Born to Fight Dragon Dynasty Screencaps

Today we got a chance to take a look at the Dragon Dynasty DVD of Born to Fight, expect a review in the next few days. For the moment, here are some screencaps of both discs. Easily a great DVD in terms of extras and video quality (along with sound options). If you haven't got this yet or just want one in NTSC or Region 1, I would advise you to pick it up when it streets next Tuesday April 24th. Until I can do a full review here are some screencaps to tide you over.

Born to Fight Dragon Dynasty Screencaps

Chinese History Through Kung Fu Movies TImeline

So now you can try and check out the unique and interesting periods of Chinese history through kung fu movies. This list was done a couple of years ago but most likely wasn't seen by many recent members. We're also going to try and add to it more as even just the last three in terms of TVB and Shaw releases have been tremendous. Credit first of course.

Thread/idea by gfanikf KFF

Timeline from http://www-chaos.umd.edu/history/time_line.html (coutesy of gfanikf - this forum)
Sensasian Timeline & List from http://tinyurl.com/35woeu

Magic8 posted this on asiandvdguide
iskandam posted this on KFCC
muay thai media posted this on KFCC
Jin Yong posted this on KFF
Limubai2000 added this (KFF)
Sensasian List link found by curtpdx (KFF)

Compiled by Limubai2000 from KFF

Chinese History Through Kung Fu Movies Timeline v .3

2690-2590 B.C. Huang Di

2333-2234 B.C. Tang Yao

2233-2184 B.C. Yu Shun

2100-1500 B.C. Xia

1700-1027 B.C. Shang

Last Woman of Shang (iskandam)
Na Cha The Great (Sensasian)
A Maid From Heaven (sensasian)

1027-771 B.C. Western Zhou

A Step Into The Past (TVB Serial)(Sensasian)
The King With My Face (Sensasian)

770-221 B.C. Eastern Zhou

770-476 B.C. -- Spring and Autumn period

Hsi Shih (Jin Yong)
Saga Of zhou Dynasty The Spring And Autumn Period (Sensasian)

475-221 B.C. -- Warring States period

Saga Of Zhou Dynasty The Warring States (Sensasian)

221-207 B.C. Qin

Emporer's Shadow (Magic8)
Hero (Magic8)
Emporer And The Assasin (Magic8)
First Emporer of China IMAX (Documentary)(Limubai2000)
Terracotta Warriors (Sensasian)
Shin No Shikoutei (Sensasian)
The First Emporer (Sensasian)
The Rise Of The Great Wall (Sensasian)

206 B.C.- A.D. 9 Western Han

Great Conqueror's Concubine Part 1 & 2 (iskandam)
Farewell To My Concubine (Sensasian)
Beyond The Great Wall (Sensasian)
Han Dynasty (Sensasian)
Heroic Prince (Sensasian)
Wulung Prince (Sensasian)
Silk Road Parts 1,2, & 3 (Sensasian)

A.D. 9-24 Xin (Wang Mang interregnum)

A.D. 25-220 Eastern Han

A.D. 220-280 Three Kingdoms

Three Kingdoms (TV-50) (iskandam)
Generation Pendragon (Sensasian)
Li bu And Diao Chan (Sensasian)
Hero Of The Three Kingdoms (Sensasian)
Strategy Of Three Kingdoms (Sensasian)

220-265 -- Wei

221-263 -- Shu

229-280 -- Wu

A.D. 265-316 Western Jin

The Butterfly Lover (Sensasian)
The Lovers (Sensasian)
2002 Butterfly Lovers 40 (Sensasian)

A.D. 317-420 Eastern Jin

A.D. 420-588 Southern and Northern Dynasties

Mulan (Sensasian)
Wu Yen (Sensasian)
Master Of Zen (Sensasian)
The Legend Of Lady Chung (Sensasian)
Dharma - Founder Of Shaolin (Sensasian)

420-588 Southern Dynasties

420-478 -- Song

479-501 -- Qi

502-556 -- Liang

557-588 -- Chen

386-588 Northern Dynasties

386-533 -- Northern Wei

534-549 -- Eastern Wei

535-557 -- Western Wei

550-577 -- Northern Qi

557-588 -- Northern Zhou

A.D. 581-617 Sui

A.D. 618-907 Tang

Warriors Of Heaven And Earth (Magic8)
Empress Wu Tse-Tien (Jin Yong)
Yang Kwei Fei (Jin Yong)
Foundation (Sensasian)
The Queen Of Tibet (Sensasian)
Heroic Ones (Sensasian)

A.D. 907-960 Five Dynasties

907-923 -- Later Liang

923-936 -- Later Tang

936-946 -- Later Jin

947-950 -- Later Han

951-960 - Later Zhou

A.D. 907-979 Ten Kingdoms

A.D. 960-1279 Sung

Water Margin (Magic8)
All Men Are Brothers (Magic8)
Deadly Duo (Jin Yong)
Heroes Of Sung (Jin Yong)
Brave Archer (series) (Jin Yong)
Golden Lotus (Jin Yong)
Legend Of The Condor Heroes (Book & Movie) (Sensasian)
Cat And Mouse (Sensasian)
The Lion Roars (Sensasian)
Twelve Gold Medallions (Sensasian)
The Grand Substitution (Sensasian)
The Heroine Of The Yangs Part 1 & 2 (Sensasian)
General Father, General Son (Sensasian)
Ashes Of Time (Sensasian)
Seven Warriors, Five Heroes (Sensasian)
Justice Pao - The Princes (Sensasian)
The Legend Of the Condor Heroes Parts 1,2 & 3 (TVB Series) (Sensasian)
Young Impartial Judge Parts 1 & 2 (Sensasian)
The Bride Napping (Sensasian)
Bao Gong Sheng Si Jie (Sensasian)
Junior Master Bao (Sensasian)
The Return Of The Condor Heroes (Sensasian)
Yue's Young Warriors (Sensasian)
Justice Pao - Zhe Bao Mian (Sensasian)
Yeung Female Warriors Parts 1 & 2 (Sensasian)
Ghenghis Khan (Sensasian)
The Yang's Saga (Sensasian)
Ghenghis Khan (TVB Series) (Sensasian)
All Men Are Brothers - Blood Of The Leopard (Sensaian)
Legend Of Condor Heroes (Puppet Show) (Sensasian)

960-1127 -- Northern Sung Brave Archer (series) (Jin Yong)

1127-1279 -- Southern Sung Brave Archer (series) (Jin Yong)

A.D. 916-1125 Liao

A.D. 1038-1227 Western Xia

A.D. 1115-1234 Jin

A.D. 1279-1368 Yuan

Musa (iskandam)
Bichunmoo (iskandam)
One Armed Swordman (Jin Yong)
Little Dragon Maiden (Jin Yong)
Brave Archer (series) (Jin Yong)
Marco Polo (Jin Yong)

Fall of Yuan to Ming
Musa (Muay Thai Media)
Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber Part 1 & 2 (Jin Yong)

A.D. 1368-1644 Ming

Secret Service Of The Imperial Court (Jin Yong)
The Kingdom And The Beauty (Sensasian)
Princes Chang Ping Parts 1 & 2(Sensasian)
Flirting Scholar (Sensasian)
The Three Smiles (Sensasian)
The Saga Of Yeun Soong Wun (Sensasian)
Big Foot Queen (Sensasian)
Chinese Odyssey - King Zhengde And Phoenix (Sensasian)

