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In 1985, Jackie Chan grabbed an umbrella and ran towards a moving bus. Here’s how Police Story changed action cinema forever.

There had never been an action scene quite like the one that appeared in the first few minutes of 1985’s Police Story. Jackie Chan’s plucky cop, in dogged pursuit of crime boss Chu Tao (Chor Yuen) engages in a wildly destructive car chase through a hillside shanty town, demolishing rickety buildings and detonating gas bottles in his wake. When Tao and his goons then make their escape on a stolen bus, Chan’s Sergeant Kevin hooks onto the back with the help of an umbrella, his body flung to and fro as the vehicle lumbers through traffic.

The scene is brilliant not just because Chan’s risking his neck by doing his own stunts. It’s not just brilliant on a technical level (the planning that went into...

Ever since the dawn of cinema, stunts have been at the heart of the medium. The very first motion picture, Eadweard Muybridge’s 1878 reel The Horse In Motion, captured a jockey riding a horse at speed — cinema’s first stunt! And ever since then, fearless stunt people have been engaging themselves in the ultimate game of one-upmanship, putting their bodies on the line and minds at work to help make movies soar higher, go faster, hit harder, and be bigger than ever before. Even if the Oscars still aren’t ready to recognise that just yet with a Stunt category, we don’t need an awards ceremony to pay tribute to the crazy folk who do this stuff for real.

To celebrate the stunt community – and mark the release of stunt-tastic action extravaganza The Fall Guy – take a look back over the craziest movie stunts that were actually done for real.

When it comes to China, the discourse surrounding queer identities – like many other issues – can be placed in a gray area, on the fragile border with taboo. However, cinema is perhaps the most powerful visual medium for better understanding certain dynamics that are too often subject to useless labels and dichotomous discussions. For this reason, I have selected 12 works – including narrative feature films and documentaries – that explore and reflect on intimate queer representation. The list is presented in chronological order and includes titles from Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan

1. Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan (1972) Chor Yuan

“Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan” is a 1972 Hong Kong wuxia film directed by Chor Yuen, known for its blend of elements from martial arts and erotica. The protagonist, Ai Nu (Lily Ho), is sold to a brothel at the young age of 18. She quickly becomes the favorite of the brothel's owner,...

By the early 1980s, the Shaw Brothers Studio had been eclipsed as Hong Kong’s most popular genre film studio by Golden Harvest and their more comedic take on martial arts cinema with stars like Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung. Plagued by lower theatrical returns, which was exacerbated by the explosion of piracy in Southeast Asia with the advent of home video, the studio would—barring the occasional efforts in later years—cease film production in 1986 and pivot to making TV. As such, Shout! Factory’s fourth box set of Shaw Brothers films, all of which were released between 1980 and 1984, presents a cross-section of the studio’s last great burst of filmmaking.

In terms of directorial variety, this set has the least of any of these collections to date: Of the dozen films on offer, seven are helmed by Chang Cheh and feature all or some of his Venom Mob...

Mubi has unveiled their December 2023 lineup, featuring notable new releases such as Rodrigo Moreno’s The Delinquents, Argentina’s Oscar this year; the Lily Gladstone-led drama The Unknown Country; Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s The Beasts; and the José González documentary A Tiger in Paradise. Additional highlights include films from Olivier Assayas, Takeshi Kitano, Jean-Luc Godard, Kelly Reichardt, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, the Shaw Browers, Lars von Trier, Arnaud Desplechin, and more.

Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.

December 1st

The House that Jack Built, directed by Lars von Trier | Chaos Reigns: The Films of Lars von Trier

Breaking the Waves, directed by Lars von Trier | Chaos Reigns: The Films of Lars von Trier

The Element of Crime, directed by Lars von Trier | Chaos Reigns: The Films of Lars von Trier

Europa, directed by Lars von Trier | Chaos Reigns: The Films of Lars von Trier

Epidemic, directed...

Shout! Factory’s Shaw Brothers Classics: Volume 3, covering the years 1976 to 1980, coincides with Shaw Brothers Studio’s creative zenith, when a decade’s worth of honed techniques and emergent competition at the Hong Kong box office propelled the studio to new artistic heights. That, though, means that this is the period that’s been most thoroughly mined by specialty home video labels looking to preserve the legacy of the studio’s work and Hong Kong genre movies in general. Most of the classics of these years, such as Lau Kar-leung’s The 36th Chamber of Shaolin and Chang Cheh’s Shaolin Temple, have already been released on home video. Notably, Cheh’s work, the usual highlight of these Shout! collections, is somewhat underrepresented here due to a smaller selection pool of titles.

