Hong Kong Film Recommendations Needed!! (1 Viewer)

[Phil Florian]

Howdy,
I am a fan of HK films, owning some very nice DVD's from that part of the world. These fall into the "expected" DVDs, though, like The Killer, Hard Boiled (sweet sweet Criterion), Dragon Inn, Once Upon a Time in China series, Iron Monkey, etc. etc. I then ran across the greatest place on earth...or at least in Cleveland. It is a small DVD/CD/VCD shop buried in the back corner of a part of town called Little China (which, even growing up here, I never heard of it). To my surprise, there were TONS of DVD's that I haven't ever heard of and a bunch of folks pouring over them. There were some heated discussions over the quality of one over the other, but beyond a couple "instantly" recognizable flicks, many were new to me. The owner assured me all were Region 1 compatible. So, it is shopping time for me (at least a couple need to be bought). Any recommendations of things to look for that might not make people's Top Ten HK movies? Some of the movies looked like ones advertized on other DVD's, but don't contain the actors I am most familiar with. Any ideas would be greatly appreicated. I will let you know what I get and how it looks. Great great store with great prices (HK DVD of The Killer was cheaper than the "American" version and was made by the same company that some of my favorite DVDs, like Iron Monkey and Dragon Inn).
Woohoo!
Phil
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Quis custodiet ipsos custodes.

 

[Chris Xolotl]

With the exception of Beast Cops avoid anything with Michael Wong in it.
Here's a quick list:
Accidental Spy
Armour of God I - Operation Condor
Armour of God II - Operation Condor 2
Beast Cops
Bodyguard From Beijing
Bullet In The Head
China Strike Force
City On Fire (1987)
Full Contact
Gen X Cops
High Risk
Hitman
Hot War
Iceman Cometh
In the Line of Duty 4
My Father Is A Hero
Naked Killer
Double Tap DTS
Project A
Purple Storm
Running out of Time
Skyline Cruisers
Thunderbolt W/S
Tiger Cage 2
Tokyo Raiders (DTS)
War Named Desire
Born to Be King
God of Gamblers
God of Gamblers Return
Shaolin Soccer
Storm Riders
Those Were the Days
Young and Dangerous
Young and Dangerous - The Prequel
Young and Dangerous 2
Young and Dangerous 3
Young and Dangerous 4
Young and Dangerous 5
Riki-Oh - Story of Ricky
Buddhist Fist
Dragons Forever
Drunken Master 2
Duel to the Death
Fist Of Fury Fist of Legend (Ritek)
Five Deadly Venoms
Fong Sai Yuk 1
Fong Sai Yuk 2
Iron Monkey: Collector's Edition HKL
Jackie Chan - My Stunts
Kung Fu Cult Master
Miracle Fighters
New Legend of Shaolin (Universe Version)
Once Upon A Time In China 1
Once Upon A Time In China 2
Operation Scorpio
Prodigal Son
Tai Chi Master
Warriors Two
Wheels on Meals
Wing Chun
Young Master

 

[Scott Rogers]

Those are all good recommendations!
Everyone should definately see "Shaolin Soccer". This is the best HK film I've seen in a long time. Utterly ridiculous and waaaaaaaaay over the top!
I would also add to that list:
Bride with White Hair
Chinese Ghost Story 2
Swordsman 2
and the greatest of the Run Run Shaw movies: Master of the Flying Guillotine!!!

 

[Matthew Brown]

Phil -
If you see the Tai Seng version of Wing Chun, pick it up. It is out of print as is the Tai Seng version of Heroic Trio. I wouldn't be surprised if Wing Chun hits the theaters some day.
For a review of the different versions of THE KILLER, you can check out a great review done by Matt Steven's on my site as well as my own. http://loveandbullets.com/killerhkvideo.htm http://www.loveandbullets.com/killer.htm
The ultimate site for Hong Kong DVD reviews is www.asiandvdguide.com.
It is always good to check a review before making a purchase just because there are sometimes different companies that make the same movies and some are better than others.
One excellent movie I don't see mentioned is FIST OF LEGEND. There are two available on DVD at the moment. A Dimension version as well as Ritek. Here's a review for those. http://www.loveandbullets.com/fol.htm
Matt
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Honk Kong DVD Reviews and News
loveandbullets.com
[Edited last by Matthew Brown on November 06, 2001 at 02:23 PM]
[Edited last by Matthew Brown on November 06, 2001 at 02:24 PM]