A.D. 1644-1911 Qing

New Tale Of Flying Fox (Jin Yong)
Emporer And His Brother (Jin Yong)
The Voyage Of Emporer Qian Long (Jin Yong)
The Emporer And The Beauty (Jin Yong)
Blood Brothers (Jin Yong)
Huang Fei Hung/Once Upon A Time In China Series (Muay Thai Media)
Boxer Rebellion (Muay Thai Media)
Empress Dowager (Jin Yong)
Last Tempest (Jin Yong)
Burning Of the Imperial Palace (Jin Yong)
Reign Behind the Curtain (Jin Yong)
Iron Bodyguard (Jin Yong)
Five Shaolin Masters (Jin Yong)
The 36th chamber of Shaolin (Jin Yong)
Disciple of the 36th Chamber (Jin Yong)
Return to the 36th chamber (Jin Yong)
Heroes Two (Jin Yong)
Executionners From Shaolin (Jin Yong)
Clan Of The White Lotus (Jin Yong)
Invincible Shaolin (Jin Yong)
Two Champion Of Shaolin (Jin Yong)
The Master (Jin Yong)
Dirty Ho (Jin Yong)
Sword Stained with Royal Blood (Jin Yong)
Legend of the Fox (Jin Yong)
Shaolin Temple (Jin Yong)
Adventures of Emperor Chien Lung (Jin Yong)
The Emperor and the Minister (Jin Yong)
Royal Tramp 1 & 2 (Jin Yong)
Iron Monkey (Sensasian)
Justice My Foot (Sensasian)
Hail The Judge (Sensasian)
Lawyer, Lawyer (Sensasian)
The Legend Of Ji Xiao Lan (Sensasian)
The Duke Of Mount Deer (TVB Series) (Sensasian)
Hero Fong Sai Yuk (Sensasian)
Prodigal Son (Sensasian)
Emporer Chien Lung And The Beauty (Sensasian)
Fake Emporer (Sensasian)
Anecdote Of Hau Zhuang (Sensasian)
Killing Machine (Sensasian)
Legend Of Yong Zheng Parts 1 & 2 (Sensasian)
Book And Sword Parts 1,2 & 3 (Sensasian)
Romance Of Book And Sword (Sensasian)
Voyage Of Emporer Chien Lung (Sensasian)
Warriors Two (Sensasian)
New Legend Of Shaolin (Sensasian)
Kangxi's Love Story Parts 1 & 2 (Sensasian)
Twilight Of the Forbidden City (Sensasian)
Reign Behind A Curtain (Sensasian)
Last Emporer (Sensasian)
Lover Of The Last Empress (Sensasian)
Lai Shi, China's Last Eunnuch (Sensaian)
Young Of wong Fei Hung (Sensasian)
Opium War (Sensasian)
Sino Dutch War 1661 (Sensasian)
New Legend Of Fong Sai Yuk Part 3 (Sensasian)
Legend of Yong Zheng (Sesasian)
Kangxi Dynasty (Sensasian)
Yong Zheng Dynasty (Sensasian)
Dynasty Of Chien Lung (Sensasian)
Mr Winner (Sensasian)
Tales of a Eunnuch (Jin Yong)
Fong Sai Yuk Parts 1 & 2(Muay Thai Media)
Once Upon A Time In China (Magic8)

A.D. 1912 - 1949 Chinese Civil War/WW2

Fist Of Fury (Magic8)
Fist Of Legend (Magic8)
Vengeance (Jin Yong)
Anonymous Heroes (Jin Yong)
The Warlord (Sensasian)
May And August (Sensasian)
Soong Sister (Sensasian)
Peking Opera Blues (Sensasian)
Peony Pavilion (Sensasian)
Till We Meet Again (Sensasian)
Boxer From Shantung (Sensaian)
Route (Sensasian)
Shanghai Grand (Sensasian)
Lord Of East China Sea Parts 1 & 2(Sensasian)
Fist Of Legend (TV Series) (Sensasian)
Man Behind The Sun (Sensasian)
Centre Stage (Sensasian)
Narrow Escape (Sensasian)
Vermilion Door (Sensasian)
Story Of Three Loves Parts 1 & 2 (Sensasian)
Bund (Sensasian)
Spring River Flows East - The Eight War Torn Years (Sensasian)
Star, Moon and Sun Parts 1 & 2 (Sensasian)
Kawashima Yoshiko (Sensasian)
Fist Of Hero (Sensasian)

Chinese History Through Kung Fu Movies TImeline

Dragon Dynasty's Born to Fight Arrives to HK FILM NEWS!

Expect a review of this highly anticapted Dragon Dynasty title in the next day or so. Thanks to Margot at Speical Ops Media. I know our readers are looking forward to this review. This looks like a great DVD from a quick scan.

Dragon Dynasty's Born to Fight Arrives to HK FILM NEWS!

Let it not be said I only pick on apes appearing in Chinese films.

Well, tecnhically this was an American film made in the Republic of Korea, but screw it I love this film.

Let it not be said I only pick on apes appearing in Chinese films.

Enter The Baradagi Cheng Sing Fights An Ape and Bruce Li Beats Up Granny!

An ape thought it could fight Cheng Sing. Poor stupid ape.



Granny though she could piss of Bruce Li. Wrong!

Enter The Baradagi Cheng Sing Fights An Ape and Bruce Li Beats Up Granny!

Time for you all to learn the history of China to help you enjoy your Kung Fu more!

Now you're properly thinking, Ian I'm watching Kung Fu what could possibly be the benefit of learning about the history of China? Well, what may seem like a plot details may actually represent an interesting facet of Chinese history from the the eunuchs, the salt trade, to armed escort services to much more. The goal of this new section Chinese History through Kung Fu Movies is to show the background information from scans of my Chinese history books in conjunction with clips mentioning the subject in the related Kung Fu movie. Also I'm going to post information of Chinese culture such as food and music occasionally too. I should also mention that I majored in Gov't + Law and History and minored in Asian Studies at Lafayette College. I'm also working on a MA in Poli Sci and Villanova University and will soon be starting law school at Seton Hall, just to give you a little background on me.

I hope you all enjoy this new section.

Time for you all to learn the history of China to help you enjoy your Kung Fu more!

Cheng Cheh on the Martial Arts Film Genre

Republished from Stephen Feldman's amazing Cheng Cheh site
http://changcheh.0catch.com/ Give it a look today.

From The Making of Martial Arts Films -- As Told by Filmmakers and Stars, 1999, pp. 16-24:

Creating the Martial Arts Film and the Hong Kong Cinema Style

[an article by] Zhang Che

As a society prospers, its industry develops, and the dynamic energy of the people is at full throttle, culture and the arts will also thrive. This is true of China in the Tang Dynasty, of Europe in the Renaissance, and of America in its opening of the western frontier. Though a small territory, Hong Kong in the 60s and 70s was an explicit micro-model of such trends.

Crossroads of East and West

Western culture is the dominating culture in the modern world. However, Chinese culture has a long history and still carries its own weight. Hong Kong is a Chinese society and it functions as China's window to the West. Hence, it is the crossroads where Chinese and Western cultures meet. But Hong Kong only has a history of over 100 years. Originally on the periphery of the mainland, its absorption of Western culture is not deep enough. Thus, both Chinese and Western cultures have a poor foundation in Hong Kong. From the start, the development of art and culture in Hong Kong had a populist base. The supplementary columns of Hong Kong's newspapers are unique in this respect -- one of the most representative personages was Ko Hung (Sam So) who was active in the 60s and 70s and possessed the distinct local colours of Hong Kong. The martial arts novels became popular during this period, and the melodrama novels were no better than the sentimental romances. There were very few works of literary quality. Most films of better artistic values were those that geared towards the masses and the populist denominator.