This collection, though, still represents a stellar opportunity to discover some of the less-heralded gems of the Shaw Brothers Studio’s golden era,...

Another Shaw Brothers collaboration between novelist Gu Long, director Chor Yuen and actor Ti Lung, this third installment of the Chu Liu Hsiang film series is actually a follow up to “Legend of the Bat” (1978) which started with “Clans of Intrigue” back in 1977. The English title is rather misleading since it has nothing to do with Chu's “The Sentimental Swordsman” film series which starred Ti Lung as Little Flying Dagger Li, a different character altogether.

on Amazon by clicking on the image below

Also by adapting the story from the fifth novel “Phantom Manor” of another Gu's wuxia series “The Legend of Lu Xiao Feng” and not from “The Legend of Chu Liu Hsiang” series itself, this further makes things more complicated. Chor adapts the story but replaces the protagonist Lu with Chu Liu Hsiang instead. However, the Chinese title which translates as “Chu Liu Hsiang:...

“Clans of Intrigue” was Chor Yuen's first and highly successful adaptation of Gu Long's “Fragrance from the Sea of Blood”, a series of three wuxia novels about Chu Liu Hsiang. A sequel adapted from the first installment of a five-novel series “The New Legend of Chu Liu Hsiang” titled “Legend of the Bat” soon followed and saw the return of protagonist Chu “Lingering Fragrance” and with the help of his ally Yi Tian Hung investigating more mysteries and murder cases.

on Amazon by clicking on the image below

A combination of footage from its predecessor “Clans of Intrigue” which also serves as a recap and opening credits kick off the film nicely. Immediately after, the viewers are transported to Bat Island where an auction is being held in almost total darkness. It is the autumn of the Jiawu Year and on this island owned by...

Li Xun Huan, the sick gentleman of jianghu, the martial arts world, returns with yet another adventure full of intrigue and bloodshed. Widely claimed as the 100th film directed by Chor Yuen, this straight continuation of “The Sentimental Swordsman” (1977) with most of the original cast returning though some playing different roles, did even better at the box office than its predecessor.

on Amazon by clicking on the image below

After defeating the “Plum Blossom Bandit”, wine loving Li Xun Huan, Flying Dagger Xiao Li (Ti Lung) and his only friend Ah Fei (Derek Yee) went their separate ways as they tried to settle down in seclusion. But his peaceful life lasted only three years, due to an official martial world “Best Weapons and Fighters” list which ranks him at number three. Challengers are keen to dethrone him especially the leader of the ruthless Money Clan, Shang Kuan...

(Welcome to Best Action Scene Ever, a column dedicated to breaking down the best, most effective action sequences throughout the genre. In this edition, we circle back to Jackie Chan's stunt-acular action classic, "Police Story.")

Before Jackie Chan ever crossed the shores of the American mainstream during his Hollywood heyday in the 1990s, the actor/director/stuntman extraordinaire had been hard at work in Hong Kong cinema, churning out hit after hit for decades in his native country. One of his most memorable successes came only a scant handful of years before he finally crossed over into global appeal: 1985's "Police Story," directed by and starring Chan as Chan Ka-Kui, followed the rogue cop on his relentless quest to take down a drug lord, babysit a key witness played by Maggie Cheung, and subsequently clear his own name after being framed by his powerful enemies

The movie — which, quite honestly,...

Adapted from the first novel of Gu Long's “Xiao Li Fei Dao” (“Little Li Flying Dagger”) a wuxia series which consisted of five novels, “Duo Qing Lian Ke Wu Qing Jian” published in 1968, narrates the adventure of swordsman Li Xun Huan and his trademark use of daggers hidden in his fan. This Shaw Brothers production was a success and went on to become one of their highest grossing films ever.

on Amazon by clicking on the image below

Renowned and proud swordsman Li Xun Huan (Ti Lung) has been wandering the country side with his loyal servant Chuan Jia (Fan Mei Sheng) for ten years after retiring from the martial arts community, after willingly giving up the woman he loves to his savior. But he is happy with his simple life and finds comfort in drinking wine. However, news of the reappearance of the “Plum Blossom...

Hardly a stranger in the wuxia films universe, Chor Yuen from the Shaw Brothers Studio is renowned for his adaptations of Ku Lung’s swordplay wuxia novels onto the big screen, starting with “Killer Clans” in 1976 that ultimately made him well known internationally. “Clans of Intrigue”, adapted from “Fragrance in the Sea of Blood” is one of five such films the prolific director released in 1977.

