Posted January 28, 2008 Author Member Share Posted January 28, 2008 Invincible Sword was a film that carried a story similar to what Shaws were doing at the time. Jimmy Wang Yu and his usual assortment of co-stars were all on board once more, and the action was not too bad. Lots of "swingy-sword" action, though, not the smoother, Tang Chia type of choreography. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Dragon Posted January 31, 2008 Author Member Share Posted January 31, 2008 This is what we could have looked forward to... C'mon people, nobody wants to talk Bruce and Period Piece? Man I'd pay double fare to see my Idol in some blood squirting, flesh tearing, limb severing, swordplay... I bet there is some footage out there somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tosh Posted February 2, 2008 Member Share Posted February 2, 2008 This is what we could have looked forward to... C'mon people, nobody wants to talk Bruce and Period Piece? Man I'd pay double fare to see my Idol in some blood squirting, flesh tearing, limb severing, swordplay... I bet there is some footage out there somewhere. Yeah it's a real shame we didn't get to see Lee in some Wuxia or even more historical periods like Ching-Ming dynasty battles, he seemed to be more fixed on the Japanese occupation(if this was his choice I don't know) than the Manchus. I have to admit I'm more into period films and that's probably why I'm more of a Shaw fan, GH seemed to be more fixed on modern/19th centry times and always mixed in a little to much humor for my tastes(after Bruce passed on that is), though I can't deny the talent and sometimes a good humor KF film hits the spot depending on the mood. That's a great pic of Bruce! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Dragon Posted February 3, 2008 Author Member Share Posted February 3, 2008 !! I agree that it would have been great to recruit him for a period piece prior to ETD. Maybe the people at GH still didn't reconize what he was bringing to the table, and better still with all his childhood filmfare behind him along with his Hollywood experience, the acting pedigree was there. There's so much we don't know about what was going on behind the scenes... How do you explain this guy made 4 films in three years whereas most HK actors werein several productions in one year? I still don't understand that mystery... Btw, this, and any of the photos shot in this setting, and costume, is one of the photos from the GH backlot shoots, not the Shaw photo session we've heard so much about.The Shaw sessions had Lee in Mandarin/Manchu gear, along with the Que; the long, braided, ponytail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tosh Posted February 4, 2008 Member Share Posted February 4, 2008 !! I agree that it would have been great to recruit him for a period piece prior to ETD. Maybe the people at GH still didn't reconize what he was bringing to the table, and better still with all his childhood filmfare behind him along with his Hollywood experience, the acting pedigree was there. There's so much we don't know about what was going on behind the scenes... How do you explain this guy made 4 films in three years whereas most HK actors werein several productions in one year? I still don't understand that mystery... I have to believe GH just wasn't as prolific as SB, especially at the time, I mean Runrun, Runme Shaw and Mona Fong had it down to a science, having actors like Ti Lung staring in 4-5 different movies a year, they had way more artisans and keeping everyone inhouse those people were probably working 14-16 hours a day! Look at the quality and quanity of sets Shaw had to work with, GH just couldn't compare. The question is(without getting into the death conspiracy, as we have other threads for that), would Bruce of stayed at GH? I'd think not, he was larger than life at his untimely death, he would of went Independant or started his own production company, with the latter being more likely. But still I can't help but to think of a Secret Rivals with John Liu, HJL, and Bruce Lee(sorry Don Wong Tao:p), or a movie with Bruce and Chi Kuan Chun! Then again would guys like HJL even of been found if Bruce lived, I don't think the KF comedy would of ever been so big if he lived, but even Bruce wouldn't of been able stop the death of the KF boom towards the mid/late 80's. Btw, this, and any of the photos shot in this setting, and costume, is one of the photos from the GH backlot shoots, not the Shaw photo session we've heard so much about.The Shaw sessions had Lee in Mandarin/Manchu gear, along with the Que; the long, braided, ponytail. Yeah I got that pic off here:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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