However, populism is a virtue, not a flaw. Culture is based on "people," and the type of "people" determines the type of culture. A minority culture can only be enjoyed by a small group of people and cannot enter the mainstream. This is most apparent in cinema. If it is detached from the masses, it is detached from the market and cannot survive nor develop. There are many levels to populism, aud the more levels there are, the wider the human foundations. There are the common people, the middle-class, and the intellectuals. Take the martial arts novels. It includes writers such as Woshi Shanren and Jin Yong -- the former belongs to the Cantonese culture of the neighbouring masses while both the common people and the intellectuals enjoy the latter. The samurai pictures of Japan and the martial arts pictures of Hong Kong are quite similar. The samurai picture genre has produced an outstanding master in Akira Kurosawa.

Jin Yong is the premier talent in martial arts literature and he was a product arising from the East-meets-West culture of Hong Kong. A learned man of Chinese culture, he is also well versed in Western culture, blending the literary culture and popular culture together successfully. His works came out simple but carried depth. The martial arts pictures of the 60s and 70s, no matter the works of an auteur or the works as a whole, are no match for the works of Jin Yong. The reason why he took a leading role in the take-off of the martial arts picture in Hong Kong cinema is due to this distinct appeal.

Martial arts films had its share back in the old days. In Shanghai, the genre got bogged down in the serials of the likes of The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple and The Swordswoman of the Wilderness, so were the martial arts films of Hong Kong cinema that remained on the level of Woshi Shanren for years and could not catch up with the times.

Populism does not mean vulgarity. The populist classics of China include quite some gems of literature that have an appeal to both literary and layman tastes. This is also true of Chinese opera. Being at the crossroads of East and West, the Hong Kong audience will naturally not be satisfied with "old-fashioned" martial arts pictures. Thus it is only to be expected that a new-style martial arts picture will emerge in accordance with the economic and social development of Hong Kong and its tendency towards Westernisation. With greater investments, production standards improve, leading to the participation of new intellectuals conversant in both Eastern and Western cultures. The first generation of auteurs recruited by the new style martial arts picture include King Hu and myself. Using Chinese cinema as a base, we endeavoured to include Western style of thinking and technology. King Hu studied the aesthetics of editing in Western cinema and created his own style of editing. As for myself, I studied the cinematographic techniques of those Western technicians or in Shaw Brothers under co-production deals, and "stole" a lot of their techniques.

Japan is the most westernised country in the East. Apart from influences from the west (particularly Hollywood films), we have also been influenced by Japanese cinema, in particular, the samurai pictures. I went to Japan to do location shooting for The Golden Swallow (1968). The location shooting itself was not at all significant compared to what I could learn from the production techniques of Japanese cinema. Some martial arts directors openly confess to being influenced by Japanese cinema and I think there's no shame in that. Reception isn't the same as copying. I was attracted to the martial arts genre because I had seen the films of Akira Kurosawa and realised that it was possible to make quality pictures in the genre.

When I was making The One-armed Swordsman (1967), I took the camera off its tripod and utilised the hand-held camera technique for the first time. Thus, a sense of mobility was added to Chinese films. I first used the slow-motion technique in The Magnficent Trio (1966) but it was after I had seen how the technique was used in Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch (1969) that I improved my methods in Vengeance! (1970).

The new style martial arts films of the 60s and 70s are a unique product of Hong Kong at the crossroads of east and west.

A Fusion of Lowbrow and Highbrow Cultures

Like the martial arts novels of Jin Yong, the genre incorporated elements of East and West, and the first generation auteurs also incorporated highbrow and lowbrow tastes. To appeal to the high and the low is the greatest objective. In Chinese martial arts literature, The Water Margin achieved this objective. The martial arts novels of the Tang Dynasty were inclined towards the highbrow tastes. Some of the profundity and richness of this literature is glimpsed in modern novels such as Huanzhu Louzhu's Zu -- Warriors of the Magic Mountain and The Legends of Yunhai, but apart from these, examples such as Seven Knights, Five Principles, The Legend of the Swordsman and The Swordswoman of the Wilderness were very lowbrow affairs indeed. The pictures adapted from these novels could go nowhere as a result.

The martial arts pictures current in Hong Kong cinema at the time were the likes of the Woshi Shahten stories -- stories full of local flavour and populated by folk heroes. The artistic quality of these pictures was low. The characters, from Fong Sai-yuk to Wu Wai-kin to Wong Fei-hung, lacked individuality and were more like stereotypes without emotions or psychology. The stories were simple and conducted along the lines of the good guys versus the bad guys. Hence, such films could not satisfy a society that was progressing and an audience that had greater demands of cinema. This was the background for the rise of the new style martial arts picture.

Many of the screenplays behind the new style martial arts pictures were original creations. They were not adapted from any novel. This is true at least of the films of King Hu and of those of mine. Naturally, we were all influenced by the Water Margin, the novels of the Tang Dynasty, and Jin Yong. We were young then and eager to express ourselves and there were a lot of things we wanted to say. King Hu later took inspiration from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, and I myself adapted some of Jin Yong's novels but they were not some of my best works. Jin's novels are lengthy works and are more suited to TV. I adapted The Brave Archer from him and made the picture in three parts and I still only touched the edges of the story and barely reached its core. Later, some pictures borrowed characters from his novels, such as Ashes of Time (1994), but they only made use of the subject to put across their own ideas. Their products were far from the originals.

In any case, the martial arts pictures began to have variations in their plots, sharp characters, and elaboration of romance and friendship. They brought in new artistic conceptions. The genre began to capture the mass audience and elevated its market position and its influence throughout Southeast Asia.

As its name implies, the martial arts (wu xia) pictures use the notion of martial arts (wu) to express the content of chivalry (xia). Martial arts denote action. Hong Kong cinema at the time used the southern school of kung fu and though the pictures freely mentioned the names of Shaolin and Wudang, the actors did not express the movements of these two schools. The majority of actors at the time were trained in opera, such as Kwan Tak-hing and Lam Kar-sing, etc. But the main pillar of martial arts in Cantonese opera was the Longhu (Dragon and Tiger) masters of martial arts which was derived from Peking opera. However, this was not a genuine strand of martial arts acting from Peking opera since it came from the serialised libretto play of the "Shanghai stream" of Peking opera.

However, the first generation of directors of the new style martial arts picture such as King Hu and myself, derived martial arts action from Peking opera but transcending the limitations of the Longhu masters. King Hu's action aesthetics is of a high standard and he never faltered from his methods of the swordplay film. I gradually became interested in the Hung Fist and the Wing Chun style which belong to the southern school, and I made Vengeance! (1970) and The Boxer from Shandong (1972), both set in the early years of the republic. Coincidentally, Bruce Lee also became popular at this time and he took the kung fu genre into new heights of popularity. At that time, I made Heroes Two (1974) and a series of Shaolin-based kung fu films. Though Kwan Tak-hing, Sek Yin-tsi, Lam Kar-sing propounded the Shaolin name, their kung fu had nothing to do with that school. The development of kung fu had to await stars like Bruce Lee, Chan Kwun-tai, Alexander Fu, etc. But that's another story.