Highly skilled in chigong (energy power) and a reputable player in the Jianghu (Martial arts world), “Thief Master” Chu Liu Hsiang (Ti Lung) steals from the rich to help the poor and lives in a luxurious boathouse with three beautiful maidens. He carries a metal fan for self-defense even though he is renowned as someone who doesn’t kill his enemies.

One evening, while having dinner with his friends Monk Wu Hua (Yeah Hua) and Nan Gong Lin (Tien Ching) Chief of the Beggar Clan,...

By the early to mid 1980s, Jackie Chan had been a megastar in Asia for a few years, since the roaring success of Drunken Master. With The Young Master, Dragon Lord and Project A he had established himself as a director. What eluded him was global success. His first American film, Battle Creek Brawl hadn’t allowed him much control, and was a flop. The Cannonball Run did business, but he was hardly the star, and The Protector miscast him in a harder edged film, attempting to make him a cop in the Dirty Harry mould. Back home, he reshot much of The Protector, adding a new subplot and expanding the action for the Hong Kong cut, but he still wanted to make a contemporary cop movie that was also a true Jackie Chan film.

The Films Police Story (1985)

Dir: Jackie Chan

If his career so far had found Jackie...

By this point a well-oiled machine, The Shaw Brothers studios operating out of Hong Kong had been pumping out swordplay and kung-fu films since the 1960s. By the mid-70s, the studio was operating at peak capacity with the finest efforts in the history of their catalog coming into play, as their classics include this masterpiece, an adaptation of the Ku Lung novel of the same name which features both cast and crew operating at their high-flying best.

Resting in his palace, Yen Man-fei learns that his old nemesis Fu Hung-hsueh has arrived for a duel and begin their fight. Before long, however, a series of assassination attempts on the two convinces them Kung-tze Yu has designs on a mystical weapon known as a Peacock Dart. Entrusted with protecting the weapons as well as Yu Chin the owners’ daughter, they set out to uncover the truth about...

All the world loves Jackie Chan, whose cinematic action pictures bridge the gap between silent-era virtuosity and slick modernity. As light comedy entertainment these first two Police Story smash ‘n’ bash epics of eye-popping jeopardy are suitable as ‘family entertainment’ as well. Jackie is a marvelous hero, while Maggie Cheung is an old fashioned girl who doesn’t mind being threatened, kidnapped and occasionally having her scalp split open. You will believe that men can tumble from high roosts onto concrete, and smash through acres of glass countertops without receiving a scratch necessarily going straight to emergency surgery. Criterion has created beautiful new masters, with original soundtracks and extras to make every foolish Jackie Chan fan try some ridiculously dangerous stunt for themselves!

Police Story / Police Story 2

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 971, 972

1985 & 1988 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 100 and 122 min. / Ging chat goo si / Ging chaat goo si juk jaap /available through The Criterion...

In the vast filmography of both Shaw Brothers and Chor Yuen, “Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan” manages to stand out, due to its disregards for the taboos of the era and its permeating eroticism, which occasionally reaches the borders of sleaziness.

“Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan” will screen at the Old Kung Fu Fest, that will be on in New York, August 18-20.

Beautiful Ainu is abducted and sold to the infamous Four Seasons Brothel, who is run by the notorious Lady Chun. Ainu resists in the beginning, in a series of actions that lead her into being locked into a dungeon. Eventually, one of the people in the brothel tries to free her, but meets the rage of Lady Chun, who kills him brutally. Ainu is tortured, but Lady Chun, who happens to be a lesbian, takes a liking to her, and tries to show her that life could...

Nearly 40 years after Chor Yuen launched his acting career in the Shaw Brothers classic Death Duel, director Derek Yee returns to Gu Long’s source novel for a ravishing new adaptation. With Tsui Hark producing and action choreography from Yuen Bun and Dion Lin, Sword Master is a shamelessly old-fashioned swordplay romance that pays homage to the legacy of studio-bound wuxia dramas, while simultaneously embracing cutting-edge new technology. CGI backdrops and immersive 3D photography combine seamlessly with balletic wirework and an age-old story of duty and heroism that should delight audiences around the world. Yee casts Kenny Lin Gengxin in the role that made him a star back in 1977, as Third Master Hsiao Feng, proclaimed throughout the land as the greatest living swordsman....

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

After a three-decade hiatus, Shaw Brothers Holdings promises to conquer movie theaters once again.

