Review: Vengeance of the Phoenix Sisters (Taiwan 1968)

Posted on April 25, 2023 by David

Subway Cinema’s 10th Old School Kung Fu Festival 2023

“We are big strong men. Why should we worry about three little girls?”

Oh, buddy, you should, you really should. This early Taiwanese wuxia about three separated sisters seeking revenge on the men who killed their parents (Stock Wuxia Plot #4) is pretty fun. The fight choreography is weak and the villains are under defined, but there are some fun twists on the usual plot tropes, for example, when one of the sisters disguises herself as a man, the other sisters start to fall for her! There’s also a terrific early scene at an inn that very much echoes the famous confrontation in Come Drink With Me, as the disguised Xiufeng enters a nest of vipers and must defeat them with both martial skills and wits.

For me, one of the most interesting aspects was watching a film shot in the Taiwanese dialect, might be only the second or third such film I’ve seen (Mandarin or Cantonese dubs being more common), I’m not a linguist and understand very little Chinese, but it has a more rounded and lower register, a little rougher on the ear.  

Playing as part of the Old School Kung Fu Festival.

Read my interview with Goran Topalovic of Subway Cinema about this year’s OSKFF here.

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Review: The Swordsman of All Swordsmen (Taiwan 1968)

Posted on April 25, 2023 by David

Subway Cinema’s 10th Old School Kung Fu Festival 2023

The first film in the loose Swordsman of All Swordsman trilogy could not be more different than the awesomely goofy Ghost Hill, it’s a deadly serious revenge film (Stock Wuxia Plot #4, kid grows up and trains to avenge murdered parents) that tackles tough issues of forgiveness and duty. 

Honestly, I’ve seen a lot of Joseph Kuo films, and while this may not be my favorite (his Seven Grandmasters is maybe the platonic ideal of an old school Kung Fu film), it might be the most accomplished. There are some beautiful tracking shots, a King Hu-esque use of scenery, and a truly gorgeous final confrontation in a foggy courtyard. And a well-handled emotional throughline – I squeezed out a manly, chivalrous tear. Top notch wuxia.

Playing at the Old School Kung Fu Festival.

Read my interview with Goran Topalovic of Subway Cinema about this year’s OSKFF here.

Joseph Kuo films ranked here.

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Review: The Ghost Hill (Taiwan 1971)

Posted on April 21, 2023 by David

Subway Cinema’s 9th Old School Kung Fu Festival 2021 

Well this was an unexpected pleasure. An absolutely buck wild wuxia full of delightful nonsense, crazy weapons, and traps. Harpoon hands. Darts in the shape of the Chinese character for “death” – a baller move. Also, the greatest martial arts fight involving watermelon (unless you count the Watermelon Monster from Taoism Drunkard). Not to mention villains with names like Murdering Wonder Child and Soul Hunting Yaksha.

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Review: The King of Wuxia (Taiwan 2022)

Posted on April 20, 2023 by David

Subway Cinema’s 10th Old School Kung Fu Festival 2023

2023’s OSKFF (schedule here) is kicking off this Friday, April 14, with an absolute monster – Lin Jing-Jie’s massive, comprehensive documentary on King Hu, possibly the most influential and important Chinese filmmaker of all time, and certainly the acknowledged master of the swordplay or wuxia genre. 

The film itself is split into two parts, with the first covering King Hu the filmmaker, and the second King Hu the man.

In the first part, we hear from his collaborators (actors and choreographers like Shih Chun, Sammo Hung, Cheng Pei-Pei, Ng Man-Toi, along with writers, choreographers, producers, and cinematographers) and admirers (Ann Hui, John Woo, Tsui Hark, many of whom did have an opportunity to work with Hu).  There are excerpts from his writings, but primarily we learn about his technique, his influence, and his perfectionism.

Lin visits classic locations and literally digs into the vaults to find his storyboards and sketches, covers the seismic change Hu wrought with Come Drink With Me and Dragon Gate Inn, his intricately choreographed fights shot like dance – you can see the difference compared to work of Bruce Lee, with its emphasis on speed and impact, or Chang Cheh or the Venoms, with their acrobatics. Hu studied Hollywood westerns to learn how to give the appearance of contact and shift away from the artificiality of Peking opera, and he looked to Japan to learn from Kurosawa. 

Hu was also a scholar, surrounded by books he looked to historical records and paintings for sets, outfits, and designs, many of which he drew himself.  Walking through his films, the documentary breaks down his techniques, camerawork, production design, choreography, lighting, editing.

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CSB talks with Goran Topalovic about the 10th Old School Kung Fu Festival in NYC, featuring the films of King Hu and Taiwanese Wuxia, starting this week

Posted on April 20, 2023 by David

Goran Topalovic is a founding member of Subway Cinema, the NYC collective that created and launched the beloved New York Asian Film Festival and the Old School Kung Fu Festival, and has written extensively on Asian cinema for magazines like NANG and Film Comment, and is one of the most dedicated and knowledgeable scholars and proselytizers for Asian film I know.