The martial arts pictures inherited the stylised combat of Peking opera. Traditional Chinese opera and other regional operas are song-based operas, but forms such as Kunqu and Sichuan opera are based on song and dance. The dance segments developed into scenes of martial arts action and this development was completed with the appearance of Peking opera, which established a tradition of martial arts in opera. However, Kunqu, as evidenced in the operas The Night Flight of Lin Chong, Overturning the Sliding Cart, The Pass at the Boundary Marker, influenced the martial dramas of Peking opera. These were operas sung in the qu pai style of Kunqu and not in the traditional pihuang style of Peking opera. Cantonese opera, on the other hand, is well established as a regional opera and it emphasises song and dramatic plot, as do other regional forms such as Yue opera, Huangmei ("Yellow Plum") opera, and Taiwanese opera. The components of dance or martial arts in Cantonese opera were not profound but they later imbibed influences from Peking opera making them akin to the serialised libretto play of the Shanghai school. Most Longhu masters learned from Shanghai artists, such as Yuen Siu-tin (father of Yuen Woo-ping) and Yu Zhanyuan (teacher of Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung, and father of Yu So-chau), and Lam Kar-sing was a student of the martial arts opera diva Fen Juhua, who originally hailed from Shanghai.

Kunqu originated from Yuan opera. Its literary qualities were of a high standard, as evidenced in operas such as The Peony Pavilion and The Plum Blossom Fan. However, the martial arts component of Kunqu and Peking opera were later equally appreciated by lowbrow and highbrow tastes. Their works were popular but of a high standard. Martial arts stemmed from wushu, a form that had nothing to do with the practical art of fighting but was more like dance. Run Run Shaw discovered this early on, and so did film critic Sek Kei. Thus, the martial arts of Kunqu and Peking opera were really choreographic pieces, which were suited for adaptation to cinema. Action is a world language, thus Hong Kong's action films were accepted by Cantonese speakers and Mandarin speakers, by Southeast Asian countries which didn't understand Chinese, and gradually, by Europe and America.

The new style martial arts picture elevated production standards and the tastes of the audience; it strengthened the sensation of cinema and action. This development took place in a Hong Kong at the cross-roads of East and West, mixing highbrow with lowbrow, and the progress was rapid. As Sek Kei said, "It has elevated the action film from the world's worst to the world's best."

The Influence and Development of the Martial Arts Picture

The martial arts picture has the same basic requirements like all other pictures. Whether it is a tragedy or a comedy, the characters and the plots must move people and be entertaining. However, in entertainment, there must also be content, something aspiring to the higher levels. The modes of expression must be dramatic, cinematic, visual, atmospheric and rhythmic. A movie fulfiling all these demands is a good movie and vice versa. In terms of action, it is not enough to have action in a scene -- the action must be powerful and contain aesthetic beauty, the shots must carry the motion.

Chinese cinema has produced some masterpieces and though martial arts pictures number among these masterpieces, the majority are low quality works. Actually, Hong Kong cinema had remained insignificant for a long time. The China market was closed to it and it did not capture other overseas markets. Hong Kong cinema only relied on the small domestic mark in Hong Kong, and meagre capital from Singapore and Malaysia. At the time, Hong Kong had a few decrepit theatres that showed only Chinese movies. The better theatres showed only Western films. A film earned only about tens of thousands dollars. In such a market, the Cantonese film was a downmarket affair and it was only on occasion that a small little gem would appear, or else a picture would take the form of a "carnival" style bringing together all the artists in a big production. But this didn't do the trick in building up standards.

The Mandarin cinema was pioneered by Li Zuyong who came from Shanghai, bringing with him talent and money. He established Yung Hwa. However, the Shanghai talents that he brought along continued the old style of Shanghai cinema, which did not suit changing circumstances. Neither did it occupy a market niche. Yung Hwa ended up in financial straits. The company was saved by money from Singapore and Malaysia and its name was changed to MP and GI (later, this was changed to Cathay). However, the company became conservative, maintaining its output to please middle-class audiences, thus confining itself to melodramas and comedies. A breakthrough was needed. Run Run Shaw came over to Hong Kong from Southeast Asia with new investments to start the Shaw Brothers Studio. He turned the situation around, bringing Hong Kong cinema to the era of colour and widescreen. To secure the Taiwan market, Shaw Brothers produced Huangmei (Yellow Plum) opera films, as Mainland opera films were prohibited from the Taiwan market. This widened the studio's revenue base, raised production standards, and built up the grounds for the rise of the new style martial arts picture.

The Hong Kong cinema was a conservative force at the time. The overseas Chinese market in Singapore and Malaysia was a conservative-thinking audience. For example, European and American movies were centred on male actors. Even actresses like Vivien Leigh and Ingrid Bergman took second billing to Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart. Peking opera is also male-centred. Even the "four greatest female stars" were males, such as Mei Lanfang, etc. However, Hong Kong cinema was different. Its popularity was built on female stars, and stars like Ling Bo and Yam Kim-fai played male parts. Insiders in the Hong Kong film industry were quite obstinate about this tendency, so I took up the slogan of yanggang (masculinity) in my film column "My Views on Cinema." Now, this slogan is taken as a mantra not only in the film industry but also in the music industry. But in the film industry at the time, the realisation of yanggang would have to wait until the resurgence of a new martial arts movie style -- a resurgence guided by the moguls Run Run Shaw and Raymond Chow. At that time, I had been recommended by Raymond Chow to enter Shaw Brothers. The rise of yanggang was a requirement of the market and not discrimination against actresses. Female audiences also wanted to see male stars. After all, the fans of male singers were mostly females.

The 60s and 70s were the most energetic periods of Hong Kong -- the period when young people exerted themselves. The age of love tales was the past. The masses were striving ahead in a rebellious mood and the colonial administration was receiving a shock to the system. Yangggang and the martial arts pictures represented this spirit of the times. After I made The One-armed Swordsman (1967), riots broke out in Kowloon. Then, during the riots, I made The Assassin (1967). In an Ming Pao Monthly article published on May 1998, titled "Hong Kong's Anti-Establishment Movies and the Mass Movement," Law Kar wrote: "Zhang Che's movie characters are young swordsmen, assassins, martyrs and death-defying fanatics. His heroes are tragic men who defy authority and the establishment." At the time, people called my movies "violent" and "bloody." I always thought this was a very shallow way of looking at my movies.

Chua Lam also said that I broke "many myths in Hong Kong cinema." One myth was that the audience only liked to see female stars. Another was that the male hero could not die. There really were a lot of conservative ideas around at the time. For example, it was thought that Southeast Asian Chinese did not like to see characters in pigtails. So films set in the Qing Dynasty, period did not show characters with pigtails -- rather they wore hats and kerchiefs round their heads to hide the pigtails. I broke this taboo with my film Blood Brothers (1973).

That was also the time of the transition from black and white to colour film. The use of colour was very conservative. White was avoided because it was thought to reflect light, and white was not viewed as a colour. In Peking opera, the costumes are very colourful but the heroes in an action scene invariably wore white to signify the image of a hero. If the characters were of low status, poor, or were criminals, or were wounded after a fight, they invariably wore black. Thus, I created the image of Wang Yu as "the knight in white. "Later, when I made Vengeance!, which was set in the early Republican period, my star David Chiang wore white student uniform (or the Zhongshan suit), which influenced Bruce Lee -- he wore a similar style in Fist of Fury.

The new ideas of the martial arts picture made Hong Kong cinema very popular at the box-office. Directors became "million-dollar directors" and this kicked off a trend. It seemed like all directors were making martial arts pictures, with varying achievements. The martial arts picture stimulated improvements in other genres. The pace picked up in comedies and melodramas. The shots were livelier, the subject matter much broader, the plots richer, the characters and emotions anew. Thus, Hong Kong cinema took off and became its unique self. Hong Kong became the filmmaking centre of Southeast Asia.