Nikkei Asian Review reports that the Shaw Brothers Holdings recently appointed media mogul Li Ruigang as chairman. Under the leadership of Li, Shaw Brothers plans to spend 1 billion yuan ($147 million) and to produce eight films next year, all in the hopes of reclaiming the company’s former glory.

The world famous Shaw Brothers dominated Hong Kong’s golden age of cinema in the 60s and 70s. Back when the late Run Run Shaw led the company, the studio produced an impressive oeuvre of martial arts classics such as The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978), Five Fingers of Death (1972), Come Drink With Me (1966), Killer Clans (1976), One-Armed Swordsman (1967), Return of the One-Armed Swordsman (1969) and many others. Stars like Ti Lung, David Chiang and Fu Sheng, as well as filmmakers like Chang Cheh, Chu Yuan and Lau Kar-leun become household names and global icons.

http://asianmoviepulse.com/2016/01/40-ti-lung-movies-enjoy-part-12/2/ – Part 1

Ti Lung is known for his awesome catalogue of movies, over the years he was a leading star at The Shaw Brothers Studio and appeared in well over a 100 movies. I have put together a list of movies, which i have enjoyed over the years. *This is not a Top 40 list.

21.Anonymous Heroes (1971)

Cast:David Chiang, Cheng Li, Cheng Miu, Wong Chung

Director:Chang Cheh

Fight Choreographer:Lau Kar Leung, Tong Gaai

22.All Men Are Brothers (1975)

Cast:Chen Kuan Tai, David Chiang, Wong Chung, Bolo Yeung, Danny Lee, Ku Feng

Director:Chang Cheh, Wu Ma

Fight Choreographer:Tong Gaai, Lau Kar Leung, Lau Kar Wing, Chan Chuen

23.Clans Of Intrigue (1977)

Cast:Yueh Hua, Li Ching, Nora Miao, Ku Feng

Director:Chu Yuan

Fight Choreographer:Wong Pau Gei, Tong Gaai

24.Heroic Ones (1970)

Cast:David Chiang, Lily Li, Chan Sing, Chan Chuen, Ku Feng, Bolo Yeung

Director:Chang Cheh

Fight Choreographer:Lau Kar Wing,...

Ti Lung is known for his awesome catalogue of movies, over the years he was a leading star at The Shaw Brothers Studio and appeared in well over a 100 movies. I have put together a list of movies, which i have enjoyed over the years. *This is not a Top 40 list.

1.Have Sword, Will Travel (1969)

Cast:David Chiang, Li Ching, Ku Feng, Cheng Miu,

Director:Chang Cheh

Fight Choreographer:Tong Gaai, Yuen Cheung Yan

 

2.The Duel (1971)

Cast:David Chiang, Yeung Chi Hing, Yue Wai, Ku Feng

Director:Chang Cheh

Fight Choreographer:Tong Gaai, Yuen Cheung Yan

 

3.Blood Brothers (1973)

Cast:Chen Kuan Tai, David Chiang, Cheng Li, Cheng Miu, Tin Ching

Director:Chang Cheh

Fight Choreographer:Lau Kar Leung, Tong Gaai

 

4.The Sentimental Swordsman (1977)

Cast:Cheng Li, Yueh Hua, Derek Yee, Ku Feng, Fan Mei Sheng

Director:Chu Yuan

Fight Choreographer:Tong Gaai, Wong Pau Gei

 

5.The Retuen of The Sentimental Swordsman (1981)

Cast:Fu Sheng, Derek Yee,...

When I think of Wu Xia movies, I immediately think of Shaw Brothers and the many classic they have made over the years. What I love about this genre is many things, the Swordplay, The Characters, Story lines, Setting, Costumes and much more.

Wu Xia, traditionally is a form of literature. But after high demand over the years it’s become involoved in many art forms such as Movies, Opera, Video Games and beyond. This list of 30 Wu Xia movies listed, i hope you’ll like and want to thank my friend Richard Robinson for contributing to the list. If we missed any classics out, its most probably because we honestly forgot at that time or maybe we haven’t seen all the classic Wu Xia movies so far, anyway enjoy the list and let us know what you thought in the commen box at the bottom.

1.Have Sword Will Travel (1969)

Cast: David Chiang,...

Just when you thought you’d seen everything… here comes another 55 insane trailers to whip you into a frenzy in this collection of sick, depraved and hysterically brilliant movie previews from the golden age of Grindhouse cinema in Grindhouse Trailer Classics 4.

