Joseph Kuo's 7 Grandmasters reviewed; screens tomorrow in NY

Courtesy of Mei An Entertainment Group Ltd.

7 Grandmasters / Jue quan
Directed by Joseph Kuo
Taiwan, 1977, 89 minutes

7 Grandmasters, one of the best kung fu films from Taiwan director Joseph Kuo, will be screened this coming Sunday, December 12th at 1:00 p.m. at New York's Museum of the Moving Image. It is being shown as part of the 9th Old School Kung Fu Fest: Joseph Kuo Edition, which is being presented by the Museum of the Moving Image and Subway Cinema in association with the Taipei Cultural Center in New York, Ministry of Culture, Republic of China (Taiwan). 

In this tale, Shangguang Zheng (also spelled Sang Kuan-chun), grandmaster of the Bai Mei strike technique, puts off his retirement and travels with his daughter and three male disciples to challenge seven other grandmasters to prove his worthiness of receiving an accolade from the imperial court. Along the way they are joined by Sha Shaoyiang, who fervently desires to also become a disciple, despite Zheng's insistence that he is not taking on any new students as he's on the verge of retiring.

As you can imagine, what with seven grandmasters to face, the film is packed with high-octane action sequences that have been choreographed by Corey Yuen and Yuen Cheung-yan. Throw in subplots featuring the traditional themes of "you killed my master" and "you killed my father" as well as a sneak attack of black-cad would be assassins, and even the most demanding of old school kung fu fans will be more than satisfied.

AsianCineFest Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars, very highly rated.

Buy tickets for 7 Grandmasters here.

Learn more about Joseph Kuo at Subway Cinema’s website.

9th Old School Kung Fu Fest: Joseph Kuo Edition coming December 6-13

Museum of the Moving Image and Subway Cinema

In association with
Taipei Cultural Center in New York, Ministry of Culture, Republic of China (Taiwan)
Present

9th Old School Kung Fu Fest: Joseph Kuo Edition!
December 6-13, 2021

The Old School Kung Fu Fest is back, and this time Museum of the Moving Image and Subway Cinema will co-present eight newly restored films and one fan favorite classic by Kuo on glorious 35mm — four titles available exclusively online, December 6–13, and another five films for in-person big-screen viewing at MoMI, December 10–12.

Whether you know his name or not, when someone says “Old School Kung Fu” the first image that flashes across your brain is probably from a Joseph Kuo movie. Taiwan’s ultimate independent filmmaker, Kuo put his stamp on the Seventies as his own boss, writing, producing, and directing dozens of movies through his production company, Hong Hwa International Films, which he founded in 1973.

Kuo’s credo was simple: “I cannot let down the person who buys my works.” He learned to deliver maximum impact on minimum budgets, taking the latest trends of the day and turning them into hard-hitting spectacles boasting unlimited mayhem. To make his movies rock the hardest on the smallest of budgets he assembled a rotating cast of charismatic action stars that included Wen Chiang-lung (who looks like Bruce Lee after a Cantopop makeover), the musclebound Carter Huang, the puckish Li Yi-Min, the underrated female fighter, Jeanie Chang, the versatile Jack Long and Mark Long. Working with action choreographers like Corey Yuen, one of the Seven Little Fortunes, and Yuen Cheung-yan, brother of Yuen Wo-ping, his flicks feature wall-to-wall fight scenes, and in an attempt to please every single audience member these fight scenes go on, and on, and on, continually changing location and upping the stakes, so that just when you think you’ve seen every possible variation on two guys standing in a field kicking the stuffing out of each other, Kuo takes it to another level.