 

[Mark_Wilson]

How about a few Japanese movies to throw into the mix?
Brother (R1 version coming in Dec.)
Battle Royale (r1/r0?)
According to Bullets & Babes The Top 10 HK flix are:
1. Iron Monkey
2. Game Of Death
3. The Big Boss
4. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
5. Once Upon A Time In China
6. Purple Storm
7. Drunken Master 2
8. Miracles
9. Shiri SE (R0)
10. Fist Of Fury

 

[Matthew Brown]

BROTHER may be edited when released for Region 1. Some of the blood was digitally removed when shown in American theaters.
Matt
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Honk Kong DVD Reviews and News
loveandbullets.com

 

[Chris Xolotl]

Brother - You might as well get the R3 NTSC Universe Version or the R2 PAL version instead.
Digitally removing blood... well that's just not right...

 

[Chris Xolotl]

Well 2 of the 10 are not HK Movies.
Shiri is Korean, and Crouching Tiger is... well it has HK actors in it.
If you get Shiri the Special Edition 2 Disc R0 release is fantastic. Other excellent Korean films are Bichunmoo and Memento Mori. These 3 are my favorite Korean movies thus far.

 

[Phil Florian]

Great recommendations thus far and full of ones I thankfully haven't heard of. I will be going in Friday so I hope some of these gems are there.
Ciao,
Phil
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Quis custodiet ipsos custodes.

 

[Brook K]

Another must see is God of Cookery with Stephen Chow. Very funny and a definite must for Iron Chef fans.

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

Here's a few that I get a kick out of:
Fist of Legend
Storm Riders
The Duel
Zu: Warriors of the Magic Mountain
I've used HKFlix to order online and they have been excellent so far. They shipped Legend of Zu Monday, I'm hopeful (fingers crossed) I get it tonight.
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Todd.
"Ah, mercury, sweetest of the transitional metals..."
- Sealab 2021

 

[YANG]

An advice for the HK movie fans...
There are lots of HK films that are too good to be missed,there are also some films that are too obvious to the audience that seems too much like a copy from other major HK blockbusters.
So,the best way to see if you are looking at a very good production,is to judge/categorise the films by actor/director...
DIRECTOR: JOHN WOO
-------------------
1. BULLET IN THE HEAD
2. HARD BOILED
3. THE KILLER
4. A BETTER TOMORROW
5. A BETTER TOMORROW 2
6. ONCE A THEIF
DIRECTOR: GORDON CHAN
---------------------
1. FIRST OPTION
2. FINAL OPTION
3. 2000 A.D
4. BEAST COPS
5. JACKIE CHAN'S THUNDERBOLT
6. FIGHT BACK TO SCHOOL
7. FIGHT BACK TO SCHOOL 2
8. KING OF BEGGARS
DIRECTOR: ANDREW LAU WAI KEUNG
------------------------
1. THE DUEL(MARTIAL ARTS,ACTION)
2. STORMRIDERS(MARTIAL ARTS,ACTION)
3. A MAN CALLED HERO(MARTIAL ARTS,ACTION)
4. BEST OF THE BEST(ACTION)
5. To Live and Die in Tsimshatsui(ACTION)
DIRECTOR: RINGO LAM
-------------------
1. PRISON ON FIRE
2. WILD SEARCH
3. PRISON ON FIRE 2
4. FULL CONTACT
5. JACKIE CHAN'S TWIN DRAGON
6. FULL ALERT
7. THE VICTIM
ACTOR: STEPHEN CHOW
--------------------
1. CURRY AND PEPPER(ACTION,COMEDY)
2. MY HERO(ACTION,COMEDY)
3. WHEN FORTUNE SMILES(COMEDY)
4. LEGEND OF THE DRAGON(COMEDY)
5. TRICKY BRAINS(COMEDY)
6. FIGHT BACK TO SCHOOL 1,2,3(ACTION,COMEDY)
7. MAGNIFICIANT SCOUNDERALS(COMEDY)
8. THE TRICKY MASTER(ACTION,COMEDY)
9. ROYAL TRAMP(QING DYNASTY,ACTION,COMEDY,MARTIAL ARTS)
10. ROYAL TRAMP 2(QING DYNASTY,ACTION,COMEDY,MARTIAL ARTS)
11. HAIL THE JUDGE(QING DYNASTY,DRAMA,COMEDY)
12. LAWYER, LAWYER(QING DYNASTY,DRAMA,COMEDY)
13. JUSTICE?MY FOOT!(QING DYNASTY,DRAMA,COMEDY)
14. KING OF BEGGARS(QING DYNASTY,ACTION,MARTIAL ARTS,DRAMA,COMEDY)
15. FORBIDDEN CITY COP(QING DYNASTY,ACTION,COMEDY)
16. A CHINESE ODYSSEY(LEGEND,FANTASY,ACTION,COMEDY)
17. A CHINESE ODYSSEY 2(LEGEND,FANTASY,ACTION,COMEDY)
18. MAD MONK(LEGEND,FANTASY,ACTION,COMEDY)
19. FLIRTONG SCHOLAR(ANCIENT,ACTION,ROMANCE,COMEDY)
20. THE LUCKY GUY(ROMANCE,COMEDY)
21. SHAOLIN SOCCER(ROMANCE,ACTION,COMEDY)
22. GOD OF COOKERY(COMEDY)
23. KING OF COMEDY(COMEDY)