Following the successful and critically-acclaimed release of Grindhouse Trailer Classics 1, 2 & 3, Nucleus Films will once again take you on trip back to the “gory days” of cult and exploitation cinema with their latest unseen compilation of audacious theatrical trailers from the sleazy cinematic sub-genre known as “grindhouse”.

I’m a Huge fan of this series (check out this pic of my signed copies of the first 3 releases) so I’m super-excited to see what stupefyingly awesome trailers this collection has to offer. According to the press release, all of the trailers in this collection have been sourced from ultra-rare 35mm prints, many of which haven’t been seen since they...

The pioneering martial arts choreographer and director Lau Kar-leung, who died this week at age 77, was a kung fu purist.  He was a stylish martial acrobat but as a movie director he was not a great stylist. Unlike the other top action film directors who were his colleagues at Hong Kong's Shaw Bothers studio in the 1970s, such as Chang Cheh and Chor Yuen, Lau made violent masculine melodrama or elaborately staged magical conspiracies. Lau had, however, a vivid imagination and great skill when it came to devising and staging fight sequences, and he was a sincere advocate for the Chinese martial arts themselves and of their cultural context, the traditional values of teacher-student fealty and family and clan loyalty inculcated by his father and first teacher, Lau Charn. In fact, Lau was a key figure in every phase of Hong Kong martial arts movie making. He became a performer...

Duel of the Century

Written by Chor Yuen

Directed by Chor Yuen

Hong Kong, 1981

Mystery and intrigue inspire an intrepid, confident sleuth to decipher the many machinations behind a series of appalling, loosely motivated murders, all of which are tied in some fashion or another to a bigger event, one with possible political motivations. The protagonist is an bright, analytical fellow who often has a snappy quip or two that lightens the tension of scenes involving great danger. With the help of some allies, a plot of emotional betrayal, misguided faith, revenge and insatiable political greed. If that reads exactly like the synopsis of a good old fashioned film noir adventure, that is because it fits the bill perfectly. No, readers need not fear of having clicked on the incorrect link and landed in the Friday Noir column, this is very much Shaw Brothers Saturdays. Take film noir, drape it...

Time to shake things up a bit for the Shaw Brothers Saturday column. In addition to offering readers another review this week (The Mighty One), the column feels like it has run long enough and witnessed enough bloodshed to take a step back and reminisce on some of the more fondly remembered films reviewed since December 2011.

As such, in this special bonus edition of Shaw Brothers Saturday, readers will find a special top 5 list of the author’s favourite films with a some brief thoughts on each as well as links provided to direct readers towards the full length reviews. Before revealing the list, a few pertinent notes need be shared so that seasoned fans of the studio’s output are not dumbfounded by the omission of some obvious choices.

First, at the risk disappointing some, 36th Chamber of Shaolin is frequently included in top 5s and top 10s to...

Attention East-Coasters! It is a rare enough experience to see anything from Hong Kong's golden era of cinemas on a big screen anywhere, but thanks to those fine people at The Smithsonian's Museums of Asian Art in Washington DC, three undisputed masterpieces - currently unavailable to watch on any format in the USA - will be screening absolutely free!Stanley Kwan's ghostly melodrama Rouge, starring Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui, Mabel Cheung's classic romance An Autumn Tale, featuring Chow Yun Fat and Cherie Chung, and Chor Yuen's swordplay classic Killer Clans will each be screening twice at the Freer Gallery in the Meyer Auditorium across the next three weekends, as part of the 17th Annual Made In Hong Kong Film Festival. Admission is free and seats will be assigned...

The Web of Death

Directed by Chor Yuen

Written by Ni Kuang

Hong Kong, 1976

Is there value in creating a remake? The safe answer is a resounding no given how, unfortunately, too many of them fail to live up to expectations. In fact, the frequency with which remakes disappoint is high enough that said expectations have been lowered to the deepest depths of the earth. Whenever the word ‘remake’ is uttered by a studio executive, it is the cue for general film lovers and film bloggers to collectively groan in perfect synchronicity. However, the original question still stands: is there value in creating a remake? The true answer, one not enough film buffs consider entertaining, is yes, provided the filmmakers have something to add to the original material in a way that will improve upon it. In 1976, not quite a decade after Chiang Hung Hsu’s The Thundering Sword, Chor Yuen...