Full of funky editing tricks that momentarily turn his movies into experimental flicks, Kuo hooks eyeballs with convoluted storytelling structures packed with frenetic flashbacks that force viewers to pay close attention. Everyone is related to everyone else, everyone has a secret identity, there’s almost always a last minute revelation popping up out of nowhere, usually with evil laughter on its lips, and every movie single revolves around revenge. While the first half hour of any Joseph Kuo film takes some patience while he clears his throat and gets down to business, once things kick off it’s a non-stop roller coaster ride that ends in an apocalyptic beatdown that leaves the main characters doling out a galaxy-shattering finishing movie before confronting the futility of vengeance. Delivering martial arts mayhem and a moving moral message in 90 minutes or less, Joseph Kuo gets in, delivers the goods, makes his point, then gets out, leaving you hungry for more. And in this year’s Old School Kung Fu Fest we’re offering plenty more.

For complete information about the 9th Old School Kung Fu Fest: Joseph Kuo EditionI, click here.

Subway Cinema's new website is up; past write-ups being added

Subway Cinema Inc. is a New York-based 501(c)(3) not-for-profit volunteer-run organization dedicated to the exhibition and appreciation of Asian popular cinema and preservation of America’s Asian film exhibition heritage

Founded in 1999 in New York City as a labor of love for five film fans (Paul Kazee, Grady Hendrix, Brian Naas, Nat Olson, and Goran Topalovic), the organization has played a key role in nurturing the growth of Asian film culture in the U.S. by championing the works of Johnnie To, Tsui Hark, Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho, Takashi Miike, Kim Jee-woon, Ryoo Seung-wan, Seijin Suzuki, Sion Sono, and other notable directors.

The organization recently got its new website up and running and is gradually adding all of its past write-ups. Check out the website, including information about the organization's 9th Old School Kung Fu Fest: Joseph Kuo Edition! (December 6-13, 2021)  at https://www.subwaycinema.com/.

WARRIORS OF THE NATION reviewed; available today on Digital and Blu-ray

Well Go USA

Presents

Warriors of the Nation / Huang Fei Hong: Nu hai xiong feng

Directed by Marco Mak
Starring Zhao Wenzhuo, Li Lubing,
Miya Muqi, and Kenya Sawada

China, 2018, 92 minutes

Warriors of the Nation, a period kung-fu action film, debuts on Digital and Blu-ray™ today, February 18th, from Well Go USA Entertainment. The film is a squeal to Lin Zhenzhao's The Unity of Heroes (2018), which also starred Zhao Wenzhuo as the Chinese martial artist, physician and folk hero Wong Fei-Hung. My review is based on watching the Blu-ray.

The film is set just after the end of the first Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895). The Japanese army hires a secret organization, The White Lotus Society, to kidnap Zhang Zhidong, a top Chinese military minister. Wong Fei-Hung (sometimes spelled Huang Fei-hung) and his disciples must rescue Zhang and prevent another war from starting.

With Warriors of the Nation and its predecessor The Unity of Heroes, Zhao Wenzhuo has joined an illustrious list of martial artists/actors who have portrayed Wong. These have included: the Hong Kong actor Kwan Tak-hing who starred as Wong in over 70 films between the 1940s and 1980s and earned himself the nickname "Master Huang"; Jet Li in the Once Upon a Time in China film series; and Jackie Chan in Drunken Master and Drunken Master II. Zhao not only does a fine job handling the martial arts sequences, but also imbues his character with dignity and depth.

One of the aspects of the film that greatly appealed to me was the significant extent to which Huang is assisted by his disciples, friends and other Chinese patriots in fighting both The White Lotus Society and the Japanese military agents. Thus Zhao, capable as he is, doesn't have to handle all the "heavy lifting" in the action sequences, but has considerable help from others. This results in a greater variety of martial arts on display than there would be with only the main protagonist confronting the bad guys, and gals.

Disc Specs:
-- Audio
    -- Mandarin DTS-HDMA 5.1
    -- Mandarin Stereo
-- Subtitles
    -- English
    -- Off
-- Warriors of the Nation Trailer
-- Previews
    -- Ip Man 4: The Finale
    -- Ne Zha
    -- Kung Fu League

Warriors of the Nation is a solid, kung fu, action flick and a worthy addition to the pantheon of Wong Fei-Hung films.

