Agreement:91% of 159 voters agree with TheDenizen's reviews Gender: Male Age: 34 Location: Ontario, Canada Lists:WISH LIST (7) / OWNED LIST (296)
Bio: Kung Fu fanatic from Southern Ontario, Canada. I'm also into Samurai films, splatter horror, Spaghetti Westerns, Film Noir and grindhouse exploitation flicks.
The Bride With White Hair (product link) Martial Arts / Fantasy For my money, this is the best sword and sorcery movie in all of Hong Kong filmdom. Brigitte Lin's smoldering glare could bore a hole through titanium. Frenetic action, hilarious villains, and a tragic love story combine to make this film a real winner.
The Great Silence (product link) Western / Drama Grim, bloody and violent. Sergio Corbucci's masterpiece of melancholy and murder features Jean-Louis Trintignant as the mute gunslinger Silence and Klaus Kinski as the bloodthirsty bounty killer Loco. This unique western is set in the snowy mountains of Utah and features one of the most sadistically downbeat endings in the entire spaghetti western genre. Corbucci's finest work.
Any Gun Can Play (product link) Western / Action/Adventure Pretty fun in its execution, this is essentially a remake of "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly".
City Of God (product link) Drama / Action/Adventure Incredible tales of survival in the drug-infested slums of Brazil. Violent and dark, this movie also has some great comedic flourishes. HIGHLY recommended.
Deadly Outlaw Rekka (product link) Crime / Drama Riki Takeuchi seethes as the embodiment of rage in this pulpy Yakuza thriller from director Takashi Miike.
Some uneven pacing might make the middle of this movie seem to drag, but the incredible opening scenes and the apocalyptic finale make it worthwhile.
Probably the best thing about Deadly Outlaw Rekka is the soundtrack. The action scenes in this movie are all edited to synch up with a Japanese psychedelic rock album from the 1970's. It sounds very contemporary and very cool.
Recommended to fans of Miike-style weirdness or those familiar with the generally slower, more deliberate pace of Japanese film.
Hitch-Hike (product link) Horror / Thriller Intense psychological thriller about a couple returning from holidays, who get taken hostage by a sadistic hitch-hiker. Excellent score by Ennio Morricone, and the performance of David Hess' career.
The Flying Dagger (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure This early swordplay movie from Shaw Brothers features Lo Lieh in a rare heroic role, the beautiful but deadly Cheng Pei Pei, and the rugged direction of Chang Cheh.
Pitted against the evil Flying Dagger, the hero and heroine must combine their efforts to thwart his schemes. Classic Wuxia.
10 Tigers Of Shaolin (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure This kung fu movie has a standard plot, but above average fight choreography. This flick also has way more genital grabbing/twisting scenes than the average guy may be comfortable with. If you can stomach that, 10 Tigers of Shaolin is a worthy addition to your collection, I actually prefer it to the similar Shaw Brothers movie "10 Tigers of Kwangtung".
Deadful Melody (product link) Martial Arts / Fantasy Pretty decent wife fu/wuxia flick from Hong Kong, Deadful Melody is highlighted by a rare leading performance from the incredibly talented, yet woefully underused, Yuen Biao.
Lots of magic effects and flying dominate the battle scenes, but Yuen Biao does get to perform a bit of old school swordplay. Also features Brigitte Lin (and her smoldering glare) and the lovely Carina Lau.
While not quite up to the calibre of Wuxia classics like "Butterfly and Sword" or "Bride With White Hair", Deadful Melody is a fun ride and worthy of multiple viewings.
Django (product link) Western / Action/Adventure A completely over-the-top maelstrom of extreme violence. This is the movie that spawned dozens of unofficial "sequels" and made Franco Nero an international star.
An essential entry in the spaghetti western genre.
AGREE?
READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
Y
Totally entertaining. The one to get if you are new to the genre and only know Sergio Leone's work.
Tomas Milian stars in this surreal and bizarre spaghetti western.
Set in a little town called "The Unhappy Place", this flick is filled with dirty, ugly and unhappy people. And they are all trying to kill each other over a few bags of gold.
The DVD description talks about "relentless sexual depravity" and "hideous torture", but the torture sequence is really quite tame, and the only "sexual depravity" to be found is a posse of black-clad cowboys who are implied to be homosexuals.
But that is easily forgiven due to the quantity and quality of violence in the movie. Lots of shootouts, and LOTS of shots of the aftermath of the shootouts. This movie actually almost fetishizes death, the camera lovingly lingering on bloodied corpses, bullet holes, and the bulging tongues of hanged men.
Definitely unconventional, even for a spaghetti western, "Django, Kill" is worth a look for fans of the subgenre.
Samurai Cop (product link) Action/Adventure / Crime This movie utterly fails as a serious action flick, which it is clearly trying to be. However, for a fan of cheesy and crappy low-budget fare, Samurai Cop is your Holy Grail.