The martial arts picture was also undergoing transformation. When I made Vengeance! in 1970 as a picture set in the early Republican period, I won the Best Director Award in the Asia-Pacific Film Festival (David Chiang won the Best Actor Award). I changed the fighting style from swordplay to the "fist and leg" and this prepared the way for the appearance of Bruce Lee and the kung fu genre. Back in the days when I wrote my column "My Views on Cinema," I saw some of Lee's early Cantonese films and saw his potential even then. I recommended him to MP and GI. The production chief Song Qi told me that Bruce Lee was in America and contact had not been made. Later, when I became a director at Shaw Brothers, Bruce Lee took the initiative to contact me and I recommended him to Shaw Brothers. When his agents negotiated with Shaw Brothers, I wasn't involved. Finally, the talks broke down and Lee signed on with Golden Harvest.

Bruce Lee absorbed the best qualities of Taekwondo, Thai boxing, and Karate, to give a realistic and real-fighting look to the kung fu film. This had never been attempted before. Thus, Chinese kung fu pictures broke out of the Hong Kong market and made their presence known throughout the world. Since this part of history is well known, I wish not to say more, but my own films in this period included the likes of Duel of Fists (1971, starring Di Long) which created a trend of Thai boxing movies; The Boxer from Shandong (1972, starring Chan Kwun-tai) which was the forerunner of the Shanghai Bundi trend; and The Disciples of Shaolin (1975, starring Alexander Fu) which began the trend of young "boxing punks" movies -- the term xiaozi (boxing punks) was actually a Northern slang which later gained currency in Cantonese.

Though Bruce Lee was trained in Wing Chun, a southern school of kung fu, he made Mandarin films. The resurgence of Cantonese films had to wait until the appearance of Michael Hui's comedies. I later made a series of Cantonese kung fu movies, featuring folk heroes like Fong Sai-yuk, Hung Hei-kwun, Wu Wai-kin. These pictures influenced later movies like Jet Li's The Shaolin Temple, but they were all made possible because my picture Blood Brothers had broken the taboo against Qing-costume movies. There was a spate of movies that copied the story of Blood Brothers: Shaw Brothers made The Oath of Death and Luo Wei made Thunderbolt!. These were made as period movies but they all failed. I believe the story of Blood Brothers is a very good one but it is necessary to make it as a Qing-costume movie. But Shaw Brothers had doubts because the audience in Southeast Asia didn't like Qing-costume movies, or so they thought. Finally, I arrived at a compromise and that was not to have my characters shave their heads and keep the pigtails.

In the past, the Hong Kong martial arts movie (both the swordplay and kung fu strands) avoided the use of guns. In my film Vengeance!, I first used guns and Chen Xing played a gunman. His image was based on Italian Westerns. I also highlighted blood spurting out from bodies, shot in slow-motion. The effects were splendid. But, because of the popularity of Bruce Lee's kung fu movies, there was no chance to go down this road. It wasn't until John Woo, who worked with me before, that gunplay developed into its own unique strand.

Woo's characters, his theme of male bonding, and his depictions of emotions in his gunplay films were influenced by martial arts pictures. The shots of blood spurting out in slow motion are really quite expressive, and these types of movements -- reactions from being shot and the like -- are based on the techniques of martial arts pictures. Thus, they appear quite unique when placed among the action films of Hollywood and of course, Woo was a big influence. Jackie Chan's achievements are also immense and I don't need to elaborate. What should be mentioned is that Jackie has training in Peking opera, and the same is true of Sammo Hung.

Conclusion

The martial arts picture was the vanguard of all that was creative and unique in Hong Kong cinema. At its peak of popularity, it influenced all of Southeast Asia and it even broke out of this region to influence Europe and America. Hollywood has been greatly influenced by the genre. Regretfully, just as Hollywood has absorbed Hong Kong cinema influences and its talents, the local film industry is in decline. The reason for the decline lies in the failure for Hong Kong cinema to retain its balance and integrity in the mixing of Eastern and Western cultures and lowbrow and highbrow tastes. Instead, there is a polarisation. In some cases, only local layman's tastes are satisfied; in other cases, Western culture is imitated at the cost of the Hong Kong flavour. There are pictures that cater only for the "minority audience" -- pictures that are enjoyed by the few. Then there are pictures that are glossy but shallow. To learn from the past in order to know the future, there is only recourse to achieve the integration of eastern and western cultures, the lowbrow and the highbrow. Only this way can we renew our energy and rebuild the film industry so that it may enter a new age of prosperity.

(Translated by Stephen Teo)

Cheng Cheh on the Martial Arts Film Genre

Seven Man Army Audio Review and Video Clips!

Today we have an audio review that was done for Cheng Cheh's amazing Seven Man Army in celeberation of Cheng Cheh month. This is a great film and prehaps one of the most star-studded films ever prehaps only rivaled by Shanghai 13.

The Audio Review
http://www.yousendit.com/download/QlVqUWV2cGtTRTQwTVE9PQ

The Final Fight

Seven Man Army Audio Review and Video Clips!

Enter the Baradagi- Bruce Li Fights an Ape!

This is a new section of the site courtesy of my friend Brad who is an aficionado of just plain weird films and a lot of them are kung fu related. His youtube channel has more than just kung fu so make sure to check it out (especially if you like Godzilla films and the ilk..

Now ladies and gentlemen. Bruce Li Fights an Ape!

Enter the Baradagi- Bruce Li Fights an Ape!

Hong Kong Godfathers Audio Review and Final Finale Video Clips

Today we have an audio review that was done for Johnny Wang's amazing and rare Hong Kong Godfathers. A bloody and brilliant triad film. BUT, there is more, we even have the entire final full 10 minute fight (spoilers).

The Audio Review

http://download.yousendit.com/BE523DA37A0E204C

The Final Fight

Hong Kong Godfathers Audio Review and Final Finale Video Clips

Upcoming Rarescope Titles

Posted by Toby Russell

Upcoming Rarescope Titles

The Mystery of Audio Dubbing Interview

If you ever had an interest in audio dubbing and the effort that goes in to it, then do we have a treat for you. It takes a lot of effort and skill, but the challenge is often part of the fun. Marin Spanic who works for NEW DVD in Germany and also dubs movies as a hobby was kind enough to talk to HK Film News about NEW and the art of audio dubbing. Also to get an understanding of the effort he puts in too dubbing older films we have two clips, one of Deadly Duo with the dub simply put over the celestial video (often used with Red Sun) and one of Marin’s dubs which show what can be obtained with cleaning up the audio and better syncing. His re-dubs are often kept among a small group of collectors to prevent Red Sun from using them for their “products”, so getting a chance to see and hear this is a nice treat. Thanks again to Marin for doing this interview with us.

Basic Info

1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Age 34. Had to quit usual day job because of health reasons. Doing DVDs now fulltime since Feb 2007.

2. What was the first martial arts film you saw and
when?

Mid-80s- Millionaires Express, German dub on TV. Saw it while on a very boring Vacation. I think I watched it quite a few times these Weeks. Still hooked to it, can't watch the Movie in any other Language or I'll fall asleep.

3. Growing up in Germany were you frustrated when you
found out that many Kung Fu films in Germany often
were cut?

Sure, but then the search for the uncut VHS Versions came up, and often they were much more unwatchable - crappy Fullscreen Dupes, whereas German Stuff was mostly Letterboxed...