 

[Ka Yuen]

Check dddhouse.com. There is where I am getting my chinese movies.

 

[DeanMSmith]

Phil,
I highly recommend a book called,
"Asian Cult Cinema" by Thomas Weisser
It can often be found at major bookstores (I got mine at Barnes and Nobel and have seen it at Virgin megastores) so I'm sure you could order one easily.
d

 

[Phil Florian]

Well, I gotta thank folks for the input. I ended up getting for $15 the Shaolin Soccer movie...and damn, it is fine! It cannot easily be described and shows that Asian cinema can still be mindblowing (which I feared would not be the case post 1997 takeover). Amazing...and the disc is loaded, too. Has bit similar to the "White Rabbit" mode on the Matrix disc. Great special effects and...dammit, soccer! and I hate soccer! Though, if real soccer games looked like this, I feel I would turn in more often. Great great stuff. I am told by the store owner that this movie is number one in at least Japan. Thanks again for those that made recommendations!
Phil
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Quis custodiet ipsos custodes.

 

[Phil Florian]

They also had "Legend of Zu" in and it looked great. The owner said it is a remake of the orignal Zu, not a sequel. Any reviews of it?
Phil
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Quis custodiet ipsos custodes.

 

[Ernest_T]

Avoid the remake of "Legend of Zu"...it was just a film Tsui Hark used to experiment with CGI. I almost left the cinema half way through the movie but decided since I paid good money for the ticket, I decided to suffer through till the end...it is utterly boring. It may be big budgeted but one of the worst HK movies this year. The poor ticket sales locally (Hong Kong) said it all. Agree with Scott..."Shaolin Soccer" is a blast...it gets my vote for the best HK movie this year.

 

[Chris Xolotl]

I think Legend of Zu got a bad rap. I really love this movie. The special fx are nothing short of amazing and the dts sound is awesome. Did I say it was anamorphic, as well?
You should be able to pick it up for $16.99.

 

[Yuifai Cheung]

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=122919

 

[Matthew Brown]

Shaolin Soccer may be heading for theaters in the US. They are having test screenings next week.
On a side note, if you like Jet Li's movies, here's a little English to Dimension translation.
Original Titles - Dimension
The Bodyguard from Beijing - The Defender
Fong Sai Yuk - The Legend
Fong Sai Yuk - The Legend 2
High Risk - Meltdown
My Father is a Hero - The Enforcer
The Tai Chi Master - Twin Warriors
Dimension dubs and cuts the movies.
Two good movies I don't recall mentioned yet are THE MISSION and the LONGEST NITE. Two very good triad dramas. Both movies have the best actors in Hong Kong in them.
Matt
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Honk Kong DVD Reviews and News
loveandbullets.com