Asian CineFest Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars; highly recommended 

SHAW BROTHERS’ KUNG FU MOVIE MARATHON to stream exclusively on TWITCH

GAMMARAY AND CELESTIAL PICTURES TO STREAM

SHAW BROTHERS’ KUNG FU MOVIE MARATHON

EXCLUSIVELY ON TWITCH

44 Full-Length Classic Kung Fu Features Make Their

Twitch Debut to Global Interactive Audience

GammaRay and Celestial Pictures have announced they will stream a Shaw Brothers movie marathon on Twitch (twitch.tv/gammaray_tv) from February 4th to February 8th, 2019. The marathon will include 44 full-length features from the Shaw Brothers’ extensive library of kung fu titles, including iconic films such as King Boxer, Crippled Avengers, and Five Deadly Venoms. This viewing event will be streamed globally and exclusively on Twitch, the leading service and community for multiplayer entertainment, and marks the first time Twitch has featured kung fu films.

After the marathon airs from February 4-8, there will be double feature movie nights on Thursdays and Fridays at 5:00 pm PT for four weeks. The marathon is also the first time GammaRay has hosted full-length features on Twitch.

“We’re excited to introduce cult classic movies from the 70s and 80s to our fans on Twitch for the first time,” said GammaRay COO Do Duong. “Kung fu has influenced filmmaking, hip hop music, and pop culture, so we’re thankful to Celestial Pictures for access to their Shaw Brothers action titles, and to Twitch for using their service to introduce a larger audience to the kung fu phenomenon.”

"The Twitch community has lots of interests, with martial arts and film-based marathons among them," said Jane Weedon, Director of Business Development at Twitch. "We've seen it in the games they play, their cosplay outfits, and the programming they watch, with the Shaw Brothers' kung fu films being the perfect pop culture combo of these fandoms. Thanks to GammaRay, we get to livestream over 40 of the Shaw Brothers' seminal movies with an interactive global audience."

Celestial Pictures is the owner of the Shaw Brothers library of over 760 digitally remastered classics. The custodian of the Shaw Brothers legacy, Celestial Pictures continues to keep the love for peak kung fu cinema alive by presenting it to loyal enthusiasts and new-found audiences across the globe.

“We’re thrilled to bring the quintessential Shaw Brothers films to a new generation of fans through this collaboration with GammaRay,” said Agnes Cheung, Executive Vice President of Celestial Pictures. “Interactive streaming will open up a new horizon for the passionate fandom of kung fu cinema. The marathon will allow the audience to be immersed without interruption in the everlasting Shaw Brothers magic.”

44 titles will be featured during the Twitch livestream including the following kung fu classics:

● King Boxer (1972): A student (Lieh Lo) of kung fu meets resistance on his way to a major Chinese tournament.

● Crippled Avengers (1978): After the death of his wife, warlord Dao Tian-du (Kuan Tai Chen) turns evil and holds a town in thrall to his reign of fear with the help of his sadistic son. Four of the villain's victims -- a blind man, an amputee, a deaf-mute, and an insane fighter -- seek the help of a wise kung fu master as they train to eliminate the tyrant for good.

● Five Deadly Venoms (1978): A dying master sends his last student to check up on five former pupils, who each know a special style of kung fu.

Twitch streamers will also be able to co-stream the marathon. Co-streaming is a feature unique to Twitch which allows a streamer to share another channel’s video feed, but with their own commentary and community. The result is a more personalized, social experience.

For more information including the full marathon schedule and movie times, visit GammaRay’s Twitch channel page and follow them on Twitter.

Four day OLD SCHOOL KUNG FU FEST: ENTER THE NINJAS! starts tomorrow in New York

Poster by Jerry Ma

The Old School Kung Fu Fest, a four-day celebration of the rarest, wildest, and most incredible martial arts and action cinema from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s is back at the Anthology Film Archives for its 5th edition, which is dedicated to the deadliest fighter of them all...the ninja!