4. What is you favorite Shaw film and Shaw director

Hard to say. I don't have a Number 1 Movie, but these rank very high:
THE DUEL
NEW ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN
KING BOXER

All of the 3 in GERMAN dub for me only - the dubs are the most perfect you could imagine, making the dialogues even better with actors dubbing, not crap
done by the usual "But still" folks. I simply can't imagine watching these Movie in another language than the old German subs. (and I HAVE seen them all
subbed and all)

New DVD’s

1. Can you describe NEW in terms of what they release
and how big they are?

Not so big. Some 3 Movies every 1-3 months. Small Movies, no big studio Stuff.

2. How did you come to work for NEW?

Folks heard how good my dub stuff is I did for myself and copied [it] around for friends. Word-of-Mouth that is. They worked hard to get my number and called me... (like other folks I work [I] now for!)

3. What are your exact duties while working for NEW?

a) look for interesting movie
b) look for material needed (Uncut movie? Audio options? Extras?)
c) Dubbing, editing.
d) Sometimes authoring when there's not much time left.

4. It surprises many non-German speakers that English
dubs are often included on NEW DVDs. Why is this the
case?
Because I want as perfect DVDs as possible. It's not that we NEED the English Dubs in Germany. Heck, I even wrote English subs for the missing Scenes for BLACK PANTHER!

5. How does NEW get the rights to these films especially the rarer ones like Fight for Shaolin Tamo Mystique aka Lady Wu-Tang?

We get them from the German Holders. We tried to get Stuff from HK or Taiwan, but nothing could be done. We just can't find any contacts, less even get over there to make some deals. We would LOVE to get some of the obviously remastered First Films Stuff.

6. What elements do you often receive from the rights
owners?

The only thing we get is - at best - a German cinema print, which is of course more often than not cut. So lots of work is to be done 'till it's ready for release.

7. What are some of the latest releases and upcoming
NEW DVDs that you think our readers may be interested
in?

(all titles will be Widescreen 2.35 and German Language; further dub Options with the title)

THE EIGHT MASTERS (Cut, with windowboxed Inserts)
(Mandarin, English)

Shaolin Kung Fu Mystagogue (cut, with 2.10 Widescreen Inserts) / 2 German Dubs
(Mandarin, English)

I am also working for another Company at
DESPERATE CHASE (BLOOD OF THE DRAGON)
(2x English Dubs, Mandarin)

I am also working on LEGEND OF THE WOLF for the MIG Filmgroup, SKY HIGH, and other Stuff. Too much to round up here!

8. Has NEW had any trouble releasing films uncut from
the German Censor Boards?

We don't issue films to the censor boards, so there are no problems.

If we DID, we would have no problems these Days to get an uncut 18,
but it costs a lot. We ARE doing it for stuff like LEGEND OF THE WOLF,
and that stuff gets no Problems these days.

Audio Dubbing

1. What is the process of adding additional language
options to a film for a DVD release?

Well, it's best you have an UNCUT Print in English or Chinese. Then you can dub that onto the cut German print to see what's exactly missing. Note that down and you know if and what and where to insert later.

2. How do you attempt to clean up the audio and remove
hiss, crackels, and other imperfections?

Use Noise Reduction Filters from Sonic and Adobe. Works pretty well, most annoying is some low hum and buzz. These always have to go.
Remove hiss only when the audio is not disturbed too much. Tape and 35mm Print crackle should be removed also.

3. What did the Netherlands seems to get a large
amount of Shaw Brothers films released in English?

All their Shaws on Video were in English; it seems to me that ALL Shaws sold worldwide outside of Asia were the English Dubs back then.

4. With the criticism by many that Kung Fu dubs never
match the lip movements, how do you go about trying to
sync the dubs (German or English)

German Cinema dubs are often better synched than even the Mandarin Stuff.
They are normally no problem. As for the usually crappy English dubs, just make it fit. For a seasoned pro this is no problem at all. Never compare to the Original out-of-synch dub, but use your own wit and intelligence.

5. What was the hardest audio project you had to do?

Pick any Celestial Frame-Cut Mess. If you don't notice any lags, it's well worth the work. The best thing an Audience can say to you is, "I noticed no problems with the audio", even when you have to work DAYS to make it perfect. Look at that REDSUN Crap. They can't even synch the most simple stuff correctly, and still
they sell that crap in tons. When I stumble upon this stuff I see/hear all the amateurish faults done on all aspects of these boots. Pathetic.

6. Any dream films you would love to work with?

Tell me- what's a greater Dream than what I do NOW? making DVDs of "KARATE-MOVIES" and "Horror-Stuff" you loved as a Kid? Can it get ANY better? I can do Perfect DVDs of Movies I like and thats for a living... not many have even such a "Dream-Come-True" I think.

Thanks for Reading.

Once again thanks to Marin for this interview

Now as I promised here is a dub comparison.

Red Sun

Marin’s

The Mystery of Audio Dubbing Interview

A Multimedia Overview of Cheng Cheh's Career!

Thanks to Jessica for reading this over.

Typically when we think of Chang Cheh, we often think of his Shaolin Temple series of films from the mid to late 1970s. The truth is that Chang Cheh had an extremely diverse career marked with many unique periods through his time as a director both in and out of the Shaw Brothers. His career can be divided into four different major periods with a common theme of always trying to further Chinese cinema and the careers of those he worked with. It should be noted these delineations are not always a clean break from the previous one. Often, a film from the previous era would still come out even after a new point in Chang Cheh’s career had begun. Still we can still get a general idea of the path of Chang Cheh’s directorial career. I would like to thank Linn Haynes for his help with this article. Also big thanks to Venoms Chamber and his amazing youtube channel (venomchamber), dvdsaenz and Frankylau.

The first period of Chang Cheh’s career was Jimmy Wang Yu Swordplay Films. These films are what helped lead to Chang Cheh becoming the blockbuster director that we remember of him today. Chang Cheh was the original “millionaire director,” in that his films would gross over 1 million Hong Kong dollars at the local box office alone. This arc of his career often dealt with anti-hero leads, usually played by Jimmy Wang Yu, who were rebelling against the authorities of the time. These films started with The Magnificent Trio and lasted until Return of the One-Armed Swordsman in 1969 but was done by 1968 with Golden Swallow. These films marked a total departure from the Cantonese black-and-white Wong-Fei Hong films which often taught forgiveness and Confucian virtues with very little violence. Cheng Cheh’s films, in contrast, were filled with both bright color and stark violence. Chang Cheh singlehandedly brought the Chinese kung fu film into the modern age with these Jimmy Wang Yu starring, Japanese and American influenced films.

The Magnificent Trio (1966)

The Assassin (1967)

The second period was the Iron Triangle era. The Iron Triangle was a term used to describe the combined power of director Chang Cheh along with stars Ti Lung and David Chiang. This would form one of the most productive and beloved periods in Chang Cheh’s career, possible only rivaled by his Venoms period. This themes shown in these films include the nature of brotherhood and loyalty. These films were often a huge hit at the box office, combining the name talent of the two actors with the technical prowess of Cheng Cheh. The theme of heroic bloodshed (a man fighting in defense of one’s values or brother) would begin to take a prominent role in these films. If this term sounds familiar it is because director John Woo featured many of these similar themes in his own films. It should not be a surprise that John Woo was an Assistant Director on many of Cheng Cheh’s films. As we will learn, Cheng Cheh was always a man looking to teach the newer generation and allow them to learn the techniques of cinema. Films such as Vengeance unleashed a whole new level of violence onto the unsuspecting audiences of Hong Kong. While some were repelled by this new more realistic style of on-screen violence, most audiences loved it. The trailers for Vengeance and Have Sword, Will Travel are testaments to his draw at the box office (as they heavily play up his participation). These films show a further maturation of Cheng Cheh’s style into what was called the “Shaws House Style” that many directors would hope to emulate in their own films. This period would begin with 1969’s Have Sword, Will Travel until The Blood Brothers in 1973, which was soon followed by the foundation of Cheng’s Film Company in Taiwan. The first production of this company was Heroes Two in 1974.