With the new OSKFF opening Friday at the Metrograph Theater in NYC and online this week (more information and tickets available here, including online screenings), with a focus this year on Taiwanese wuxia and its undisputed master King Hu – CSB took a few minutes to chat with Goran about Hu, the OSKFF, and classic Taiwanese cinema.

CSB:  This year is a big showcase for King Hu and Taiwanese wuxia cinema in general, and you’re opening the festival with The King of Wuxia, a massive, comprehensive documentary on King Hu. What did you take away from that documentary, and what do you think it has for both hardcore and casual fans?

Goran: You’ll get an appreciation for how much impact King Hu and his films had on a whole new generation of filmmakers – you’ll hear from creators like John Woo and Tsui Hark and Sammo Hung, it’s nice to have it all in one place, and hear from so many of his collaborators and admirers how important he was to them and how influential he was on their development of their own careers and styles of filmmaking, he was a pivotal figure in so many ways. And also learn about Hu’s sheer dedication to his craft and meticulous attention to detail – he really was an artist, he lived for his movies, every detail, from production design to how the inn used in a setpiece is going to be structured.

CSB:  Yes, it was fascinating to see his hand-drawn design sketches for costumes, for example, the level of detail he personally got into.

Goran: And he was a big student of history. A scholar, really, of Chinese history and tradition and drew inspiration from those sources.  The Ming dynasty was his favorite and a lot of his movies are set during that period.

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Review: Tenebre (Italy 1982)

Posted on April 18, 2023 by David

Last time I saw Tenebrae (10-15 years ago?), I was so distracted by the banging Goblin score, and the tracking camera, and the ultra sleaze, and the ultra violence, and the absolutely bonkers plot twists, I failed to appreciate how goddamn funny it is. Argento has created the best kind of parody of the giallo genre and his own work, the kind that works equally well as a parody and the thing itself.

Also, bonus points for Chekhov’s sculpture.

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Review: Red Crow and the Ghost Ship (Japan 1989)

Posted on April 12, 2023 by David

When you have a magical flying sloop designed by Hayao Miyazaki and staffed by a muppet crow created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, who are you going to get to captain the ship? Jo F’in Shishido, of course.

Very short, child-like and oneiric in a tone reminiscent of The Neverending Story. Not much of a story, but some nifty visuals.

(and definitely watch the “making of” which is in some ways more fun than the movie – I love watching people create props and practical effects)

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Review: The Mystery of the Green Spider (West Germany 1960)

Posted on February 8, 2023 by David

Ein Musikkrimi, per its title, a murder mystery set at a cabaret to maximize musical performances, hell, they even launch into one to distract the audience during the second murder. Definitely in a similar vein to Phantom of the Paradise or The G-String Murders with Barbara Stanwyck. The killer is pretty obvious, but the musical numbers are fun.

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Review: Red Sun (France/Italy/Spain 1971)

Posted on January 12, 2023 by David

Bronson-mania! 

Is this Toshiro Mifune-Charles Bronson “fish out of water Eastern warrior trying to recover a lost national treasure teams up with roguish Western outlaw cowboy” the first instance of the same plot used again by The Stranger and the Gunfighter (1974, Lo Lieh and Lee Van Cleef) and Shanghai Noon (2000, Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson). I can’t think of an earlier one. And it really is the EXACT SAME PLOT. 

Here Mifune plays the straight man (as in all of these) while Bronson is at perhaps his most chill and laid back. We also get a smug Alain Delon as the villain (yeah, he starts out on Team Bronson but one look at his black outfit and you know he’s breaking bad), Ursula Andress “andressing,” and bit roles for Capucine and Luc Merenda.

It’s all kind of competent and unexceptional, entertaining enough, as befits a film from stalwart journeyman Terence Young, but there’s a bit of gold in them thar hills, as when Mifune and Bronson ever so imperceptibly acknowledge each other in the opening.

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Review: Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (USA 1968)

Posted on December 21, 2022 by David

“Almost sounds like a girl.”

“A girl? Perhaps. Or a monster.”

I’d call this Bog’s What’s Up Tiger Lily but that would be giving it waaayyyy more credit than it deserves. This is just some Corman-purchased Soviet space flick footage that Bog spiced up with occasionally droll but mostly dull voiceover and maybe ten minutes of new footage of Mamie Van Doren and other blondes standing around in shell bikini tops. The original VFX are pretty spectacular, but no credit for that to this movie – just the Soviet original.   

Looking at just the new footage and VO, it’s shockingly dull and appallingly unsexy – the only real enjoyment I got out of this was from the janky rubber monster and that the girls very clearly painted their bellies bluish silver to match their mermaid pants. A true laundry movie.

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