Since the dawn of time, man’s natural predator has been the ninja. Hiding in your shower, crouching behind your laptop, clinging to your back — the ninja is everywhere. What killed the dinosaurs? Ninja. What battles great white shark? Ninja. Who is buying flowers for your mom? Probably ninja. But ninja is not vampire! Ninja can be filmed! This year’s Old School Kung Fu Fest examines this crazy natural phenomena of ninja with 14 movies that show you this sneaky fighter in the only place where he cannot shoot throwing stars into your eyes: on the movie screen!

There are serious black-and-white ninjas in the original ninja films Shinobi No Mono Parts 1 & 2 (1962 and 1963), super-noir ninjas in 1965’s Samurai Spy, party-colored crazy ninjas from the go-go 80s like American Ninja 1 & 2 and then be entered, revenged, and dominated by Cannon’s essential ninja trilogy: Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja, and Ninja III: The Domination. Watch brave Chinese people fight ninjas with their guts in Shaw Brothers movies like Five Element Ninjas! See ninjas fly on kites in Duel to the Death! You must see all the ninjas! Because to fight ninja, first you must understand ninja.

The Old School Kung Fu Fest 2015: Enter the Ninjas! is curated by Subway Cinema’s programming team, consisting of Samuel Jamier, Rufus de Rham, and Goran Topalovic.

Complete information about this year's Old School Kung Fu Fest at Anthology Film Archives can be found here.

THE OLD SCHOOL KUNG FU FEST 2014 is coming to NYC April 18-20

SUBWAY CINEMA and ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES

in association with

HONG KONG ECONOMIC AND TRADE OFFICE IN NEW YORK

announce 

Poster by Jerry Ma

THE OLD SCHOOL KUNG FU FEST 2014

with LAU KAR-LEUNG TRIBUTE

April 18 – 20, 2014

at Anthology Film Archives

Rising from the ashes of Subway Cinema’s original underground Old School Kung Fu Fests of the early 2000s, the Old School Kung Fu Fest is back for its 2nd annual installment as a 3-day celebration of classic Asian martial arts and action films at Anthology Film Archives. This year, with the support of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office New York, the Fest will celebrate the life and work of Lau Kar-leung (August 1936 - June 25, 2013), the man who was the soul of kung fu cinema.

Lau Kar-leung in Legendary Weapons of China

Throughout the Festival, special guests will introduce some of the screenings and share their personal insights on the lasting legacy of Lau Kar-leung: author Ric Meyers and Sifu Alex Richter, the chief instructor and president of the City Wing Tsun martial arts school in NYC.

The tribute to Lau Kar-leung will include a special New York premiere of an exhibition about his life and career, entitled My Way, Lau Kar-leung, which was previously shown in Hong Kong and Chicago.

Subway Cinema also has assembled a team of top local comic book artists and illustrators to create original artwork inspired by the films in this year’s lineup! The artwork will be on display at Anthology Film Archives for the duration of the Old School Kung Fu Fest.

THE SCHEDULE!

Friday, April 18

6:00pm - CANTON VIPER

36th Chamber of Shaolin

7:45pm - 36th CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN

10:30pm - PEDICAB DRIVER

Saturday, April 19

1:00pm - 36th CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN

3:30pm - CHALLENGE OF THE MASTERS

Heroes of the East

5:30pm - HEROES OF THE EAST

7:45pm - Super Special Secret Screening!!!

10:00pm - MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE

Sunday, April 20

1:00pm - CANTON VIPER

3:00pm - MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE

5:00pm - PEDICAB DRIVER

Dirty Ho

 7:00pm - DIRTY HO

9:15pm - LEGENDARY WEAPONS OF CHINA

Tickets: $10 general; $8 for students, seniors, & children (12 & under); $6 AFA members

For more information, visit www.subwaycinema.com, www.facebook.com/NYAFF and follow @subwaycinema on Twitter.

Anthology Film Archives is located at 32 Second Ave. at 2nd St.
Subway: F train to 2nd Ave; 6 train to Bleecker.