Have Sword, Will Travel (1969)

Vengeance (1970)

The third period in Chang Cheh’s filmography could be called his Taiwanese period. This time in his career was when Chang Cheh relocated to Taiwan to form Cheng’s Film Co. Cheng's Film Co. was really an operation funded by the Shaw Brothers to allow them to use monies stuck in Taiwan that could not leave the country due to government regulations regarding film production. Still, Chang Cheh had a degree of autonomy that he normally would not have under the Shaw Brothers in Hong Kong. One example of this would be on Marco Polo when Carter Wong had a small staring role. Wong had been reported as saying that he wanted the chance to work with Chang Cheh, but did not want to sign a standard Shaw contract. This allowed him the opportunity to work with Cheng Cheh outside of the studio system These films, while still often having Ti Lung or David Chiang (or both), marked the development of future Shaw legends such as Chen Kuan Tai, Alexander Fu Sheng, Johhny Wang, Leung Kar-Yan, Chi Kuan-Chi, and even a young Gordon Liu. In a sense, this period would lead to the development of the leading men for the remainder of the Shaw Brothers studios. This period marked the beginning of the Shaolin cycle of films. Their success led to the large number of Shaolin-themed films by other companies that have long been a favorite of fans, who in turn have Chang Cheh to thank for them. With these films, beginning with Heroes Two (and its mini-documentary that precedes it: Three Hung Fist), there was a new focus on authentic martial arts and artists. Chen Kuan Tai was a Monkey style kung fu champion before he started working at the Shaw Brothers. This period was also defined by the works of his epic productions, noted for featuring Richard Harrison and stories such as Seven Man Army, Boxer Rebellion, and Marco Polo among others. This period in his career lasted from Heroes Two in 1974 to the end of Cheng’s Film Co with Magnificent Wanders (although Naval Commandos and the troubles between David Chiang and Ti Lung on set in many ways marked the end of this period).

Three Hung Fist (aka Three Hung Style) (1974)

Heroes Two (1974)

Shaolin Martial Arts (1974)

Seven Man Army (1976)

New Shaolin Boxers (1976)

The next period in Cheng Cheh’s career is perhaps his most beloved by many and possibly can be summed up in one small, yet immortal phrase, ”Poison Clan Rocks the World!” Yes, this period can be called the Venoms era. This time, Chang Cheh was looking for new stars to further his hopes of remaining dynamic and fresh while passing on his teachings to a new generation, and at the same time entertaining his audiences. This team of actors set the world aflame with their amazing action skills and highly entertaining plots and characters. This era alone has had a huge influence on American rap groups, such as the Wu-Tang Clan and many others. Phillip Kwok, Lu Feng, Lo Meng, Sun Chien, and Chiang Sheng began together in the landmark film Five Deadly Venoms in 1978 and began one of the most well-remembered teams of martial artists the world has even known! Though some in Hong Kong have viewed this period as marking the beginning of the downfall of Cheng Cheh in terms of budget and “quality,” nothing can be further from the truth as these films unleashed a new level of martial arts talents and exciting stories. The films ranged from tales of revenge and honor in Flag of Iron and Crippled Avengers to mystery and suspense in Masked Avengers, Kid with the Golden Arm and Five Deadly Venoms. For many people, these films represented the golden age of the Shaw Brothers. This period started in 1978 with Five Deadly Venoms and ended with 1982’s House of Traps, which, aside from 1983’s The Weird Man, was his final picture for the Shaw Brothers.

Five Deadly Venoms (1978)

Crippled Avengers (1978)

Kid with the Golden Arm (1979)

Sword Stained with Royal Blood (1981)

The final period of Cheng Cheh’s career could be called the Baby Venoms era. This period was marked by the end of Cheng Cheh’s active career, but in many ways should not be viewed as a sad event. Several of the people who trained under Cheng Cheh began to have very fruitful careers. John Woo and Wu-Ma have stayed busy since their early work with Cheng Cheh and Philip Kwok remains an in-demand action chorographer. Ti Lung, Jimmy Wang Yu, David Chiang brought up by Chang Cheh at the Shaws along with other co-stars are regarded as legends. This thanks to their work with Cheng Cheh. The Baby Venoms were an attempt by Cheng Cheh to find and promote new stars continuing what he had done in the past. This period started with Attack of the Joyful Goddess in 1983 and concluded with 1990’s Hidden Hero. The career of Cheng Cheh ended as he started trying to further Chinese cinema and his actors. Many of the Baby Venom films were remakes of his older films. He hoped to bring his stars the same success as previous Shaw Brother films. Sadly, Baby Venom films did not achieve worldwide success financially, but often feature exciting martial arts talent. They still have a cult following and the Baby Venoms still find work through the success of working with Chang Cheh, often appearing on TV and film, such as Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle. Cheng Cheh’s stature only grew over time, receiving acclaim from those whom he influenced directly to fans worldwide who watch his pictures (from musical arts, directors, and actors). Cheng Cheh was even granted a lifetime achievement award by the Hong Kong Film Association in 2001. He passed away in 2002 after making nearly 90 films. Even though he has passed away, his legacy will always be remembered with the release of re-mastered Shaw Brothers films that started shortly before his death. Now a new generation of fans can enjoy and learn from these films—just as the master himself would have hoped.

Note: Baby Venoms footage is sometimes hard to find, but it will be added in the next few days, as I have to transfer it myself. For now, please enjoy this trailer for Just Heroes produced by many of his former stars and crew to help finance his retirement. Chang Cheh (along with editing a Chinese version himself that sadly has still not appeared on home video) donated all of the profits to the study and teaching of film. This stayed true to his goal of teaching and helping the next generation of filmmakers that was always part of his moral character. Cheng Cheh remains a model example of a good person for future directors, actors, and even just fans.

Just Heroes (1989)

A Multimedia Overview of Cheng Cheh's Career!

Shaolin Temple Coming from Dragon Dynasty

From Bey Logan's blog http://dragondynasty.com/blog/show/24

As we emerged from the restaurant, there was a full moon over Beijing, a suitable setting to bid farewell, for now, to these martial heroes. Shaolin Temple will be a forthcoming Dragon Dynasty release, and these veterans of the movie promised to put me in contact with the rest of the cast and crew. It’ll be great to finally give this ground-breaking classic the DVD release it deserves.

Shaolin Temple Coming from Dragon Dynasty

Jackie Chan Goes Reality.

Well maybe it won't be Flavor of Love or I Love NY, but this should still be of interest. From IMDB and Jessica Lasak. Also the Cheng Cheh update should be up in an hour or two. It's going to be a great multimedia overview of Cheng Cheh's career and I hope you'll check back soon.

Martial arts superstar Jackie Chan has launched a new Chinese TV show project in a bid to find his movie successor. More than 100,000 fans have reportedly signed up to try out for the reality TV show, called The Disciple, which seeks out new action movie talent. In introducing the new show on Saturday, Chan, 53, said, "A lot of actors are good at fighting but (they're) not beautiful (to watch). If you can incorporate dance with an ability to perform kung fu, that would be better." The show will run from March to October next year with the 10 winners landing roles a new movie, which Chan will produce.