Duel for Gold

Directed by Chor Yuen

Written by Ni Kuang

Hong Kong, 1971

A heist film presents a host of wonderful potentialities to engage a viewer. There is the attraction of a sizable bounty, the disparate individuals who contest for the prize, the moral ambiguity in cheering on the protagonists who seek to circumvent the the law in obtaining want they desire, the tactics involved in executing the plan, the execution proper and, provided the film extends itself beyond the heist, the double crosses that may arise afterwards once the culprits seek to preserve their winnings for themselves. Director Chor Yuen uses the premise of a heist and fuses it with the unmistakable action Shaw Brothers studio was known for in Duel for Gold.

The story features a number of characters vying for an immense amount of gold which is heavily guarded in a bank. The chief of security is...

Hey Fiends! We are going to try to have your DVD and Blu-Ray Releases compiled and posted on Mondays now. This week is sort of light on the media releases, but there are still some things to check out, including a new Twilight Zone Season on Blu-Ray

All Descriptions of the following titles are provided by Amazon.com unless otherwise noted. If you plan on buying a flick from this list, please click on the links provided or click on the cover as it helps us pay the bills around here. Also, unlike most sites, we provide the Netflix widget which we think is pretty convenient to add these films to your queue. If you don’t have Netflix, feel free to click on “Free Trial” and try it out!

Death Tube 2

Format: DVD

—————————-

The sequel to the exciting terror film! `Death Tube,` the website where murders are streamed live in real time,...

James Cameron in Los Angeles with 70Mm prints of "Aliens" and "The Abyss"?!?! The Dardenne brothers in New York for a career retrospective?!?! The instant cult classic "The Room" with Tommy Wiseau live in Austin?!?! Be still my heart. There's something for all tastes this summer on the West Coast, the East Coast and as you'll notice, the Third Coast on our calendar of the must-see events on the repertory theater circuit in May, June and July. And don't miss our look at the indie films that are hitting theaters or headed to online, VOD or DVD premiere this summer.

Anthology Film Archives

With the New York Polish Film Festival (May 6-10) and first-runs of the docs "Ice People" (May 1-7) and "Audience of One" (May 8-14) and Ken Jacobs' reinvention of his 1969 work "Tom, Tom, The Piper's Son" with the 3D "Anaglyph Tom" (May 15-21) taking up the Anthology's screens,...

From Hong Kong's Shaw Brothers, the founding fathers of kung fu film, comes the groundbreaking cult movie King Boxer (Five Fingers Of Death). Required viewing for cinephiles and martial arts fans alike, King Boxer took world audiences by storm with the tale of a young martial artist who battles his way into a national tournament in the name of love, honour and revenge. His journey from young fighter in training to master of the Iron Fist delves deep into mythic kung fu lore and is laced with explosive action and dazzling fight sequences. Amazing special features included extremely rare film commentary by Quentin Tarantino.

As well as the Quentin Tarantino commentary also included are: Interview with filmmaker Chang-Hwa Jeong, Interviews and commentaries with film scholars David Chute and Elvis Mitchell, Interview with action director Lau Kar Wing, Stills gallery, Trailer gallery and Commentator biographies

Directed by Chang Chang Ho, Five Fingers Of Death...

Huayi Bros Pictures is producing a new big budget martial arts Wuxia fest Zhui Ying (Chasing Shadows), and the first stills are online. The film is to be directed by veteran Hong Kong actor Francis Ng with Jaycee Chan (son of Jackie Chan) leading cast, playing a martial arts fighter Xu Sanguan. The film will pay tribute to martial arts classics of the 1970s such as King Hu's Dragon Inn and Come Drink With Me, Chang Cheh's The One-armed Swordsman, Yuen Chor's Ai Nu and Drunken Fist II by Kar-leung Lau. The story revolves around a gathering of kung-fu masters from different parts of China at a desert inn to unravel a mystery. A big budget Wuxia fight fest, with Kung Fu masters and liberal helping of Ninjas thrown in for good measure. Oh I think we could force ourselves to watch that. Chasing Shadows is due...

A hearty list of healthy and horrendous yet heartfelt horrors arrives this Tuesday, July 8th, 2008...

American Zombie (2008)

Directed by Grace Lee

Set in an alternate reality where zombies are an everyday occurrence, a man decides he wants to make his name known to the film community by making a very important documentary about the undead. He brings on renowned doccumentarian Grace Lee, and together they set out to get the bottom of the real life of the undead. Not a bad concept, actually, and according to our American Zombie DVD review, one that’s pulled off pretty well. Buy it here!

Bat Without Wings (1980)

Directed by Chu Yuan

I’m confused by the title, but apparently this is a recurring villain throughout some martial arts films. In this one, after a five-year absence, the Bat Without Wings returns to the small village it’s made so miserable in the past,...