This movie has it all: inane dialogue, glaring continuity errors, wretched acting from just about everyone, poorly choreographed fight scenes, ridiculous plot devices, laughable editing, cheesy 80's synth music, and 3 of the most painfully uncomfortable-to-watch love scenes I've ever witnessed.
Probably the most unintentionally funny movie ever made.
Odd Couple (product link) Martial Arts / Comedy This is the ultimate sword vs. spear movie. The story is very simple, but the choreography is completely insane.
Sammo Hung and Lau Kar Wing play rival masters, AND each plays the student of the other. Great comedy and incredible physical feats make this kung fu gem a winner.
Secret Of Tai Chi (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure This independent Kung Fu flick from the early 80's suffers from low production values and some overused plot devices, but the excellent and long fights more than make up for it.
Shaolin Intruders (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure More no-frills action from Shaw Brothers, this movie is pretty much non stop kung fu. Unarmed or with a variety of weapons, the speed and complexity of the fights escalates gloriously towards full-blown insanity.
I bought this movie blind and it has quickly become one of my favorites.
The Strangers Gundown (product link) Western / Action/Adventure Pretty dark and violent spaghetti western, but somewhat formulaic. Some nice gothic overtones give a spooky atmosphere.
This movie shares many similarities with, and was likely the inspiration for Clint Eastwood's (superior) "High Plains Drifter".
Zatoichi At The Fire Festival (product link) Swordplay/Sword(s) / Action/Adventure My favorite Zatoichi movie (of the ones I've seen), The Festival of Fire contains a perfect blend of humor, intrigue and lightning fast swordplay. Tatsuya Nakadai is great in a small, but ominous role.
Features Zatoichi in an unbelievable fight against about 20 other guys in a bath house, did I mention they are all naked?
Ran (product link) Drama This is absolutely my favorite film ever. Akira Kurosawa spent years in preparation for the filming of Ran, and it shows.
Incredible drama, costumes, cinematography, you name it, Ran does it stunningly well, including a truly inspired performance by Tatsuya Nakadai. Since it is based on Shakespeare, it is fairly talky, so that might turn off more casual viewers or folks looking for a little more action-oriented samurai fare.
For those that can sink their teeth into the melodrama offered up here, be forewarned that the tone of this film is staggeringly bleak. The final image of the film will stay burned into your mind for some time.
Azumi (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure A cute girl in a short leather skirt carrying a katana fights over 100 men at once. It doesn't get much better.
This story of young men and women trained as the deadliest of assassins is beautiful to watch, and the action is stylized but excellent. No shortage of spraying blood here.
Bijomaru is one of the most memorable bad guys in recent years in martial arts cinema. This movie is MUCH better than the similar (girl with sword) Princess Blade.
AGREE?
READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
Y
I liked the film, despite its failings: Dazzling brilliance may be required to understand the difference between "reversed" and "reserved," so it may be you should only pay attention to comments from people who know the difference.
Five stars should be reversed for genre classics, not movies that are just like a hundred others. The only thing that makes this movie interesting at all is the casting of a female in the lead.
Mad Monkey Kung Fu (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Lau Kar Leung is simply incredible. He and Hsiao Ho showcase some of the greatest monkey style kung fu ever put to film. Add in the incomparable Lo Lieh as the insidious villain and you are left with a "must-have" movie for any serious martial arts fans.
AGREE?
READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
Y
I would say unquestionably excellent martial arts, but not alone at the summit of Lau Kar Leung's work. He's been awfully good awfully often.
Yellow River Fighter (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Incredible drunken swordplay on display here. A must-have for fans of Wuxia or Samurai movies.
The Blade (product link) Swordplay/Sword(s) / Action/Adventure A dark and whirling maelstrom of martial violence. Vincent Zhao should've been a bigger star based on this performance. Tsui Hark's best film IMO.
Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog (product link) Martial Arts / Comedy Behind the incredible "Magnificent Butcher", this is my second fave Sammo Hung movie. Nonstop silly comedy and awesome fight scenes, all centered around a "MacGuffin" magic suit of armor. The final fight is unbelievable. Thoroughly entertaining.
Hard Boiled (product link) Action/Adventure / Bullet Ballet What can you say? This is the BEST action movie ever made, anywhere, by anyone. Hands down. Own it.
Invincible Pole Fighter (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Gordon Liu's masterpiece, I have to give this film a slight edge over the also-incredible "36th Chamber of Shaolin" due to its darker tone and unrelenting violence. Opening with a massacre, this movie is bleak, angry and chock full of some of the greatest weapons fighting ever witnessed. Essential Shaw Brothers.
SPL: Sha Po Lang (product link) Crime / Drama Brilliant, innovative choreography from Donnie Yen. This movie is the evolution of screen fighting. I can't wait for "Flash Point", Yen's next feature.