Jackie Chan Goes Reality.

HK FILM NEWS Presents Chang Cheh Month! A Celebration of CC. Help join in the celebration!

This month will bring a celebration of the work of director Chang Cheh.

We are planning to host reviews of his films, articles and analysis of his works, life, actors (don't worry Venom fans), and technqiues. Each day will bring at least one new item related to Chang Cheh.

We are issuing an open call for writings from our readers. We want you to help us celebrate the life of one of the world's greatest directors. Please send your ideas and submissions to gfanikf@yahoo.com as we would love to have them. If you can only offer stills and pictures of articles, we would love to have them too.

The month starts off with a look at FLAG OF IRON and an overview of the various the periods of his career which will be uploaded tomorrow morning.

Don't worry site readers, all the normal parts of the site will continue (so no worries, Chiba fans).

HK FILM NEWS Presents Chang Cheh Month! A Celebration of CC. Help join in the celebration!

A preview of things to come with Lu Feng.

Hmm, Venoms what could I be hinting at???? Well, for the moment enjoy this amazing Lu Feng tribute that I found on youtube. Lord knows its getting me to order Masked Avengers as soon as it comes out in the next couple of months.

A preview of things to come with Lu Feng.

Shadow Warriors Episode 1 Screencaps

Here are some screencaps of the upcoming Shadow Warriors TV series from BCI entertainment. This is the first episode "Tigers Sharpen Their Claws in a Storm". The set hits retail stores April 17th. Thanks to Cliff at BCI.

Shadow Warriors Episode 1 Screencaps

Ninja Rap In Cantonese!?!?!?!!?

While it is a common known fact these days that Golden Harvest produced the TMNT movies from the 90s, few keep in mind that Joysales has the option to release them now as they are part of the Fortune Star catalog (along with MEGAFORCE, oh dear lord I hope they release that). Well now they have for both TMNT 1 and 2 according to Asian DVD Guide. This means that Vanilla Ice's Ninja Rap song may be DUBBED IN CANTONESE. Nuff Said thats a sale right there.

GO NINJA GO NINJA RAP!!

Ninja Rap In Cantonese!?!?!?!!?

Freedom!

Well really just the start of my vacation and granted I have papers too do. So what does this mean to you the fellow reader? Lots more updates with a Chiba starting up the pack! What else do we have in store we'll you going to just have to wait and see.

Freedom!

Vincent Price Sings Judy Garland!

A little clip I made from Dr. Phibes Rises Again. You can get the film (which I highly recommend) either in a single MGM DVD or paired with the first film The Abominable Dr. Phibes. It's very random in and out of context so you really have no choice after hearing it but to go and and buy or at least rent the DVD. Remember to only get the DVD versions as earlier version lacked the song due to rights issues.

Its a bit loud so don't put the volume too loud when it starts

http://download.yousendit.com/6B201EF378414E08

Vincent Price Sings Judy Garland!

The Thai Version of Rodan: Garuda

An old review I did for Garuda, Thailands answer to Rodan.
Fun film, but Thailand should stick to Tony Jaa for the goodwill ambassador of the country :).

Disc Title: Garuda

Disc Distributor: Media Blasters

Packaging: Amaray keep case

Discs: 1
Region Code: 1 (USA/Canada)
Colour System: NTSC
DVD Format: Double Sided & Single Layered
Video Ratio (Side 1): 1:85 Anamorphic


Main Feature Runtime: 1Hour 54:00 Mins
Main Feature Chapter Stops: 14
Main Feature Audio Tracks: English (2.0), English (5.1), Thai (2.0), Thai (5.1)
Main Feature Subtitles: English Subtitles

Video 3.5 out 5

This copy of Garuda utilizes a 1:85:1 16X9 enhanced print. The quality of the transfer is quite good considering that it’s a conversion from PAL to NTSC. These transfers can be plagued with issues such as ghosting, but thankfully this disc does not seem to suffer from any of those problems. The print is dark though, but that seems to be a deliberate decision by the DP to hide the sub-par CGI (which there is a lot of). However, this leads to the picture being washed out at times and image clarity is lost. It may have been shot on Digital Video. There also seems to be a fair amount of grain, plus I noticed some print damage.

Audio 4.5 out of 5

The audio is by and large fine, except for one bizarre part of the Thai track when a soldier is about to put Tim in a locker. When they are talking about death, something odd happens like a really bad sound splice. Besides that, the sound is fine and clear otherwise. The English dubbing is mediocre mostly due to the fact that the voice actors were poorly chosen and the sound is not mixed naturally with the sound effects (it is similar to the sound mixing on some of the Heisei Godzilla dubs). It is a shame as a good dub may have increased the fun factor of the movie. The Thai DVD did have a DTS track, so I'm surprised it was not ported over. The 5.1 and 2.0 both had good separation and effects. No complaints besides the sound splice and lack of DTS.

Special Features 3.5 out of 5

Media Blasters shows once again that they are the “king of ports” and pretty much all the extras from the Thai disc are here. These include a subtitled trailer and a 25-minute making of with interviews with the cast and behind-the-scenes footage. Interestingly, the making of is censored and features a cigarette optically censored, which is quite humorous as the optical censor makes it look like it is hiding something really vulgar. The making of is good and shows how the special effects were done. The DVD has nice menus and setup which play the Thai Linkin Park song that plays at the end of the movie (which is also good for a laugh). There are some trailers for other Media Blaster titles. Media Blaster also has complete translated credits (including dub actors) after the main feature. The film itself has bilingual credits though.

Overall 4 out 5

Despite some misgivings about the picture quality, I strongly suspect this film may have been shot on Digital Video. I do recall hearing something to that effect at one point, but I have to say Media Blaster put out a nice DVD of Garuda. If you liked the movie, then it is a good purchase choice. However, I would recommend a rental if possible as I found that after watching it once, I had no desire to watch it again; you may want to give a trial rental (also to make sure it would work). If you like it, then grab it because it is most likely going to be the best DVD available for English language speakers.

The Thai Version of Rodan: Garuda

Dragon Dynasty Final Specs for Shanghai Express and Above the Law.

From the news section of the Dragon Dynasty website direct from Brian White himself.

1. Shanghai Express: Special Collector’s Edition

DVD Special Features:

Feature-length audio commentary with Hong Kong Cinema expert, Bey Logan
Express Delivery: an interview with director and star, Sammo Hung
Way Out West: an interview with action-legend, Yuen Biao
Trailblazer: a featurette with co-star and martial arts champion, Cynthia Rothrock
Trailer gallery
4 x Deleted Scenes


Widescreen – Enhanced for 16 x 9 Television
Languages: English 51, Cantonese 5.1, Cantonese Mono
Subtitles: English (CC Logo), Spanish



2. Above the Law: Special Collector’s Edition

DVD Special Features:
Feature-length audio commentary with Hong Kong Cinema expert, Bey Logan
The Vigilante: an interview with producer and star, Yuen Biao
Action Overload: an interview with leading lady, Cynthia Rothrock
From The Ring To The Silver Screen: a featurette with co-star and kickboxing champion, Peter Cunningham
Trailer gallery
Alternate ending


Widescreen – Enhanced for 16 x 9 Television
Languages: English 51, Cantonese 5.1, Cantonese Mono
Subtitles: English (CC Logo), Spanish

Dragon Dynasty Final Specs for Shanghai Express and Above the Law.