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Post by thwhtguardian on Apr 5, 2015 20:01:25 GMT -5
I have two days off in a row and I'm gonna have myself a marathon.
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Post by Jesse on Apr 6, 2015 8:39:43 GMT -5
I caught Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai trilogy awhile ago when TCM aired it one night. It's really cool if you haven't already watched it. For me Musashi Miyamoto is the most interesting figure in martial arts history and I have been meaning to read the Eiji Yoshikawa novel since I started reading Takehiko Inoue's manga Vagabond. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Apr 6, 2015 8:44:29 GMT -5
I caught Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai trilogy awhile ago when TCM aired it one night. It's really cool if you haven't already watched it. For me Musashi Miyamoto is the most interesting figure in martial arts history and I have been meaning to read the Eiji Yoshikawa novel since I started reading Takehiko Inoue's manga Vagabond. Usagi Yojimbo was initially based upon Musashi as well, but the comic has clearly evolved over time. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Apr 6, 2015 14:22:49 GMT -5
I'm starting off with the 36 Chamber of Shaolin, it's a classic I've long read about and just now got to see and I loved it. While the plot is mostly a simple revenge story that is common to kung fu films I really liked that this one strayed from the lone swordsman and instead focused on the priestly Shaolin life style which was fascinating.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Apr 6, 2015 15:44:50 GMT -5
I'm starting off with the 36 Chamber of Shaolin, it's a classic I've long read about and just now got to see and I loved it. While the plot is mostly a simple revenge story that is common to kung fu films I really liked that this one strayed from the lone swordsman and instead focused on the priestly Shaolin life style which was fascinating. Sounds like I'll need to check it out. Just finished Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954), and I'm sorry to say I didn't love it as much as I expected to. Not sure what the big fuss about this film is. It wasn't bad; just didn't wow me in any way. Maybe the sequels will be better. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Apr 6, 2015 16:07:16 GMT -5
I got it on dvd at Wal-Mart but I just saw that its on Hulu for free.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Apr 6, 2015 19:42:14 GMT -5
Like my favorite from last October's horror watch-a-thon , Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary, my second pick here is a little off the beaten path: Orochi, a black and white, silent Japanese film from 1925. The plot is fairly straight forward, a principled samurai is unfairly disgraced by a rival and turned out by his master to become a ronin and his life spirals downward as he loses everything and people see him as nothing but a bandit. However, even though he is disgraced he still feels intensely loyal to his former master and using his perceived status as an outlaw he uncovers a plot against his lord and saves the day. I know, not exactly inspired at first glance, but the whole thing is a struggle against the feudal class structure and the idea of perception versus reality which is pretty impressive for a silent film from the 20's which though occasionally experimental were mostly simplistic in nature. On top of that the film features some pretty slick sword play which looks incredibly realistic and the make up the actors wear makes them look like they stepped out of some traditional Japanese woodcarving which gave it a surreal feeling.  |
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Post by cromagnonman on Apr 7, 2015 9:11:38 GMT -5
Interesting choice, Guardian ! Never heard of that film before though not surprising as I don't really venture before the 1960's in my film choices 
I have most recently watched NINJA IN THE DRAGON'S DEN (1982)
It stars Conan Lee and a Japanese guy whose name I cant recall. It was OK , the fights were good so worth watching just for that. There is an amazing bit where some dudes are fighting and doing somersaults etc while wearing stilts. Now if I hadn't seen this film I wouldn't think this was possible and still am dubious about it or whether some wires were involved. But this is one reason to see the film anyway. Other than that I wouldn't rank it up with my favourites although I find hong kong martial arts films tend to grow on you with repeated viewings so who knows? |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Apr 7, 2015 10:31:46 GMT -5
Interesting choice, Guardian ! Never heard of that film before though not surprising as I don't really venture before the 1960's in my film choices
I have most recently watched NINJA IN THE DRAGON'S DEN (1982)
It stars Conan Lee and a Japanese guy whose name I cant recall. It was OK , the fights were good so worth watching just for that. There is an amazing bit where some dudes are fighting and doing somersaults etc while wearing stilts. Now if I hadn't seen this film I wouldn't think this was possible and still am dubious about it or whether some wires were involved. But this is one reason to see the film anyway. Other than that I wouldn't rank it up with my favourites although I find hong kong martial arts films tend to grow on you with repeated viewings so who knows? It certainly could have involved wires but I've seen Jackie Chan do several fights on ladders and stilts and he isn't a fan of wires so it's certainly possible to do it with out them. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Apr 7, 2015 10:51:20 GMT -5
I actually finished this one up last night, with a run time of 187 min. I just went to bed afterwards but it was so worth staying up to finish as a Touch of Zen was amazing. Other than the amazing technical aspect, just check out this fight in the bamboo forest:
which inspired Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, what I really love is that the film's protagonist, Ku who is a bumbling painter, stays a non-combatant through out the whole ordeal. His role as a regular joe of sorts allows us to see not only the spectacle of combat that we all enjoy but gives us the emotional impact of the loss of life that is often over looked. The long run time inevitably means there are some lulls but otherwise this was a fantastic film and is probably now one of my favorite Kung Fu movies.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Apr 7, 2015 15:01:05 GMT -5
