Stephen Chow's special brand of very modern, very Hong Kong screwball comedy entered a new phase with JUSTICE, MY FOOT!, a costume farce set in imperial China. Chow is a shyster with an equally eccentric kung-fu ace of a wife, hilariously played by Anita Mui Yim-fong. Accompanied by Chow's number one screen sidekick, Ng Man-tat, he manages to bring justice to the court and laughter to the viewer. A resounding success, JUSTICE, MY FOOT! broke box office records to become the number hit of 1992. And it's no wonder, what with skillful direction by Johnnie To and a visual sheen provided by Peter Pao, who a few years later would become the first Chinese to win a Best Cinematography Oscar for CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.
Stephen Chow, Anita Mui, Zhu MiMi, Ng Man-tat, Carrie Ng
This little-seen sixties espionage thriller from Japanese director Inoue Umetsugu boasts a star-studded cast including legendary martial artist Cheng Pei Pei and Paul Chang.
How far would you go for love? Or lust? These are the questions posed in this sinfully entertaining Sung Dynasty period effort. Split into two tales, the first one involves a devilish magistrate who tries to tempt a Buddhist monk out of his self-professed celibate control by hiring a pretty prostitute. The second story is the tragic tale of an exploited young girl, the queen of femme fatale Shaw Yin-yin, who is forced to work in an unscrupulous couple's brothel.
Long before he became internationally famous for directing Bruce Lee's first film and giving Jackie Chan his big break, Lo Wei was famous for his acting. He was, in fact, a wellknown matinee idol in the 1950's. He enjoyed appearing in front of the camera throughout his career - even in his five years working at the Shaw Studio. This was one of his most central roles, as the loyal swordsman ShangkuanHao, leader of the Black Dragon Clan. Sharing the screen with him was swordswoman supreme Cheng Pei-pei, the lovely and luminous superstar who also created an international stir with her one and only villainous role (in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon). Here she is as most fans love her best: the heroic woman warrior who saves the country. But she must face the duplicitous White Dragons, the Flying Leopard, and the Red-headed Monk, among others, to secure the throne and safeguard a hoard of treasure.
Cheng Pei-pei , Yueh Hua , Wu Fung, Lo Wei, Tien Feng
Best Picture, Best Director, Best Music, Best Editing, Best Actress and special awards for outstanding performance, this sumptuous adaptation of a Chinese folk tale won them all. Glorious Betty Loh Ti stars as a beauty that disguises herself as a boy to get forbidden education. This sort of pre-Yentl gender-bender role-playing is traditional when it comes to Chinese opera, yet there is nothing old fashioned about the superlative screen treatment given to this all-time classic.
Shaolin firebrands Fang Shih-yu,Hung Hsi-kuan, and Hu Huei-chien are as famous in Asia as the Three Musketeers are in America and Europe. So when the "godfather of the kung-fu film," Chang Cheh decided to tell their stories with Alexander Fu Sheng, Chen Kuan-tai, and Chi Kuan-chiin the roles, it was cause for celebration. The resulting film is one of the most lauded and beloved in the director's filmography, and remains a highlight in all the stars' careers. Each hero is given his own story, but when they all come together in a final, day-long battle with hundreds of troops, the effect is unforgettable. Although known and loved by American fans as Disciples Of Death, that cropped, dubbed, edited version cannot compare to this magnificent original.
This is an extremely rare example of science fiction, Hong Kong style. But fittingly, it's unlike any sci-fi flick you've ever seen. Alien abductions, suicide pacts, superstardom, and the reality of science fiction itself is highlighted in this bright, crazy, and truly out-of-this-world epic--one of the more unusual movies in the Hong Kong cinema of the early 1980s.
In one of his early contemporary martial arts actioners, Alexander Fu Sheng teams up with director extraordinaire Chang Cheh in CHINATOWN KID to battle the Five Venoms before they poisoned themselves into cult status. Although Chang was chastised for using San Francisco stock shots to make like it was filmed in America, it's reminiscent of Jackie Chan's New York stock shots for RUMBLE IN THE BRONX. But to CHINATOWN KID'S credit, the incredibly violent fights are immensely satisfying as man on the run Tan Tung (Alexander Fu Sheng), one by one defeats each triad gang related venom while succumbing to the seductive powers of the ultra-sexy Shirley Yu only to realize that, in typical Chang Cheh style, materialism and heroism leads to nihilistic desecration.
Fu Sheng , Kuo Chue , Sun Chien , Shirley Yu , Shaw Yin-yin
One of Shaw's greatest period directors, Yen Chun, directs this star-studded saga of impossible love, jealousy and ghostly haunting. Lady Jade Locket tells the story of Lady Jade Locket (Li Ching) who loses her life after killing a man to save her father. Years later, youngster Yan Yuwei (the ever radiant Li Li-hua) finds himself hiding in an old library while on the run. At night, he is confronted with the spirit of Lady Jade Locket, who has returned to her family home, and the two fall in love.
This is one of writer/director Shen Chiang's last films, but it's an incredible action-packed adventure of a female Lone Ranger, decades before Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon made feminist-empowerment kung-fu films an international phenomenon. The wonderful Shih Szu is the title character, with Shaw Brothers' first international star, Lo Lieh, joining her as an adoring associate. Together they track down the dirty deeds and duplicity of a raping and robbing masked bandit, before, literally, riding off toward their next adventure!
Cherie Chung Cho-hung, one of Shaw Brothers' most glamorous stars of the 80s has never been better showcased than this romantic vehicle. As a Flashdance-style teacher caught in a love triangle, Chung is radiant and erotic - especially in the steamy love scenes with Tony Leung Kar-fai.
Avid international kung-fu films fans have a special place in their hearts for this outstanding martial arts drama, which marked the ascension of director Sun Chung and action choreographer Tang Chia to legendary status. Tang also appeared as the "Chief Security Officer" in this powerful tale of the Thirteen Eagles Assassination Sect of the infamous Iron Boat Clan. Ku Feng is excellent as the poisonously patriarchal leader of the killers, but conflicted "son" Ti Lung and vengeful victim Alexander Fu Sheng command the screen as consummate warriors united in tragedy. Everything is exceptional in this endlessly entertaining production: from the cinematography of Lan Nei-tsai, to the script by Shaw Brothers' writing wizard Ni Kuang, to the editing of Chiang Hsing-loong and Yu Hsiao-feng, which deservedly won the Golden Horse Award.
Ti Lung is the title character, who lives on the Snake Mountain of Kwangsi with his brothers the Black Snake and the Yellow Snake, have been trying to turn into humans for a thousand years. Attracted by the sensual rain dance performed by three glorious tribeswomen of the nearby Miao Village, they set into motion a tale of romance, greed, insanity, envy, lust, murder, and tragedy.
In River Of Fury, the self-discovery of a young man (Danny Lee), Lily Ho played a role which has helplessly fallen prey to the irresistible temptations of wealth under the influence of her mother. Ho demonstrates her remarkable talent in Chinese opera once again after her Beijing-opera showcase in The Warlord (co-starring Michael Hui Kwun-man).