Drunken Master 2 (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Jackie Chan's best film, and probably the best kung fu movie ever. Nonstop jaw-dropping entertainment in this film. If you're visiting this website and don't own "Drunken Master 2" already, buy it right now. You'll thank me.
The Untold Story (product link) Crime / Thriller Pretty sick cat III shocker starring the fantastic Anthony Wong as a brutal murderer who disposes of his victims' corpses in a most disturbing way. Graphically violent, not for the squeamish.
Dance Of The Drunk Mantis (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure The unofficial sequel to "Drunken Master", this one features Simon Yuen returning as the rednosed scamp who just happens to be a top kung fu master. Not quite as brilliant as the original, but this movie still shines with great comedy, wince-inducing training sequences, and some bone jarring fight scenes. Not to be missed.
The Lady Hermit (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure This is probably my favourite of Cheng Pei Pei's wuxia films. Her grace with a sword is simply unnparalleled. Shih Szu is also brilliant--both these ladies knew how to handle their weapons. The strong story and intricate, flowing action scenes combine to form a true martial arts classic.
Today We Kill...Tomorrow We Die! (product link) Western / Action/Adventure Pretty average Spaghetti Western, mostly only notable for the appearance of the great Japanese actor Tatsuya Nakadai in the role of a Mexican bandit. It's just as odd as it sounds, but it's worth seeing for fans of Nakadai's work.
The Stranger And The Gunfighter (product link) Western / Martial Arts East meets West hijinx in this fun action comedy featuring Lee Van Cleef and Lo Lieh. A humorous plot device has the two travelling the old West to look at the bottoms of various hookers. It's just as ridiculous as it sounds, but it somehow works. The only somewhat annoying factor is the dopey sound effects used whenever Lo Lieh breaks out the kung fu, but that is a minor complaint.
Police Story (product link) Martial Arts / Comedy The first 20 minutes alone are worth the price of the DVD. Then it just keeps getting better. One of Jackie Chan's very best, this movie has lots of genuinely funny situations and incredible action/stunt work.
Keoma [5-Disc Set] (product link) Western / Action/Adventure This movie came out at the very end of the Spaghetti Western cycle, and it's a fitting final chapter in that period of cinematic history. Franco Nero stars in this grim western that seems preoccupied with death and decay. Some of the symbolism is pretty obvious and heavy handed at times, but the story is well written and beautifully filmed. This western has some explosive violence, but it also has a bittersweetness about it and a melancholy tone throughout. Certainly not a "standard" Spaghetti western.
Sympathy For Lady Vengeance (product link) Thriller / Crime My least favourite of the "Vengeance Trilogy", this is still a fantastic and engaging movie. "Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance" and "Oldboy" are just that good.
How many great kung fu films climax with a bloody fight, only to have the words "The End" pop up within seconds of delivering the deathblow to the lead villain? Answer: most of them. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it shows that the vast majority of action pictures are primarily concerned with depicting violence. Almost never do they meditate on the repercussions of the violence on display.
Not so with "Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance", the first film in Park Chan-Wook's "Vengeance Trilogy". Some people might not like the film's initial slow pace, but in exhaustively setting up all the characters and getting to know them intimately, we are more powerfully affected by the emotional devastation they face. This movie spends lots of time building up to the violence, and the violence itself is fairly brief, and is never glamorized; it is brutal, ugly and efficient. Then there is lots of time spent as the various characters are forced to deal with the physical and emotional consequences of their vengeful acts.
It is precisely because the movie spends so much time getting to know both the killers and victims, that you care enough about the characters to want them to get their revenge, and understand why they feel they deserve it. When they finally do get it, you know the characters intimately enough to realize (as they do) that their vengeance is empty and ends up destroying them.
Powerful filmmaking, and for my money, it's Park's best.
Shaolin Challenges Ninja (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure This is probably the best kung fu movie I can think of where nobody dies and everyone is friends at the end. Also one of the very few Hong Kong movies that doesn't depict Japanese as cretinous, murderous thugs. Oh yeah, and the fight scenes are pretty much continuous and amazing. Top 10 material.
The Sword And The Sorcerer (product link) Fantasy / Science Fiction This is the same as all the other empty fantasy junk that came out in the wake of "Conan The Barbarian". I like fantasy movies, but this is just poor.
The hero is lame and ends up needing saving himself more than once, and the triple bladed sword is beyond ridiculous.
My Young Auntie (product link) Martial Arts / Comedy Excellent kung fu comedy. That action is lightning fast and frequent, and the comedy in between is slightly dated but still entertaining. Watching Kara Hui fighting in high heels while trying to keep her revealing dress from revealing too much is hilarious. Plus, you get Gordon Liu in a floppy white wig engaging in some western style fencing at a costume party. Well worth it.
SECURE CREDIT CARD PROCESSING BY VERISIGN.
927 users online right now / 682536 visitors since 11/29/2009 5:34:49 AM All content copyright 2000+ HKFlix.com, not to be used without written permission.