Web: http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org
Twitter: http://twitter.com/anthologyfilm
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AnthologyFilm

ACF 2048: Jay Chou's colorful, action comedy/musical THE-ROOFTOP will be available tomorrow

Well Go USA

presents

The Rooftop / Tian tai ai qing

Written and directed by Jay Chou

Taiwan/China/Hong Kong, 2013, 120 minutes
Language: Mandarin

The-Rooftop had its international premiere and was given the prestigious position of being the closing night film at the 2013 New York Asian Film Festival. Tomorrow, December 10th, it will debut on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital ((VOD, electronic sell-through, and streaming). This review is based on watching the Blu-ay release.

Taiwanese-born writer, director and star Jay Chou is a major pop star in Asia, having sold more than 30 million albums and received over 350 rewards. Here he plays Gao, one of the denizens of a rooftop community in the imaginary city of Galilee. Gao has gleaming hair with a high pompadour that he keeps in place with a "switchblade" comb. He and his rooftop friends are good-natured, fun-loving types who readily burst into song and dance. (The film features 11 musical numbers.) On the other hand, they're not above engaging in some hard-knuckled kung-fu martial arts action when confronted with bad guys.

This colorful, fanciful and comic tale is a frothy concoction, although last 15-20 minutes do turn dark and serious. As a result, the final scene forms an appropriate bookend with the opening of the film, both taking place at a photography exhibition.

The film is absolutely gorgeous on Blu-ray, and I imagine it looks fine in the other versions. Either a 5.1 or 2.0 Mandarin soundtrack can be chosen. English or Chinese subtitles are available, the latter for non-Mandarin speakers, I assume. The only extras are trailers of the film and of other offerings from Well Go USA.

ACF Rating: 3 out of 4 stars; recommended.

ACF 135: Human Lanterns DVD out today!

Human Lanterns / Ren pi deng long

Directed by Sun Chung

Hong Kong, 1982, 95 min

Hong Kong has produced many kung fu movies and horror movies over the years. Human Lanterns (a.k.a. Human Skin Lanterns), which comes out on a single disc DVD today courtesy of Image Enterrtainment, is a cross of the two genres. It's certainly one of the best kung fu horror films every to come out, and a pretty solid offering on any terms.

Lung Shu-ai (Tony Liu, billed as Liu Yung) is a rich and arrogant man who has a serious rivalry with Tan Fu (Kuan Tai Chen). Lung has a beautiful wife (Ni Tien), but also a special relationship with a particular prostitute, Yen-chu. When Tan parades her at a gathering, Lung is outraged and challenges Tan to a contest. The challenge: who will have the best lantern at an upcoming festival.


Naturally, being gentry not artisans, neither actually make the lanterns. Lung learns that the fantastic lanterns of Old Man Tsui actually have been fashioned by Chao Chun-Fang (martial arts star Lieh Lo, who later directed such fare as Black Magic With Butchery and Summons to Death) Seven years earlier Lung and Chao were rivals for the affection of the woman Lung later married. Lung defeated Chao, who harbors major anger at having been humiliated.

Chao accepts Lung's commission to make a magnificent lantern, but utilizes the opportunity to set in motion a dastardly plan of revenge. Women start disappearing, and both Lung and his rival Tan fall under suspicion. From the title, you can easily guess what the kidnapped women are going to be used for.


Human Lanterns may not be top drawer Shaw Brothers product, but it's a terrific film B-film that works pretty damn well as a horror tale and has some quite decent kung fu fighting sequences. Image Entertainment has done better here than they have on some other releases in terms of the Special Features offered. I give it a 3 out of 4 star rating; solidly recommended.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Shaw's Baby Doll: An Interview with Shawn Yin Yin
- The Skin Peel Scene (Alternate Take)
- Production Stills Gallery
- Shaw Brothers Trailers

Check out the Human Lanterns trailer!

Buy Human Lanterns @ Amazon.com.
[Ths link provided as a convenient service to readers. AsianCineFest does not make anything if you chose to use this link.]