I'm trying for all the Pai Mei films today.  For many, these are the films they think of when think kung fu, they're pure vengeance driven(students avenging the death of the master, sons avenging fathers) feature over the top fighting(one guy beating dozens of armed opponents, fighting on after many fatal wounds and gallons of fake looking blood) and of course the geriatric villain who is inexplicably unbeatable. They're kind of corny, poorly dubbed and the humor doesn't translate well and they've turned many away from the genre...but I love them! First up is 1977's Executioner from Shaolin which although is the first the "series" is a new one for me. Now, I say series and I group these films together but they share no real continuity between them other than the fact that they are inspired by the folk lore around Pai Mei, who is thought to be the sort of Judas of the Shaolin temple in traditional Chinese folklore and as such they all more or less follow the same basic plot; Pai Mei and his men destroy the Shaolin Temple, murder the leader and the students seek revenge. However, what I like about this one is it's generational approach; Pai Mei defeats the master and his star pupil goes into hiding and trains for 10 years during which he falls in love and fathers a child. He fights Pai Mei and loses badly, barely escaping with his life and then trains for another 5 years and dies during his second challenge. One year later after training in his father's style the son goes out and finally gets revenge. The look at the family life and the intense training really give the film layers that the others lack definitely making this the best of the bunch. The second of the bunch is also a new one for me, 1979's Shaolin Abbot. While the action remained good and I liked it's more traditional depiction of the Shaolin monks with their bald heads and gold robes much of this film felt very derivative of not only the previous executioner from Shaolin but also the 36th Chamber of Shaolin which I just watched yesterday. It does have some saving graces though, namely the training scene where the monk learns to blow out candles with the force of his blows and to break urns of water in the same fashion. Realistic? No, but it sure was fun to see. On top of that I really liked how they stuck with the stance of proportional response based defense rather than out right attack which is a very Buddhist response. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Apr 7, 2015 17:31:36 GMT -5
This is the one that started it for me, Fists of the White Lotus!  I saw this as a kid one rainy Saturday afternoon on I think WB56, after the cartoons were over they'd show B-movies and among the many showings of Godzilla flicks my young mind was exposed to this Kung Fu classic. This was the first for me, I didn't know that the revenge plot was a tired cliche or who the heck Pai Mei was so I fell in love with it on an unadulterated level in the way that only children can. It's full of fake blood inexplicably spilling out of people's mouths, corny dialogue like "you'll die slowly after my hundred pace punch!" and it ends abruptly with out any of the other issues solved out side the death of Pai Mei (as do the previous films)...but the energy is great, the fights are fantastic and as an adult I really enjoyed the fact that the female characters weren't just well developed but kicked as much ass as their male counter parts which in an action film would still be considered progressive to this day never mind 30 years ago. Of the films I've seen so far I still think the 36th Chamber of Shaolin is the best but it was fun to see that a beloved film from my childhood still stood up on its own. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Apr 7, 2015 19:45:22 GMT -5
This next one is another Saturday matinee, 1987's Wu-Tang Vs. Ninja starring the famous Jack Long as Pai Mei.  I know he was getting long at the tooth at this time but it's a pity Long's name is attached to this...it's seriously bad. It has a canned 80's electronic sound track, the costumes look like they got them at a cheap Halloween shop and the action is sped up in such a way that it's occasionally hard to get what's happening. I thought it was an odd ball back in the day, and didn't understand why Mei no longer had the cool mustache but I get it now, this film was not made by the Shaw Brothers, which is the gold standard in kung fu in my mind, and so the lack of budget led to the poor quality. The weirdest part of the whole film though is that Pei Mei here gains his invincibility through seemingly molesting scantily clad women, it was down played on TV but here on DVD is a big thing and so are random sex scenes which just seem totally out of the blue. I have to wonder who this was marketed at when they first made this film.
So yeah, this was an hour and a half I'll never get back but at least it was only a dollar.
My next Pei Mei movie doesn't feature him all that much and it's also not by the Shaw Brothers but is decidedly more famous. A big no prize for anyone who can guess the title! |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Apr 7, 2015 21:15:47 GMT -5
Just finished Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955). While the first one did not appeal to me, this one really did. I think what I was missing in that origin story was a knowledge/appreciation for who Miyamoto Musashi was and how far from that ideal he was in the first installment. But this one puts it all in perspective and adds a complex series of characters and motives/conflicts constantly interweaving throughout. The narrative is occasionally difficult to follow, especially as we randomly cut out of scenes in the middle at times (including during one major dual, which was a serious disappointment) but the character develops in compelling ways, as does his supporting cast. Truly, though, what stole the show in part II was the character of Sasaki Kojiro, defly played by Koji Tsuruta:  The guy simply exudes cool. It's going to hurt watching him lose at the end of part III. My only real criticism of the film -- the sword play isn't particularly exciting. In fact, it's generally downright boring. Mifune appears to be doing all of his own sword work so, without the aid of a double, combat can only get so intricate. Still, I'm excited for Part III. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Apr 8, 2015 20:46:27 GMT -5
Just finished Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955). While the first one did not appeal to me, this one really did. I think what I was missing in that origin story was a knowledge/appreciation for who Miyamoto Musashi was and how far from that ideal he was in the first installment. But this one puts it all in perspective and adds a complex series of characters and motives/conflicts constantly interweaving throughout. The narrative is occasionally difficult to follow, especially as we randomly cut out of scenes in the middle at times (including during one major dual, which was a serious disappointment) but the character develops in compelling ways, as does his supporting cast. Truly, though, what stole the show in part II was the character of Sasaki Kojiro, defly played by Koji Tsuruta: The guy simply exudes cool. It's going to hurt watching him lose at the end of part III. My only real criticism of the film -- the sword play isn't particularly exciting. In fact, it's generally downright boring. Mifune appears to be doing all of his own sword work so, without the aid of a double, combat can only get so intricate. Still, I'm excited for Part III. I've heard a lot of good things about these films but I've never seen them, I think I might need to fix that soon. |
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